Most of the items sold at electronics stores in Japan are more expensive than those purchased on the Internet. It is natural for them to be more expensive because of the cost of land and labor, but it is possible to get a lower price through negotiation. So this time, I would like to write about how to negotiate based on my experience and what I heard from an acquaintance who actually works at an electronics retail store.
Preparation for Negotiation
First of all, there are some preparations to be done before negotiating a discount. If you go to an electronics store unarmed without doing anything, the last thing you want is to end up buying an appliance at a higher price from the clerk. You need to prepare for something.
Make a list of the appliances you plan to buy
This is actually very important because the store will offer you the products they want to sell. Also, you can’t get much of a discount if you try to negotiate for the appliances that are introduced to you.
Be sure to do your own research before negotiating a discount. You don’t need to go to a mass merchandiser to find out information about home appliances, but you can find out as much as you can with a smartphone or computer.
After checking the basic information and specifications of the appliances, you should also check the lowest price on the Internet. This is a very important point.
If you buy the items you want in bulk rather than one item at a time, the amount of discount you will get higher discounts.
Check out nearby competitors and rival stores
This does not mean that you should go to other electronics stores. Of course, you can get a lot of information if you go there. However, many people find this too inconvenient, so I’ll tell you what you need to know at least.
- Do they give points or cash discounts?
- What kind of extended warranty do they offer for home appliances?
- Check the shipping and other service fees.
For example, let’s say you checked the price at K’s Denki, which only offers cash discounts. If you go to Bic Camera, which gives points back, and tell them that you got 10% points at K’s Denki, they won’t take you seriously.
There is no such thing as bargaining.
At the very least, you should have enough information to make a conversation. If you are going to a rival store, you should at least check the price displayed in the store.
Attire
What you wear is important if you want to negotiate a good discount. If you are dressed in a certain way, the shopkeepers will almost certainly talk to you. This is because many people who are dressed roughly are just strolling customers. Also, store clerks recognize that people without luggage, people in sandals, and other people in near-loungewear are more likely not to buy.
Once they are approached, it becomes easier to negotiate a discount from there, which gives the customer an advantage.
On a deeper level, people who come to the store first thing in the morning or who are clutching their wallets tend to be customers who have a strong desire to buy. They will talk to you right away.
On the other hand, if you don’t want to talk to the clerk too much, I recommend you to wear something rough.
Discount rates and limits
There is a market price for discounts on all kinds of home appliances. If you know the discount limit of a product, you can buy it at a discounted price, but this is impossible.
But there are some products that are easy to discount and some appliances that are hard to discount. I’ll also tell you how you can get the lowest price on the Internet.
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics include refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, and air purifiers.
The first and easiest way to get a discount on household appliances is to get a full discount. After all, there is a lot of gross profit on them, so the shopkeepers can easily discount them.
In some cases, it is even possible to sell a product with a 20% profit. This means that the range of discounting is huge.
In fact, when I check the prices of household appliances on Price.com, the cost price is sometimes lower than the lowest price. Sometimes the customer is happy because the price can be lower than the lowest price on the Internet.
Please keep in mind that the discount limit for household appliances depends on the product, but it can be lower than the lowest price on Price.com.
Digital home appliances
Digital home appliances include computers, digital cameras, video cameras, internet-related devices, and smartphones.
There are few discounts on digital home appliances. And the market price for discounts is almost non-existent. As with black goods, the maximum amount of discount is probably the lowest price on the Internet.
I think it’s okay to buy digital appliances online. First of all, you can’t beat the online price. Even if they do, most of them will be below cost, so no store clerk will be able to offer much support.
The clerks also have sales quotas and gross profit quotas, so there are times when they respond and times when they don’t, so it’s a difficult situation.
However, if you buy a digital appliance at an electronics store, you may get a promotional item. If you buy a TV, you may get an LCD cloth; if you buy a recorder, you may get a Blu-ray disc; if you buy a digital camera, you may get an SD card or a bag.
In some cases, depending on the promotional items, you may be able to get a better deal than the lowest price on the Internet.
TVs, recorders, and audio equipment
The difference between in-store prices and online prices for these products is getting larger every year. Especially for OLED TVs, which have recently become popular. The difference in price between stores and the Internet is more than 50,000 yen.
Unlike white goods, there is not much gross profit margin. To be honest, the price difference between the in-store price and the lowest online price is too much for me.
The market price for these discounts is good if you can negotiate to the lowest online price. If you can negotiate to the lowest online price, that’s good. However, even if the lowest online price is free shipping, shipping and recycling fees will be added, so I recommend comparing the total price.
How to negotiate discounts
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics is a category where it is relatively easy to negotiate a discount because it is full of gross profit.
However, there is one point you should be aware of.
Consumer electronics stores are becoming less and less responsive to the lowest online prices. This is because responding to online prices will reduce their profits.
