This post is short and sweet and to the point.
Folks, I cannot stress how important it is to check all of your accounts for possible savings at least once a year. This includes your bank accounts, your credit accounts, your utility accounts, and more. Basically, you should review every account that involves a financial relationship at least yearly.
It's easy to do this. Just call the customer service number and ask if there are any better deals than the one you currently have. You may have better results if you do a bit of research (on the web or in person) before you call, but it's not strictly necessary. Taking one hour out of your year to do this can yield huge savings.
What prompted me to write this? Well, my mother just got a new laptop computer with a wireless card. When I offered to set it up for her, I asked what she was paying for internet service. For dial-up internet and phone service, she was paying $79 a month. This seemed high to me. (I'm willing to be that she's had the same plan since signing up for internet service over a decade ago.)
“Do me a favor,” I said. “Call the phone company and ask what it would cost to get DSL.”
“I don't understand,” my mom said after she did some research. “They say that I can get voice mail, DSL, and phone service for $60 a month, but that's less than I'm paying now.”
That's right: For $19 less per month than she's paying now, my mother can get a faster internet connection and voice mail. That's a savings of nearly $230 a year — and improved service — simply by asking. (Plus, they provided a wireless router for free!) But the phone company had no incentive to tell her this. They simply waited until she called to ask.
Remember: Nobody cares more about your money than you do. If you don't take steps to improve your financial situation, nobody else is going to do so either. In most cases, wealth isn't about luck. Wealth is about taking charge of your money, telling others what you want instead of letting them tell you what you're going to get. And it's about taking care of the little stuff, like how much you're paying for DSL and phone service.
So, go out there and call the phone company and the cable company and your bank. Find out if there are any better deals waiting for you. Don't wait for a discount — ask for one.
“Free” is too much for dial-up. The library has high-speed internet.
In the same vein, I know that Comcast yields pretty easily to asking for a better deal. They usually have three month specials for package deals before the rate jumps up. Before your rate increases to whatever they consider standard, call them up and let them know you’re thinking about canceling cable, but want to keep internet, phone, whatever… though you’re interested to hear if they have any more specials you can take advantage of. They always have something going on and if you get a representative in a good mood, you’re golden.
Not to mention your credit card company. They actually offered me a lower rate before I got the chance to ask them. But I’m with a credit union, so your mileage may vary.
Totally agree! Not just for utilities and credit, but at the store, it never hurts to ask for a discount … and you may be surprised how often you get one.
Great point, JD. We just had to ask for discounts on my parent’s cable bundle. It was going up about $50 a month after the promotions expired. We still ended up paying more per month than previously, but we did manage to reduce the blow to an additional $15 a month rather than $50. Actually, we may end up saving money by dropping the cable company’s VoIP service (which adds $10+ in fees and taxes to the advertised price) and switching to another service like Vonage.
It is odd to note that the better service is sometimes cheaper, or not that much more. I just called AT&T yesterday since my wife and I weren’t using all of our minutes and we had accumulated 5,000 rollover minutes. The customer service rep told us we could drop down from the 1,400 minute a month plan to the 700 minute a month plan for $20, but we’d lose all of our rollover minutes when we changed. We each use about 750 minutes a month. So it’s really costing me only $20 more a month to get double the plan? I guess I’ll keep the 1,400 minute plan for now, but I’m glad I asked before just switching on my own and losing the minutes.
Insurance (car, home, etc) is another thing that doesn’t have to go up. In fact I’ve always wondered why my car insurance goes up when the value of my car goes down every year and my record of safety goes up (assuming no accidents, tickets). So when they go up I call my insurance agent and have her check for a better rate. With 2 cars that can make quite a nice difference.
My husband does this all the time, and it always surprises me when it works. It isn’t always easy though. I have very little patience with customer service, and I often tell my husband just to give up and forget about it, which he never does. He’ll just keep asking and asking until they give in and give us the better deal/discount.
@Brian #4:
I called and downgraded my cell phone plan with AT&T about a year ago because I had 5,000 rollover minutes, too–but I tried a different tactic. When I called them, I said the economy is bad and I was trying to pinch pennies so I wanted to know if there were any deals they were offering to long-time customers (I have been a customer for about five years). They said there were no additional deals but suggested a downgrade. I said that sounded like one option, but I was concerned about going over my minutes as that was cutting it close. I said I would love to keep being a customer but there were other (better) deals out there from other companies that I might need to consider, UNLESS I could keep the rollover minutes? They put me on hold for a few minutes, came back, and gave in. You might try that if you’d like to save some money–$20 a month doesn’t seem like much, but it’s $240 a year, so it was worth trying, to me.
