Effective haggling is about giving an inch to take back a yard. Don't feel squeamish about penny-pinching.
"It was the nearest thing to a bloodless coup," recalls Damodaran. "And although there were times when the dealer tried everything within his power to make me feel a bit of a heartless, money-grubbing cheapskate, I wasn’t put off. If there’s one thing that a life at sea prepares you for, it’s to play the waiting game to perfection. And the golden rule of haggling: patience pays."
Bargaining, that transactional tug-of-war you engage in with a seller to get him to sell you what you want at the price you want it for, is in some ways your best bet to land a value-for-money proposition when you go shopping. It is also your most effective weapon to neutralise wholly unjustifiable price mark-ups on commoditised products by some dealers. And it’s a monetarily rewarding way of exercising your commercial clout and making the market dynamics of demand and supply work to your price advantage.
"Far too often, it’s squeamishness, an aversion to being seen to be penny-pinching that inhibits people from asking for a percentage off, but that’s a misplaced emotion," says infotech entrepreneur Ajay Srivastava, a frequent business traveller who’s made a habit of playing hardball with hardware vendors, as well as at hotel check-in counters and airline ticketing terminals. "The meek may inherit the earth, but they certainly won’t savour the best deals: frugality and brazenness go absolutely hand in hand."
Part-mindsport, part-vaudeville, haggling is a game that two can play. Artful salespersons are themselves known to resort to a barrel-load of tricks and marketing sleights of hand in order to hustle you into buying. So, holding out for less and beating prices down is oftentimes merely a matter of protecting your commercial interests.
How well you bargain might, net-net, critically determine the price you pay for that home theatre system or for that new palmtop—or even that hotel room tariff or that air ticket. And although there are instances when a bit of theatrical grandstanding and melodramatic brinkmanship is thrown in for good effect, the business of haggling needn’t always be conducted in rancorous, unseemly fashion. You’re a good haggler if you get the deal that you want and yet leave the seller believing he has won the commercial transaction.
Like all good things, bargaining is most rewarding when it’s done to moderation, with a readiness to give as well as take. It doesn’t really pay to have the charmless ferocity of a pitbull terrier when you’re out shopping; an unaccommodating customer can compel a dealer to get his back up and slam the door on any further negotiations. "Understand that the other guy is also keen to protect his interest—just as you are yours," says Damodaran. "Play by the golden rules of haggling, and you’ll land some amazing deals—and enjoy a feisty shopping experience."
For instance, before his business tours, Srivastava does a spot of research on the Internet to compare hotel room tariffs and early-bird discounts. "There is no such thing as a ‘rack rate’ at hotels," he says. "Even if you walk into a hotel without prior reservations, negotiate at the counter, or call for the senior manager who is authorised to offer discounts. That way, you can get anything between 15 and 50 per cent off—that’s how much the hotel would otherwise have to pay as commission to an agent. This works best at the many inns and motels around airports, railway stations and bus terminuses."
Srivastava says air travellers make the most of the price wars in the industry on metro routes like Mumbai-Delhi and Mumbai-Bangalore, which starkly manifests itself at ticket counters outside departure terminals a few hours before a flight. "I’ve often made the duty managers of Jet Air and Sahara compete for on-the-spot cash discounts and ‘freebie gifts’ offered for the late night Mumbai-Delhi flight," says he.
In kind too. Just as valuable as the cash discounts you are able to extract are the value additions that you secure for free. For instance, when you’re shopping for a family car, you could persuade the dealer to throw in some extra fittings—upholstery, floormats and a burglar alarm—for free. Likewise, when you’re buying a high-end computer system, ask for a free webcam or free CDs or more bundled software.