Is that the Best You Can Do?

This past week I was checking out at The Home Depot, purchasing about $330 in flooring for one of our rentals. As I was about to slide my card the cashier asked me "Is this going to be on your Home Depot Card today?" and I replied, "Why yes it is! Are you going to give me 10% off because of it?"

"Well," she said,"I haven't done that yet today and I am feeling nice so OK!" And Just like that I saved about $35 Dollars!

One of the tricks that I have learned is to "Always ask." When I first learned this trick in my college days I actually went extreme with this idea and for practice sake I would ask for a discount everywhere I went. I quickly learned that at some stores you can get a discount nearly every time just by asking while others would put up a fight over giving a 10% discount on an empty box of Pop Tarts!

This wasn't the first time I have had this exact conversation with a Home Depot cashier except that I typically don't get the discount. So why do I continue to ask? Because every now and then it works, and its so easy. I don't make a scene, and I don't make it confrontational, I just ask. In major retail stores I find that if you get a "No" on the first go around, and if you don't have some reason (Damaged item, Bulk discount) for getting the discount you generally won't get one by trying fight it, but by just asking the cashier you might get lucky and find that it's within her power and she's feeling nice. Just this month alone I have received roughly $55 in discounts just at Home Depot just from asking the cashier.

This concept isn't mine, I got it from the book "The Five Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me" by Richard Paul Evans. In his book he tells the story of a salesmen who was trying to get a big order from one of their best clients. After presenting the offer to the client the man looked concerned and asked "Is that the best you can do?" The salesmen called his boss and got the order reduced, came back to the room and presented the new, better offer. The man again asked "Is that the best you can do?" The salesmen again left the room, called the boss and got an additional discount and returned to present the lower offer and additionally subtracted some of his commission from the offer price. Again the man asked "Is that the best you can do?" to which the salesman replied, "I'm afraid that is the best we can do." The client responded by saying "Fine, I'll sign the offer. I just wanted to make sure that it really was your best offer."

I could go on and on about how effective this one tool is but if you want to understand it more read the book starting on page 67. It's a very very good book but also a short an easy read. The point is that by always asking for a discount you will save money and likely be surprised by how often you are paying more than you need to for things you routinely buy.

Keep in mind that in trying out this tool you may have some unpleasant experiences. I have had cashiers look at me like I'm crazy and even other customers make snide comments. But I know they only comment because they are too scared to try it themselves. Just know that while it doesn't always work you can learn when it is more likely to work and use it more in those moments than in others. Try it this week and post a comment once you have saved some money!

Good things come to those who wait

Another key ingredient in getting a good deal is patience. Often times its nessicary to be prepared to find a good deal and then be patient while you look. But other times you just have to be patient while you wait for it to come in the mail.

A phrase not common among my generation is "It's more at the door" refering to the days when door to door salesmen would come to your home peddling their products. People would find later that they could have purchased the same product for less at the nearby store after the sales person was long gone. The phrase that could be coined today is "Its more in the Store" because you can almost always get it cheaper online.

This week Sarah and I both recieved packages in the mail from online purchases. Mine was a set of gears and limited slip discs for my Limited Slip Power Lok differential in my truck. The only place I could find it locally wanted $395 for it out the door. Looking for it online presented a challenge because anytime I thought I had found what I was looking for there wasn't enough information on it to make me feel confident that it would actually fit my truck. After a lot of leg work I was able to get it shipped to me for $284, which was a 29% savings.

The patience factor was that my truck was unusable for a week while I shopped and waited. It was inconvenient but to me it was worth saving that much money.

Sarah found a good deal on a new digital camera. After recieving raving reviews from her siblings who had purchased the same camera (Pentax W90) she searched online and found it for $50 less (20% off) of what walmart offered it for locally. IN ADDITION, because she bought it online she also recieved with it a free mini tripod, carrying case, screen protector and cleaning kit that she would not have recieved if she bought it in the store.

Sarah's sacrifice and patience came because we bought in online and didn't know if it would come in time to take with us on our trip to Disneyland this past week. Sure enough, it didn't, so we had to share a camera with friends.