Very good suggestion. I call my cable company every 6 months and get at least 20 dollars knocked off my bill. (My bill that has been increased because my latest promotion expired.) I think senior citizens may get taken advantage of the most because many have probably just paid their bills for years and years without giving it a second thought.
On a slightly different note, always always scour the internet for a promo code when buying something online. Even the most unlikeliest sites can have promo codes. Like my webhosting service had a promo code, I never expected that.
Just two weeks ago I called to lower my cable/internet/phone bill. I ended up getting about 50 more channels on the t.v. for a savings of about $25 a month.
This makes me so happy.
My parents just upgraded from dial up too!! :)
My dad was in the same dialup boat until about 2006. The bigger issue there was that it was the same plan that he’d had since we first got online (i.e., about half my life)…it was OK when I was at college, but when I came home, I always went over the few hours our plan allowed and we were charged exorbitant fees. I kept telling Dad that there were all-you-can-eat dialup options for less than he was paying, but he kept insisting “it’s the same plan we’ve always had!” He’d also refused to get a CD-ROM drive until he could no longer order TurboTax on floppies (as in, Intuit completely discontinued floppies, long after most other software was offered solely on CD-ROM).
I bet she’ll be even more amazed by the new lightning-fast speeds! You’re right, it pays to check around. What had been your experience with things like car insurance? We found out recently that we could get a slightly better rate elsewhere, but I’m concerned about the customer service we might receive at the other company.
Recently when I bought an IPod for my mom, the online price was about $20 less than the instore price. I mentioned it to the salesperson and they matched the price. Lesson learned to check online pricing even if you are going to buy in store.
Every time I read this sort of advice I think about the guy on the other side of the fence, because this advice in particular isn’t the sort that can be a win-win situation for all parties involved.
If every year you try to re-negotiate your contracts at lower rates, you can’t be too upset if every year your employer tries to cut your pay rate — if you do it, why wouldn’t they? Or if you’re self-employed, you can’t be too surprised if all your customers constantly ask you to work for less than your asking prices.
I do think there’s a difference between asking for a discount on an existing plan (for which everyone else is paying the higher rate) and switching to a different, cheaper plan like your mother did, too.
In some countries, this is common practice — everyone is constantly negotiating for lower deals on everything all the time. That’s fine, it’s a process that does work. But if you’ve ever visited a place like this and tried to get a taxi ride somewhere, or pay for a room in a privately-owned place, can you honestly tell me you prefer the constant haggling to just having published prices for things like we do here in the US? I’ve never known anyone who *liked* this aspect of foreign travel, so I wonder why we encourage each other do to it here.
Tyler K.– Employers do cut pay rates every year. That’s what happens when you get a raise that’s lower than inflation. They can’t make actual pay cuts (outside of severe recessions) or workers will leave and hiring a new worker is expensive. Pay cuts also cause low morale for people who are working in the company and they’d much rather have low morale for people who have been laid off and more productivity from the people who weren’t laid off.
With things like cellphone plans, improved technology makes costs lower, but there’s no reason to pass on those cost savings to anybody unless there’s competition and people are thinking of leaving plans.
Additionally, in some industries, providers have monopoly power because there are barriers to entry. If the market becomes more competitive (like currently in the insurance industry with the increase of pricing information and ease in comparing prices) they are getting closer to the competitive equilibrium.
Finally, if the market prices is less than the marginal cost of production, producers gain producer surplus by offering lower prices to consumers with less elastic demand (those who are likely to ask for discounts) who would not purchase at the market price. Companies love it if they can price discriminate.
I feel like I’ve given this lecture before on a different post. The price discrimination is Econ 101. The monopoly stuff is intermediate microeconomics. The employer stuff and improved technology are intermediate macroeconomics.
Great post. This past weekend I was shoe shopping and found the perfect sandals. I wear a 6, the floor sample size, and the sample was the only pair they had left in my size. I calmly asked for the manager, explained the situation, and asked for a discount since one of the shoes had been sitting out on the floor, being tried on by who knows how many people. She smiled, said yes, and gave me HALF OFF THE ORIGINAL PRICE. I like the sandals even more now!
