Haggling on whitegoods pays off

UNEXPECTED expenses always come at the worst possible time. But you can save yourself money before you rush in and make a purchase with a bit of good old-fashioned haggling.

LARGE unexpected expenses always come at the worst possible time.

For me it recently came in the form of a broken down washing machine, that conveniently decided to pack it in two weeks before Christmas.

Not the best timing as we head into the most expensive time of year.

After forking out $85 to get a repairman to look at it and only to be told it couldn’t be fixed, I was off to get a new machine.

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Thankfully I always make sure I have enough cash reserves to pay for these out-of-the-blue expenses that we never expect.

But just last week I wrote a story detailing how one in eight Australians have absolutely no cash savings so it worries me to think what they would do in this situation.

Turn to buy now, pay later schemes, whip out the trusty old credit card or even go to a payday lender?

As a personal finance writer I need to practice was I preach, right, so yes it came in the form of using cash savings.

At the whitegoods store the friendly sales assistant helped me find a decent front loader that fitted my budget.

I didn’t want a cheap-as-chips machine that would die within a matter of years.

Instead I opted for a German-branded Bosch machine that will hopefully make my garments crisp and clean and make me not have to think about getting another new machine at least for seven years.

Haggling instore can end up saving you hundreds of dollars on whitegoods.

When it comes to bargaining a good price — the part I love most — there’s plenty of things you can do.

The machine that caught my eye was retailing for $1099 plus a $79 delivery fee.

I immediately asked the sales assistant if he could do me a better deal.

He had a look online for me for what other retailers were charging for the same machine.

He actually did this in front of my eyes — I could see I could get it for $1019 plus free delivery elsewhere.

I then politely asked if he could give it to me for $1000 with delivery and we could seal the deal.

He trotted off to his store manager to “see what he could do” and before you knew it the machine was mine for $999.

A bit of firm but fair bargaining can go a long way.

But in saying this, it’s a tough game retailers are in.

Customers are becoming savvier than ever and many know how to score themselves a decent deal.

A quick search online and a bit of price matching or discount driving can result in some decent savings.

However, good old-fashioned customer service goes a long way.

The sales assistant was incredibly insightful, giving me details about the machine I would have struggled to find by just scrolling online.

He told me about its popularity, reliability and key features which got me over the line.

Bricks and mortar stores are worth their weight in gold, but make sure you do your research before you buy any large item to make sure you are getting a good deal.

Merry Christmas!

@sophieelsworth