Don’t buy without bargaining

Did you ever go to a big box store, set your eyes on a product and then tried to bargain for a better price? If not, try it next time. Chances are hight that you will save some money.

A while ago, I watched a special report on the evening news. Reporters tried to negotiate the price for TVs, refrigerators or even t-shirts. In more than half of the cases, they were successful and saved hundreds of dollars. Sometimes, the salesperson couldn’t help with the price but offered something else, like free delivery or free installation.

Right now with the sluggish economy, it’s a buyer’s market. Hence, chances are high that it will be even easier now to negotiate. Many people don’t try because they feel embarrassed or are hold back by the fear of appearing foolish. However, sellers of products like furniture or cars even expect haggling and marked their products up.

Consumer experts advise to be always polite and discreet, and not pushy. Further, it’s important to offer a price that is fair and reasonable. If your offer is too low, the salesperson will just reject it without even considering it or making a counter offer. Also, make sure that you are bargaining with a salesperson who has the authority to offer a discount. If you are not sure about that, ask for the manager.

And last but not least, don’t bargain if you are not ready to buy the product.

More tips on ConsumerReports.org


Save a Buck: Find Best Price With Online Shopping Helpers

In economic difficult times like now, every buck saved is important. Comparing prices online before heading to the store is therefore a must for me.

For example, a few months ago I bought a new digital camera that was offered at $ 230 in one store and at almost $ 400 in another. In both cases, the price was for the camera body only, no extras.

Like many people, I’m not a huge fan of buying online (though I do it); I’m concerned about safety and I also like to see first with my own eyes what I’m buying. Pictures are sometimes deceiving. However, price comparing websites help me to find the right stores – and sometimes, after having seen the product in a store, I still end up buying it online.

Some of my favorite websites:
pricegrabber.com
bizrate.com
pricescan.com
pricingcentral.com
bestwebbuys.com
secretprices.com
And for the best gas prices near you gasbuddy.com

If you know of another great online shopping helper, please email me the link.


Credit Card 101

The other day, I heard in the news that the average American household owns 10 credit cards and owes more than $ 10 000 to credit card companies. Now, many lenders are pulling back by curtailing credit card offers and credit lines. At the same time, lenders are also increasing the APR of many credit cards. The APR of one of our cards for example was recently increased to 28 %! If we had debt on this card, it would be extremely tough to pay it off.

Lenders are pulling back because they fear that more people will default on their loans. In the first half of 2008, they had to write off about $ 21 billion in bad credit card loans.

For consumers, it’s therefore most important to increase their knowledge about credit card management and how to use them more wisely. Texas public accountants offer 5 tips for consumer squeezed by credit crunch:

Tip No. 1: Check your credit limit (because it may have been lowered recently).
Tip No. 2: Call your credit card issuer and negotiate for lower rates.
Tip No. 3: Read the fine print on future offers.
Tip No. 4: Consider using year-end bonuses and holiday gift money to pay down credit card balances.
Tip No. 5: Stick to your holiday shopping list and pay for gifts with cash.

Read more details
If you would like a crash course in Credit Card 101, read the Federal Reserve information on Credit Cards. There you will get excellent information about APRs, finance charges, or grace period, to name a few tems.