Negotiating furniture prices

Twelve years ago, we purchased two recliner chairs for our living rooms. We’ve used them well, so well in fact, that I should say they’re now well past their prime, so early this week we went to our local furniture store to see what was new. 

Like everyone, we saw some pieces that drew our attention and other things we didn’t care much for, but universally, I should say that we were a bit taken aback by the prices that seemed to have shot up much more than the 37% consumer prices during that same period, something more like a 50 to 100 percent increase! So what were we to do?

The new seats, made in Sweden, looked sleek, felt great and were more convenient than the current ones so we felt that we needed them. What we didn’t like was the price the merchant gave us and in spite of my insistent request, wouldn’t budge on it. So I went online and began looking, and after two days of search and negotiations, was able to find a much more attractive purchase price, first from a Denver store at 22 percent less, then from a California dealer at 32 percent less, both delivered in Park City! 

Not thinking we could do much better we went ahead and bought the two chairs. Almost immediately, I asked myself, could I have done even better? That’s when I reviewed the moves I might have overlooked in my search. I thought I did a thorough work, like comparing prices for that model and that type of chair, I checked online retailers, local stores, and even discount outlets. I also had a pretty good understanding of the market, sales, and promotions. 

Then, I learned that, as always, timing is everything, as on end-of-month or quarter sales, retailers often offer discounts to meet sales targets. This applies to Holidays too like our upcoming Labor Day (September 2). Floor models can also be good values, but in our cases, needing one pair of chairs negated that possibility. 

Negotiating skills always come in handy; after asking me how much I had paid, the Denver retailer congratulated me for my excellent negotiation and by doing so validated my transaction. I realized I had not left much money on the table and was rather proud of my new acquisition!