Whether the retailer emphasizes sales or gross profit it will determine how to respond to the price, depending on the store management or company. This is why it is important to know how to do it.
It is the consumer electronics stores that do not respond to the price of the Internet, but do not want to lose out to their competitors, also. That’s where we need to make the most of it.
They don’t want to lose to anyone who stands on the same playing field. They don’t want to lose their sales to other companies rather than profit.
Electronics retailers don’t like online prices, but they will respond to competitors’ prices.
Store clerks don’t like online prices too, but they will respond to competitors’ prices.
In other words, if you don’t offer the net price, the discount might go smoothly.
Swap the net price with the competitor’s price. This is a negotiation technique.
The lowest price on the Internet is 10,000 yen, but the competitor’s price is 10,000 yen. How much would you be willing to pay for it?
Honestly speaking, this is the best way for both the customer and the clerk to feel good about shopping and selling. Moreover, a good clerk may be able to give you a lower price than the lowest price on the Internet.
However, the danger is that if you tell them the exact same price as the lowest online price, the clerk may check the price on the spot with his phone. They may also call a competitor store to check the price.
This is why it is better to give a slightly higher price than the lowest price on the Internet to make it more credible. For example, if the lowest price on the Internet for a washing machine is 109,831 yen, it is better to say 110,000 yen when negotiating for a discount.
Even if you can’t get the lowest price on the Internet for a large home appliance such as a refrigerator, washing machine, or air conditioner, if the price is a little higher, I recommend buying it at a store.
If the price is a little higher, it is better to go to the store.
For seasonal and beauty appliances, try to get the lowest price on the Internet. To put it simply, aim for the lowest price on white goods that you can take home with you.
For home appliances that require delivery, installation, or other work, you can negotiate a total price that includes the online price, shipping and installation fees, and long-term warranty.
Digital home appliances
Digital appliances are the most difficult to negotiate. PCs, digital cameras, and video cameras are representative of digital home appliances.
About 10 years ago, it was said that the gross profit margin of PCs was less than 1%. They are not appliances that make profit, but appliances that make sales.
Almost no profit means that the margin for discounting is far less than that of white and black goods. And it’s almost impossible to deal with the lowest prices on the Internet.
The important things to know about how to get the best deals on digital appliances are as follows:
- Ask for incidental products
- Ask for more promotional materials and services
- Receiving points and gift certificates
Ask for incidental products
In the case of computers, incidental products include external hard drives, laptop covers, keyboard covers, memory expansion and flash memory.
“If you ask, “If you can’t get the lowest price on the Internet, can you get this for me? Some stores will give you points or gift certificates for these items and ask you to buy with them.
The same goes for digital cameras and camcorders. It is important to ask for the necessary items such as bags, tripods, and SD cards.
Ask for more promotional materials and services
Asking for promotional items is actually quite easy since it is not a burden on the store.
Promotional items are light service items that are provided by the manufacturers to help them sell their products.
For example, they provide paper to sell printers, flash memory to sell computers, and bags and tripods to sell video cameras.
Basically, you can only get oneset, but if you are persistent, you can sometimes get two sets, so you should try your best to ask for them.
Receiving points and gift certificates
In the past, it was easy to get 20% back on points, but nowadays, electronics retailers are reluctant to give out points because the economy is not good.
However, nowadays, electronics retailers are reluctant to offer such products because of the poor economy. The only way to get the lowest price on the Internet for digital home appliances that are not profitable is to receive points, gift certificates, or promotional materials.
The first step is to negotiate the price at electronics retailers that offer point reductions.
Next, go to an electronics store that does not offer points and explain the point rates of other companies.
The first thing to do is to do these two things. If this is not the case, you may lose money, so be careful.
Point redemption is a point that stores have strong appeal to. However, many stores do not strongly promote gift certificates in their stores.
The first time you go to a store that offers points is to check how much points you can get. If you can get 10,000 yen worth of points, you can go to your competitors and explain that to them to compete with them.
Stores without points are more likely to respond with 10,000 yen worth of service, 10,000 yen worth of discounts, or 10,000 yen worth of gift certificates.
By making the stores compare with each other, they may give more points or gift certificates.
TVs, recorders, and audio equipment
Unlike consumer electronics, these products are difficult to negotiate because there is not much gross profit.
This is where point reductions and gift certificates are important.
For TVs, recorders, and audio equipment, mass merchandisers are unlikely to display online prices in their stores, and their staffs are unlikely to offer online prices.
Do not simply say that the lowest price on the Internet was offered by another company. However, everyone wants to buy something at a lower price, even if it is only one yen.
If you can’t deal with the price, consider other things similar to money (points or gift certificates) or services (long-term warranty, shipping, installation fee, promotional gifts).
If it’s a TV, you may get an external hard drive. Also, there are stores that offer free extended warranties and some that offer them as a service. This is an important point because it is something that online shopping cannot offer.
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