Haggle on the high street Tips & tricks for hidden discounts

When it comes to haggling, don't think it need be in backstreet bazaars. You can get £100s off by haggling at stores including John Lewis, Comet and New Look or call centres for broadband, digital TV, car insurance and more.

Those in the know save £100s, and the very worst case scenario is you get a "no". This detailed sector-by-sector haggling guide includes top techniques and stock phrases to grease the wheels and clinch the deals.

It's good to haggle!

We British will banter and bull with the best if we're somewhere where snake charmers abide. Yet on home turf, we become complacent, lily-livered cowards, meekly accepting the first price we're given.

Over the years, Brits have accepted haggling's rude and impolite, when it's neither. Yet this mass hypnosis has left the knowing few with big bargains, and big stores' profits fully in tact.

With the economy struggling, shops are desperate to make sales. While haggling cuts their profits, if you wouldn't buy from them at that price anyway, this way they still make a sale.

The law behind this

When you walk into a shop or phone a call centre, until money's changed hands, no contract's been struck. By law, no store has to accept your cash, even if you're paying the ticketed price.

Equally, you don't have to accept the ticket price. Ultimately, what counts is the bargain struck, so why not ask them to lower the price? After all ...

What's the worst that can happen? They say "no".
They won't chuck you out of the shop.

Where can you haggle?

Haggling in one form or another is already an embedded and hugely successful technique in many of this site's guides, including Mobile Phone Contracts, Package Holidays and even Credit Cards. See the top 10 companies to haggle with for more.

Yet it works on the high street too. In the Great High Street Haggling Hunt, we asked MoneySavers which high street stores they'd successfully haggled in. Names like John Lewis, Comet, New Look, Jessops and BHS were common.

Haggling successes

Shop	Who did it?(1)	Product	Original price	Discount
Comet	Mamazaac	PC	£1,330	£370
Richer Sounds	Ncrossland	Panasonic DVD recorder	£240	£140
Comet	saverCol	Sony LCD TV	£1000	£250
Halfords	Freebie Manor	Sat Nav	£450	£200
Game	cheekyweegit	Computer consoles	£1200	£600
Goldsmiths	benbenandme	Watch	£500	£50
John Lewis	Donglefan	Stove	£700	£200
(1) These examples come from the Forum, where people are referred to by their usernames.

Do it with chutzpah!

Chutzpah's a powerful consumer weapon, especially when combined with talents not often evoked in the money world: seduction, a gentle patter and a twinkle in the eye. Aim for polite, firm, non-combative and maybe just a touch flirtatious.

Aggressive or forceful haggling's usually a mistake; it annoys the person you're dealing with, and your discount is at their discretion. If you're polite, charming and treat the whole process with humour, you'll get further. The trick's to work with what you've got, as this story from Martin shows.

The top 20 haggling tactics

Haggling can be daunting, even for hardened MoneySavers, yet there's nothing to be scared of. Here are some top tactics.

1. The beginner's haggle
Get them to chuck something in

Often customer service assistants say they're not allowed to give discounts. If you're new to haggling, an easy start point is asking them to throw something in on top. Whether it's free cables with TVs, polish with shoes or a router for broadband, if you need an add-on, try not to pay extra for it.

To show how far this stretches and prove that no ask's too cheeky, one MoneySaver persuaded a Comet sales assistant to throw in a £60 George Foreman grill with a £500 laptop.

2. Look for already discounted items

If the price is already reduced, ie, in a sale, manager's clearance or online promotion, there's often more flexibility. The boundaries have already been flexed, so the psychological loss for the salesperson is reduced, as they've already given up the idea of getting full price.

Towards the end of a sale is a golden haggling opportunity, as shops are keen to reclaim their display space for new stock. It's worth pointing this out in a friendly way. For a detailed example, read Martin's Discount Haggle tale.

3. Buy in bulk

Discounts are often available for bulk-buying. This may mean stocking up for a year, buying combinations of products, or even going with a gang of mates who want to buy something similar.

The advantage you have is you're going to hand over a lot more business, and you may secure a reduction because of it.

4. Seniority, yes. Head honcho, no

If you're haggling face-to-face, an assistant manager or supervisor is a good person to bargain with. They have more discretion than most of the shop staff, understand the retail game a bit better and are used to pleasing customers. Go to the very top, though, and the person will be short of time, and not bothered about one small sale.

5. Pretend you want a warranty

Sales staff have weekly, monthly or quarterly targets on the amount of warranties they can sell. Reaching this target's often crucial to them, so it gives consumers a real bargaining tool on products they're likely to flog warranties with.

