Have we forgotten how to bargain?

I got a discount of 40% from my solicitor when selling and buying property last year. He dropped he price from €6'500 to €3'500 when I said "C'mon, I've been using you for years, do I not qualify for the "mates rate" yet?"

Mind you I asked him a few years back if he was involved in the tribunals and his reply was, "Do you think I'd talk to the likes of you if I was milking that cash cow?" :D
 
Thanks everyone for feedback- think is good to give specific examples as some people did so far. Here's a few of my recent ones where i helped friends...

- Ulster Bank tracker rate dropped to 0.5 margin from 0.75%
- FBD insurance dropped rate to less than cheapest quoted for motor policy
- Britton Insurances dropped rate on motor policy to lower than that of AA Insurance Services
- Kitchen World dropped price
- GE Money dropped rate to match cheaper competitors to avoid loosing client. They also waived penalty charges for
returned Direct Debits, etc

Worth noting re. solicitors the reverse happened with some friends- one in particular engaged a West Dublin solicitor and was quoted 1000 euro fee for house sale and similar for new purchase. When they progressed with same solicitor, they charged 1%! In that case, simply complain to Law Society to rectify (with your proofs, obviously!)
 
Hi Banking2006! How did you get Ulster Bank to drop their rate like that? What was the LTV ratio? Was it on an existing mortgage you had with them or a new one or a switched one?
 
gearoid said:
I know this is off the point, but one approach to saving money is to work out the clothes you want, try them briefly for size in a shop, then buy online for less... I know it's a bit cheeky... Just realised this should be in the tips for saving money forum instead really
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Would you go to the website of the shop in question where you tried for size? I didn't know these shops - I don't have any names in mind - did business on line. What about during a sale - would you get even further reductions - or is that stretching the mark a bit!
 
I love haggling. my wife gets embarrassed by it and generally walks away when I start, rarely fail to get a reduction.
 
Renewing car insurance recently Eagle Star dropped 150 euro to match cheaper One DIrect rate. Felt sorry for One Direct as they did all the sending of info etc and were genuinely nicer but it was less hassle to stay where I was for cover at the reduced price.
 
sueellen said:
I was quite surprised a few years ago when a friend from Kerry told me that it is/was(?) quite normal to ask for a discount in country stores, especially for clothes. I had never heard of this before and it would probably still never enter my head to ask for a few bob off. Is this still happening?
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Yes, still happening in small country shops. Even in the likes of McBees in Killarney ( rather pricey womens' designers clothes shop ) up until a few years ago they were still giving a discount. But certainly if you are buying a few items and the owner is serving you would be quite likely to receive a discount. You'd have to know where you could and couldn't ask though. The unwritten rules of the countryside...
 
Petermack said:
When I was changing my mortgage provider from IIB to National Irish it never struck me to approach IIB to see if they would match the rates offered by National Irish. I know a bank has some flexibility in terms of personal loans and motor loans but is there any point trying to haggle over mortgage rates or are the rates strictly set.
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Well I tried that with first active when I was changing, didn't entertain me at all so I felt better moving and they lost another customer
 
Caveat said:
Almost every commercial quotation/pricing structure has built-in leeway for bargaining.
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Except in public sector procurement exercises, where the need for openness and transparency outweighs the need for value. Face-to-face bargaining with one supplier (without doing the same face-to-face bargaining with ALL qualifying suppliers) is deemed as giving an unfair advantage to that supplier.
 
RainyDay said:
Except in public sector procurement exercises, where the need for openness and transparency outweighs the need for value. Face-to-face bargaining with one supplier (without doing the same face-to-face bargaining with ALL qualifying suppliers) is deemed as giving an unfair advantage to that supplier.
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While there are drawbacks it's still better than where the alternative would lead.
 
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