@Tyler – I really enjoyed haggling when I was last in Mexico. The locals respect you for it, since you aren’t some sucker tourist. Remember that no one will accept your negotiated price if they aren’t gaining something from it. It is just a matter of how much money you are willing to leave on the table for them to scoop up.
@Tyler (#14)
I agree with Nicole. Your employer does negotiate with you constantly, asking you to work more, withholding a pay raise, cutting benefits. (Or, sometimes, giving you more of these things.) That’s why I advocate negotiating your salary and benefits at every opportunity, too.
I like traveling to places where haggling is expected. And in a country like the U.S. where it’s not the norm, those who are willing to bargain get better prices. And that’s what this site is all about! :)
Good post and reminder.
If you do not evaluate your bills periodically you are leaving money on the table.
@Tyler – I follow your line of reasoning but I see “asking for discounts” as ensuring you are in line with the current market prices. As in the post, or my experiences with cell phones home/auto insurance, cable, etc…if you do not ask you oftern get left behind on an old plan or rate structure that is not to your advantage. I look at the process as asking for a discount and/or evaluating other options to ensure the best overall value. I do agree that it would be annoying to have to negotiate every cab ride or hotel room.
@ Brian C. #4
I, too, called AT&T to lower my rate plan and had 4,000 rollover minutes they said I would lose. I argued that I had paid for those minutes so there was no reason I should lose them.
The woman then said I could keep 1,000 and I said that still wasn’t good enough, since I had paid for all of the minutes. She spoke with a supervisor and then said I could keep all 4,000.
So just ask.
We did that when we upgrade to HD service. Verizon wanted to charge $40/month more and we talked them down to $10/month and got a bump in internet speed to boot. All we had to do was keep saying ‘No.’
I work in retail and though I work on commision, I’m always glad to help a client out with available deals. Unless the client is rude and demanding. Please ask your sales person nicely. We’d like help you, but not when you’re rude to us. And remember we may be paid less for cutting you a deal, so say thanks. Customer service can be trying on the other side, too.
Yes. Always ask if you are eligible for any kind of discount. A lot of phone companies have employer discount. Even if you don’t work for one of those companies, look for other ways. For example, T-mobile gives a discount for all AAA members, 12% off the normal bill. That is a good chunk for not changing anything in your plan.
And as @KC(#5) mentioned, insurance is another one that pays very well for shopping around. I just called my insurance company to change our address. Turned out adding renter’s insurance for $19 a month will give a $250 bundle discount for our 2 cars. So we ended up getting $22 “back” + free renter’s insurance!
@Tyler I agree with your reasoning. But the guy on the other side of the fence is winning too. Otherwise they will just say no. No one will keep giving discounts if its cutting their profit really hard. They will have a bottom line price which includes a reasonable profit for them. So unless you ask, you might be overpaying.
Thanks for reminding me to do this again JD. (I need to add a recurring calendar event…)
My wife called AT&T and was able to switch us to another plan for our Wireless phone service that will save us $25 a month on our unlimited text messaging and provide unlimited data for all five phones on our plans.
Should save us about $200 a year.
It seems it pays to keep customer service agents engaged in conversation, too. Although I wasn’t negotiating a discount for car/house insurance at the time, I called our insurer last year to get explanations of some of the changes on our policy…asked alot of questions, and the rep was very patient. In the end, as we were closing the conversation, he added “and just for being such a good client, we’re going to reduce your premium by $x”. It worked out to about 7%. I’m obviously a nincompoop and should have asked for a discount before signing off.
Does anyone have additional insight into why this happened?
def a true statement that noone cares more about your money than you. Keep this in mind, every business you deal with wants to make as much money as possible. On the other hand, i cant believe some of these companies. To sell your grandmother phone and internet for more than the other package is not illegal, but definitely immoral.
Preferred Financial Services
Rachel had a good point. That $20 a month may not seem like a big deal, but the $240 a year is significant.
My wife and I called each of our service providers late last year and asked for discounts on the services. Most knocked anywhere from $3 – $5 off the exact same service we already had, just because we asked. I think the grand total came to about $30, or $360 per month.
Dink, you are right, Comcast does yield pretty easily. I called up and mentioned that I was thinking of changing internet providers due to the price going up and they immediately gave me a reduction with no contract.
