Do you haggle with suppliers? Do you allow haggling?

I never ever Haggle, and I never ever allow myself to be Haggled... (In Europe)

I do negotiate though. 

I think there's a huge difference. Haggling in my opinion is the market stall guy in Egypt who says to you "You buy?  good price my friend" (Que Egyptian accent)... Yes, a good price for him maybe. Product + Profit + Tourist Tax + 50 bucks

It's a game, he says 10 sheckles, you say 2, he says, 9, you say 3 and so on.

British business has never worked like this - which is why Brits are so pants at haggling when overseas, and spend $100 on a plaster of paris sphinx, made in china, sold in Egypt, value 50 cents, usually turns to dust on the flight home. 

Our prices in the uk are our prices, and we expect to go into a shop, and be shown the price for the product.

Now, negotiation is different. If I'm tendering for a contract, and I need to meet a budget, or beat a competitor, Ill shift so long as there's profit in the job still. 

When I buy a car, I check out the value of the vehicle, and Ill expect a shift on price if it's too much - being savvy on the margins of the seller.

I could never go into Tescos and haggled down the price of beans though - and likewise, outside of a meeting table for a large contract, the price printed is the price paid.

The First Aid Company though does have a price guarantee - if someone can find the same service, for less, we'll beat the price by 10%. (No one offers the same accredited service below our price, unless they are suffering because of us - and dropping prices to get business).

In dealing with sales to people not of British origin, in Britain, often, they have presented me with a situation where they are haggling for the business (B2C). This really makes me uncomfortable, and has caused me, in my earlier days, to just go in at my bottom price, with nowhere to move, and failing to get a sale.

There's nothing wrong with this - it's just different, and alien to the UK. If you go into the centre of communities which predominantly have ethnic minorities in them from outside of the EU, (Most cities have them) then this is commonplace. Go to, for example, St Davids in West Wales, and try and haggle, and you won't get too far!

So, my friend, you buy from me? Special Price my friend...

NB- this stereotypical image is based on my life experiences and in no way is meant to belittle a well established sales system as found in the Middle East.

Ahh am very experienced with that particular sales system

Here is a pic from my travels around India, displaying a more honest sales approach.

Works best when read in an local accent..

(which according to my Asian mates normally sounds Welsh when I do it.)

But I shall have to agree to disagree  For me haggling and negotiation are one of the same.

It might be a bit more sophisticated at the boardroom tendering process, but it's still both sides haggling and jockeying for the best position/margin/outcome.

Be quite impressive to get any haggling value out of a Tescos tin of beans, but go to the distribution centre and talk about damaged pallets and I bet you'll get a bargain.

Currys are always good for a haggle and never accept the initial ticket price. Sometimes they can't reduce the price of an item past a promotion point, but they can chuck in other stuff. eg start sniffing around a TV, get some money off, then get them to throw in a decent HDMI cable.

Markets of any description are good haggling zones if you can be bothered, but trade fairs are one of the best places to haggle/negotiate, just use ticket prices as a rough guide. Sales guys are under pressure to get results and ensure the event was a success, with sales figures not necessarily reflecting normally acceptable margins. But they can spin stats by telling the world how popular products are and drive demand.

I think Brits abroad on the whole aren't too bad at haggling from what I've seen, although they lose confidence at home. Compared to Americans who seem to have a built in total fear of haggling

Have spent numerous times wondering around MiddleEastern bazaars and Souqs telling owners I'm British not American, and the price is adjusted yet again for a special English price 

But can I get any discount on our rent or BT landlines? Nope

I have tried to negotiate some of the contracts, and they really agree to huge discounts, if confronted with the quote from the competition. Energy companies tend to be rather tough, because there is a limit on tariffs they can offer. Furthermore, Government regulation doesn't allow them to have hidden discounts.

Have you had any spectacular negotiations with business providers? 

Love the picture Steve... a throw back to the Empire I think, and I totally love the way certain aspects of India carry this forwards even to this day. Check out youtube, and type in "Wagah Border ceremony". Although it's hilarious (Quoting Michael Palin, and HM the Queen), for anyone who's ex forces, you can really see the influence on both the Indian and Pakistani sides of the border. 

With haggling, again, if I were to replace the word negotiating with it, there certainly is a lot of success - and come to think of it now, Mobile Phones, IP phones, Net, Car Insurance, Business Insurance, Rent, and supplies have all been haggled (Negotiated) to a price in the ball park I wanted.

I will, as of next week try to lower the price of fuel in the forecourt.... Ill let you know how I get on... (Don't hold your breath!)

So if our big wannabe London office was to follow a new years health regime and I wanted to negotiate a corporate package price and offer 30 individual employees a one time use of your service, would this constitute a haggle? Or would it be a fixed price per person or already established business rate with no room to manoeuvre? With the prospect of possible missing out on 30 new clients?

I reckon I could charm a little haggle out of you 

I never haggle or get haggled, to me it is very un-Brittish. I've always formed the opinion that if you don't like the price, then go elsewhere. I love it when a customer or at least a potential one asks how much for cash... and I reply exactly the same price as if you were to pay by card or by BACS.........

I sometimes get asked about discounts for seeing more than one client (whether it's several members of the family wanting careers advice or an outplacement services contract on offer).  I always explain I can't drop my prices because each individual gets the same amount of help and I'm not prepared to compromise on the quality of the service offered.

I haven't lost any individual clients because I'm not willing to drop my prices but may have lost corporate customers because of my general unwillingness to do deals of this sort.

Must be a London thing.

I've yet to have a plumber, sparky or builder refuse a discount for cash 

The only problem to lowering a price as a result of haggling for me, is that the buyer then expects to get the premium full price service. I did this once and never again. He was a handful to deal with, didn't have a clue about anything so it made it even more hard work as I had to think for him and his business (not really my job) and he was expecting to get extras thrown in that are not even thrown in for any full-paying customer, let alone someone who beat you down!Had it been a breeze then I might have felt it was worth doing.

Personally I find it rude in a professional setting to haggle down a professional service and even then, I wouldn't try and haggle down a plumber or builder. To me, their first price should be their best price. But i'd also be savvy enough to know that if I ask for it cheaply, I may not gain any loyalty from them.They will hardly want me as a customer in the future. There are folk that haggle even when they do not realise the cost they are given is actually, a good price already! They also are not savvy enough to work out that within any sale there is the hidden support/customer service that is included in the price quoted. You're paying for quality, guarantees, support of a better/higher level, etc.

Good business relationships work 2 ways. My customers who pay the full price, and on time, don't try and get stuff for nowt, and they actually earn invisible credits from me for their loyalty. 

I do odd things here and there for free or I give them lots of free advice/consultancy when there is otherwise nothing in it for me to do so - stuff that is normally chargeable.

My longest serving client deleted her ecommerce admin files in the hosting control panel in blissful error - I had her site back up and live, restored from a backup I happened to have, and at no charge, despite a churn of back and forth emails also taking up my time, until I realised what she had done.

The only time haggling should be done is if you are asking for a lot of something. If someone comes to me for 2 or more websites I am going to discount if ordered at the same time.....And not on that old chestnut "I could bring lots of work your way if the price is right". Or the 'we are a charity" and I say, well when your CEO drops his pay from £48,000 PA  to £46,000 I may consider it!

After all, what you are in fact asking is if the seller will take home less pay, so the seller has to do the maths and still make it viable to be worth taking on and in order to do say, may not be able to offer you the hidden benefits/brownie points you may otherwise have got. Just something to consider when haggling down. I think it all depends on what, when and where, as well as what you actually expect in return for your money.