You have more power than you might thank. That's what Herb Cohen believes.
He should know, he has a lot of experience. Cohen served as a hostage negotiator. He negotiated the NFL players strike, even major class action lawsuits against corporations.
Cohen is a retired Florida businessman and penned a book on haggling titled, "How to Negotiate Anything." Cohen says negotiating is an experience. It's a social interaction. We do it daily.
Cohen believes there are fundamentals to haggling. These fundamentals are the focus Haggling 101.
STEP ONE: Always research what you want.
STEP TWO: Negotiate with your head and not with your heart.
"There are two reasons why people do lousy in negotiation and these apply to men a and women. Don't fall in love with what you're buying," said Cohen.
STEP THREE: Be persistent.
Cohen said we can all learn from a child's determination.
"Children wear you down. They ask and they ask and they ask again because they believe that 'no' is a temporary situation that can be altered," he said.
Cohen says haggling is much more effective on big ticket items. He says when buying a car or home, refrigerator, a flat screen TV for example, there's much more wiggle room for the seller to come down in price.
The most important thing to remember Cohen says is money. You are the consumer with the money and money is what the store wants. Bottom line: it never hurts to ask for a discount. The worst someone can say is no.
Keith Jones, 10 Connects and WTLV First Coast News