With the Australian Dollar performing so well (particularly against the US Dollar) at the moment for the first time Australian consumers have a bargaining tool most are not yet taking advantage of.
This applies more so with electronics than other items but the savings you can gain by being prepared will astound you. Electronics and technology are typically much cheaper in the USA and the low value of the Australian dollar pushed up wholesale prices for retailers but now the tables are turned and you should be taking advantage of it while it lasts.
Here are some simple bargaining tips that may help you save when buying your next tech or electronic item:
- Search online retailers,
check prices of the items you are interested in both locally and in the USA, make note of the best prices and print out one or two webpages with information showing the item you are interested in and the price the online retailer is offering. - Go in person to stores that have sales people to assist you on the floor ,
(eg, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith, Retravision). These retailers are almost always prepared to drop the price of items, it’s their job to make a sale and work to get your business and they are prepared to negotiate with you, it’s expected. People commonly think that this kind of bargaining only works for “cash” sales but it will work for credit card sales too. - Ask “What is the best price you can give me”,
in order to make a sale you will almost always get a quick response from your sales person who will go and “check to see what they can do” to get you a better price. If an item is on sale, you can still ask for a better price! You may be happy (and surprised) with the first response you get and if you’re ok with that then go ahead and close the sale, if after having done your research online you know that other retailers are selling at a significantly cheaper price, press on. - Let them know what other retailers are charging,
you’ve done your research and now’s the time to put it to use. If the first offer you’ve received isn’t close to the online prices you’ve found then bargain some more. Let the salesperson know that you found the same item online and for what price. If your online price is from an Australian retailer you’re almost guaranteed to get a matched price (If my price is from an online-only retailer I usually offer the same price plus whatever it would have cost me for postage). If the item is from a USA retailer remind them that with the Australian dollar doing so well you think they are in a position to be able to offer you a better deal. - Don’t be afraid to walk away
If you don’t get the kind of offer you’re looking for, don’t feel obligated to buy the item anyway. It’s ok to say “Thank you but I’ll try somewhere else”. Try your luck at some other stores and if you still can’t get a better deal anywhere you can always go back.
As an example of some recent personal situations where I’ve used this approach, I was interested in a computer from Dell and when I pointed out to them that the same model in the US store was half the price of the Australian version they reduced the cost of my new laptop by $500. It wasn’t close to the much cheaper price of the US one but it was a significant saving and all I had to do was ask! (And this was before the Aussie dollar was doing quite so well!). Around Christmas time last year I was looking for an iRobot automatic vacuum cleaner. I’d done my research and in the US the basic model was selling for just under $300 on sale. In Harvey Norman they were $600 for the same model. I brought up the cost of the item in the US and the first offer I was made was $450. I pushed a little further and ended up getting the item for $400, that’s $200 off the store price and all I had to do was ask!
Always remember to be polite. Don’t be afraid to push a little but play it by ear, some smaller retailers are going to have a harder time giving you a decent discount but larger chain stores like Harvey Norman expect you to bargain with them.
Good luck!
If you use this approach to get a good deal we’d love to hear about it, post your comments below.