Head Shops and bartering?

sometimes they're real dicks. usually they charge a good amount of money so they barter down if need be, but a lot wont. its better to kind of... start a relationship with them first haha. also, establish or even lie about how much money you have, then look for something slightly more expensive, they'll usually try to help you out or at least knock off tax or throw somethin in for free. everytime i go to my headshop for anything i get something free, a lighter, 420 cleaner (which sucks dont use it), hemp wick, cyclones, papers, haha. usually just when its this nice chick though.

 

Depends. The more legit shops with a ton of name brand glass tend to be more open to that kind of stuff. When I spent $200 at a place, the guy was uber cool and threw in some free stuff like a diffused downstem and bowl.

If you're only spending $40-$60, i wouldn't expect them to take a ton off. However, if you've spent a ton and they know you there, then that certainly helps your cause.

Honestly, all this and more applies to any business that does bartering.

 

are you your brother? aka underage?

they shouldnt have anything to be sketch about unless you break the law, like it seems you are planning on doing. why dont you just buy the pipe and give it to him after?

 

If you're brother isn't 18 (or 21 in some states) then he cant go with you.

At most smokeshops they have a 'set' barter price. Like at my local shop, anytime I go in there looking at bongs I can always figure out where the dude starts. Like on $75 pieces, he always tells me "Ok bro, I'll give you $15 off that one". So basically anything that's $75 he'll knock down to $60 if I show interest/push it a little. But for things that are $50, he'll only take $5 or so off. I think each person at each shop has a gameplan in their mind depending on the starting price of something. I'm sure the $75 bongs my shop has cost them like $30, so they want me to THINK that they're giving me (and only me) an awesome deal by dropping it down to $60. In reality, he probably does this for anyone that looks at a $75 bong for longer than 20 minutes.

One of my friends knows the guy and can get him down a LOT lower, but that's because he's spent hundreds of dollars there in the past.

 

Its always worth trying to barter. Especially if the place overprices their pieces.
If you don't feel like you getting a good price don't buy from them

 

Here is what works more often rather then talking em down on what you want try and get them to toss some other stuff in like a diffused downstem hempwick or a grinder or a slide or a/c or something to sweeten the deal.

 

I think establishing the relationship with a local shop is the most important thing. We are regulars at all of our local shops and some of them are more interested in haggling than others.

My favorite shop, They knock 25% off of everything we buy, but we have spent prolly 10,000$ in the last two years at this shop.

We go a crossed the street to a different shop, and you haggle on everything. You can normally tell they will haggle on everything if you notice they have 300$ bongs on sale for 100$ don't pay sticker on ANYTHING in one of these shops. They will always cut a deal.

We have a couple more shops that we circut as well, as long as we spend over 100$ they normally throw in some free shit. Free shit is almost as good as a discount, but i would rather just pay less on my glass.

My advice is to stick to the names "Water pipe" "Pollen" "tar" and to leave your younger brother in the car or at home.

 

Wrong. Legally your brother can't go inside the store with you if he's under 18. Chances are you're both going to get ID'd when you walk inside, and they'll tell your brother to leave.

 

Its always worth to barter.
Especially if the place overprices their pieces.

 

Truth... only the sketchiest shops won't ID you. I still get ID'd at my LHS sometimes and I've spent upwards of a grand there over the last year.... and I don't mean ID'd at purchase. Most shops ask as you walk through the door.