Shoppers able to haggle for huge savings

Shoppers can haggle themselves with some huge savings on high-end goods, as retailers look to re-ignite the economy.

The Herald on Sunday haggled with five major retailers - Dick Smith Electronics, Bond + Bond, Hill and Stewart, Noel Leeming and JB Hi Fi - on the price of a Samsung 40-inch HD television.

At Dick Smith, the shop assistant couldn't lower the price any further - it was already reduced from $2199 to $1999 - but said they had a 37-inch TV they could reduce from $1997 to $1699.

Bond + Bond could offer the same discount, dropping the price to $1999.

Hill and Stewart looked more promising. The assistant quickly talked up the features of the telly. The price was virtually the same as the others - $2198 - but we said we couldn't afford that much. We told him we had been offered a good price at Dick Smith and he promptly came back with a better offer, $1800.

Armed with this new price, we bowled into Noel Leeming. The assistant seemed less certain about a discount until we let slip we were keen to spend. He tapped some figures into his computer and came back with the "very good" price of $1949. When we told him his competitor offered us the same TV for $150 cheaper, he gingerly matched it.

At JB Hi Fi, the assistant wrinkled his brow when he was told we had been offered their $2198 product for $1800. A quick consultation with his PDA gave him the same price, and some further gentle prodding reduced this to $1750, a total saving of $448.

So some advice - go shopping knowing that the price you see doesn't have to be the price you pay, provided you look like you will be able to cough up the cash.