Haggling for a tv

weve got a circuit citty and best buy thats about it

I used to work at a Rex TV store (about 260 stores in chain) We often had coupon sales that amounted to about 10 % off at any given time. Sometimes it was coupon plus any sale price as well.

Friday morning after thanksgiving we would have double coupons + any sale prices as well. This could sometimes mean a $5000.00 TV for $4000.00. Smaller chain stores can give good deals sometimes.

a couple hints to negotiating.

Be nice. don't be an ***. Why should I give a good deal to a mean person. You would be surprised how many people forget this.

Ask for a deal. You would be surprised how many people forget this.

Don't be afraid to ask about price guarantees. Buy it today if you can get next weeks sale price if it's better than todays price. I've seen plenty of people wait for a better price this time of year only to come back and find the item they want sold out. If it's in the box now and you want it, get it. Use a credit card for quicker price adjustments

Ask if the salesman works on commission. These folks want your business and will work to make you happy. I know because I worked straight commission for 5 years. BTW... Refer back to "BE NICE".

Know what you want and how to describe it. Don't waste a sale persons time... especially during the holiday season. I had a lady get mad at me one time, yelling at me "listen, I've been shopping since 6 this morning"... I didn't tell her that I had been working 16 hour days for the past 3 weeks and would continue to until the day after christmas. This time of year Time really is Money.

If you like the sales person and they have worked hard to help you, to educate you to the products features, to show you different models... then buy it from them. If the price difference is 50 or 100 bucks from one store to another then give the friendly salesman a chance to match it or offer an extra to make up the difference. Heck, if they can give you better service then spend the extra bucks. Look at how many "I hate best buy" rants are on google.

Unless it's a privately owned store - don't ask what price you can get for cash. The computer cash register doesn't differentiate from cash. We always got a chuckle from these pony traders.

Knowing what the product is, what it's worth and what you want is the key to any good deal. Asking for the deal and being nice while doing it is the other part.

I know there are a couple other people reading these forums that sell electronics. Any comments or disagreements?

grim

definitely great points. i hate people that pull u aside when you are obviously talking to other customers....asking you for discounts on OPEN BOX tv's when its already marked down....or the first thing they say to you is "give me 20% off".

i know people in sales are suppose to tend to customers, but rudeness will never result in anything good.

also keep in mind that all companies (commissioned or not)...are there to make money. if they lose money on everything they sell...they would not be in business. just dont go overboard.

lastly, there are many people that abuse pricematch policies. if u want a deal, just ask...dont give bs quotes.

to check on price quotes customers brought in if the seemed "too good to be true". Sometimes it turned out to be true, sometimes it was on different models, sometimes it was on open stock (open box/returns).

In any case, we did check... if we could give a better deal we did.

this sounds like spam but since I haven't worked at Rex TV for 2 years you can take it for what it is. We didn't have the biggest selection and we weren't the biggest chain but the double coupon sales (early bird till noon or 1) day after thanksgiving sale beat my employee discount. If you got one near by it might be worth looking into. We did have a web sight but it was crappy and often did not reflect store stock or store prices so check out the brick and mortar to see if they got what you want.

grim

You said it very well. I worked for FRY's in 2004.
I was there last night and they are stuffed to the gills with HDTVs. There are opening at 5am on Friday.
Right now they have the 52" JVC LCoS that lists for $3800 on sale for $2099. All most all stores are planing BIG sales on Friday so be ready. John

I once got 10% off just by asking (nicely) for it. It may also depend on the product; if something is just flying off the shelves, the salesman will have no reason to cut you a deal, as there will be someone right behind you ready to pay full price.

compared to other consumer electronics...video products have a LOT of margin. rather its $4500 tv's or $300 dollar tv's. margin on CURRENT technology is usually quite high on home theater products.

good example. best buy has a 32 inch westing house tv. regular price is $1299.99. cost is a little over $900. the tv is on sale thanksgiving week (the few days BEFORE black friday)
for $899. we lose money on each one we sell. but most likely people will get other things to make up for that margin loss.

well ive decided to get a 32 inch sharp and since ive found online you can get it in the 1300s im gonna print it out and show it to the cc rep and see if i can get the tv into the 1400 range... wish me luck

that one place i mentiond currently has a very high quality 32 inch samsung for 1295, it's nice. A 37inch 1080p westinghouse for 1599. If you want cheaper you can go for a no-name brand 32 in olevia for 1035 or a 30 in sceptre for 895( the olevia one is probably worth the extra dough over the sceptre).

Panasonic PT-44LCX65 sells for $1299 in CC.

it is a good deal.