ChrisMoncus.com

Tonight Amanda and I went to the local mall to do a little shopping for Christmas. We decided to look in Sears just to check if there were any deals to be had. Good news! There was!

We went to the appliances section to look for scratch-and-dent items. We’re not cheap, but we avoid retail prices like they were the plague. Truth be told, an appliance with a dent works just as well as an appliance without a dent in most cases. So why not save a few (hundred) bucks?!

We asked if there were any chest freezers with cosmetic defects and guess, what? A 9 cubic foot freezer with a dent on the lid was right there begging us to take it home. Not to show too much emotion I asked a couple questions and moved on down the aisle. I wouldn’t want to look like I had taken the bait and fell in love with it, would I?

The first pass put the originally $299 freezer at $209. In other words, a $90 dent. I thought that dent was worth more. I also found out that Amanda’s dad said he would pay for part of it as a Christmas present. Good news for us.

Second pass with the sales associate I asked if he could sell it to me for $150. I knew it was a low-ball, but it got the negotiations going. He said $209 was the lowest he could go. I said “Oh well”. Then he decided that he might could go lower. The might ended up being another $20 off. Good. We’re at $189 now. Still not good enough. So I decided to take another lap around the store just to think about things and to break off the flow of the associate. It’s a game I know, but it’s fun to play.

Third pass about thirty minutes later he told me that $189 was his cost. Yeah right. My hesitation sent him to the back offering another $10 off. $179 it is… sold! So I got a brand new 9 cubic foot chest freezer for 40% off. Not bad. I might could have gotten more off but that would have taken other tactics I didn’t feel like going into. I’ll settle for $179 for a $300 freezer.

Thank you, Dave Ramsey, my mom, and my small group, for helping me learn these things. I seriously suggest that anyone who can go through Financial Peace University or read The Total Money Makeover (both by Dave Ramsey) do so. The things I learned through it let me save tonight over twice the cost of the course and materials.

So next time you are faced with a retail *gasp* price, ask for a better price. Trust me, there is one.

Any good money saving stories out there?