The best bit is you're free to change your mind within 45 days of purchasing under The Supply of Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods Order 2005, so buy the knocked down item then cancel the policy for a full refund. (This applies to both service agreements and insurance products).

Comet, Dixons and PC World are especially good for this loophole; one MoneySaver got a Sony LCD TV reduced to £750 from £1000 at Comet.

6. Don't fill the silence

As negotiations come to a close, a classic salesman technique is staying silent. They want you to accept the price just to fill the awkward silence. Make them fill it with a cheaper offer!

7. Flaws mean discounts

If you're shopping in person, look for the tiniest of dents or scratches in electrical appliances and marks on clothing; this makes them more difficult to flog. Clothing can be cleaned and your new fridge'll soon be knackered anyway. One MoneySaver even talked 20% off a dog-eared book in Waterstone's.

It's worth noting that even if you buy something knowing it has a fault, you still retain your consumer rights if something else goes wrong with it. For example, if you buy a washing machine with a small dent and it goes on the fritz a week later, you can still get a refund. For a full explanation, see Martin's Shop staff quoted nonsense rights at me blog.

8. Independent stores are great places to haggle

Negotiating in independent retailers, where you can speak directly to the owner, is a better bet than a chain, as there's more leeway.

This is because in owner/retailer shops, the owner has complete discretion, so a smile and a hint that you'll become a regular shopper can work wonders.

Better still, do become a regular: somewhere you frequently give custom is likely to look after you. Put all your business through them, provided they'll price match the best deals you can get elsewhere.

9.Counter-seasonal products

Companies are more amenable to haggling at slower times of year, when fewer customers are after their wares. Do the exact opposite of what firms expect you to do: cameras with special Christmassy packaging in January; lawnmowers when it's snowing; electric heaters in July.

It's one of the reasons November and December are the perfect months to buy home and car insurance. Insurers aren't busy, they want business, you're giving them business: expect a discount. See the Great Counter Seasonality Hunt for more info.

10. Try to find out their month or year end

Towards the end of a firm's financial year or monthly target, retailers and sales people are often much more willing to haggle. At this point, it's the volume rather than profit that really counts so they're willing to turn margins into a sliver, just to make sales. This is also the time when head office sends down special deals and sweeteners.

If in doubt when their financial month/year end is, assume it's the calendar month and the tax year. As a general rule, the end of Saturday is fortuitous and the last Saturday of the month is the hottest date in the haggling calendar.

For more info on this, read the Great best time to haggle hunt, where we asked MoneySavers working in sales to share their tips.

11. Don't commit to financing

Don't talk about your payment method until it's necessary. Sellers prefer debit cards to credit cards. If they're offering interest-free finance, this is already equivalent to a 5%+ reduction, so request a discount for using a debit card.

If they have their own financing options, it may be worth suggesting you're interested, without committing, as there's often good commission on finance. They'll be more disposed to give a bigger discount, though don't actually use their financing options: they're generally expensive.

12. Look for obsolete stock

Watch out for obsolete products, such as old DVD players and cameras, usurped by newer models. This is the perfect time to bargain: when retailers have out-of-date stock, they want to shift it fast to make room for the new.

13. Don't try when stores are jammed

Try not to haggle when a shop is crammed with other customers. The last thing salespeople are interested in is reducing their margins when they can see lots of people willing to buy. Go during times of shopping serenity, such as midweek mid-mornings.

14. Don't settle unnecessarily

In Martin's year out before university, he had a job selling caravan awnings. As a salesman, he had full discretion to drop the price. Yet he was instructed to routinely tell customers he had to check with the manager beyond a certain level.

This both put a break in the negotiations and, if they weren't going well for Martin, allowed him to return and say, 'Sorry, it's not possible, I can only drop it so far', without looking like the bad guy.

Often customers were fooled into settling at that point. Remember, even if the salesperson is telling the truth and does need the manager's permission, make them go back to the manager with an offer, or get them to bring the manager to you.

15.Set a target price

Use shopping comparison websites to set a target price before you shop. Shopbots are special shopping robots that search the net to find the cheapest CDs, books, games or owt else. As different shopbots are better at different things, our Megashopbot tool auto-searches the top for each category.

16. Know your market

Before diving in, do some haggling reconnaissance work, just as a professional negotiator would. This site's a mine of useful information on all manner of products, from laptops to lip gloss. Search to discover what offers are on, then use them as a bargaining tool.

Say you're buying a camera and you unearth that Canon recently gave £50 cashback on your desired model; this could well mean the price is negotiable.

17. Don't be afraid to walk away

If you're nearly ready to buy, then start to use true sales negotiation language. Let them know the exact conditions they must meet in order to close the sale. But don't be afraid to walk away if they won't give you what you want – you can always try elsewhere.

