Urban Archeologist: Getting More Than You Bargained For

What are some things worth? What’s a fair price to pay for the things you buy? How do you make a deal? Where do you start the bidding? Will you insult the seller if you don’t offer enough?

These are all good questions, which are good for the weekend treasure hunter to know the answer to when confronted with a good find.

We visited the Elephant’s Truck flea market in New Milford this weekend and I decided to teach my 9-year-old daughter the fine art of haggling. Lesson one was 3 minutes into the hunt, a softball bat we needed so she can refine her swing this season. She picked it up and tried it for size and liked the color, but it was a little too long.

The booth holder, a gruff guy smoking a cigarette said, “Make me an offer!” I said. “How bout you tell me your price?” He returned “How ‘bout $5?” My progeny and I looked at each other and started to walk away. Gruff guy said “Come on! I’ll take $3.” I then turned around and thanked him for the offer, and explained the bat was the wrong size but maybe we’d be back.

Away from the booth I reviewed with my daughter what had just happened: 1) I forced him to name his price first, and though we weren’t really interested, just walking away caused him to go lower; 2) If the bat had been the right size and in better condition I would have come back with $2 and settled for his $3. I told her to be on the look out for another bat.

I caught up to my partner who was glazed-over looking at a vast display of jewelry. I needed a gift for her mom and asked a lot of questions about some specific pendants. In the course of the explanation the price came out at $9 for the one I wanted. I offered $6, but instead of countering, the seller complained that her cost was $4.50, and I would pay $12 at Kohl’s. This is a common seller’s mistake as we lingered for only a few more seconds before saying, “thank you,” and moved on. I shared with my daughter the idea that “everything is negotiable,” or should be, and if it’s not – walk away. She can undercut Kohl’s on price, but I knew she couldn’t give their service. Once I buy the $9 pendant I know there will be no return policy in a grassy field. I might have taken a chance for $7 or $8, but it was the seller’s mistake for not building in room to haggle.

After meager success on my own we were heading out and my daughter spied a flat dish shaped like a curled up kitty. “I want this,” she whispered. I prompted her to make the deal. A man with a booming voice yelled “$5 for that dish there.” She immediately put it down and the man’s partner saw my daughter and came down to $3. My junior haggler came over to me and I told her she could have $2, but then quizzed her, “What do you want to spend?” “A dollar,” she said. She went back to the lady and said, “I only wanted to spend a dollar.” They seemed to be at an impasse.

At this point a stranger pulled out a dollar and handed it to my daughter. (No!) I had to throw a flag on the play. I took the dollar and handed it back to the man complementing him on his benevolent intervention and explained that she was learning to haggle. I took her aside and said, “You have two options: you can do the walk-away and see if they drop to your price or you can pay the extra dollar, which I will give you.” I was hopeful she would stick to her price.

She calmly and dispassionately put the plate down, and walked away. We didn’t travel more than 3 steps before we heard; “I’ll make a special exception for the young lady, $1.”  

I should note that we were practicing these skills (I call it “haggle-cising”) in the low-ball range, under $10. At this level it’s good practice for working your way up to higher priced treasures. If you want to try it, just use these simple rules: 1) Let the seller set the price; 2) Have a range in mind and aim for your low side (of course); 3) Be ready to walk away, but play fair — you may be haggling with someone who needs the money; 4) If you get your price, don’t gloat. This may not be the last item you purchase from this person. An honest back and forth should establish who you are and what you want and leave both sides in good spirits.

Visit the blog to try and figure out this ad quiz, the double entendre is blatant, or is it? The solution is there, so try not to peek.

Greg Van Antwerp is a Brookfield resident and blogger, who can be found on the weekends in search of a good “dig” or a good story.  You can read more about his adventures by visiting his blog.