Nowadays, retailers have to compete for your business with their online counterparts. Often, the online stores can offer shoppers lower prices, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a good deal at a bricks-and-mortar store by using these tricks.
1. Ask for a lower price
This is the first go-to move if you want to pay less than the advertised price for any goods. It’s a retailer’s job to sell goods and, more often than not, they will always have some sort of margin with which to play. Take advantage of this by making them do the work of selling you the item you’re after.
2. Speak to retail staff
It’s a good idea to communicate with retail staff to see if you’re getting the best deal available. Retail staff members are usually quite friendly and if they’re not, then just move on to another one (it can’t hurt your cause to have a staff member be rude to you – it may even give you leverage when asking for a discount). If you’re friendly to them, the chances are you’ll find out if the item you want to buy will be on sale in the near future, or if there are in-store alternatives that do the same job for less money.
4. Use the internet as a weapon
If you find yourself in a shopping centre looking for a good deal on a pair of shoes, it’s advisable to use the internet to compare prices. You may find that retailers are willing to match (or come close to matching) a price advertised online. So find what you’re after in store, then check out the lowest price online and show them. It can’t hurt to try.
5. Keep the receipt
It’s always good practice to keep the receipt on any items you buy, but if you happen to spot a better price on an item a couple of days after you’ve just bought it, go back to the retailer and ask them to price-match it. Some will give you the difference as a refund. If not, then refund the item fully and buy it again at the lower price.
6. Tap the power of social media
Follow your favourite brands and retailers on social media to stay up to date with all the latest sales and lowest prices. You never know when a special promotion will get you that striped shirt you’ve had your eye on for weeks. Some brands may also promote social media – only deals that could save you a bundle.
7. Subscribe to discount deal sites
There are a tonne of special discount deal and offer websites that your favourite brands will often use to get rid of excess stock, out-of-season stock, items in unusual sizes or colours, or promoting new stock at much lower than retail prices.
But be careful: the idea here is to save money, not spend more on things you feel you need to buy just because they’re cheap. This form of retail trickery happens online as well as in store, so don’t get trapped – use these websites to your advantage.
Do you have any tricks that you use to not pay full price? Why not share them with our members?
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