Is it frowned upon to haggle with sellers?

[jokerman826]

I haggle at swaps and LFS. I usually get good
deals

 

[vetteguy53081]

I generally respect pricing knowing they have a booth to pay for and travel, etc. . . BUT will do so if the price is crazy or high and knowing I can do better on price

 

[BradB]

You can haggle more as the swap goes on. No one wants to take corals home. But you lose some opportunities this way, as anything underpriced or in high demand will get sold.

 

[NeedMoreReef]

That’s a good question. I tend not to haggle. And prefer clear pricing so I know I’m not wasting time. The prices seem reasonable from most vendors.

 

[Saveafish]

I'm good at saying what can you for me on this if I take that with it.

 

[Captain Quint]

I do not haggle with hobbyists as items are usually priced much lower than an LFS.

I don't haggle with an LFS unless I know the markup is way out of line. If it is not in line (still allowing a good profit for them) I will ask what they will sell it for. If they don't offer a fair market price I just thank them and move on.

 

[DarthSimon]

I rather call it negotiating. I own a retail business, and see it all the time. Online pricing usually beats the snot out of me. If asked price is fair, and matches online, I will honor them... I rather keep the business local, then let it walk to online.

 

[ReefyB]

I rather call it negotiating. I own a retail business, and see it all the time. Online pricing usually beats the snot out of me. If asked price is fair, and matches online, I will honor them... I rather keep the business local, then let it walk to online.

I don’t know, over the past six months or so at least.. online prices have gotten pretty ridiculous, especially if you take a look at some of these live sales. Yesterday during an online live sale they were selling torches for $150-200 (not including shipping), which happened to be the exact same torch I literally just bought from my LFS two days ago for $35 (and they had plenty.. also they had colony sized torches for $70). On a previous visit, I tried to haggle a $40 weeping willow down to $25 (I was buying other stuff) but he couldn’t drop it below $35, so I left it. I later went back feeling kinda bad and bought it after realizing the crazy online prices for the same frag (yesterday’s live sale for example had one for $150..). I know everyone doesn’t have access to a close by LFS though (much less 7 local LFS’s - I live in Atlanta).

If anything it’s online that really needs the haggle because the prices created from the ‘hype’ they create are usually pretty ridiculous. Haven’t been to a frag swap yet though, I always assumed stuff would be cheap from other hobbyists.

 

[EMeyer]

There are few human interactions I dislike more than haggling. Dishonesty, greed, and passive-agressiveness all rolled into one annoying fight over pennies. When I return to the US from some underdeveloped country I am always so happy that our culture does less haggling. So uncivilized, so structurally, inherantly unfair. Its deliberate dishonesty about prices. If a seller expects haggling, you know the seller is trying their best to rip off the buyers.

As a culture,we should reject haggling like we reject cutting in line.

I guess you could say I am slightly against haggling.

 

[DarthSimon]

Depends on the industry. My industry, online prices are low. Fish and Marine, I've seen varied prices. For instance, Live Aquaria looks like they have gone out of there minds on some fish..... Others like NY Aquatic are still fair.....

 

[DarthSimon]

Haggling and negotiating are 2 differ things. Haggling to me says one side is being annoying, cunning, and disrespecting the mutual sides ability to make a living.

Negotiating is more of an ethical, polite way of asking for a discount for volume sales.

 

[Captain Quint]

There are few human interactions I dislike more than haggling. Dishonesty, greed, and passive-agressiveness all rolled into one annoying fight over pennies. When I return to the US from some underdeveloped country I am always so happy that our culture does less haggling. So uncivilized, so structurally, inherantly unfair. Its deliberate dishonesty about prices. If a seller expects haggling, you know the seller is trying their best to rip off the buyers.

As a culture,we should reject haggling like we reject cutting in line.

I guess you could say I am slightly against haggling.

Very well put.

