Bargaining

[Ambulance Chaser]

I went into a vintage watch store this past weekend to look at a watch I was interested in buying.  The salesman indicated that he was open to bargaining on price.  I want to get the best price possible, but don't want to insult the salesman (and make him think that I'm not serious) by giving him a ridiculous lowball offer.  Does anyone have any recommendations as to bargaining strategy, starting price, etc.?

 

[Stu]

Well, the secret in any negotiation is to have information.
You should try and find out what the appraised value is on that watch. Once you do that you can, say, bid 20 percent under. If the salesman laughs in your face, tell him to make a counter offer.
You never know. I bought a house once for nearly $20 k under appraised value like that.

 

[Automatic]

You will have to forget about your regular successful image and to play a guy who only deals in cash. ( i. e. for some reason you don't have credit cards). Just say that you only have X much money on you. These people love cash, they will understand. When you reach consensus, just say that you have to go to the car to get your X+whatever (if anything) cash and run to the bank.
That way you'll make it much easier for him (and for yourself).
Works for me everytime.

 

[PeterMetro]

In my opinion, the true key to negotiation is coming to the table understanding each other's interests, not simply arguing about price.

Battling over a price is called Positional Negotiation, and is rarely effective. Consider this example: two men claim equal rights to an orange. Because each can lay claim, they split the orange in two and each takes a half. As it turns out, the first man wanted the orange for the peel, the second wanted it for the juice. If they had just looked at their respective interest, they could have come to a mutually amenable agreement - as it turns out, they only ended up with half.

In your case, consider things like cleaning and repair. If the store would agree to do these things gratis, it might be worth your while to pay a little more up front. On the flip side, it would get you in the store more often, and give the salesman a chance to sell you more than just a single watch (a gift for the lady, perhaps?)

Your interests in the watch go beyond simply owning it; things like making sure it works and looks good, maintains its value are also important. The interests of the store go beyond selling you a single watch - recommending the store to friends, repeat business are of a real value to them. Consider these things when buying your watch.

Out of curiosity - what kind of watch is it?

 

[Ambulance Chaser]

Out of curiosity - what kind of watch is it?

I am interested in buying a sports watch, already owning a dress watch and an "everyday" stainless steel watch. Â Initially I was interested in this Omega Seamaster. Â Then I realized that (1) the watch isn't terribly distinctive, (2) I could probably get a newer model of the same watch with box and papers for about the same price, and (3) I wasn't planning on going diving or to a place where the sun shines for 24 hours a day. Â I like the look of the Tag Heuer classic line of chronographs, particularly the Monza and Monaco models. Â (I have never understood "dress chronographs" -- I want a sports watch to look like a sports watch.) Â This Heuer Camaro has a look along the same lines, at a much lower price. Â The in-store price was $1450, but the salesman told me he would at minimum give me the website price and would probably be willing to go below that. Â I was wondering how low that would be. Service isn't really an issue. Â The store is in L.A. and I will be in D.C. (I'm in L.A. right now for business) so if I had any problems that weren't covered by the one-year warranty, I would have it fixed locally. Â Of course, if the police don't soon find the crazed gunman terrorizing the DC area, I may want to move out to L.A. permanently.

 

[Automatic]

Its a cool Heuer. Make a low offer, offer a guy a thousand or something. If its 40mm or more, would be even better.