How to negotiate anything

How to negotiate anything – CNN.com

(Real Simple)
– Bargaining isn’t just for car showrooms or flea markets. Use these
tactics to negotiate discounts on everything from jewelry to legal
advice.

Discounts on medical bills

Consider this:
To maintain cash flow, “many doctors will knock 5 or 10 percent off if
you pay up front,” says health-care consultant Rocky Fredrickson.
Uninsured patients can get even bigger discounts (“50 percent or more,”
says gastroenterologist Martin Bashir) for procedures that doctors and
dentists usually bill to health plans, because medical practitioners
are used to getting less than full price from insurance companies. “The
discounted rate doctors give a patient is still far better than what an
insurance company pays,” Bashir says.

Try this: Find out
what doctors and dentists typically bill for services and how much
insurers pay at www.vimo.com. Negotiate the bill before your procedure.
Offer to pay up front in exchange for a discount.

Discounts on uncovered repairs

Consider this:
“Companies don’t always charge for repairs after the warranty has
expired,” says Patrick Griffin, a service manager for Dell. Common
problems might not require a recall but may be so prevalent that a
company will fix the glitch for free.

Try this: Enter
the full name of the product (“Brand X digital camera M16″) and the
problem (“cracked view screen”) into a search engine to find chat rooms
where people have discussed similar troubles and learn what the company
has done for them. Call the returns department, not customer service,
to talk to someone who can authorize a free repair or a replacement.
Tell them you’re loyal to the brand, but that you’ve seen online
evidence of widespread issues with the product. Real Simple: 23 surprising things you can get for free

Discounts on home repairs and improvements

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Consider this: Comparing bids from several contractors will give you some leverage with the one you’d like to hire.

Try this:
Get three to five bids, and be clear about the products you want to
use. If your preferred contractor is at the high end, say so and offer
to show him the other bids. He may adjust his price. When hiring a
plumber or a tradesman for a small job, ask him to break down his price
into labor and materials. About 35 percent should be materials and 65
percent labor, says construction estimator Al Paxton. If the ratio
seems wrong, say so. But be diplomatic. “If you squeeze him too hard,
he might give you less than first-class workmanship and use less
expensive materials,” Paxton says.

Discounts on online purchases

Consider this:
You can’t haggle online. But there are Web sites (such as
www.shopzilla.com, www.froogle.com, and www.nextag.com that track and
compare Internet prices for products and direct you to the best
bargains. They also rate the sellers based on customer reviews.

Try this:
To squeeze the price even further, call a regular store that stocks the
product and ask that store to match the best price you saw advertised
online. “We are very likely going to drop our price to beat another
reputable dealer,” says Abe Brown of J&R Music and Computer World.
(You can find a list of authorized dealers by contacting the product’s
manufacturer or, in many cases, just going to its Web site.) Real Simple: Credit Cards 101

Discounts on jewelry

Consider this:
The standard selling price for jewelry is 2.3 times the wholesale
price, according to the Jewelry Information Center, a trade
association. In other words, if the price tag says $500, the jeweler
probably paid about $217 for it.

Try this: “Don’t just
say, ‘What’s the best price you can give me?’” says jeweler Philip
Weisner. “Say, ‘Oh, that’s more than I am looking to spend.’ Then tell
him what your budget is. The jeweler may be able to give you the piece
you want for your number or direct you to a similar piece you want
that’s in your price range.” Finally, offer to pay with a check. The
jeweler may agree to pass along the percentage he would otherwise have
been charged by a credit-card company for the transaction.

Discounts on chain-store items

Consider this: The salesclerks at chain stores generally don’t have the authority to give you a discount, but a manager does.

Try this:
If you’re buying a big-ticket item ($200 or more), ask a manager for a
discount, says Eugene Fram, a marketing professor. If you’ve seen the
item in the store for a while, say so. Some stores have codes on price
tags that will show the manager how long the product has been on the
floor. “The longer it has been hanging around, the better the deal you
can get,” says Fram. For smaller purchases, ask a clerk if she knows
when the item is likely to go on sale, or ask her to call you when it
is marked down. You could also tell the cashier you forgot the coupon
from the weekly circular. He will probably have an extra.

Discounts on professional services

Consider This: Your relationship counts. “If you’re a good client –
someone who has referred other customers, who brings organized
documents, who pays bills quickly — I’ll knock 10 percent off my fee
if you ask,” says accountant Marc Albaum.

Try this: Ask
for a loyalty discount. If you’re not a longtime customer, go to an
accountant or an attorney who does work for your friends or family and
ask to receive the same treatment as they do, including any price
breaks. Offer a barter payment (designing a new Web site for the firm,
say), which benefits her by reducing her taxable income. Or propose
that she do the work when it’s best for her schedule — preparing taxes
in February, for example — in return for a lower fee. Real Simple: Spend money to save money

Discounts on health and beauty services

Consider this:
If you make your appointment for one of the salon’s slow days, you may
be able to negotiate a 10 to 20 percent discount. Referring new
customers could also earn you a price break.

Try this:
Ask whether you can get a discount for booking on a Monday or a
Tuesday, which are often the slow days. Mention any new clients you
have steered their way and see if you can broker something in return.
You may also get a discount if you buy packages of services. The same
strategies work for facials, waxing, and other beauty services, as well
as private training sessions, says personal trainer Linda LaRue. “If
you pay up front for 10 or 12 sessions or can train during off-hours,
I’ll knock my fee down by 10 percent,” she says.

Discounts on mom-and-pop store items

Consider this:
Whenever you’re buying from the owner — or someone with direct access
to the owner — discounts are easier to get than in chain stores. “The
boss has the power to make decisions, he knows his bottom line, and he
knows the value of making a sale and establishing good rapport with a
customer,” says Fram.

Try this: Explain to the store’s
owner that you’re a local customer (if you are) and that you like
shopping at independent retailers and coming back to a merchant you
know. Mention what the big-box stores are charging for the same item
and ask the independent retailer if he will match the price — or at
least come close. If the owner can’t budge on price, ask for free
delivery for bigger items.

Discounts on a cell phone

Consider this:
Your opportunity to haggle over cell-phone minutes and features isn’t
when you’re signing up for a new plan. “You’ll start getting sales
calls a couple of months before your contract runs out, but don’t
bite,” says telecommunications attorney Art Neill.

Try this:
Wait until your contract is about to run out, then call the company’s
customer-service department. “Their job is to keep you in the fold, and
they’ll probably throw some extras your way to do it,” says Neill. Tell
them exactly what you want in terms of a new phone, minutes, and
features, based on research you’ve done about what other companies are
offering, and they may stretch the rules to get you to renew. It’s
always worth talking to a supervisor if others can’t help.

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