Car Negotiation Coach

The following is a guest post by Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff. Her blog covers saving, spending, and the fun stuff along the way.

When Car Negotiation Coach asked for a post describing how I’d negotiate a big ticket item, my mind went blank. I shop so much online that I have forgotten that negotiating is even part of the game anymore. With that in mind, I attempt to get the best deal by using the web.

Electronics

For electronics like the laptop we just bought, I usually look at the weekly specials from Best Buy, Office Max, Office Depot, and Conn’s. I compare those specials to similar models at Amazon, Walmart.com, and Target.com. I also check out Directron.com, the store my husband buys parts from when he builds his own desktops.

After rolling around the options in my head, I print out what I consider to be the best 3 deals and ask my husband what he thinks.

In regards to our laptop, we both agreed that the 4 GB/500gb Toshiba at Office Max with the 15.6″ screen and number pad was the best deal for us and $499 seemed fair. He drove to the closest Office Max and came back half an hour later with our new laptop. So far, we are very happy with it.

Monthly Subscriptions or Memberships

For our monthly utility bills, I use the internet to research the pricing at multiple places and we usually sign up for the service that matches our needs at the cheapest price.

For example, we get our electricity through Gexa because their 1 year contracts at 9.6 cents/kwh was way better than the month-to-month rate we had with Dynowatt that jumped up 10 cents to 23 cents/kwh or the contract rate 14 cents/kwh that Reliant was offering at the same time.

We also used the internet to research AT&T U-Verse when we got sick of Comcast’s cruddy hardware issues and even worse customer service. AT&T U-Verse gave us the same product except for better service and is $20 cheaper per month.

You can also keep up with new member specials online and call in occasionally to use that info to renegotiate your current monthly costs. The internet is truly a wonderful thing.

Cars

Given that I am posting this at a car site, I thought I should also mention that you can also use online comparison shopping to your advantage in that arena too. Most dealerships have web specials and if one dealership ever has the car you definitely want, you can use web specials to negotiate your preferred price.

In short, the internet can be used for almost every major purchase you make. Whether you end up buying the item in person or having it shipped to your house, the World Wide Web can be used to find the best deal for you.

Do you shop online or use the internet for price research? Any good stories to share?

Get a personalized car buying strategy guide to learn how to buy a new car at the best possible price. It only takes a few seconds and could save you thousands of dollars! Did I mention it's free and you don't even have to register?

Why is it free? Because buying a car is something almost everyone has to do and I strongly believe the process is designed to confuse and take advantage of consumers. I'd like to level the playing field and give everyone a chance at a fair deal.