Vendor Related - Haggling advice?

The best way to negotiate with a vendor is to just be upfront about your budget limitations. You might be able to get a photographer that was out of your budget by asking if you could only do half the time for a few hundred less. There are numerous hours of post wedding work and extensive other costs for them though so you might not but if you are honest and upfront they are probably going to be willing to help you out if they can.

A doctor and dentist are both service industries.

As far as haggling goes, how would you feel if you went up to your boss, asking for your paycheck and he said, "Look I appreciate that you worked 45 hours for me just now, but I've only budgeted $350 to pay you. On top of that, you took 5 lunch breaks, so I'm gonna take off that $50.

Remember, this is hard work that you are doing. It's not like you're just sitting there with your thumb up your butt. It takes energy, time, patience, anxiety, etc. to get the job done. But now your boss wants to haggle with you on how much you want to get paid? that's bull crap!

So at the end of the day, if a bride starts haggling with me,

1: This isn't my client

2: I ask her what she wants to take out of her collection.

If she still wants a discount:

3: She doesn't value my work as a professional, and I lose respect for her as a person.

I do not see any harm in asking if a vendor can work within a certain budget. When I shopped round, I did negotiate with vendors. In lieu of some wedding week cancellations, after we paid per-head, the hall agreed to give us free chair covers and DJ lights, instead of a partial refund. I worked with the florist, eliminating certain flowers, making center pieces smaller, to stay within my budget. I eliminated certain vendors as they were close on price but not willing to negotiate.

I do not think the boss example above is a great comparison, as that is talking about negotiations, after the work is done; I am talking about negotiations before the work is done.

Missy, our venue does not negotiate or haggle Our website lists brief rental info and our pricing so that brides can determine if we match their requirements and budgets. Some venues may build a cushion into their rental pricing for negotiating, so I'm never offended when asked, but we never negotiate, and no means no.

I'd suggest asking via phone or email if the pricing is negotiable. Knowing upfront will help you determine whether to proceed with a vendor visit. If not getting a price reduction will be a deal breaker for you there's no reason to waste your or the vendor's time.

Brian, I hear what you are saying. In addition to my wine wholesale life, I own a wine tour company. I cannot tell you how many times people as us to do a group tour for less than our costs. We will quote them $90 per person, for 7 hours (including transportation, tasting fees, lunch and driver/tour guide gratuity). Then we hear, "Well, I only want to spend $25 per person." Well, get in your own car and, good luck. LOL!

Not to mention the fact that we have expenses that go in to planning their tour AND oh my gosh, we want to make a personal income! Imagine that!

It's best to tell a vendor how much money you have in your budget, for their line item, and let them tell you if they can, or cannot, meet that budget.

I find it funny that as Americans we are deathly afraid to negotiate both ways.

Else where in the world, the 1st price is not the last price. It's expected to haggle.

However, I find it unfunny when people feel like they are obligated to pay just because vendors make it sound like their services are non-repeatable elsewhere for less.

Unless you are Michael Jackson talent, I find that highly improbable.

As for not respecting me as a person if I ask for flexibility in pricing, well I don't recall ever asking for respect. I asked about price!

I'll negotiate to a point. Being an online store I need to stay competitive. But, my business is different than other vendors. We offer free consultations for brides that need jewelry as gifts for their wedding party. My second question to the bride is "What is your budget?". This is to save me the time of showing her pieces that are way out of her price range. I know local boutiques who sell the exact same products I do at 5 times my price. I also offer a best price guarantee. If you prove to me a better price on the exact same piece I'll honor that price.

Keep in mind... product vendors are contracted by manufacturers to sell their items at a specific markup. If we go below their specific price we are penalized and run the chance of being dropped as a retailer.

We don't think we are as important as doctors. What was said was that you cannot haggle with doctors who provide a service. They were using the haggling part as the comparison. I was actually not going to get into this b/c I do negotiate sometimes, but don't think that we are not important to your day. And if you think that one vendor is just the same as another vendor, I beg to differ. I'd love for you to hear some of the sob stories of brides that made the mistake of hiring a friend or a cheap photographer to shoot their wedding. Believe me, a lot of them come to me to at least have some decent photographs of the two of them together in their wedding clothes. And yes, some vendors are award winning. I can assure you a lot of $10k wedding photographers work is so far above what you would get for someone that charges a lot less. They have a body of work to prove it. I'm sorry, I'm not the type of person that likes to get into an argument, at all, and I look at the positive side cont..

Of everything, but I really had to comment to your comment, Noei.

Noei- Our vendors here, on WW, are IN FACT AWARD WINNING. And your comments are getting downright rude.

Thank you, Analy!

Awesome, Brian!

Most vendors want to work with you. They want to meet your budgetary requirements, but they also want to be fairly compensated for their services.

If you want to negotiate- DO IT! But part of negotiating is both sides giving something up- not just one side conceeding to the wishes of the other side. If a vendor is just slightly out of your price range, see if you can renegotiate their specific package options to reduce their work and your cost.

But asking them to provide the same service for less money is insulting. We willing to give something up on your side. Less hours from your photographer, less flowers or less expensive flowers from your florist, or something.

PLEASE READ EVERY OTHER POST BEFORE YOU POST! Or hell, even read the amendment I left on my original post. I was talking about negotiating, not haggling. It was a poor word choice, that's it. Or am I wasting my breath at this point?

@Missy, at this point, that has nothing to do with anything. It's just a conversation. That happens with threads.

@Noei- I think you need to walk away. You made your point, now you are just being offensive and beating a dead horse. It's enough.

Thanks, Noei, I appreciate that. I do not like photogs with inflated egos, believe me, so I can understand that. There are def. some out there that charge high prices that shouldn't be. I've never been one to think that I'm "all that". I adore my brides, and I treat them like they are my friends, and they actually do become my friends.

Missy, my post was to Noei, originally. That's why I didn't post earlier b/c I felt enough had been said from both sides and realized you switched to negotiating, not haggling.

People that are in sales or selling their self as your wedding photographer, stylist, etc....In this economy I would bet my booty that they all have a HUGE gap in their pricing. They may have a set price 3k per wedding for photos, or $200per hr. for hair and makeup for the bride that is having a country club wedding with all the trimmings. But for the average bride on a budget are they just going to turn their nose up and say sorry honey but I don't waste my time or even get outta bed for your lil chapel ceremony backyard bbq. But I highly doubt they would not negotiate their prices. In business sometimes we have to take a cut, but if that bride is going to tell her family and all her friends what a great deal she got and how happy she was with how everything that's just more money in the pocket...cha-ching!

Leslie, it wasn't meant for you It was meant for people who clearly hadn't read what had been said before. These are filling up my inbox lol. I kept feeling like I had to say "I meant negotiate" over and over again so that's why I put a disclaimer in my original post but still sometimes I think people don't really see that and just get all hot under the collar.

Okay Analy, good to know X-D