Buying for baby – don’t be afraid to negotiate.

Getting all the stuff needed for  new baby can be very expensive. When it comes to some of the bigger items don't be afraid to negotiate.

• Do your research first – know what model etc you want and how much it costs at other stores. It is easier to be assertive when you know your stuff.
• Find a shop that price matches (if you find the product in another store at a cheaper price they will match it rather than loose your business)- some shops advertise it and others will if you ask them.
• If using prices from the internet remember to take delivery costs into account when calculating price.
• Consider buying locally so that if the item has a fault you can take it back to the store instead of having to pay postage / courier charges to return it.
• If you need more than one item you wish to buy it may give you better negotiating power.
• Ask for a better price for cash – using credit cards costs the store money, see if you can negotiate a better price for cash.
• Be polite but confident, assertive but not aggressive and don’t be afraid to walk away and go somewhere else that will negotiate.
• If buying a car seat or pram – check that it fits in your vehicle (some car seats won’t fit in some cars in the newborn position).
• Don’t buy too early and waste half your warranty with the item sitting in a box waiting for baby to be born.

When shopping for baby items it can be easy to get caught up in the moment. I shopped around for ages to work out which pram I wanted and then I got on the internet and checked prices. I also waited until I had a few things to buy so that I was a “bigger fish” and had better negotiation power.

I shopped around for my shop too. I found a baby product shop that already had reasonable prices, price matched and gave a two year warranty on the products I was buying instead of just the manufacturers 12 month warranty.

I walked into the shop knowing exactly which pram, bassinette and car seat I wanted and how much they cost at other shops. From the research I had done I knew that they had the best price for the pram (many other shops were asking $100 more) so I didn’t try to bargain on that.

Just by asking the store to price match on the other items I saved $19 off store price on the car seat and $14 off the store price of the bassinette (and their store prices were better than many other stores I had seen). My husband wanted the pneumatic tyres for the pram and they threw them in with no extra charge.  

I have found that this can work for other household items too.
Happy bargaining. Your money is better in your pocket than theirs.