The very idea of bargaining sends some shoppers into a cold sweat — but there are savings to be made if you know how, writes John Cradden
For the average Irish consumer, haggling is still a bit of a dirty word. Many of us are reluctant to roll up our sleeves and give it a go.
It’s more associated with the kind of price negotiating you might do with sellers at a Moroccan souk, not with sales assistants at M&S.
It’s a similar story over in the UK. Research by Invisible Hand, an online shopping company, suggests that three quarters of consumers are too shy to haggle for a better deal, and this is costing them an average of £220 (€258) a year.
While no similar studies have been undertaken here, consumer experts readily point to our timidity when it comes to negotiating over price.
“The majority of us do not know how to haggle and even if they did, would prefer not to as they are too embarrassed, shy, nervous or afraid,” says Dermott Jewell, chief executive of the Consumers Association of Ireland. “The remainder see it as either pointless or unseemly.”
1 Well, I hate the idea of haggling too. Even the idea brings me out in a cold sweat. Should I be trying to get over it?
While keen to encourage haggling in general, the National Consumer Agency (NCA) suggests that first-time hagglers should check out local markets and second-hand shops.
But rather than haggle with someone face to face, an even easier approach for a first-time haggler might be through online shopping, for which practically all communication is by email anyway.
John Madden from Dublin emailed a hotel in Cork he had stayed in before to ask if it could match a special offer price he had been given before, and added that he would like to stay there again but a nearby hotel was cheaper.
“I got about 25% off,” he said. “It’s easier to ask [by email] and you can edit it down to a well-reasoned argument before you send. Politeness is the key, either way.”
2Hotels do seem to be more open to negotiation than before, given the economy. But what about other sectors?
You could try negotiating on things like major dental treatment or work on your house, or services such as gyms, crèches and garages, says the NCA.
“There is often some room for manoeuvre on price when you are paying for someone’s expertise rather than for a physical item, especially where you have competing offers to choose between,” said a spokesman.
You may have more luck in general with haggling on high-value items, such as furniture, cars, electrical goods.
“There is often some in-built wriggle room for salespeople on these items,” he said.
Also, if you buy multiple items or bulk purchases, such as home heating oil, coal or electrical goods, you can try asking for a discount.
3Are there certain firms more open to negotiating on price than others?
Research by UK personal finance site Moneysavingexpert.com revealed that almost 80% of Sky TV, broadband or home phone customers who tried to barter down costs secured a better deal, while 73% of AA customers who had haggled said they ended up with a cheaper deal on their breakdown cover.
It’s not clear if Sky Ireland and AA Ireland would show a similar willingness to bargain with consumers, but there is certainly no harm in trying.
Mind you, be prepared for some shops giving you the short thrift. “When people casually insult me by trying to haggle, I tend to respond irately,” says the proprietor of a small, independent bookshop, Raven Books, via Twitter.
4At what places would haggling be unlikely to work?
You’re unlikely to get a discount just by asking in a supermarket, petrol station, restaurant, hairdresser or other similar shops because their “prices are either determined by law and the need to display them or simply that negotiation is impossible due to the structure of the business”, said Jewell.
“Information is power, however, and if you can approach a seller and knowingly tell them that you can do better by going elsewhere, then they have the choice to better that price or suggest you go to that other business.
“What have you lost? Nothing. What will they lose? A sale, and income,” he said.
5What sort of information will give me that power?
Finding out a variety of prices online has never been easier through price comparison websites such as Bonkers.ie, Compare.ie, Toprice.ie and Economiser.ie.
There are loads of search engines for hotels and accommodation too.
“Haggle or at the very least shop around and use competing offers to negotiate on renewals, especially for home and motor insurance and so on,” said the NCA spokesman.
You should also look out for companies that offer “price beaters”.
Retailers such as Harvey Norman, Windsor Motors, DID Electrical and Currys all state on their websites that if you find a similar item or service elsewhere for cheaper, it will match that price and, in some cases, offer to refund the price difference.
6Any other tips?
Jewell says it is worth asking what discount you might be offered if you pay by cash or debit card instead of your credit card, because this limits the retailer’s charges and they might be willing to share some of that gain via a price reduction.
“This is a softer form of haggling because you know you are only asking for a fair deal in how you pay.”
If you think you might become a regular customer, you could ask for a deal on the price or any additional benefits, says the NCA. Some companies offer a 10% discount off the next item you buy from them.
“Many companies will offer good deals to get repeat business and whilst a price reduction may not always be possible, you might get some additional add-ons or benefits that would be of value to you.”
This article first appeared in the Irish Independent
Early Christmas shopping – is there any point?
You might have to rub your eyes and wonder if you really do need to go to Specsavers. But no, there’s no mistake.
We’ve just been enjoying an Indian summer, and Halloween is still a full month away, but take a walk today down certain aisles of your local supermarket and there is a good chance you will see them.
Mince pies. Selection boxes. Christmas cakes and puddings. And just in case you think they were put there by mistake, they are surrounded by distinctly seasonal displays.
Tesco seems to be quite actively engaged in the practice, judging by the reports on Twitter, Facebook et al and readers who have posted photographic evidence to satirical news websites.