Most providers don’t have a problem charging a lower price, they just want to keep the customer. You are not paying for a physical product, just a service. The infrastructure is already built with all the sunk costs included. As long as they don’t lose you, they’re happy.
I’m surprised people actually enjoy haggling while traveling, I’ve always found it to one of the worst parts of the whole experience. Every single interaction starts with a 3-minute argument. It’s exhausting and frustrating arguing driver after driver down from 200 rupees to 50 for the same rickshaw ride every day for three weeks, and it’s just as annoying when they all insist that the legally-required meter for fares is broken (because it enforces a flat rate).
Most everyone I’ve met who’s had this experienced hasn’t enjoyed it, but then I guess I probably *should* have expected differently from GRS readers, who are always recommending haggling for everything.
“Your employer does negotiate with you constantly, asking you to work more, withholding a pay raise, cutting benefits. (Or, sometimes, giving you more of these things.)”
If by “constantly” you mean “at least once per year” then, yeah, you’re right, but really, most people can rely on their salary and benefits being the same from day-to-day, changing annually, and usually in their favor (this is why there’s a general expectation that your salary goes up over time — it usually does). Imagine if your annual performance review went more like this:
Boss: So, I see we paid you $40k last year. We’ve been loyal employers for three years now, think you can cut us a deal?
You: What, have I done something wrong, has my performance been bad?
Boss: No, everything’s been fine, we were just hoping we could get a better deal.
You: Well actually, I was thinking of asking for more money this year.
Boss: More? But look at all we’ve been through together. How about you stay on next year for $36k? You know, since we’re friends.
You: Well, I was really thinking I’d like a new car this year.
Boss: Oh come on, your current car is fine, all these corporate non-execs and their parachute plans and their fancy domestic cars, they’re never happy…
That’s just the little imaginary conversation that plays out in my head whenever someone asks for the same amount of product/service at a lower rate. It’s not necessarily grounded in reality, but it’s how I feel about the idea in general.
Hypocritically enough, I just realized I’m arguing on the internet about how I don’t like to argue. I think that I don’t like to be forced to argue about day-to-day things, if I’m going to argue, I’d rather opt-in to arguments about conceptually or philosophically interesting things.
Tyler– That’s actually not true. The average person CAN’T rely on salary and benefits changing in their favor over the lifetime.
You’re getting NOMINAL wages mixed up with REAL wages. My real wage went down last year despite a pay raise. My health insurance costs also went up by more than the university’s payment of my health insurance costs. Employers generally don’t cut nominal wages– many people think they’re getting a raise when they’re actually getting a paycut. That’s why we need a little inflation to keep the wheels of the economy greased… it makes workers productive and happy even when the company needs to make cuts.
And JD is right to point out that benefit packages are changing too– as employers shift costs of increasing healthcare or retirement risk to employees, that is like an implicit pay-cut.
Yes, if you’re in an industry with Lazear contracts (that’s a specific contract type where you get paid less than your marginal product early on and more than your marginal product later in a situation of imperfect monitoring) or one where there are big productivity returns to experience over time, then yes, your REAL wage rate will go up. Generally in practice it goes up because you change firms or get an outside offer, not because your employer is rewarding you. But if you’re in an industry, like most people are, where the returns to experience are relatively quick, then real wages are going to stagnate over time for those people.
I hate negotiating, but I’ve managed to do it twice this week. Once I was at a used book store and wanted a book that had no price tag. I asked the cashier to tell me the price and he clearly just made one up on the spot ($6). I didn’t want to pay that much, so I decided to go back to the book buying department and at least tell them the book had no price and see if they could figure out a price for me. They told me $4, which I said was too much. Then they said $3, which I took. Who knew I could negotiate there (at least if there is no price tag—and no, I will not be removing price tags in the future!).
Then at my auto mechanic, I asked if there was a cash discount, and he said yes, and he gave me a new figure that was a little better than 10% lower.
If companies are going to try to overcharge us and hope we don’t notice, like with the dial-up service example, it’s only reasonable to make a habit of asking if there is something better. I’ve even heard that some health insurance companies will automatically reject the first application without even looking at it—it’s only the people who ask again who get any service at all.
@Deborah M, some of those customer service agents have a lot of power and they certainly get yelled at a lot, so when you were calm and reasonable, your agent was probably so pleased to be having a pleasant conversation that he wanted to make your day, too.