 

[ReefyB]

There are few human interactions I dislike more than haggling. Dishonesty, greed, and passive-agressiveness all rolled into one annoying fight over pennies. When I return to the US from some underdeveloped country I am always so happy that our culture does less haggling. So uncivilized, so structurally, inherantly unfair. Its deliberate dishonesty about prices. If a seller expects haggling, you know the seller is trying their best to rip off the buyers.

As a culture,we should reject haggling like we reject cutting in line.

I guess you could say I am slightly against haggling.

You would hate the silk market in Beijing lol. They start at some ridiculous price like $300, buyer offers something like $10, and seller ends up selling it to you for $25. It’s just their culture I guess to try to see how much they can get you for. Plus they expect and seem to enjoy the haggle, so they start higher. Almost like some of these live sales and some online sales, but you don’t get to haggle here.. just pay it or leave it.. I’d prefer the haggle/negotiate personally.

 

[P-Dub]

There are some times that negotiating can be beneficial to both parties, particularly at swaps or farmers markets, or the likes. This can be said for any industry that sells goods in this manner. When thinking about negotiating a better deal, use common sense. Know what prices are bearing in your area and online. Realize when you are already getting a good deal. Don't be asking for discounts at the beginning of a swap. Save that for near the end when there is a cost benefit to the vendor to lighten inventory rather than pack it all back and take it home. You can always try bundling at the beginning and mid portion of the swap but let the vendor make as much as possible, after all, they are there to "sell" or swap frags. If an item is so overpriced, don't bother attempting to negotiate with an apparently, already unrealistic vendor. And if it is something that you absolutely must have no matter what, just pony up and be satisfied you got it. Use decorum, respect, and common sense and everyone will be get a deal.

 

[adam finley]

In this industry I would absolutely negotiate if possible because it’s such subjective pricing anyways. Obviously if you know your getting a great deal already then I wouldn’t but why not try to save yourself some money if not. As a consumer I wanna feel like I got a good deal even if that means I only saved a couple bucks. I think as long as your respectful and not being a total chump most sellers understand. Looking for a deal and not looking for “free” I think it’s perfectly fine. The worse that can happen is they say no. Sellers know what their bottom dollar is, my job is to get as close to that as possible without offending lol.

 

[tnyr5]

There are some times that negotiating can be beneficial to both parties, particularly at swaps or farmers markets, or the likes. This can be said for any industry that sells goods in this manner. When thinking about negotiating a better deal, use common sense. Know what prices are bearing in your area and online. Realize when you are already getting a good deal. Don't be asking for discounts at the beginning of a swap. Save that for near the end when there is a cost benefit to the vendor to lighten inventory rather than pack it all back and take it home. You can always try bundling at the beginning and mid portion of the swap but let the vendor make as much as possible, after all, they are there to "sell" or swap frags. If an item is so overpriced, don't bother attempting to negotiate with an apparently, already unrealistic vendor. And if it is something that you absolutely must have no matter what, just pony up and be satisfied you got it. Use decorum, respect, and common sense and everyone will be get a deal.

Exactly.
Negotiating is not innately disrespectful, it just becomes so when disrespectful people negotiate.

Some other tips: The "nice guys" who are selling that $300 frag for 60 bucks because they think $300 is unfair to the hobbyists? Don't haggle with them; you will always come across as trying to take advantage, even if you don't mean to (now, if you're buying 7 or 8 frags from them and want a pack deal with a nice round number, that's a little different)

Let me star this one*******Don't ask for 1 or 2 dollars off of a $10 or $20 frag and then ask them to make change for a $10 or $20. Again, they will feel like you're doing it just to be a jerk, since most of us price in $10 or $20 increments specifically to avoid making change. lol (You'd be surprised how often this happens.)********

This segues nicely into my tips for maximizing your chances: Keep your offer in the 80 to 90% of full price range, and either have exact change at the ready or keep it in 10 or 20 dollar increments.

This one is more to save your breath and time: Picking the two cheapest corals someone is selling and asking for a pack discount because you bought two is usually futile lol.

And finally, if someone does offer you a discount that is not to your liking, don't throw a fit. Respectfully decline and move on.