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Haggling is a lost art

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  • #1

    Haggling is a lost art

    I swear nobody knows how to actually haggle anymore.

    How NOT to haggle:

    Saying "That's so expensive!" This is not haggling, this is complaining. I will do exactly nothing to change my price for you if you complain, sorry. Actually no, not sorry. Get some manners and quit whining at me about how much my prices are.

    Offering me a tiny fraction of my quoted price. If I say "It's $80" and you say "I wanted to spend $20" I'm going to be all "Sorry, you don't always get what you want."

    Telling me that so-and-so does it for X price. Still not haggling, and that one is going to piss me off. If you like their prices, buy from them. Goodbye.

    Saying that you're a huge fan, that you love my work, and that you reeeeeeeeeeeeally want it at some ridiculously low price. That's nice. Thanks. But your admiration will not pay my bills.

    Saying I'm such a great artist that I surely should be able to do this cheaply/quickly/easily. That's not how it works. Maybe I can do it easily. That just means you're paying for my expertise and the time I put into developing it, rather than paying for the time I actually spend sewing. Price is still the same.

    I got at least half of these from a would-be customer today, and it really irritated me. Especially the huge fan bit. I despise emotional manipulation. Trying to butter me up and/or make me feel bad about denying you is NOT going to get me to cut my prices to a quarter of normal!
    The best advice is this: Don't take advice and don't give advice. ~Author Unknown

    Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself. ~Cicero

    See the fuzzy - http://bladespark.livejournal.com/
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  • #2
    I work in a different business that also sees a lot of haggling. Pretty much points 1-3, and 5 I see a lot. I also see those who don't think my hotel chain is that great and say. "$79.99 for a SOMETHING INN?" said in a way that they think we're low quality. Ya, I don't budge for those types.
    To right the countless wrongs of our days... We shine this light of true redemption, that this place may become as paradise...Oh, what a wonderful world such would be...

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    • #3
      Hey, if someone is such a huge fan, they should pay up or shut up. You don't try to low-ball someone whose work you're crazy about, and you sure don't make insulting comments about how "easy" the work was.
      When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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      • #4
        Damn straight. That's one of the reasons I wait for conventions to buy things from artists. Sometimes they are a bit more expensive, but that money goes right to the people I am fans of! And sometimes you can haggle the price down $5 or so anyway.

        ...I may also have a tendency to go slightly fanboy and squee at artists I like. Don't judge me.
        "If at first you don't succeed, skydiving is not for you."

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        • #5
          Oh my gosh, can I print this out and give it to people when they pull this sh*t? It is so true. I get #1 and #2 a few times a week at least. Usually they combine to form a Voltron of suckiness: "Ugh, This is toooooo muuuuuch!!! Can't you do [third of original price]?"
          !
          "For truth is always strange; stranger than fiction." -- Lord Byron

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          • #6
            I personally would not be sad to see the "Art" of haggling die an agonizing terrible death. Prices that fairly reflect the amount the person/business needs to cover costs and make a profit do not need to be argued. Of course if fair pricing was mandated along with people being nice and reasonable this site wouldn't exist.

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            • #7
              I don't mind haggling at all. When people can do it properly, that is! Had somebody the other day who wanted to get a plush to give to his boyfriend when he flew out to be with him. It was cute. He explained that he thought my prices were totally fair, but with the price of airfare being so expensive he was trying to save every penny, and could I at least give him $10 off? Which I readily did, as it was a $120 order. That's how you do it! No whining about the price, no absurd offers, just a polite, reasonable request which I was happy to oblige.
              The best advice is this: Don't take advice and don't give advice. ~Author Unknown

              Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself. ~Cicero

              See the fuzzy - http://bladespark.livejournal.com/

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              • #8
                Right. Haggling, when done correctly, and with mutual respect, is a great tool. But then, I'm an old pawn & ex-garage sale shopper.
                Customers should always be served . . . to the nearest great white.

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                • #9
                  Quoth spark View Post
                  Offering me a tiny fraction of my quoted price. If I say "It's $80" and you say "I wanted to spend $20" I'm going to be all "Sorry, you don't always get what you want."
                  More "how not to haggle":

                  When I have two consignment items X and Y, X is priced at $30 and Y is $70, offer $30 for Y and hope I'll process the sale and not notice. When your plan is thwarted, wait a month, then send a message about how "I can get this from the maker for $20" (no you can't, I and the owner know how limited this run was).

                  Bonus for playing the "come on, you must be desperate to sell this" card...I don't set the price. If it hasn't changed in that time (or has changed but not as low as you want) it's because the owner doesn't want to be ripped off.
                  "I am quite confident that I do exist."
                  "Excuse me, I'm making perfect sense. You're just not keeping up." The Doctor

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                  • #10
                    Right? I mean yeah my items are like $1 up to $30, but that doesn't mean they don't try.
                    "Oh, this item is $5? I don't know, it doesnt look THAT good of quality..." Then why even bother trying to buy from me? Now I'm offended and won't sell to you.
                    Although I love art trades, especially for equal quality/equally wanted items. I get a lot of great discounts that way, but I'm super polite and willing to let them pick an item that is more valuable than what I wanted.
                    Oh and another thing I hate? "But can't you give me the family/friend/etc. discount?" No...they often end up paying me more for my product than you do, because they realize that I need to keep my business going....
                    Oh wook at teh widdle babeh dwaggin! How cyuuute babeh dwag-AAAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH! *nom*
                    http://jennovazombie.deviantart.com

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                    • #11
                      Quoth zombiequeen View Post
                      "But can't you give me the family/friend/etc. discount?" No...they often end up paying me more for my product than you do, because they realize that I need to keep my business going....
                      Yes I can. That will be a 10% mark up as my family pays me more than than the ticket price. Thanks!
                      Bark like a chicken!

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                      • #12
                        Quoth Skeksin View Post
                        Yes I can. That will be a 10% mark up as my family pays me more than than the ticket price. Thanks!
                        Yeah, that's basically it
                        Oh wook at teh widdle babeh dwaggin! How cyuuute babeh dwag-AAAAAAAUUUGGGHHHH! *nom*
                        http://jennovazombie.deviantart.com

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                        • #13
                          Amen, Spark! I knit and crochet items that I sell at craft fairs in the fall and winter, and you said it better than I ever could. I'm going to keep what you say in mind when I set up a booth in a few months.

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                          • #14
                            The family/friend discount is also known as the annoyance fee . . . which I add on every time somebody changes the color/style/shape they want after I've already bought and cut the fabric. It eventually becomes cheaper to just let me finish the first one and then order another one. Or, you can spend 2-3 times what it should have cost and have everything your heart desires. >
                            "I'm starting to see a pattern in the men I date" - Miss Piggy, Muppet Treasure Island

                            I'm writing!! Check out the blog.

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                            • #15
                              Only time I ask if I might be able to get a discount from a craft booth is when I'm buying multiple items. And I've learned that if I don't ask for a specific amount off, they tend to offer me more of a discount than what I had in mind. :>

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