18.Use our stock haggling phrases

Bartering can feel unnatural to us stiff-upper-lipped Brits. If you feel shy, try one of these MoneySavers' top bargaining gambits. Thanks to all those who suggested them.

"Hmm I'm considering this engagement ring, it looks nice"

Never ever walk in and announce, "my girlfriend adores this ring, it's the only one left in town and she'll dump me if I don't get it." The salesperson will think KER-CHING! Even if you absolutely love it, keep a poker face until you've shaken on it.

"I'd like to take this home today'"

Though do let them know you're seriously interested in doing business there and then – at the right price. You're more likely to score a decent deal if they know you're in a position to buy.

See a full list of phrases to help grease the wheels.

19. Ask for the sun and you may just get the moon

Remember, do it with humour, do it with style and there's no price or suggestion too outrageous. You can haggle virtually anywhere for anything.

And if you're wondering where the 20th tip is, for you, we did it in 19!

Play them off against each other

To really up the haggling, don't target sellers in isolation, try to play off a number against each other. This has two advantages: it gives solid foundation and it prods sellers' competitive instincts in your favour, as they want to prove they're better than the opposition.

Get web prices on the high street

Many high-street retailers will price-match internet prices when pushed. To find the cheapest e-tailer, use a shopping comparison site – we’ve a handy tool at www.megashopbot.com that compares their best results.

Print the results and see if the shop will match the price. If you're feeling naughty, keep your thumb over the delivery cost.

If you can't go online, you can compare prices wherever you are, via mobile handsets. Both Kelkoo and Pricerunner offer mobile comparisons – there's a full how-to in the Internet Shopping guide.

Price-beater promises

Official price-beater deals, whether for goods or services, where companies say "find it cheaper elsewhere and we'll beat the price", are in general a bit disingenuous.

They give customers a false sense of security, as many people assume a store doing that must be competitive. Yet in truth, who buys something then checks the price elsewhere afterwards?

In reality, these deals actually let a retailer offer any price it likes, and the worst case scenario is it'll have to reduce its price to give it the same margins as a competitor.

To turn the tables, realise these are an open invitation to haggle and one of the fastest ways to slash prices by £100s, with no argument. Don't feel you need to buy the product in the more expensive store to get the discount – just tell them about the cheaper deal, taking an internet print-out, catalogue, or even price note from the other seller.

The following do it as official policy, some even promising to refund you the difference plus more on top, meaning you're quids in.

Price-beater policies

Retailer	What'll it take off?	Who'll it match ?	How to claim
Richer Sounds	The difference plus £5 to £100 (full info)	High street and web	Ask in-store
John Lewis	The difference (full info)	High street shops only	Fill in online form
PC World	The difference plus 10%	High street within 30 mile radius	Ask in-store
Currys	The difference plus 10%	High street within 30 mile radius	Ask in-store or call 08445 61 62 63
Comet	The difference	Argos, Currys, John Lewis, PC World or Tesco shops	Ask in-store
Mothercare	The difference (full info)	High street and online	Call 0844 875 5133

Top 10 service companies to haggle with

Big savings are available on phones, mobiles, TV, broadband, car insurance and more, as well as at high street retailers.

In mature industries companies grow by tempting customers from other firms, not by grabbing customers new to that market (eg, almost everyone has a mobile). So retaining custom is key, thus if your firm won't offer a hot deal:

Tell it you'll leave and switch unless it gives you a better deal.

Do this, and you're usually put through to the disconnections department often known internally as customer retentions, as its job is to keep you, and it has far more deal-making discretion.

If you're worried it'll call your bluff and cut you off, an easy get-out clause is to say: "I'll call back after confirming with the wife/boyfriend/son/dog/parrot." Though if you don't get the deal you want, consider ditching and switching.

From a poll of nearly 3,000 MoneySavers we've put together a list of the top 10 companies to haggle with.

The top 10 UK service companies to haggle with

Provider	No. of responses	Success	Fail	Provider	No. of responses	Success	Fail
1. Sky	871	78%	22%	6. Orange	437	66%	34%
2. AA breakdown	362	73%	27%	7. O2	276	66%	34%
3. Virgin Media	711	72%	28%	8. Admiral	254	61%	39%
4. Vodafone	374	69%	31%	9. BT	604	57%	43%
5. T-Mobile	279	68%	32%	10. TalkTalk	325	54%	46%
See full results

People have saved £100s with a five-min call!

If you need a bit more inspiration, here are a couple of the many successes we've heard since first mentioning that you can haggle for services. Please report your service company haggling successes.

Sector-by-sector quick tips

Different retail and service sectors call for different strategies. Below you'll find some top tips, with links through to specific discussions and guides for more information.