Clearance sale, end-of-month sale, holiday sale, whatever kind of sale – you name it, and Filipinos will definitely mobbed the shopping malls and retail centers with their hard-earned salaries. Sales are so magical that even the usually unnoticed markets are flocked with people when they are labeled with this engaging word. Besides looking forward to these occasional deals, Filipinos are also fanatics of freebies and other promos. No matter how long the line that they have to go through, they would conquer just to get the deal.
Apparently, Filipinos embrace the culture of thriftiness and surmount all hurdles to save every coin in their pocket. It also explains why Filipinos are best hagglers. They do not easily accept the amount written on the price tags and negotiate until the seller agreed to their desired cost. What’s enchanting is that they succeed most of the time. Being a good haggler is a personality that shouldn’t be ashamed of; it is something that everyone should have. And if you want to save like a Filipino haggler, start practicing this one-of-a-kind skill as soon as you visit the market.
01 Don’t embrace the myth!
If you lived with the idea that haggling lowers your dignity, you are absolutely wrong! Ask the successful people you know, and surely, all of them have experiences of haggling. It is not impolite nor is it embarrassing to ask for a little price down. In an article of Save the Student, Owen Burek stated that “until money has changed hands in a shop, no contract on a price has been agreed.” This rule covers bargains and even high value items. But of course, there are circumstances that you have to consider like buying in grocery stores and being offered by a low price already.
02 Use your charm
If you’ve been tired of being charming all this time but do no not know how to take advantage of it, try using it as a weapon in the market and your charm may bring you somewhere. Rather than being intimidating, rude, or arrogant, use your natural charisma to make the seller say “yes.”
For higher chances, accompany it with preparedness. Before wasting your time trying to negotiate, make sure you are properly armed with information on the regular prices of the items in the market. Canvassing is a great idea. After knowing the necessary details, the next thing to keep your wallet away from emptiness is to be confident enough while bargaining. Disregard all hesitations and show how well-prepared you are. Just keep in mind that arrogance and confidence are far different from each other.
03 Target the perfect time!
There’s a perfect time for everything. The sphere of market is not an exemption. Although haggling can be done anytime and anywhere, the result of your effort is most likely to be positive if you target the perfect time.
Burek further shared in his article his knowledge of the best time to achieve a favorable result, “The basic rule is that you should haggle on items whenever the demand for them is falling and sellers just want to get rid of the stock.” On a daily basis, it would be every end of the day. Since sellers’ energy is already drained by whole day of selling and they just want to have many items sold, they would be more considerate.
Your efforts will be wasted if you barter while people who are willing to pay the regular price crowd the store. The seller won’t mind entertaining you.
If there’s a more perfect time than the perfect time to haggle, it is during occasions that only appears on your calendar once a year. Side by side stores can be seen selling seasonal items. The more intense the competition in the market is, the more deals sellers would agree with.
More than just saving your money, haggling also develops the skill of people to negotiate. As Leigh Steinberg says, “It’s learning how to negotiate to keep both sides happy – whether it’s for a multimillion dollar contract or just which show to watch on TV, that determines the quality and enjoyment of our lives.”
