50 Savvy Haggling Tips to Stretch Your Student Budget

September was College Savings Month, a time for spotlighting Section 529 plans for families to put their kids through college. But for those of you already in college, the concern now is with making sure those funds don’t run out before graduation. One way to do that that you may have overlooked is haggling. After all, a penny saved is a penny earned, and you may be overspending for furniture, clothes, books, even cars by not quibbling over the price. Start trying some of these tips in your purchasing and you may be astounded to see just how far your budget can stretch.

The Basics

1. Everything is negotiable:This is rule No. 1 in haggling. No one will tell you they’re willing to bend on the price; you have to assume it and proceed accordingly.
2. It never hurts to ask:From overnight delivery to upgrades and add-ons, you never know what you can get for free unless you ask.
3. Pick your battles:For example, if you’ve already invested money in a cab ride and a cover charge, it’s not worth risking getting kicked out of the club for haggling over the price of a drink.
4. Know the market:You can successfully haggle over major deals like rent and college scholarships if you know for a fact what prices the market will bear.
5. Go late:As the day goes on, sellers will be more and more inclined to reduce their asking prices so they can get rid of merchandise. The same is true for the end of the month, when managers are trying to meet quotas.
6. Increase your offers slower and slower:Don’t jump your offers in equal increments. You should offer less and less of an increase each time you counter as you approach your target price.
7. Buy in bulk:For the chance to unload several items at once, many sellers will agree to a lower price if you buy multiple items together.
8. Play it cool:Haggling requires a bit of acting. Even if you are dying to buy something, showing a little hesitation and acting like you could take it or leave it really does help your chances of a better deal.
9. Let them speak first:Whenever possible, let the seller throw out the starting price for your negotiation to make sure you don’t start higher than he was going to ask.
10. Find the right person to deal with:Before you make an offer on something, do some observing to gauge which of the sales reps or vendors seems like the biggest pushover.  Continue reading . . .

Ariana Bush is a writer for Onlinecolleges.net.