The next time you need to shop for furniture, don’t be afraid to haggle down the price. MarketWatch explains that furniture is one of the most marked-up products you could buy.
Photo by maduko.
Most retailers mark prices up by about 80 per cent, the article notes, and when there’s a sale, they simply mark the price back down — while still making a gross profit between 38 and 46 per cent.
That’s why consumers should try to negotiate even beyond the discounted price, says [independent retail consultant Jeff] Green. But don’t expect a salesperson to agree to a lower price right away — the biggest discounts can take hours to negotiate. Often, consumers who pay with cash have more bargaining room, and the biggest discounts that follow from haggling usually occur at independent mum-and-pop shops where the person on the sales floor is usually an owner who doesn’t have to ask for permission to discount.
If negotiations fail — a possibility since not all retailers allow for negotiating, says DeHaan — hold onto the barcode number or product name. In some cases, you might be able to search online for other retailers who sell the same piece at a lower price.
Since furniture tends to cost quite a bit, it’s worth a try at least.
10 Things Furniture Stores Won’t Tell You [MarketWatch via WiseBread]
Comments
One response to “Always Negotiate Prices When You’re Buying Furniture”
Coming from someone who has spend a fair few years in the furniture game, haggle… haggle the shit down hard!
Being one of the ‘big names’ we enforced a minimum 100% increase on all products with our bare bone minimum which we could sell being cost + 10%.
You will get a much better price if the retail sales chump is not getting commission on the sales as there is less incentive for them to drive up the price.
$16/h was no where near enough for me to be a next level employee when the bosses are pulling quads on that.
Another tip is if your getting furniture delivered, the drivers generally arnt part of the store front (more the warehousing side) so if you treat them well, give them an incentive and you can have a 0% rubbish pile and have it setup for free