Successful negotiation at Best Buy

So my bud tells me he’s buying a new TV but doesn’t know a thing about new TV’s or how to negotiate a good deal. He knows I’m a business guy and pretty tech savvy so I knew he was hoping I’d help him out so I offered to go to Best Buy with him. Before we got there I told him to hang back and just watch.

So we get to the TV section and I see a 43” Insignia 1080p HD for $280. I knew that TV with those specs are pretty close to top of its class, but my bud said he wanted a huge tv with the best graphics so I went for it.

I decided to first act disinterested to not appear too anxious to buy. I pulled out my phone and played FarmVille for about 5 minutes before an employee approached me. You could tell this guy was a little computer game playing dweeb with no authority to negotiate, so when he asked if he could help I just said “manager” while continuing to FarmVille. You could tell he wasn’t used to such strong tactics, but after a second he realized he needed to get his manager.

About 10 minutes later his manager comes up and asks what he can do for me. I said Im interested in this TV but it’s too much. He asks what my budget is and I say that’s none of his business. Again, you could tell he realized he wasn’t dealing with your average customer, you could see it “click” in his eyes that he realized he was in for a tough negotiation.

He then immediately caved and said I could buy it for just $23/month over 12 months if that helped. I almost felt bad that I got him tripping over himself to make a sale so quick. I look over to my bud and he nods his head.

I tell the manager that works, but only if I can get the display TV so I don’t have to waste time doing all the unpacking and can just plug it in right when I get home. He paused for a moment and looked a little heistant. I just have him the 1000 yard stare. He again caved and said “sure thing!” Easy peezy.

You should have seen my bud’s face as he carried that TV out of Best Buy. He was thrilled.