<story><title>Tell HN: Did you know you can negotiate price on many things?</title><text>I learned this late in life, but I came to realize that for anything you buy from a small business or from someone on commission, you can negotiate.&lt;p&gt;After reading about it on Reddit, I‘ve shown up to hotels and gotten 40% off initial price.&lt;p&gt;At Guitar Center, you can negotiate the price of guitars.&lt;p&gt;I’ve seen people negotiate a round of shots in NYC.&lt;p&gt;The world exists out there at a discount if you’re willing to ask for it.</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>ChuckMcM</author><text>Funny story, waited in line at the grocery store while the lady in front of me was being handled by the cashier. Once all the groceries had been scanned, the cashier told the customer the total. The lady offered her about half of that. It completely confused the cashier who was not expecting someone to haggle. It went back and forth a few times and then the manager was called and I was helped in the next line over. I waited a while to see what would happen, and in the end the lady stomped out angrily and the manager had an employee restock all the stuff she had brought to the register. That was not a place where there was any price flexibility.&lt;p&gt;However, at the Farmer&amp;#x27;s market, there is a &lt;i&gt;lot&lt;/i&gt; of price flexibility on products.&lt;p&gt;It is an excellent life skill to be able to distinguish between markets where prices are fixed and markets where they are flexible.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>Stratoscope</author><text>At our local farmer&amp;#x27;s market, I trust the farmers to negotiate for me.&lt;p&gt;They have seen me before, and they will often give me a little discount or throw some new thing into my bag to try.&lt;p&gt;Maybe I could get an extra buck or two off, but I have it pretty easy as a software developer working from home.&lt;p&gt;Farming and selling at farmer&amp;#x27;s markets is hard work. If I don&amp;#x27;t get the very best price, I figure that&amp;#x27;s a little tip for them.&lt;p&gt;Of course if I were buying in quantity I might see it differently. But for the bit of produce I buy, I&amp;#x27;m happy to pay for quality.&lt;p&gt;And I bet that if I needed a larger quantity, they would offer me a good deal.&lt;p&gt;Part of negotiating is building relationships.&lt;p&gt;I&amp;#x27;m not disagreeing with you, and I really enjoyed that strange grocery story. Just offering a related perspective.</text></comment>
<story><title>Tell HN: Did you know you can negotiate price on many things?</title><text>I learned this late in life, but I came to realize that for anything you buy from a small business or from someone on commission, you can negotiate.&lt;p&gt;After reading about it on Reddit, I‘ve shown up to hotels and gotten 40% off initial price.&lt;p&gt;At Guitar Center, you can negotiate the price of guitars.&lt;p&gt;I’ve seen people negotiate a round of shots in NYC.&lt;p&gt;The world exists out there at a discount if you’re willing to ask for it.</text></story><parent_chain><item><author>ChuckMcM</author><text>Funny story, waited in line at the grocery store while the lady in front of me was being handled by the cashier. Once all the groceries had been scanned, the cashier told the customer the total. The lady offered her about half of that. It completely confused the cashier who was not expecting someone to haggle. It went back and forth a few times and then the manager was called and I was helped in the next line over. I waited a while to see what would happen, and in the end the lady stomped out angrily and the manager had an employee restock all the stuff she had brought to the register. That was not a place where there was any price flexibility.&lt;p&gt;However, at the Farmer&amp;#x27;s market, there is a &lt;i&gt;lot&lt;/i&gt; of price flexibility on products.&lt;p&gt;It is an excellent life skill to be able to distinguish between markets where prices are fixed and markets where they are flexible.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>technion</author><text>A local computer store here has a well known policy: If you ask for a better price, they&amp;#x27;ll come back with an offering 20% above list price. If you question it, it&amp;#x27;ll go up again.&lt;p&gt;Honestly I don&amp;#x27;t mind this. If a video card costs $100 and you&amp;#x27;re selling at $110 and someone says &amp;quot;I&amp;#x27;ll give you $50&amp;quot; and makes you devote an hour to the sale, they aren&amp;#x27;t worth it.</text></comment>