Indeed, as reported in this paper, Tesco had rolled out its selection boxes and tins of sweets in early September — when there was still over 100 shopping days to go to Christmas. The supermarket chain said it had been doing this for the last four or five years.
Other supermarkets, including Supervalu, hinted that their Christmas campaigns would be starting soon.
But as well as the supermarket aisles, Christmas lights have been spotted in Limerick city centre, while a large inflatable Santa is reportedly atop a hotel building in west Dublin.
Faced with difficult trading conditions, traders here seem to have decided that Christmas needs to start even earlier.
1 But why? It’s still three months away.
“Retailers have had a very difficult trading year thus far and they are now relying on the Christmas season to buoy up sales,” says Fionnuala Carolan, editor of grocery trade magazine Shelflife.
Industry figures show that the Irish grocery market has fallen 0.5% in value on this time last year, so retailers know they have to try and take advantage of any way they can to make up lost sales, she said.
Susan Birrell of Deloitte says: “Based on CSO figures recently released, which show that retail sales fell by 3.6% in August, retailers may be trying to pull back some of sales from over the summer months by making Christmas products available earlier.”
2 Okay, fair enough, they have to try. But do they have to try so early?
Stephen Wynne, editor of another grocery trade publication Checkout, says: “I agree, it does seem very early, but if you talk to retailers they will tell you it fits in with people planning their shopping in advance.
“Just as people might budget for the weekly shop, they will argue that there is a certain demographic that will plan Christmas shopping in advance.”
He says it is also worth noting how major retailers increasingly try to build ‘events’ around certain times of the year, such as Halloween and Christmas. “Big events generally have long lead-in times,” says Wynne.
3 Well, I’m still keeping my money in my pocket for now.
It certainly may be too soon to tell if retailers’ efforts to push Christmas trade even earlier this year will have the desired effect, but consumers probably won’t be tempted to spend more anyway, says Birrell, who oversees the research for Deloitte’s annual Christmas spending survey.
“One of the trends that we have seen from the annual Deloitte survey of Christmas spending over the last number of years is that consumers have been diligently sticking to their Christmas budgets, and these are unlikely to increase significantly this year,” she says.
“People will still have the same amount of money to spend.”
4 But if I do my Christmas shopping now, am I likely to get better value?
This is the big question. On the one hand, some smart shoppers are now planning to do the trick of holding back on their Christmas shopping until the last minute because so many shops last year started their January sales before Christmas.
“The temptation to hang on for a bargain has long been a feature of Christmas shopping in Ireland, with people holding out for Christmas Eve buys at January sale prices,” says Birrell.
On the other hand, some retailers may also be planning more promotions and sales in the coming weeks than they normally would at this time of year, mainly because consumers now expect them.
“Increasingly, retailers are more flexible in their strategies, and so increased promotional offers and discounts may well be more prominent throughout the entire festive season,” says Birrell.
“Retailers have recognised that consumers are determined to get the value they expect, and will shop around to do so.”
5 Besides the advantage of getting it out of the way, is there much point in buying Christmas stuff early at the full price?
A quick visit to our local Tesco, Supervalu and Dunnes Stores shows that stocking up on Christmas-themed items is a false economy unless they are actually discounted.
In Tesco, there is a whole aisle dedicated to Christmas confectionary with 850g tins of Roses/Heroes/Quality Street retailing at €6 instead of around €12. Even in the toiletries section there are ‘3 for 2’ offers on gift packs of aftershave or perfume.
There are some similar offers in Dunnes and Supervalu (mainly the half-price 850g chocolate/sweet tins), but no seasonal displays just yet — thankfully.
Your favourite mince pies can be bought anytime from your local supermarket, so do look out for a useful discount if buying early.
For non-food items, buying early may only make sense if you’re buying online, as you won’t have any delivery issues.
6 I would like to support my local traders, though.
Well, the good news is that some local retailers are already thinking up Christmas loyalty promotions to try to encourage shoppers to stay with them from now until the end of the year.
According to Carolan, the owner of a Gala store in Co Kerry is offering its customers a free turkey and ham this Christmas if they fill in a loyalty card between now and then.
“Within two days of launching this promotion, sales had picked up in the store,” she said.
“Consumers are constantly chasing value these days, and retailers are responding in any way they can.”
Early shopping pros and cons
Pros
1 No panic buying, less stress
2 More time to plan what to buy, so less likely to go over your budget
3 You’ll come up with better, more spontaneous gift ideas because you’re not under pressure
4 More time to make stuff, including home-made gifts
5 More time to enjoy the festivities, see friends and family and soak up the atmosphere
6 Santa and his elves get more time to fulfil orders
Cons
1 More time to stress out about what to get people
2 The longer you have, the more presents you might end up buying (particularly if you have small children or relatives)
3 You’re reinforcing the commercialisation of Christmas by shopping so early
4 No one wants the homemade gifts anyway
5 More chance of irritating others around you with your smugness
6 More chance of friends or family finding the presents you’ve hidden
– John Cradden
This article first appeared in the Irish Independent