Hagglers who play cards right get a deal

By JOANN JONES

In a struggling economy in which Internet searches for coupons have reached an all-time high and people are looking everywhere for bargains, Frederick Chrysler Jeep Dodge of Boardman boldly advertises in the Sunday edition of The Vindicator: “Hagglers are always welcome! No reasonable offer refused!”

It’s common for hagglers to be seen on car lots, but because of today’s high prices for gas and food, getting the best deal for the least money has become a high priority for shoppers.

Patty Fife of Niles is a self-proclaimed haggler.

“I love to haggle all the time,” Fife said, “so much that my husband walks away.”

Fife, who visits large, open-air farm markets such as the one on Fridays in Rogers, looks mainly for good produce that she says is so expensive in grocery stores.

“I get what I want 70 percent of the time,” she said with a smile. “The other 30 percent, I walk away. I’m never disappointed.”

Bargain hunters

Dave Hernstrom, a Canfield resident, visits fleas markets such as Four Seasons in Youngstown and the Rogers market, as well as garage sales near Canfield, to find bargains such as tools, nuts and bolts, and shelving.

“Because of gas prices, my wife and I usually go to garage sales in our area,” Hernstrom said. “But there are so many. When we went out to two, we found five more. But the items we buy are only good if they get used.”

“I kind of figure that they’ll take one-third off what they’re asking,” he said. “I’m shameless. It never hurts to ask for a lower price.”

The Hernstroms got their best bargain a few weeks ago when they were visiting garage sales.

“We were looking at a piece of exercise equipment that the owner said was worth $400,” Hernstrom said. “He was asking $215 for it, and we offered him $125.”

When the owner said he couldn’t take less than $200, the Hernstroms left, but they also left their name and phone number in case he changed his mind.

“He called us that afternoon and we went to pick it up,” Hernstrom said. “The last thing people want to do is put items back in the house or basement.”

Hernstrom also uses online classifieds to buy and sell items.

Other sales

Debbie Landers, who lives just outside Columbiana, said she looks for street fairs or church sales where there are a lot of items in one place because gas is too expensive to drive all over to individual garage sales.

“On the last day of a sale, I’ll offer less than they’re asking,” she said. “You stick to your guns, especially if you know they’re closing up.”

Since Landers lives only a few minutes from the Rogers market, she said she also goes there to get fruits and vegetables.

“If they won’t give it to me for what I want to pay, I tell them I’ll go somewhere else and get it for a dollar,” she said.

Landers recently got a great deal on a Kitchen Aid mixer that she said is very expensive in a regular store. The vendor was asking $30 for one, but it didn’t include the beaters or the bowl.

“I offered him $20 because the beaters and bowl were missing,” Landers said. “And he took it.”

Because of high prices, Landers does a lot of canning of fruits and vegetables, and members of her family have started canning, too.

“Right now I’m looking for a pressure canner for my brother,” she said. “I bought one for my sister for $10. In the store they cost about $200. That’s quite a savings.”

The other side

Eric Rick, who lives near Carrollton, finds himself on the other side of the haggling as he has been a vendor at the Rogers market for ten years.

“It’s a little tough for me to haggle with the price of gas,” said Rick, who sells cowboy hats and toys. “The extra money people have is going into the tank.”

“If you look around,” he added, “a lot of people aren’t carrying anything. They’re just coming around to walk around and be out in the open air. It’s definitely hard to turn a profit.”

No time

Some people, however, simply look for what they consider a good bargain and just buy without haggling.

“I don’t have time to haggle,” said Chrystal Rohrer of Austintown, who looks for good prices on produce while enjoying open-air markets.

“If I see something I like, and it’s a good price, I buy it,” Rohrer said after paying $15 for a purse.

Bargain hunters are everywhere, according to Hernstrom, and you never know what they’ll buy.

“We cleaned out our basement and had a big, bulky, heavy punching bag,” he said. “It wasn’t something we could donate, and I put it [online] but no one bought it. We actually put it outside with a sign on it for $25, and someone stopped and bought it.”

And they didn’t even haggle.