@Nicole, technically I’d say a raise is usually a raise (the exception being when other job-related costs such as parking or insurance increase more than your raise), even if it doesn’t keep up with inflation. Your wage has been dropping all year, then you get a raise (which is a real raise) and then it starts dropping again.
@Nicole:
I’m not getting nominal and real wages mixed up. In a conversation about negotiation, the effects of inflation are immaterial. Sure, if there’s inflation and your pay rate stays the same, you make effectively less, but at the same time, your non-renegoitiated phone contract also costs effectively less. I’m ignoring inflation because you can’t negotiate or haggle with it, not because I think it doesn’t exist.
Besides, in the current economy you could argue that inflation has been negative recently — look how much more house you can buy for the same amount of money than a few years ago. How does this affect your overall cost of living? Is your employer justified in lowering your salary to match the fact that you can live as comfortably today on less money than you could a few years ago?
Those are interesting questions, but they have very little to do with haggling.
I get $25 a month off our cable bill just because I asked for a break. This works.
I have a lot of work to do this morning so I’m just going to say that I hope the Econ PhD from Stanford who actually does Macro chimes in this time like he did on the last debate about inflation. I would love to spend more time discussing the importance of inflation and other labor market bargaining aspects but it will have to wait for another day.
So true- I recently shaved money off my phone bill just by checking; the rate for my plan had lowered substantially from when I first opened the account, but without asking they just billed me the same.
I hate haggling. And I confess I’m just disinclined to spend any time calling up service providers to ask for discounts – not least because calls of that nature often have to be done during business hours when, hello, I’m at work. I don’t even call my broker from the office! Or – in my opinion, worse – you end up on the phone for over an hour while you ask to speak to the next higher-up person. Ugh.
If we ever feel like renegotiating rates, I turn the job over to self-employed and self-scheduling DH. He likes doing the backup research too, so it’s a win.
But really, the things that can be renegotiated are almost all, when you get down to it, luxuries. Home broadband? Cable or satellite? Cell plans? All luxuries. I think for people on a fixed income or working in a really tight budget, they ought to be looking at cancelling these services rather than spending time finagling the rates.
I know some people will go “I need my cell for (blah blah)” and yes, we all “need” our cell phones, but most of us could EASILY get by with a prepaid phone. 1400 minutes a month?? That’s a whole lot of talking.
Recently one of our credit cards’ expiration date changed and so we got a somewhat cranky call from our DSL provider about updating it. I was surprised, then, that when I called with the new expiration date and asked about a lower rate I got one.
But, a lot of times I don’t ask for a discount: if I think that a price is fair and I’m willing to pay it, especially when I’m dealing with a local, non-chain vendor. Cable companies on the other hand, should be more highly regulated in my opinion — we should all be protected from their rapacity!
Tyler,
As for inflation being negative this year, that’s what my boss told me when I didn’t get a raise. But a negative CPI doesn’t change the fact that my rent and tolls went up too. Rent by 4%, tolls by 50%.
Just like I can’t use increased rents to prove that inflation was positive last year, it doesn’t mean that you can use decreased housing prices to prove that inflation was negative either. And no, I’m not living more comfortably this year for the same price than I was last year.
Imperfect as it is, that’s why they have the CPI!
As for haggling, I’d generally prefer not to, but I don’t dislike it. What I really need to do is sharpen my haggling skills.
@Tyler
I’ve got your back! ;)
Inflation adjusted wages go up because a worker’s value goes up. Otherwise people entering the market would make the same as the people doing the same job who already have experience.
I also agree that constant haggling is exhausting. I also think that often people who haggle make themselves annoying. I remember a couple weeks ago a guest poster asking if he should go back and ask for an even better deal on his trike. I said at the time that if you want an ongoing relationship with a company that isn’t the way to approach the relationship. This strikes me as more of your perspective, and in many situations I agree with you.
However I disagree with your implication that prices and wages are the same thing. I think of employment as an ongoing relationship, much like you’d have with a maid. You might argue with a taxi driver over the rate for this ride, but you won’t argue with your maid over the rate for this week’s cleaning. Employers don’t negotiate you down every year not because they are nice, but because it isn’t in their self interest to piss you off (much like you don’t want to piss off your maid). However they do it with contracts. My employer revisits their office supplies supplier, janitorial service, and other contracts every year (or when contracts expire) and rebid or renegotiate.