Having patience in order to find a good deal is 180 degrees opposite the mindset and feeling that comes with impulsive buying, or telling ourselves that we need it and we need it NOW!! While Sarah and I both were very tempted to run out and make our purchases we were patient and made do with what we had and with what friends would help us with. So next time you think "I gotta have that" go home and look it up online and see how much you can save.

Buy Dirty, Sell Clean

Here's a deal by Brian, my incredibly talented younger brother. He bought this 1986 fifth wheel camp trailer a few weeks ago for $900 bucks. How did he get such a good deal? Brian is very good about knowing the value of things he is shopping for, then he waits patiently like a like a cheetah crouched in the grass, poised ready to pounce with cash in hand waiting for the good deal to come along and then before any other KSL shopper even has time to look at the ad he's already got the trailer in his driveway. A deal hunter is what he is.

But really, part of the reason he got a good deal on this thing is becuase it was filthly. Brian and Tina put in several hours if not a day or two, in cleaning the dirt and "old" out of this camper. Just about anytime that someone has something for sale that they haven't taken the time to clean up before selling it means that they are emotionally uninterested in what they are selling and will most likely take a lot less than it could be worth if it were in better condition. Not cleaning it is a sign that they are not expecting top dollar for it, generally speaking anyway.



Brian and Tina decided this trailer wasn't going to work for them as well as they thought so they put it up for sael and sold it in "clean" condition for $1600. Total costs of improvement for cleaning, a battery and other misc. stuff was less than $100.

Sold Price $1,600
Purchase $900
Fix ups $100

Total income $600

So the lesson in this example is that often things are under valued because they are dirty. So buy dirty, sell clean.

The Best Deals are "Win-Win"

A common misconception is that in order for someone to get a really good deal some one else must be getting a really bad deal on the other end of it. While there are times when a good deal does come becuase of someone elses misfortune it isn't always the case, in fact I would say its not usually the case. The best deals however are a good deal for everyone, or a "Win-Win" situation.

For example, I was asked to sing a song in our upcoming stake conference in a few weeks to which I agreed, but what I didn't know was how it came about. Just today I found out that it was all part of good negotiating. My ward choir director went to a meeting where she found out that she was slated to have our ward choir sing in at stake conference with only 3 weeks to put something together. Feeling overwhelmed at the idea, and seeing that a musical number hadn't been found for the priesthood meeting, she suggested that I could sing the same song in the priesthood meeting that I had recently sung in our ward IF that would count for our wards music contribution to stake conference. And it worked!

So here's the benefits of the deal:
1 - My ward choir director doesn't have to prepare or stress over another musical number.
2 - The members of the ward choir don't have to sing in conference
3 - The stake music person doesn't have to find a musical number for the priesthood meeting
4 - I get to sing, which I enjoy. While I will need to spend time rehearsing it will be with my wife who I love to be with, the assignment will get me to a good meeting which I probably wouldn't have attended otherwise, AND I have the appreciation of the ward choir and may even see a plate of brownies from it.

That is a Win-Win-Win-Win scenario. And all because of good negotiation.

So remember that any time that you can find a way to meet the needs of some one else while at the sometime accomplishing your goals, that is a win-win situation, a good way to do business, and a really good deal.

Toy Hauler - 2002 Millenium by KIT

The KSL ad read "2000 Toy Hauler, Paid $11,000, needs work and I don't have the money to fix it." Asking price was $3,500 Here's the ad:


Here's the punch line for you who want the Short version:
NADA Low Retail : $7,050, Average Retail: $8,525
Cheapest Comparable on KSL: $6,500 (2001 Toy Hauler with Salvage Title)
Asking Price: $3,500
Purchase Price: $1,750 (Including Stabilizer hitch, aprox, $200 value)

THE DEAL:
My Brother sent me this ad from KSL. For 4 days in a row I called this guy 3-4 times per day, leaving messages twice per day and sent one text and one email on day 2. I really doubted that this deal was still available but based on the facts that he never answered his phone for me or when I would have my brother call, I assumed he was just difficult to get a hold of. Also his ad stayed on KSL so I figured he would either pull his ad or finally answer and tell me to stop calling if it had been sold. One thing I was careful to not do in my messages was to sound desperate because I knew that if I was begging him to call me it would hurt my ability to negotiate later on. Late at night on the 4th day I got an email back from his wife saying that she worked out of town and her husband worked 12 hour shifts but that tomorrow he would be home and to call him then. After 3 or 4 calls and an email to his wife I finally got a call back.

