“Is this the best price I can get?” is the one question that Gary Darwin suggests that all buyers be encouraged to ask when placing an order.  I had asked Gary, now vice president at Zrike, for advice to include in my book Specialty Shop Retailing.  And frankly, his answer surprised me — because even as a seasoned buyer, I’m shy about negotiating for price and terms. 

That may be because of my gender, it turns out. In Women Don’t Ask, Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever report that women initiate negotiations three to four times less often than men.  And when we do negotiate, we ask for — and usually get — less.  Why? According to Babcock and Laschever, quoted in Oprah’s magazine O, it is because we’re socialized to be compliant, we value relationships and strive to preserve them.  If we feel that by bargaining we’re challenging the status quo, it can make us uncomfortable.

For women — and men — who don’t get the best price on the merchandise they are buying for their stores, the result is lower margins and less profit. And as we learned the hard way in the early years of our business, profit is necessary to sustain and grow your store.

I’m not suggesting that you approach every reorder as an opportunity to negotiate. But smart buyers look for opportunities to request extended dating, or to get discounts pricing because of the size of their orders.  They ask about closeouts and special offers. They form relationships with companies and sales reps that make mutual success important.

Most of us dislike being asked by customers whether a price in our store is negotiable, so I’m not suggesting that you try to get a lower price on regularly priced goods. But it is within reason to ask how many of an item you would need to order to get case pack pricing (which may not be listed).

Another way to ease into negotiating is to suggest an alternative to an offer that is already being made.  For example, “I see that you have a show special on an order of $500. I can only afford a $250 order today — is there anything you can do for me?”

If you don’t ask, you won’t know.  And the worst that can happen is that you’ll be turned down.  As the authors of Women Don’t Ask point out, that may make you feel uncomfortable.  But think how happy you’ll feel if your request is respectfully granted, with positive results for your store, your vendor and your mutual long-term success.

Happy Retailing,

Carol “Orange” Schroeder