I wrote about this very same topic a while ago. People would be surprised at how many things are negotiable (Heck, my Dad’s been known to haggle with the sales associate at Macy’s to get a discount on a pair of pants!). The best time to score a deal with your current cable, phone or other service provider is when your contract is coming up for renewal. And if you don’t like what they’re offering, tell them to cancel your account. Then you get passed over to the “retention department” and will be amazed at how much they’re willing to discount your rate.
@elisabeth – It is true that some of these negotiable items are luxuries. But I’ve had good luck with insurance and credit cards.
For those that dislike haggling or believe it to be annoying – It’s personal opinion and your choice but, to me, that is like buying a new car at the sticker price.
Great post. I ask for whatever I can, within reason. All they can say is sorry, no. And at least you have tried. And ladies, you can ask for samples at many of the stores you go to. It’s a great perk.
I called Comcast the other day and saved $180 over the next 12 months by asking for a discount. If you’re paying full-price for Comcast you need to call them right away.
Here is what you need to do:
1) Talk to Comcast customer service and complain about your bill (ie. “I’m paying too much and this is just too expensive for cable/internet.”)
2) Next, ask for a discount and when the customer service person says they can’t do anything tell them you want to cancel your service and have them transfer you to the account retention/cancellation department.
3) Explain to the account retention/cancellation rep that you are thinking of canceling your service because it is just TOO expensive. Wait for them to offer a discount… If they don’t ask for a discount or ask to be put you on a promotional rate. They have two types of rates, 6-month and 12-month. In my case the 6-month would have saved another $5/month but the 12-month rate saves me more money over the long run.
4) Thank the Comcast rep and then get back to work. =)
Every two months, our phone company sends us a letter saying “Call now for your free account review!” I’m sure that they are trying to upsell us to pricier services, rather than actually save us money.
Yesterday I called a friend after work. He said he’d just been at Best Buy and bought a car alarm. But he didn’t just buy a car alarm, he bought the top-of-the-line Viper alarm with keyless entry, remote ignition, and the whole nine yards. I asked if he’d gotten a discount and he said “No.” I told him I’d be right there and to stay put. Having worked at Best Buy I knew that car audio and car alarms have A LOT of profit margin so my friend should have asked for a discount.
When I got to Best Buy I called a couple of local car audio places and found an awesome deal on an upgraded model of the same alarm. This unit sold for $200 more but the local car audio place offered it to me for the same price as the one my friend had just bought. Armed with some competitive information we walked back into Best Buy and told the employee in car audio that we wanted to return the alarm since we paid too much. We explained that a local place was going to sell us the upgraded model for a big discount and asked if they’d be willing to give us a discount. The employee said he’d look into it and went to talk with his manager. He came back and too much great surprise offered us $100 off! He said customer service would refund my friend’s money.
Moral of the story: Ask for a discount. Only a few minutes of work could save you $100.
Anytime you buy electronics, home appliances, car audio or car alarms, and computers–ASK FOR A DISCOUNT! They might not be able to discount the product itself all the time but they can certainly discount accessories. Buying a washer? Get a discount on the washer and on the hoses and cables you need. Buying a TV? Get a discount on the TV and any A/V cables, wall mounts or the surge protector you buy. Accessories ALWAYS have lots of profit margin and getting a 10% to 20% is not uncommon.
Remember, ask for the discount, don’t wait for it.
Next time you ask for a discount try out some of these phrases:
“I’ve been shopping around and was hoping to get the best price. Can you offer me any discount?”
“I was hoping to get a discount, is that the best price you can offer me?”
“What is the best price you can offer?”
“Your price seems pretty high. Could you give me a discount?”
If the employee says they can’t offer you a discount that usually means they don’t have the power to discount. In that case you might try asking…
“Would you please ask your manager if they can offer me a discount?”
“Could you get your manager for me please?”
“I’d like to talk with your supervisor or manager please.”
Besides knowing what to say having information to back-up your request is always good. Do some research online or by phone and find out what people are charging. When you ask for a discount, you should have a good idea of what is fair. Do you want $20, $50 or $100? What is fair and what will make you happy. When people used to ask me for a discount I would respond, “What were you thinking?” There were countless numbers of people who had no idea. If you don’t know what kind of discount you want then you should be prepared for a lousy discount.
Also, many stores don’t like to price match online stores but will do it just so they don’t loss the business. However, I suggest never asking for a price match. Instead I would say…
“I’ve been shopping around and found this for a better price at other stores. I’ve seen it as low as $___. What is the best price you can offer me?”