I was initially interested in this deal because I would have estimate the value of this trailer in the $6'500 to $10,000 range. I was aware that it had some sort of damage but regardless knew that this had the potential of being s screaming good deal depending on the costs to repair it. When I finally got to see it my impression was that it had had a hard life followed by a bad incident. It was rough around the edges but mechanically sound, tires were good, the functionality seemed in order. All of its problems were simply cosmetic. I was somewhat interested.

One of the things I like to do if the seller will let me is to think about it for a while with out them there to distract me. So I sat with my brother, and then with Sarah when she arrived, and decided that I didn't want it. It seemed like even after some fix ups it would still not be the prettiest trailer and the most important thing to me is that I thought that for the price it wasn't my favorite layout and didn't really give me much that I needed although it did have a lot of things that I wanted.

So we (Brian, Sarah, Zoey & I) decided that it would be worth at MOST to us $2,000 bucks but realized that the guy would likely not go that low so really we were prepared to just pass on the deal. But I always like to let people know what I'm thinking about their deal in exchange for their taking the time to show it to me. I think it gives them some feedback to go off for the next time they show it to someone. So I told the guy that I wasn't really interested partially becuase of its overall condition but mostly because I wasn't sure that it would work for my situation. i assured him that he would likely find someone who would buy it for $3,500 but that if not to call me and I would consider it again for $2,000. To my surprise, and horror, he actually said that he would take $2,000.

I was actually kind of frustrated inside because now I had to take time to really make a decision on this deal when I had a lot of other things to do that day. Not only did this have the potential of being a good thing for my family as far as a good purchase but I also now had to evaluate it on the side of making a financial investment because the price was good enough. 1 - Did I want to spend my money on it for that price, and 2 - if not could I fix and sell it for a profit?

I ended up with this conclusion - at $2,000 I still didn't feel comfortable buying it with either goal in mind but at $1,500 a smile crept up my face because that would be a SCREAMING good deal! So I went back to him again and said that I still just couldn't do it for $2,000 but that I would take it, no more questions asked, done deal for $1,500. He wouldn't go that low so I looked inside myself and said "If I don't like it at $2,000 but I would jump allover it at $1,500, I could probably be just fine halfway in the middle." So I said "Well lets meet in the middle at $1,750 and call it a deal." He agreed, we shook hands and that was that.

So why is this a good deal? I got it for 50% less than asking price, I believe I could make a $2000 profit off of it if I cleaned it and spent a day fixing it, and I could use it as it is for 5 years and still sell it as is for what I paid for it or more. In reality we will likely sell our current camp trailer which will pay for this trailer plus give as another $2,000 or so in the bank.

Why Neil's Deals?

I often get asked how I find such good deals on things. It seems that some people think that I have some natural ability or even just pure luck when it comes to getting such great deals, but in reality neither is true. These skills have been developed through study and practice in the same way that you would study the rules and develop the skills to play any game or sport.

So Why Neil's Deals? For two reasons - the first being that I LOVE getting good deals. I am often more excited about getting a good deal than I am for the thing that I got a good deal on. It is fun and exciting to get good deals and I want to share my excitement as well as inspire some hope and enthusiasm in others that they too can find great deals.

The second reason is to share the particular skills, or strategies, that I use to find such good deals. As said before, these are learned skills that anyone who wants to learn can. I did not create them but rather took little bits from here and there to build a toolbox of techniques and I want to share those with you so that you too can benefit and bless your life with these tips & tricks.

Some posts to look forward to - Good deals aren't always about the money, What classifies as a "Good Deal", Buy low & Sell Lower, Added Value, Closing the deal, Positive Vs. Negative questioning, Asking Why and Motivation, Taking advantage & getting too good of a deal, Honesty in selling, Cheap Vs Good Value, and more....