How to Haggle

Like the jitterbug or Freudian psychology, haggling is best learned by mastering a few basic steps that can be applied to a wide variety of individual situations.

The foundation of good bargaining is the auction mentality, a mindset that sets up every purchase as a string of bids and counteroffers that can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours. (Don't worry, the latter usually only occurs with Kurdish rug merchants working their home turf.) Hagglers apply the auction metaphor to the secondhand markets, where EVERYTHING comes up for bid. All you need to do is step up and make your first offer. Nothing could be simpler.

The only problem is that market vendors have the final say over your newly revised price, and they're working their own agenda. Should they take your lower price, or should they gamble that another sucker (umm... customer) will come along five minutes later with a more agreeable temperament and more disposable income? There's no way to tell, and so they'll usually play along for at least part of a well-executed haggle.

So haggling is essentially an economic staring contest, with each participant hoping the other blinks first. When it gets right down to it, the shopper has nothing to lose and bragging rights to gain. ("See that leather couch? Got it for thirty-five bucks.") And what's a good story worth these days?




 
Step One: Get over your guilt.
Choosing your own low low price may seem un-American, but in fact it's no different from rummage professionals buying a twenty-dollar truckload of sand dollars and selling them for a buck a piece. In the land of unknown markup, actual value is anybody's guess, so it's in your best interest to guess LOW.

Should an overactive conscience get to you, remember, it's not quite the same as beating Goodwill out of a little pocket change. Flea marketeers are professionals that make a living selling inventory at their own arbitrary markup.

Step 2: Develop shamelessness.
Chutzpah. Cojones. Whatever you call it, you're going to have to acquire a sense of shamelessness to be a successful haggler. To do this, simply tell yourself that the marked price on said merchandise was applied in error, and it's your responsibility to call attention to the mistake. Besides, you're doing them a favor by taking this thing off their hands. Once you can say this with a perfectly straight face, the market is your oyster.

Step 3: Work for long volleys.
Your job as the buyer is to prolong the bidding process in order to steer the price closer to your original bid. This slow whittling can take a while and may involve a bit of creative and/or aggressive yarn spinning. Offers and counteroffers fly back and forth, with both parties giving a little each time. The longer you can keep the haggle going, the better off you'll be in the end.

Step 4: Know when to quit.
As any tequila drinker will tell you, half of any good time is knowing when to quit. Even the most persistent bargain hounds know when it's time to just give up and pay the man his asking price -- and hopefully that's sometime before a fistfight starts. Keep in mind that even for the professionals, haggling's just a sport, so know when to pick up your gear and go home.

The Sale Face >