For anyone looking to practice, head to Canal St. in New York City or its equivalent (place where people sell fake junk). You can get great haggling practice that way.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
How to Haggle?
- Thread starter Kruton
- Start date
Also, you want to cultivate a good relationship with the seller so you can get more deals in the future so approach it with a win win mindset.
RWP said:I like this tactic. It puts the sales guy into scratch and dent modeThis is not a bad thing for him either. They expect to discount damaged merchandise.
This is often called "B Stock". You can ask him/her, "At what discount do you sell your B Stock instruments?". Then show the imperfections. If they're not willing to sell it for the discounted price at that moment, leave your name and phone number. If nobody calls within a few days, give them a follow-up call.
A good place to look for imperfections is on the bottom edge of the bass where people rest it on their leg to play it. Some people don't consider that they're resting the bass on their CAR KEYS in their jeans pocket!!!
Next time you go to GC, take a look at the Warwicks. I'm sure you'll find at least one with "car key dents" on them. 
Joe
Best way to haggle? Buy used, from a private owner. Haggling is implied in the asking price. The seller will usually know his price and will set his asking price above this.
An old co-worker of mine let me know of a technique his parents used for new car buying. They went to a handful of dealerships in their region and when in the process of negotiation, they let the salesmen know that they were going to other dealers, and that they would buy from the most flexible in price.
I don't know how well this works, but it sounds like it would weed out some of the more unsavory salesmen. Along with being well-read on the product, I think this technique might be worthwhile.
An old co-worker of mine let me know of a technique his parents used for new car buying. They went to a handful of dealerships in their region and when in the process of negotiation, they let the salesmen know that they were going to other dealers, and that they would buy from the most flexible in price.
I don't know how well this works, but it sounds like it would weed out some of the more unsavory salesmen. Along with being well-read on the product, I think this technique might be worthwhile.
