OK, people, foreigner in need of help here. I have a question for you : do people negotiate furniture prices at furniture stores like Ashley Furniture, Pier 1, Pottery Barn, etc.? Is that something that’s done? Or not? N. and I have been debating this for hours.
I often avoid doing things because I have no idea how they are supposed to be done. But this time I’m set on buying a buffet this Saturday, and I will buy one no matter what.
Clarissa's Blog 
No. Nobody ever ever negotiates at a chain furniture store. Only at antique shops or thrift stores. Or from private owners of course.
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The only time I ever did anything like that was asking if there was a discount for buying a futon mattress that had a small rip in it. I got 10% off. Many stores will have a number of “scratch and dent” items where you can get small bargains like that. But otherwise it’s what Evelina says. Here in the US we only negotiate the price of new things if they’re big-ticket items like houses and cars.
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No. Nobody ever ever negotiates at a chain furniture store.
Actually you can definitely negotiate at certain furniture chain stores, including Sears and Lion’s (Canada), but not at Pier 1.
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I’m not disputing Culture Club here or anything. But my parents shopped at Sears all my life and I never have seen anyone negotiating prices. That isn’t to say it doesn’t happen, but I don’t think it’s typical. (I haven’t heard of or been to a Lion’s.) Like Spinster says, if you notice any damage to the item and it’s the last one in stock, you can get a small discount. But that’s about it. Again, CC may be right here. But as far as I know haggling isn’t typically expected or practised in the standard American furniture type store. (Again, flea markets and such are a different story…..)
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But my parents shopped at Sears all my life and I never have seen anyone negotiating prices.
All you have to do is ask when the item is going for sale. They will tell you when and by how much. Sometimes they can give you the sale price forward, sometimes you just have to come back in two weeks when the price is lower.
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In Canada, yes – definitely. It is easier to ask for a discount if you are buying more than one item. A friend of mine was recently looking to buy appliances and she got offers of discount in every store she went to (all chsins)
All you say is: ‘I love it but it’s slightly out of my budget range. Would you be able to offer me a discount on it?’
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I have a friend who negotiates everywhere; he says, “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”. He’s often successful. I’m not good at it, but it’s amazing to see him talk people into giving him a discount. You’re more likely to get one if you talk to a manager.
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My wife negotiates at every store. It doesnt always work but she always amazes me when she gets a “deal” at one of those chain stores. Truly a work of art watching her go. 🙂
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Don’t know those stores, but at some places in Israel you get a discount, if you pay in cash or all at once via credit card. Costs nothing to ask, at least.
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Don’t say it costs nothing to ask! N. wants to try it because he’s been listening to some tapes on negotiating but im afraid I will be humiliated!
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One can ask and one can ask, so to say. I don’t like being humiliated myself, but asking about any discounts if you pay in cash or want to be a permanent customer, can be done politely and there is nothing humiliating in that.
I don’t mean “haggle over 1 cent as if you’re a fish buyer at the market (or at that horrible Ukranian “Jewish” restaurant)”.
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Forgot to add: you can negotiate yourself and / or supervise N’s process.
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No, I don’t negotiate anything. “Сами все предложат, сами все дадут.” That’s my position in life. 🙂
As for supervising N., I know I’m said I’m domineering but not to such a degree. 🙂
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Don’t ask for a discount in exchange for paying cash at a large store. 🙂 It’s the little guys that go for it usually since they can then avoid paying the sales tax to the government. I would not negotiate at Sears, Walmart and other similar chains because they are discount stores already.
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At Pier 1 I´d bet it´s impossible since the people you will deal with won´t have the authority to change prices, but I learned how to negotiate with Sears and other department stores from a Russian who had come via Paris (you know the French are good at getting bargains). She would start out by asking, “What is your lowest price?” and go from there.
It’s basically, you negotiate the way you do cars. Ask if there’s a discount if you buy two things, ask if there’s a cash discount, ask if there’s a discount given that you really like this store and want to be its permanent customer, etc.
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P.S. Sears and Walmart aren’t similar and don’t work the same way — Sears may not be expensive/upscale, but it´s a department store chain and catalogue store with a very long tradition. These new big box stores and discount chains are the ones that don’t treat clerks like professionals or customers like people they want to come back. What I learned from the Russian was that these more traditional places will bargain, even though they are huge chains. I was floored to discover this as I would not have thought to try, but it has been working for me ever since (for large purchases).
