Bargaining at the electric store

[TheOrange 0]

I was wondering what other people did in shops here (if people actually use shops anymore!) The online prices for things like digicams and dvd players is usually so much cheaper than the shops but the shops sometimes give you a discount when they pitter patter on their calculator and points as well. Usually doesn't come down to the same price but somewhere near, and letting you use a card as well rather than just cash etc.

 

Is it normal to haggle though here, and do Japanese do it? I asked a friend who said he would on something 100,000 yen, but not on something 10,000 yen. I asked him what the price was when bargaining was an option and I got a wakarai for that.

[griller 9]

I've been watching the price of a camera on kakaku over the last 2 weeks. The cheapest price has changed almost daily. Ranging from 96000 yen to 104000 yen - actually getting more expensive each day the last few days. The same thing though costs 140000 yen at my local yamada (admittedly with 10% points back on that). At such a big difference, they can't expect many people to be keen to buy from them.

[thursday 1]

I have bargained but not got a really big discount. Kuma can get really big discounts.

[scouser 4]

I want to know what they are tapping in their calculators. Is it just show or do they have these complex calculations to make dependent on the product?

[bobby12 0]

When I bought my HDTV I shopped around and Yamada Denki was cheapest. It was same price as online (kakaku), plus I could get it on the spot. My manager came with me as I had no car then, and we tried to bargain. He basically shouted at the attendant for 15mins but the guy obviously could not budge. He said its fixed price on this item, cant go cheaper. So we drove to another yamada denki and got the same price and same story after another 30 mins of haggling.

 

The shop assistants said on some products you can bargain, but other products are already at lowest possible price and nothing can be done to get price down. He said a few years ago they could call head office and sometimes get a discount but not anymore.

 

Anyway, I was satisfied that I got that TV for the cheapest possible price so that was fine by me.

[indosnm 0]

Kakaku is the best though these days shops have come down a little.

Sometimes shops are cheaper and sometimes kakaku.

Depends on you payment method as Kakaku usually is cash based and where CC's are ok, 3-5% charges are incurred.

Some things like TV etc are sometimes better bought at local big stores as they'll come and set it up, which can save time, money and divorce papers being filed!

 

Shops around here give good discounts but sometimes when pulling out the kakaku card they say.. you better go with that because we can't do it that cheap..

[Curt 1]

Always worth an ask. They must get fed up of the internet competition and people mentioning it.

[pie-eater 207]

Looking at a video camera yesterday.

 

Price in the shop - 148,000 yen crossed out to 138,000 yen.

I asked and they said I could have it for 128,000 yen + 20,000 points - so effectively 108,000 yen. Pretty much the same as on Kotaku. I asked why they don't just put that price on the tag in the shop and they said they can't, even though I would have paid the lower price even if I had not tried to haggle. All very confusing.

[klingon 10]

pie-eater I hear you. Those tags are misleading and you'd think they'd want to show their best price especially if they would give it you even if you didn't ask. I suppose that might be going up and down often as well.....

[BagOfCrisps 24]

So what, the price shown is way more than you will pay if you take it to the counter without asking?

[thursday 1]

not to the counter, ask the dude as you're playing with the thing on display.

[klingon 10]

Yes to the counter. The guy tried to convince me that even if you don't ask/haggle, when you go to the counter you would get the lower/unannounced new price that was different to what was on the tag.

 

I'd recommend asking of course, but he was quite AdamAnt about it.

[tsondaboy 0]

There is not that much space for bargaining at stores that work with the point system. I ve found that there is lots of space for bargaining at Akihabara stores like Satomusen and the like. I always go into the store holding the kakaku price on a memo and they usually try to best it.

 

[charlotte 0]

They must get really fed up of seeing that!!

[Kumapix 0]

it's pretty hard to get a discount. I find most of the guys in Yamada & Kojima to be real idiots anyways. Like, I'll ask a tech question about a computer and they'll just pick up the brochure and read it to me. Then I repeat my question and they just run away. Most of the time it's impossible to find a guy who'll talk to you.

 

 

Using the printout from kakaku is good - it works at the camera shop (kitamura)

[charlotte 0]

"....and they just run away"

 

 

Are you scary?

[Kumapix 0]

they prob think i don't speak japanese and will just be a hassle