It was surprising to read an article in The New York Times on bargaining that said Best Buy essentially invited consumers to bargain when it announced that it would match the prices of any competitor this holiday season if customers showed proof of the lower price.
I recently bought a new camera, a Canon Rebel T5i. The price on Amazon was $799 for the camera and one basic lens.
I went to Best Buy to look at the camera to see if I liked how it operated. The sale price at Best Buy was the same as at Amazon.
I’d read in a Consumer Reports article on cameras that you should try to bargain if you buy a camera at a retail outlet.
Since the Amazon price and the Best Buy price was the same, I wanted to get some money off on accessories – a bag, two SDHC cards, an extra battery, and an extended warranty – something I wouldn’t ordinarily buy, but would like to get at no cost.
I kept saying to the salesman, “Give me some incentive to buy this camera from you today.” He kept going back to the manager. He acted like I was a terrible person for trying to get some money off the very expensive purchase.
Finally, I said I didn’t need the bag. What I got for no charge was the two SDHC cards and a battery.
The cards were on sale, one for $30 and one for $40. The extra battery was $30.
I did buy an extended warranty for $100. Consumer Reports doesn’t recommend them, but I thought since I’m buying locally, Best Buy might be able to help me if I have a problem.
I didn't think the Best Buy staff was at all well trained in what to do about bargaining. I gave them low marks in the evaluation form I received in my e-mail.
For several years, I’ve received a reduced price at Office Depot for printer cartridges; they’ll match the Costco price if you bring in a receipt. It doesn’t work to look up the Costco price from the Internet. It’s the same price as Office Depot’s.
So, bargaining is worth a try. The Times article describes consumers who successfully bargained at Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Kohl’s, Macy’s, and Barnes & Noble.
It has to be a reasonable offer, made politely – either a request to match a price or to offer a slim discount, The Times article, “More Retailers See Haggling as a Price of Doing Business,” said.
