Haggling means to negotiate over price and it’s the easiest way possible to get deep discounts on goods at boot sales and flea markets to resell later on eBay.
Haggling is commonplace at boot sales and flea markets, it’s a cultural thing, and it goes like this:
Potential Buyer: ‘How much is this widget?’
Potential Seller: ‘Sixty Quid!’ Potential Buyer: ‘What? Sixty quid? I’ll give you thirty!’
Potential Seller: ‘Not likely, I paid thirty-five quid for it!’ (He probably paid much less than this but he’s giving you a yardstick to work from). This is a great start in the negotiating process, now you know how much the seller wants you to think he paid, all you do is negotiate a price that leaves a decent profit for him and a healthy discount for you. Fifty pounds maximum should do it. Don’t jump in too fast though; you might still get it for less!
Potential Buyer: ‘Mm, yes, but there’s another one just like it over there and they only want thirty quid for theirs’. (Be careful here, give a reason why you’d still prefer Mr. Seller’s widget to another over the road costing much less). Try this: ‘Mind you, his widget isn’t quite as clean as this one, and it has a few scratches. What about thirty-seven pounds?’
Potential Seller: ‘Not likely, I need more profit than that, that won’t pay my overheads!’
Potential Buyer: ‘Sorry, yes, urm, dumtity dum, let’s see, I’ll give you forty pounds.’
Potential Seller: ‘Say forty-five and it’s a deal’.
Potential Buyer: ‘Done’.
There’s no doubt about it, haggling works, and you never know how much it works until you give it a try. These tips will help you spend less and put more back into your bank account.
• Arrive early, before the doors open to the public, even if that means paying a stall fee for the day. Move round quickly, inspecting as many stalls as possible, try to bag all the best bargains before the public arrives.
• Before and after the public arrives, ask the seller for ‘trade’ and expect at least a ten per cent reduction. ‘Trade’ is the term used to identify fellow dealers, not always trading at the particular event. Have some business identification handy if someone asks for proof; a small slip of paper with your name and eBay ID should do nicely.
• When you spot something you want to buy, don’t drool over it, don’t grab it with excitement, don’t let the whole world know something like this has just sold on eBay for two thousands pounds and you’ve just got it for 50p! And most definitely DO NOT try to haggle on this or any item while sporting a mile wide grin on your face. Both scenarios show the seller he’s made a big mistake and he is not obliged to haggle an even lower price on the item. In fact he’s under no obligation to sell the item at all until you agree to buy and he accepts your money. Under what is known as an ‘Invitation to Treat’, sellers can not be forced to part with any item until a contract is formed and the contract is only formed when the seller accepts your offer of money and takes your money.
• It’s far easier and more effective to haggle on items that are already priced than others for which you need to ask the price. The trick is never to look too keen when you ask the price of any item. Instead, look briefly at the item, don’t inspect it too closely, just give it a cursory glance, move it around a bit, keep the item in your hands and move your head side to side as if looking for family or friends. This gives the seller the impression that you are just filling time, maybe you’re not all that interested in the item. Look again at the item, then lift your head up very slowly, make contact with the seller. Move too quickly and he’ll think you’ve just realised how valuable the item is and he might refuse to sell it or raise whatever price he originally wanted. Look blasé and ask ‘How much?’ He’s likely now to price it low, but perhaps not low enough, now you need to negotiate.
• If the price remains too high, walk away, just a few feet, look back a few times and the seller will get the message you still want the item but you are not prepared to pay his price. Many will lower their offer, which you can accept or haggle down.
• Offer cash and keep your money in your outstretched fist all through the haggling process.
BUT...
... if cash hasn’t already been mentioned and you’ve reach a deal, say: ‘How about a fiver off for cash?’ Now make a big thing of holding the cash as close as you can to the seller’s money belt.
• Expect bigger discounts on items bought in bulk. As a rule of thumb, negotiate ten per cent off one item and expect fifteen per cent overall on multi-buy products. Say something like: ‘Thanks mate, a tenner of those fifty pound widgets sounds good; how about I take all three, say a hundred quid?’
• Always do your homework first and know exactly what is the maximum you are prepared to pay for the item. Work out your travel and subsistence costs, calculate your eBay listing and final selling fees, consider likely PayPal fees, add a decent profit, add the whole lot up and take this amount from the price you think the item might fetch on eBay. This is the maximum you should pay but begin haggling about half way. So if you want to pay £50 tops, start haggling at £25, lower if possible.
• Learn the jargon and use it often. ‘How much for cash?’ works well at car boot sales and flea markets. Another buzz term ‘Best deal’, lets traders know you mean business and shows them you are prepared to shop around if their best isn’t good enough.
• Look for flaws in your chosen item and make these your bargaining tool. Say something like:
‘Well you might think it’s worth fifty pounds, but have you seen the woodworm in this handle? Do you know how much that will cost to put right?’ Almost certainly he does not know how much it will cost to put right, but he thinks you probably do know, and he doesn’t want to look silly, so there’s another tenner or so you’ve probably knocked off the price.
• Try silence: it works every time! Do it about one haggle point from where you want to be. For example, say you’ve offered thirty pounds, he wants fifty, you’d be happy to settle at forty, but he isn’t budging. Go quiet, stay very still, don’t look eager, don’t even look as if you are thinking. Stay still and do nothing, except wait. People hate silence, they wonder what’s going on, silence is confusing, silence makes people panic, and one of the best ways to break the silence is by jumping in with a lower price! Note: That is the seller jumping in with the lower price, not you!
• Don’t be too greedy. Ten or twenty per cent is a good discount, one that usually leaves both parties happy. Bargain too low and you’ll just insult sellers and make them dread your arrival at future events. Keep sellers happy and they’ll watch out for you next week, and the week after that, and they’ll always be ready to bargain.
• If early haggling fails and the item remains unsold late in the day, especially if the weather is bad and visitors are few, go back and hover around stalls where your early offers failed. Don’t look too keen, just smile at the seller, let him know you recognise him, then start walking away. Slowly! Ten to one he’ll be more than ready to haggle now!
• If all else fails and it’s time to go home, do one of two things:
1) Make a real nuisance of yourself while he’s trying to pack up, get in the way, ask silly questions, wink at the kids, pat the dog! Work at it long enough and he’ll probably sell the item just to get rid of you. But wait ....
.... this isn’t the cleverest thing to do where Mr. Seller specialises in the kind of items you want to sell on eBay. Next week he’ll be on guard, waiting for you, ready to practice all the fabulous new haggling skills he learned from you last time round.
2) Say something like: ‘Oh well, thanks anyway, I will think about it, I’ll ask the wife what she thinks. Will you be here next week? No, sorry, I’m away next week, what about next month?’ Now Mr. Seller thinks you’ve lost interest and you’ve finished haggling, you’re ready to throw in the towel, he may just accept that earlier price.
This article originally appeared in eBay Confidential. If you want to make money on eBay, then this is a must read! For a risk free trial just go to: http://ebayconfidential.co.uk/