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I bargain for almost everything (much to my wife's embarrassment :). One thing I've found, is that if you can't get them to reduce the price, you can often get

I bargain for almost everything (much to my wife's embarrassment :). One thing I've found, is that if you can't get them to reduce the price, you can often get extras thrown in. I recently bought a fairly expensive coffee machine (a real one, not one of those electronic ones); supplier wouldn't budge on price, but I did manage to get $400 credited to my account, 2x barrista training vouchers worth $150 each, and a few other little bits. Extra value to me, over $700. Cost to supplier, assuming reasonable markup, probably less than $300. Win win. Edit: few things: * Most important of all - don't be a dick. Be friendly, honest and don't waste people's time * If you can, hold of your purchase until you get the deal you're looking for. When I got my macbook, I when to a number of places and in the end got free applecare and a free case. * If you're buying white/brown goods (except computers), a simple "What price can you do on that?" will almost always see a 10% discount, sometimes way more. * Some stock is in constant demand, and you'll almost never get a discount. Black mens trousers, for example. * If something on offer, the person selling it want's to get rid of it, and will most likely negotiate. Best example is food at the end of the day. Walking past a stand discounting the remaining donuts for $6/box, but you've only got $4? Make an offer anyway. er... think I'l stop before this looks like a post on Lifehacker or something :)

jberryman 16y ago
Yeah better stop with the haggling for stale donuts ;) What are "white/brown goods"?
- cubicle67 16y ago
  white goods are fridges, washing machines and the like. brown goods are tvs, stereos etc
  - Waywocket 16y ago
    >brown goods are tvs, stereos etc Huh. I've always heard those referred to (on the few rare occasions) as black goods. Maybe it's generational.
- Timothee 16y ago
  White goods are washing machines, dish washers, fridges…, while brown goods are the audio/video stuff (TVs, stereo). Kind of old fashion but based on the typical color of these items (mostly from a couple of decades or more ago: washing machines and fridges are in many colors and A/V stuff is almost always black and/or silver) According to Wikipedia, it seems to be mostly a UK idiom.
  - merijnv 16y ago
    This idiom appears exactly the same in Dutch (and thus possibly other languages too?)
    - cgrand-net 16y ago
      In French too (produits blancs/bruns).
    - moozeek 16y ago
      German as well :) (Weisse Ware / braune Ware)
    - gtufano 16y ago
      Italian too. We could probably say that this is an European thing. ;)
    - kawera 16y ago
      Portuguese too: branco/marrom
    - WildUtah 16y ago
      Línea blanca in Spanish
  - ra 16y ago
    Browngoods refers to Bakelite. Once, all radios / radiograms were made of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite
lionhearted 16y ago
Great comment. > * Some stock is in constant demand, and you'll almost never get a discount. Black mens trousers, for example. The flipside is, if you're a guy and you're willing to wear light blue, pink, purple, and yellow, you can get some seriously great buys. You can get very high quality clothes in those colors for dirt cheap sometimes, which is why around half of my wardrobe is bright. It takes a little aesthetic knowledge so you don't look ridiculous, but everyone should probably learn a little basic aesthetics anyways - it's one of those areas that a tiny bit of knowledge pays huge dividends.
- yummyfajitas 16y ago
  It takes a little aesthetic knowledge so you don't look ridiculous, but everyone should probably learn a little basic aesthetics anyways - it's one of those areas that a tiny bit of knowledge pays huge dividends. Very true, but how does one go about gaining this knowledge?
  - lionhearted 16y ago
    Here's a few suggestions, in ascending order of subjective difficulty to the average HN user: Smashing Magazine (which doubles as good for web design). Study the color wheel, read analyses of ways to use it. Fashion websites. Go to lots of museums. Go to art galleries. Flip through 2-3 fashion magazines per month at the bookstore. Read book(s) on how to dress for different functions. Go to high end stores and try things on. Talk to artists, designers, architects, painters, etc. about why things look the way they look. Take some art class, either crafting/doing-based, or art history. Go with some sort of visual artist to a museum, and ask their thoughts about paintings. Get a girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other who is an artist. Any of those would help. The more you layer on, probably the faster you learn. Also, study fashion/clothing advertisements. Scrutinize and analyze why they chose what they chose... many fashion ads will be regarded as high art in the distant future, because immense amounts of preparation, lighting, setting, and skill goes into making them. Almost anything that's in one is in it for a reason. Look at it and ask, "Why did they choose this? What are they trying to say/portray? Why this background/environment with that sort of clothing?" It's not instant gratification on the last one, but soon you start seeing the patterns. It's kind of beautifully awesome when you do.
unwind 16y ago
How is losing $450 a win for the seller? You mean it was a requirement to get your business, to throw in $450 of extras? I hope it was a very real coffee machine. Plumbed variety? :)
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
  He didn't lose money, he sold something at a smaller profit (we assume he's intelligent enough that he didn't cut his margin down beyond cost). The reason it's a win for him is that it's a sale he wouldn't otherwise have made and therefore a profit he wouldn't otherwise have had. There are potential downsides (if it was his last one he might have missed the chance to sell it for full price, it might be seen as setting a precedent) but generally salesmen understand these and figure them into their reasoning.
shimonamit 16y ago
> er... think I'l stop before this looks like a post on Lifehacker or something :) Yea, let's lay low. We don't want gnosis thinking we're another gawker site or something.
calloc 16y ago
Where did you end up getting a MacBook with free Applecare? I want in on this!
- cubicle67 16y ago
  JB HiFi, Cockburn (yes, that's a real suburb (pronounced co-burn)) in Perth Got it late one evening early 2009 or late 2008. It's one of the first gen unibody Al macbooks. Conversation was something like <gentle discussion on price /> "Hang on, let me go check with the boss" [few minutes later] "We can't drop the price, but if you're willing to buy it right now we can throw in free Applecare and a free case" "Deal"

jberryman 16y ago

Yeah better stop with the haggling for stale donuts ;) What are "white/brown goods"?

