seem indecisive. pretend you don't know what you're going in there for. look around, wait for them to come to you. most salesman will. ask questions. (the more questions you ask, the more the salesman starts to smell a sale) set your budget in your mind. let's say he's retailing something for 300, say in your mind that you won't spend more than 180. stick to that. when he finally gives you the first price quote, immediately reject it. "sorry man, that's too steep." pretend to lose a little interest. if he tries to keep selling you on the one product, he's probably going to be more willing to negotiate with you. if he moves on to a less expensive product or says "sorry" or something, he probably won't budge that much on the price. when the time feels right, ask "is there any way that we can get that price lower?" and express extreme interest in the piece. he just did a great job at getting you interested in the product! now you feel like you MUST have it. if he gives you a lower price, take it if you're comfortable. if not, you only have one more card: "will you take it for _____?" (where the blank is your pre-set limit you had in mind.) if you don't like the price he gives you, walk out. in summary: lead him on, seem eager, get passionate, set your limits, don't settle for a price you don't want to pay... it's better to just walk away and try a different shop. good luck!
I'm a little confused. Aren't prices set in stone? Why is buying a piece any different then buying like toilet paper or something.
several headshops in my city are all about negotiating. i like to compare it to like going out to buy a sofa from a mom&pop furniture store. everyone is haggle worthy. i fanagle lower prices on bongs/pipes all the time.
ya head shops are kind of famous for being open to bargaining, partly because most head shops are not chain stores, the other reason being because they are more likely to say fuck you to uncle Sam when he asks for his cut which means more profit which could mean more money for you. and because the workers are usually just as fucked up as you so of course they are just all around nice people. <----(notice his smile!) but to answer the OP, in my experience you are more likely to get something else half off or free, than you are to get a discount on just one item, its just like buying weed, instead of asking for a 45 dollar 1/8, ask for a 90 $ 1/4, because in their head they are thinking if i give this guy 5 $ off that right outa my pocket, but if i give 10 off of a 1/4, that means i can re up faster. and as far as a vapor genies goes, keep in mind you can buy them for like 50 on their website, so you definently dont wana go hgiher than that, you could also try useing that, if they try and sell it at 50 say you could get it on the internet for the same price, then ask why you shouldn't just use their website instead of going through the middle man.
Just go in there, look how much they are, shoot the shit with whoever is working and eventually be like, "yeah i would buy it, but i only got (said amount) on me. otherwise i would buy it right now". you know what i mean? works for me
Very few retail prices are 'set in stone'. You can even haggle at department stores at times; you'd be surprised how many store managers will be willing to give little discounts here and there for various reasons. Almost every head shop I've shopped at deliberately marks things up high enough to give them room to haggle.