Learn to haggle

No matter what you think of the latest budget, the great majority of us are tightening our belts when it comes to spending. Spurtle made a humorous remark about a Turkish coffee shop coming to High street that made me think about bartering. In many other countries no-one would ever dream of paying the full advertised price for an item. In the UK we tend to be shy of such ways and Mr Shop Person must be very happy when we march in and say ‘I’ll take one of those please’, hand over our cash for whatever the amount is on the sale ticket and leave. Some of us now shop around on the web and get a best price that way, although usually it is just that, a best price with no haggle factor as you don’t get to speak to a real person.So gripping those precious notes or pieces of plastic where should you begin? Small items are probably not a good idea, and the queue in the supermarket won’t thank you for trying to knock a penny off a carton of milk. Use the Internet to find the nearest cheapest local price (Argos for example) as well as that of purely an on-line retailer such as Amazon. Now choose your store and enter when it is quiet rather than knee deep in customers. If possible go armed with a few print outs of the prices you can obtain the item for elsewhere (They might not have Internet access). This method worked for me when purchasing a new vacuum cleaner. A local electrical shop was prepared to match the price of a large chain in Inverness. I not only obtained a good price but saved myself a drive - just goes to prove that you can get a bargain in Nairn High Street and don’t have to go elsewhere!Another good tip is to haggle whenever a renewal comes up such as a house or car insurance. Again do some research on the Internet to get alternative prices but play the loyalty card ‘I’d really like to renew again with you this year but I can get better prices from other companies’ (You may have to name them!). This saved me 10% today and to be honest the original price was pretty good but the call centre person said they would be keen to keep my custom.So Nairnites, surprise yourself and our shop keepers and try haggling up the street (Wish the Turkish coffee shop was a reality though!)

AyeRight