cubicle67 16y ago
white goods are fridges, washing machines and the like. brown goods are tvs, stereos etc
- Waywocket 16y ago
  >brown goods are tvs, stereos etc Huh. I've always heard those referred to (on the few rare occasions) as black goods. Maybe it's generational.
Timothee 16y ago
White goods are washing machines, dish washers, fridges…, while brown goods are the audio/video stuff (TVs, stereo). Kind of old fashion but based on the typical color of these items (mostly from a couple of decades or more ago: washing machines and fridges are in many colors and A/V stuff is almost always black and/or silver) According to Wikipedia, it seems to be mostly a UK idiom.
- merijnv 16y ago
  This idiom appears exactly the same in Dutch (and thus possibly other languages too?)
  - cgrand-net 16y ago
    In French too (produits blancs/bruns).
  - moozeek 16y ago
    German as well :) (Weisse Ware / braune Ware)
  - gtufano 16y ago
    Italian too. We could probably say that this is an European thing. ;)
  - kawera 16y ago
    Portuguese too: branco/marrom
  - WildUtah 16y ago
    Línea blanca in Spanish
- ra 16y ago
  Browngoods refers to Bakelite. Once, all radios / radiograms were made of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite

lionhearted 16y ago

Great comment. > * Some stock is in constant demand, and you'll almost never get a discount. Black mens trousers, for example. The flipside is, if you're a guy and you're willing to wear light blue, pink, purple, and yellow, you can get some seriously great buys. You can get very high quality clothes in those colors for dirt cheap sometimes, which is why around half of my wardrobe is bright. It takes a little aesthetic knowledge so you don't look ridiculous, but everyone should probably learn a little basic aesthetics anyways - it's one of those areas that a tiny bit of knowledge pays huge dividends.

yummyfajitas 16y ago
It takes a little aesthetic knowledge so you don't look ridiculous, but everyone should probably learn a little basic aesthetics anyways - it's one of those areas that a tiny bit of knowledge pays huge dividends. Very true, but how does one go about gaining this knowledge?
- lionhearted 16y ago
  Here's a few suggestions, in ascending order of subjective difficulty to the average HN user: Smashing Magazine (which doubles as good for web design). Study the color wheel, read analyses of ways to use it. Fashion websites. Go to lots of museums. Go to art galleries. Flip through 2-3 fashion magazines per month at the bookstore. Read book(s) on how to dress for different functions. Go to high end stores and try things on. Talk to artists, designers, architects, painters, etc. about why things look the way they look. Take some art class, either crafting/doing-based, or art history. Go with some sort of visual artist to a museum, and ask their thoughts about paintings. Get a girlfriend/boyfriend/significant other who is an artist. Any of those would help. The more you layer on, probably the faster you learn. Also, study fashion/clothing advertisements. Scrutinize and analyze why they chose what they chose... many fashion ads will be regarded as high art in the distant future, because immense amounts of preparation, lighting, setting, and skill goes into making them. Almost anything that's in one is in it for a reason. Look at it and ask, "Why did they choose this? What are they trying to say/portray? Why this background/environment with that sort of clothing?" It's not instant gratification on the last one, but soon you start seeing the patterns. It's kind of beautifully awesome when you do.

unwind 16y ago

How is losing $450 a win for the seller? You mean it was a requirement to get your business, to throw in $450 of extras? I hope it was a very real coffee machine. Plumbed variety? :)

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
Tyrannosaurs 16y ago
He didn't lose money, he sold something at a smaller profit (we assume he's intelligent enough that he didn't cut his margin down beyond cost). The reason it's a win for him is that it's a sale he wouldn't otherwise have made and therefore a profit he wouldn't otherwise have had. There are potential downsides (if it was his last one he might have missed the chance to sell it for full price, it might be seen as setting a precedent) but generally salesmen understand these and figure them into their reasoning.

shimonamit 16y ago

> er... think I'l stop before this looks like a post on Lifehacker or something :) Yea, let's lay low. We don't want gnosis thinking we're another gawker site or something.

calloc 16y ago

Where did you end up getting a MacBook with free Applecare? I want in on this!

cubicle67 16y ago
JB HiFi, Cockburn (yes, that's a real suburb (pronounced co-burn)) in Perth Got it late one evening early 2009 or late 2008. It's one of the first gen unibody Al macbooks. Conversation was something like <gentle discussion on price /> "Hang on, let me go check with the boss" [few minutes later] "We can't drop the price, but if you're willing to buy it right now we can throw in free Applecare and a free case" "Deal"