If they ask where you’ve been shopping names the stores. Don’t lie of course.
Lastly, if you don’t get a discount remember, you don’t have to buy. One of the best ways to get a discount is to walk away. Most stores want to earn your business, not lose it, so don’t be afraid to walk away. If they don’t come running after you then that’s okay too. Go back another day and ask again. If saving money is important to you than taking a little extra time to get the best deal is well worth it.
Good luck and happy bargaining!
Has anyone ever had their bluff called when they say, “fine, just cancel the service”?
AT&T internet is terrible here but it’s the only game in town. I pay $40 and intro rate is $25 (not even OFFERED at the time I started my account 8 months ago!). But I’m hesitant to bluff my way through cancelling, because 1) they know this is my only option for internet service and 2) I would hate to explain to my roommates that we don’t have internet anymore.
This came at just the right time for me. I recently learned that my “promotional rate” of $150 a month for the Comcast Triple Play is expiring and I was planning on calling to find out if I can do better. Anticipating that my bill will be higher next month, I absolutely refuse to pay a dime more than what I’m paying now, and I’m ready to put my money where my mouth is! Recently went into Sprint and found out there was a plan that saved us $100 a month. It’s definitely worth it to take a few minutes to find out if you’re getting the best deal possible. Thanks to all who shared how to ask for discounts in stores. I never knew you could do that!
This includes insurance premiums, too. Currently getting quotes for a homeowners/auto insurance bundle after having my premiums raised for the second year in a row.
@Sam
Spoken like a true salesman: “You don’t deserve a discount. Any discount you get is being done as a favor to you by the employee or manager you are working with. They are under NO obligation to discount.”
You don’t deserve my business. I’m doing you a favor by choosing to buy from you. If you don’t give me a fair price, you lose my business – now and in the future. I’m under NO obligation to buy from you.
Discounts work in favor of the seller, or they won’t stay in business long. And they do work. I have called several times fully intending to cancel my cable (I don’t really want it, we just like being able to watch our hometown sports that aren’t on broadcast TV up here) and ended up keeping it because they offered me such a cheap rate. If the price were higher they wouldn’t be getting my business at all.
I routinely renegotiate my internet/cable and cell phone plans. One thing that caught me though was my bank. I have done business with them forever and never thought much about it until one day I noticed the packages they offered online, including the one with no fees if you have direct deposit. I called and said “I’ve had direct deposit for years, why am I paying a fee?” and they said they didn’t have the manpower to analyze every account so when they changed fee structures or packages it was up to the consumer to request a change. So I did. It took about 1 minute to do but they wouldn’t refund me any of the fees I had paid unnecessarily for god knows how long.
When I asked Qwest if I could get a discount, the CSR said sure! He guaranteed to get me a bargain rate by “packaging” my services. When I pointed out my services were already packaged, he said they were not. The result was a bill that was almost DOUBLED!
After months of wrangling that finally ended in complaints to the state corporation commission, the president of Qwest (yes–I got his name, phone number, snail-mail address, and e-mail address), and the state and federal attorneys general, the mess was finally untangled. I now get my communication services through Cox.
Watch out for any telephone company rep. I would never proactively call a phone company and try to deal with one of their CSRs. That’s a job for a lawyer.
That said, many merchants will cut prices on goods if you ask. Also, if you have high-deductible insurance, many doctors will give you a better price, especially on routine exams, if you pay in cash.
I’m uncomfortable haggling, but force myself to do it from time to time.
I’ve never been charged an Over the limit that I wasn’t able to get out of, and always get the price to come down a bit.
I don’t feel bad. If they were losing money on the deal, they wouldn’t offer it.
Its most important with auto purchases.
I’ll never forget the deal I almost took before computing It out and realizing the great payment they were offering translated to a 36% interest rate!
I’m sorry, but that’s NOT an honest company trying to make an honest profit from honest services rendered.
@ Tyler Karaszewski #29
The reason that you don’t see the same type of bargaining between employers and employees as between (some) customers and phone companies is that employees wouldn’t put op with that. Few people would decide to work for a company that couldn’t provide a reasonably stable income, so this rarely happens.
Phone companies, on the other hand, do put up with bargaining or they could just tell people like J.D. to take it or leave it.
