Comments on: Reader Stories: Adventures in negotiating

By: Cortney

Cortney — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 00:27:08 +0000

Hi everyone,

So sorry that I was unreponsive when my post when up – I’ve been out of town for a funeral and had minimal computer time. Anyhow, thank you so much for the comments – it’s been great reading through them all, and I’m glad so many people enjoyed the post!

Thanks again,
Cortney

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By: Jose

Jose — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 19:01:45 +0000

Susan, I’ve had considerable success negotiating when buying furniture and even appliances. You’d be surprised at how willing to negotiate some stores, even some of the big box stores are. Any large purchase I make usually starts with something along these lines, ” Look, I’m really interested in xxxxxx but the price is somewhat higher than what I have budgeted. Is this the best you can on this?”. If they say yes then we start the haggle, if no, I walk away.

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By: Kelly@Financial-Lessons

Kelly@Financial-Lessons — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 18:50:10 +0000

Really liked this post! Definitely some worthwhile information to consider especially in regards to negotiating salary. Its true that women often don’t negotiate their salary and even make this same mistake of giving a number at an interview. All great tips here.

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By: Debbie M

Debbie M — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 22:39:54 +0000

I work for the state, so technically, our salaries are public.

Last time I got asked this, I said that my current salary was no longer acceptable (because it wasn’t).

Another strategy would be to include the benefits such as: crappy salary plus pension plus relative job security plus free health insurance plus free bus passes plus free access to the second biggest academic library in the country plus easy access to multiple on-campus museums.

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By: Amanda

Amanda — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 21:48:10 +0000

When putting your current salary, add in all your benefits as a monetary value if you can. So if you get 7% profit sharing or 2% in 401k contributions or you got a $2k bonus at the end of the year, add all of that in. That way if the next company’s benefits are not as good, you will not be losing money.

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By: catchingup

catchingup — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 17:58:29 +0000

I’ve been surprised at some of the places that will negotiate. When I bought my appliances I shopped around and ended up at one of those warehouse outlet type places and they price matched the hardware store (even though they had the better model), I got some free upgrades in the fridge, they took a little off the total because I bought 3 items… in the end I spent less than I would have at a regular retail store but got better merchandise.

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By: Debi

Debi — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 16:03:06 +0000

Great post. I’m going to make becoming a better negotiator my New Year’s resolution for 2013. I have 2 nephews that are great at it and I’m going to get some mentoring from them! Thanks for the inspiration.

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By: Harry

Harry — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 13:05:55 +0000

I got promoted last year and due to my position in the company (accounting/finance) I had access to the budgeted salary for all positions. I made the mistake of saying “well I know the budget is X so I want at least that…” I should have added 20%-25% to that number and explained that I knew it would take 3-4 months to fill my old position and I would be doing both jobs until they found a replacement. Lesson learned.

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By: Dee

Dee — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 12:40:02 +0000

Great post…but dying to know what you could have wanted at SkyMall!?

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By: Wm

Wm — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 09:46:48 +0000

The salary negotiation for my first job was a disaster. I ended up getting paid way less than what I deserved as a person with an advanced degree. But I’ve learned my lesson to negotiate proactively in the future. I guess the key is preparation. Knowing what the industry standards are for a position you are selected and for your educational qualifications helps you know what you deserve. Once you are informed, you can confidently negotiate with the Human resources personnel. If you are blissfully ignorant, especially for new grads joining the workforce for the first time, people can take you for a ride.

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By: SLCCOM

SLCCOM — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:19:25 +0000

And they can’t say “yes” unless you ask!

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By: Sally

Sally — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:25:02 +0000

This is good inspiration to read right now, as I *hate* haggling, and we’re shopping for a used car at the moment.

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By: Sally

Sally — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 04:22:13 +0000

My husband wrote, “Depends on whole package” in response to this question.

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By: Susan D

Susan D — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:58:34 +0000

Excellent post. I’ve had considerable success negotiating the price of a new car, but usually don’t for other things. I just read that furniture is marked up as much as 100% because the sellers expect people to ask for discount. That really surprised me. Has anyone had any experience with furniture or other new merchandise?

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By: Jose

Jose — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 02:20:58 +0000

This reminds me of some advice a senior sales guru (in IT) once told me, “You put the price on the table, whoever speaks first after that loses”. Sage advice and it holds true more often than not.

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By: PawPrint53

PawPrint53 — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 00:09:15 +0000

I, too, liked how she recovered. My husband has to hand in an employment application when he goes for an interview next week, and the app asks for “salary requirement.” Any tips on handling a salary question when it’s on an application? We’ve been looking up industry standards in our area, but it’s hard picking a number that isn’t too high to put them off or too low so you feel like you could have gotten more. I wonder if putting down a range instead of one number would be best, then using the negotiating technique mentioned in the reader story.

