Kitchen Hardware – Negotiate For the Best Price
If you are in the midst of trying to figure out how to redecorate your house on a shoestring budget you may think you have looked everywhere for ways to cut corners and costs. But one important word may not have gotten into your list of options – negotiation.
When people think about negotiating in prices they often think that only works in the world of services or in visits to foreign country vending markets. But no, these days the art of negotiation can work in almost every arena.
We are in the midst of a down economy. That means all retail stores are struggling. They are not selling as much as they did lass month and substantially less than they did last year and the year before. So, they are trying to move inventory out to bring money in. That means if you are willing to do a little wheeling you may be able to get a great deal on the kitchen hardware you need.
Avoid the Chains
First and foremost you have to understand that there are still some stores this will not work in. The big chain home improvement stores are not going to give you this kind of discount. The people at the stores do not have the ability to make deals on prices so you are going to be stuck with what the price on the product is. The only exception you may find here is if you have a coupon to get a discount.
Don’t Be Excited
So, now that you know where to shop, you need to make sure you stay cool and collected during your shopping experience. As you walk into a local home improvement or home décor store you know there is likely going to be a salesperson that will come to talk to you and sell you on the items you are looking at. You need to let them think you could take or leave the items you are looking at.
This is not always easy to do. What if you walk in to the store and see the perfect kitchen hardware – just what you had been looking for – sitting right in front of you! You may want to snatch them up and run for the counter. But then you are going to be paying full price and we’re trying to cut costs here, right?
Take a deep breath and ask the salesperson if there is anything they can do on the price. Let them know you are interested, but aren’t sure if you really should be doing this project because you’re on a tight budget. If they think you are willing to walk away if the price is not as good as you want, they are going to do what they can to give you a discount. Often you can get 10%, 20% or more off of items by going this route. The key is you have to be willing to walk away if you aren’t getting the price you want. While you may cringe at this idea, if the difference is pretty small, chances are they will pull you back in the door before you get away.
If you can master the art of negotiation you will free up more money that you can use for other fun projects in the home.