Trust me, the LAST thing I want to do is encourage people to haggle. With Salvage Chic being more of a boutique atmosphere than a yard sale, we have a lot of overhead and we're not one of those places that marks UP to mark DOWN. Nevertheless, people automatically associate the Junktique Business with Haggling, so it might be time for a few friendly pointers.
Haggle DON'T: Bring up every single small item that possibly piques your interest and ask "What's your Best Price on THIS?" and then mull it over with a disgusted look on your face before putting the item back and bringing up another one. That's just annoying.
Haggle DON'T: Insult me with a ridiculously low offer followed by the word CASH. Sure, I wanted to get $200 for it, but I'll take 75 CASH so I can stick it in my mattress with all my other unreported income... NOT.
Haggle DON'T: Assume your CASH payment means you're not going to be charged Sales Tax. I try this now and then at CVS and they always look at me like I'm an idiot so I feel pretty confident in looking at you that way too.
Haggle DO: "I'm kind of interested in this (insert significant item like a large piece of furniture). Has it been here a while?" If the response is that IT JUST ARRIVED, that means THE PRICE IS FIRM. If it's more along the lines of I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW LONG THAT'S BEEN HERE, I'M SO SICK OF LOOKING AT IT! there might be a little wiggle room... a LITTLE.
6 comments:
Soooo...I am guessing it wasn't a great sales day....lots of looky loo, yard sale types?
Hope tomorrow is better...wait...has this been here loooooooong?
AH
I was just having this conversation with a woman at a group shop the other day. If people want to haggle, tell them go to the flea market, yard sale, people's junky basements and find the crap! We offer a service, we go everywhere to find, haggle over, research and clean the crap, then spend money to make it look clean and presentable in a nice place. That is the service they are paying for. Grrrr....
Thank you! Twice in the last month, the front desk person at the antique mall I'm in called me telling me that a person had offered HALF of my stated price, in CASH. Harumph. That's why I hate to sell directly. They think we found everything on the curb.
Again, thanks!
Even if we DID find it on the curb... we need to factor in the cost of rent, lights, heat, phone, internet access, website hosting, price tags, tissue paper, bags, etc. So when you ask me for a better price on an $8 item and $6 isn't cheap enough for you... enough said.
Since your prices are already very reasonable, I don't think there is no need to haggle.
Michele
And when we DO find things on the curb, there is the expense of the dark clothing and other disguises, the extra gas used when you drive around three extra blocks so your neighbors do not realize you are picking from their trash, and, the extra time taken for euphemisms to describe items procured in such a way!
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