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By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 23:03:46 +0000

Cortney mentioned that above and it’s a good tip — if it’s true In my case, it isn’t. I wonder if anyone would ever follow up on it though?

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By: Nihongo Dame Desu

Nihongo Dame Desu — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 19:27:54 +0000

I am super uncomfortable negotiating and I too have found that having some stock phrases really helps when I’m put on the spots.

For situations where I’ve been inconvenienced or disappointed (like the hotel example), instead of giving a number, I try something like,”I’m sure your company has policies for dealing with customer service issues like this one. What are you able to offer me? [or, What do you typically provide in a situation like this?” Sometimes they push it back to me, but most of the time, they come up with something, so I’ve forced them to throw out the first number, and to give me an idea of the kind of currency the want to deal in, dollars, points, products, coupons, etc.

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By: Wendy

Wendy — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 18:11:24 +0000

This has been one of my favorite reader stories. Very practical ideas that I’m excited to put into practice.

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By: Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle

Jane Savers @ The Money Puzzle — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 18:07:51 +0000

I do better on the phone than with in person negotiating. They can’t see the uncomfortable grimicing faces I am making when I am stating the price I want.

I stink at in person negotiations. Always trying to be cool and calm and keep the urge to vomit away takes all of my energy and thoughts and I just end up saying OK to whatever the guy in the office at the car dealer says.

I wish we could negotiate by email. I am fearless with email.

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By: Anna

Anna — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 17:51:23 +0000

I hate negotiating! I know it’s something you’re supposed to do. But I would rather just pay or go without. It just seems like a lot of hassle for a thing. I do it at flea markets and garage sales though.

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By: May

May — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 17:44:50 +0000

You can deflect the question by saying something like company policy doesn’t allow you to discuss current salary outside the organization. In fact, when I was hired recently at a Fortune 500 company, I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding my wages.

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By: Bill

Bill — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 17:38:49 +0000

Excellent reader story! I’m in a similar position, but I’ve got a home and mortgage now. I’d love to hear more about Ellen’s adventures in the third stage of finance.

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By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 17:04:22 +0000

This is a great post, and as a recruiter, I agree that it’s important to negotiate well. If you’re bad at it, you come off as difficult. If you’re good at it, you retain the goodwill of the opposite party while still making progress toward what you want. The only thing I would add, as someone who has worked dealing with customers for 7 years, is if you are a repeat customer for a company (such as a season ticket holder for a sports team), pick your battles. There is always that one person who wants more and asks for more, no matter what they’re already getting. Most companies keep databases of customers, and make notes of the notorious ones. You want to avoid being one of them, in order to get voluntary, long-term good service.

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By: Flounder No More

Flounder No More — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 16:23:52 +0000

This is an excellent point! It’s better to practice in low stakes situations (like the flea market) and feel polished and experienced in higher stakes situations (like salary negotiations.)

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By: Mrs PoP @ Planting Our Pennies

Mrs PoP @ Planting Our Pennies — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:23:11 +0000

Negotiating is something I have mixed luck with. I tend to be pretty good at it for big ticket items – my negotiations on a couple different properties saved us about $10K altogether, but I really have to be sure that I’m not asking for something that’s unfair or below market rates to be able to get behind it.
But asking for more money is tougher for me. I need to get better at salary negotiations since companies usually give me exactly what I ask for the first time (which lends me to believe I may be selling myself short there…).

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By: Bryallen @ The Frugal Graduate

Bryallen @ The Frugal Graduate — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 15:04:44 +0000

Great post. I was chatting to a friend of a friend yesterday, and he’d managed to knock off £30,000 from the asking price of a new flat just by being patient. He waited until only a few flats remained in a development, made an offer he could afford and said he would close within a month. The developers were only too keen to sell and accepted the offer.

I learned from him that it pays to be patient, have a plan (mortgage / opportunity fund) in place and to know when to make an offer!

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By: thethriftyspendthrift

thethriftyspendthrift — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:50:38 +0000

I hate negotiating because I’m not the best at talking to people but I often come up with the strategy and I’m lingering in the background while my husband does the talking.

We recently bought a mattress. Right as we were on the phone purchasing the item we saw in the store earlier, I noticed the price online was cheaper than in the store. I grabbed my husband and showed him. Not only did they lower the price but threw in free shipping as well.

Salary is a little more difficult for me because a lot of places in field have a set standard that they go by and that’s it.

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By: Brett

Brett — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:21:40 +0000

This is a great reader story. Negotiating is a skill we all can benefit from. I have gotten a 10% raise in salary, and 13% off a car’s sticker price from successful negotiations. If you are new to negotiating, my best advice from what I’ve experienced is that it never hurts to ask.

The worst thing that happens is they say no.

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By: SwampWoman

SwampWoman — Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:11:49 +0000

I’m very bad about not negotiating when it is something that I really want. I’m leaving lots and lots of money on the table. I need to work on that!

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