Different circumstances different interactions. That’s the beauty of the free market.
A lot of stores will automatcly give you a discount simply by asking for it, Headquarters train the clerks not to divulge the discount unless the customer asks first.
When my cellphone contract expired and since I was not useing it much I called to cancell it and go with a prepaid plan however the cell phone countered with a secreat rate plan called the loyality plan for $19.95 per month and after added fees totaled under $25.00 per month.
I have had a lot of success with asking for discounts the past few years, especially with medical services. I am self-employed and have not had health insurance in several years (no comments, please, I know I’m taking a risk). I have asked each of my doctors and labs for a discount if I pay cash because I am “self-insured,” and every single one of them has given it to me. I got my mammogram last year for less than half what I would have paid if I didn’t ask (I know because they quoted me a price and I asked for the “self-insured” discount)
I don’t feel guilty because I know what their fees were when I was using my insurance from a previous job.
And another place I have started asking for “a better price” is at hotels. I travel for business several times a year and have started asking, “Is that your best price?” Sometimes they say yes, sometimes they offer me a discount.
I figure, it never hurts to ask, the worst thing to happen is that they say no.
DO IT NOW!
I just saved myself over $700.00 in web hosting fees by calling to find out what I can do with my account.
It turns out I was paying for a lot of additional features that I just don’t need, and their support was able to re-categorize my original hosting plan to their new one-size-fits-all plan which saved me an additional $10.00 / month!
Great post – and the larger the ticket item (house, car) the larger amoount of money saved!!!
:-)
Another tip from a sales associate to piggyback Sam: reference a past discount you saw or coupon you missed. I work at a retailer that rarely discounts products or gives out coupons and when we do they are almost always to preferred customers. SO, if someone comes in and talks to me about a sale or discount they just missed and they are NICE I honor it 99% of the time. In recent years this is happening more frequently and I think it’s because of online discount share sites – just another reason to do some research. Happy shopping!
This is something that is just unheard of to so many people. Even me till recently. Even big box retailers will negotiate the price.
And even if they won’t, guess what?
It never hurts to ask!
It always amazes me how much the typical company will care less about their customers the longer they ARE customers. Then pull out the red carpet for the new ones who really have no equity in the relationship.
A really cool post. Not only checking discounts and deals, but if you negotiate with banks and other financial institutions, they may reduce your debt radically. You must, however, initiate the negotiation. No service provider would approach you for a discount unless it’s for their benefit
Oh, I wish I had the courage to do this more often.
i called my cell phone company (verizon) and cable company (WOW!) and with less than 10 minutes on the phone, i had a better tailored plan that will save me $240 over the next year.
i personally wonder about the economy of haggling in most retail environments. what is the difference in spending time and resources going to several different venders and haggling for the lower prices when you can use google and search for the lowest price. in corporate retail operations, i think its typically bad form to haggle; i doubt that big box or mall retail managers have the power to haggle (serendipitous sandals not withstanding #16).
in other instances of less formal commerce (yard sales, resale shops, pawn shops, repair services, etc.) i do feel it is appropriate to haggle and i enjoy doing it. haggling with people from other countries is especially fun. in dearborn, michigan there is a HUGE muslim population influx. as is true with many first generation immigrant families, many set up small businesses. i once got a 50% discount on a car repair because i went to three different auto repair shops and had them put their lowest price on a business card, that i showed to the other shops. haggling is fun.
@BradKP- you are absolutely correct about lenders being willing to negotiate with debtors. in 2004, i offered lump sums to two creditors that was about 10% higher than the total amount of the actual charges i had racked up (before i got smart). i begged for a parental TARP and paid my parents off the $13K and have never been in any consumer debt since. they were never willing to take less than the principal, but didn’t much care for fees or interest that had accrued; you are absolutely correct that it is incumbent upon any person to initiate the negotiation. youtube has some wonderful videos about how to negotiate.
@ #47 Samantha – Been there, done that. If you try to bluff your way into a discount and they call your bluff and try to cancel, just say at the last minute, “You know what? Nevermind. I’m going to keep my service.” I’ve done it before, you have nothing to lose.
Also, call during working hours to get the retention department. The after hours folks often don’t care if you cancel, but the retention people are paid by keeping you.
I find the best negotiation tool is silence. The longer you sit without saying anything, the more the price magically goes down. I saved 20% on termite treatment and 15% on new gutters by using this technique. Easy!