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I think I was too sweeping in my original comment. One thing that occurred to me just now is whether or not you’ll be able to do anything like price negotiations in department stores and so on depends on where in the country you live. In cities like New York and Miami, where there are a lot of residents who came from other countries, it’s more common for customers to bargain on prices, and sales personnel won’t be startled or confused if you try. In places where there is not a lot of diversity in population and the people who live there have been there a while, it might be considered odd or even rude. You live in the Midwest, where people (so I’ve heard, I’ve never been in that area) are more staid and reticent and might not be open to things like negotiation. On the other hand, Midwesterners are also supposed to be tight-fisted with money and it probably wouldn’t hurt to ask if there are any bargains, clearance sales, discounts, and the like. Americans in general have a weird relationship with money, though in this fun, new crap economy everything is getting upended.
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“Americans in general have a weird relationship with money”
– You are telling me? I’ve noticed! A friend in grad school got extremely scandalized when I asked him what was the rent he was paying in a building next to mine. I still have no idea what was so traumatizing in that question. He is from a filthy rich family, so maybe they feel differently about these things. But I didn’t ask him the size of his trust fund, or anything. Even though I don;t see why such things can’t be discussed among friends.
I don’t see a problem discussing my income at all. But people tend to get very dramatic on the issue.
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Oh yes, in certain circles (especially among upper-class White Anglo-Saxon Protestants) discussing money is considered indelicate. I know it sounds bizarre considering what a money-job-success-obsessed culture this is, but this and other holdovers from the days when aristocrats wanted everyone to think of them as being where they were by divine right linger on.
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You have no idea how happy I am not to have to spend any more time with upper-class White Anglo-Saxon Protestants at their pretentious parties. I can finally be around normal people now.
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Yes. I suppose I should ammend my first comment a bit. I have heard of/seen people asking when/if the item is going on sale. Sometimes if the item is going on sale soon, managers can sell at the sale price early. Along those lines, I’m guessing that only managers have the authority to drop the price. But I guess I could be wrong here too! Based on this thread, It seems like other people shop differently than I do. 🙂 And I’m guessing that prices can only be somewhat negotiated (unlike cars or homes which can be hugely negotiated.) So the chain store is not the place for an outright haggle. I for one have only ever paid the sticker price at a chain. 🙂
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Are the car prices that can be negotiated only the prices of used cars? Or new cars, too?
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My friend used to sell cars. He negotiated for both new and used.
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Oh you have to negotiate the price of new cars especially, because if not you’ll get taken for as much money as they can get out of you. Car salesmen are sharks. If you don’t watch out they’ll add on all sorts of “optional” fees that they don’t tell you are optional.
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“Oh you have to negotiate the price of new cars especially, because if not you’ll get taken for as much money as they can get out of you.”
– You see, I thought those prices were set. I had no idea one had to negotiate.
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That’s one of the few items we sell here that isn’t like that. Here’s an article from Edmund’s on how to buy a new car just to show you what the process is like.
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OK, so I see the consensus is that I should let the Russian negotiate if he feels like it while I fade quietly into the background and pretend not to speak English or know where I am at all.
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That’s what I would do! I have no negotiating skills whatsoever which is why I never have any money.
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Well I don’t own a car. But like TitforTat says, I think all car prices can be negotiated. My general feeling is that people negotiate on big ticket items (so boats, homes, vehicles etc.) Not that I own any of those things but that’s my understanding! ……re: American reticence to discuss income….I actually it’s something that is dangerous and helps perpetuate wage discrimination and unfair wage distribution. How do people know that they are being paid unfairly (based on race/gender/age) if wages are never discussed amongst peers? How does someone know if those “at the top” are being paid an exorbitant salary while the workers are being paid a substandard pittance?…….. I know that some people have thought me gauche before but I will discuss my income quite openly because I think it’s important. I hugely support the idea that all salaries should be made public.
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“How do people know that they are being paid unfairly (based on race/gender/age) if wages are never discussed amongst peers?”
– You are absolutely right! My colleague and I are not American, which is why we discussed our salaries and discovered that I was being discriminated against on the basis of my gender! As a result, we addressed this injustice and changed it. If we hadn’t talked about it, I could have spent the next several years in ignorance of what was being done to me.
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Pay for faculty members and administrators at a state universities in Illinois is posted on the state board of higher education’s Web site, so there’s no need to talk to find out here.
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Not everybody works in IL or at a state university.
Besides, how can it possibly occur to a healthy person to go to such a website and find out? Normally, one doesn;t entertain such suspicions without a good reason.
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Of course, now that you mentioned it, all I want to do is go and investigate this website. Thanks for putting a bad temptation in my head. 🙂
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