Can you haggle when buying a bicycle??

Question

I would like a raleigh caprice - on the website it's going for £219.99 - I'm not willing to pay that much, probably about £180 - is that reasonable - I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO HAGGLE!!!!!

Answer 1

There isn't a function for doing it when internet shopping, so no if you plan to buy the bike off the internet.

If you are going to a big chain shop like Halfords they will tell you to clear off because there are plenty of people who will buy the bike for £219.99, and they have more capital so can just wait for people to buy.  They may have an ex-display/slightly damaged model you could buy though so ask about that.

If you go to a small shop which isn't a chain and is run by the guy who takes home the profits at the end of the day you are more likely to get a deal.  Try haggling there.

Answer 2

Neither does Peter Griffin from Family Guy......If it's used then you most certainly can haggle.  If it's new then you may not have a lot of leverage to haggle with.  It's harder to haggle on the internet than in real person because usually if the owner thinks he's got a sale, he will come down on the price a little.

Answer 3

This is what I do.   Ask the price.  They may say, £250 for example.   You looked shocked, and say "HOW MUCH, HOW MUCH???".   If its working, they might drop it a bit and say "OK £230.".   Then you say in a friendly way "Come on now, come on, whats your REAL best price?".   So, if its working, they might say, "OK £210".    So then you say "I`ll give you £190 cash now".   It usually works.   Not always totally the way you want it to, but you usually get it cheaper.

Answer 4

Claire S's answer is the most useful here. Haggling depends a lot on your audience--you can't haggle at Walmart, and you can't haggle with a major internet dealer. If you can get in touch directly with a single person selling the item, like on ebay or a more personal shopping experience, then haggling is possible and sometimes even expected.

Answer 5

It's normally fairly easy to get 10% off by haggling but your looking for nearly 20% so it might be more difficult.  Bear in mind too that at the lower end of the price scale margins are low, this gives the shop less leaway to drop the price.  I would say you could resaonably expect to get the price down to £200 just by asking but £180 may be a bit of a push.

Answer 6

yes you can i do it all the time when i buy stuff

Answer 7

you can haggle when buying anything.

just depends on whether they are gonna play ball with ya.

Don't get done get Dom!

Answer 8

Or you could find the bike in a smaller indie shop and ask for a free helmet, lights or nice pedals and such. Small businesses like that really depend on the customer returning and word of mouth.

Answer 9

go in confident and cheeky ! if they wont budge on the price try and get extras like free stuff to go with it like bike lock or lights ect, ask to see the manager if they can do you a deal

Answer 10

http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ_nkwZr...

This is the internet "haggle zone" and just the bike you want too - not sure about the size.  If you have already found the cheapeast on line then it is no so easy to beat them down even lower but you could try.

Answer 11

Yes, go to Ebay and just search every hour of the day.Thats what i did, ripped some guy off i bought a siege 180 for 250 only 500 of them made, the guy didnt know it, restored and sold it to a collector for 15000!Just keep takin the price down, if you cant get that bike to ebay they have soem good deals on there also.

Answer 12

just tell em you aint paying that, and you have 180 in cash, see what hey say

Answer 13

My hubby alwas asks "whats your best price". We went to a second hand furniture shop and bought a conservatory suite. It was priced at £65. My hubby asked what was the best price and the guy instantly said £50.  We went again and by doing the same we got a tv stand down from £25 to £15. Worth a try.