It has been several years since my last post. In that time,
Aimee and I purchased a house, sold it and have moved to another area where we
have again purchased a house. Naturally, just as an insect is attracted to a
bug-zapper, the homeowner is attracted to the home improvement store. When we
owned our first home (the one we just sold), we spent about every weekend at
Lowe’s. It was so bad, that we were on a first name basis with several of the
employees there.
As we would explore the aisles of Lowe’s looking for parts or
items we needed in order to complete our projects, we would wonder past several
clearance areas within the store (During the warmer months, there is also an
outdoor power equipment clearance section in front of the store as well). At
one point, we noticed that a $300.00 wine refrigerator was marked on clearance
(pictured below:)
 |
| Paid 33% of retail |
This item was placed on clearance because there was a newer model on the shelf,
so nothing was wrong with it. Over the next several months, we kept an eye on
this item as its price continued to decline, $249.99 to $225.00. After about
six months, Aimee and I decided to see if the employees in the appliance
section would be willing to haggle. We settled on a max price we were willing
to pay so we wouldn’t become emotionally attached during the negotiation.
I told the employee that I knew the product had been in the
appliance clearance area for several months, and asked if they would be willing
to accept a lower price. He indicated that they would, so I threw out a figure
of $75.00. Honestly, I had (and still have) no idea what their policy is on how
little they can accept on a clearance item, but I figured it was a good jumping
off point. Naturally, the employee told me he couldn’t go that low, but could
part with the appliance for $100.00. Aimee and I found that price agreeable and
agree to purchase it for that price. A part of me still wonders if he could
have sold it for less than $100.00 if I would have negotiated more
aggressively, but in the big picture we paid 1/3 of retail price for the item.
In some instances, it is possible to save even more on the
purchase price o f a negotiated item. Lowe’s sends 10% off coupons from time to
time. While those coupons will exclude some clearance appliances, they do not
exclude all clearance items in their store. Additionally, I’d be remiss if I
didn’t mention their additional 5% off savings by using their credit card.
Unfortunately, I didn’t always know that Lowe’s would haggle
on clearance items. When we purchased our first house, I needed a lawn mower
and found a Troy Bilt mower in that outdoor clearance section I mentioned
earlier. The mower had been returned, but the repair tag stated that there wasn’t
any problem with it. For maintenance purposes, they had cleaned out the carburetor.
The normal retail price was $1,399.00 and the clearance price was $900.00 (the
price I paid). If I would have known about the ability to further negotiate the
price, I wonder how much more I could have saved…. Oh well.
As I mentioned above, since our last post in 2015, Aimee and
I purchased our first house and have recently sold it. There are tons of money
saving ideas we employed while living there that I hope to share in the coming
months.
Happy Saving everyone!
