Why ‘haggling’ isn’t just for markets any more – and how it could save you hundreds

Like many Australians, I have been considering switching to using cash for some purchases now credit card surcharges have been banned as of October 1.

There have since been reports of prices at some cafés and restaurants increasing as a result, with small businesses left to carry the cost of digital payments.

Multiple outlets, including one of my favourite restaurants, Doodee King, have started displaying signs offering discounts for cash.

The thought of going around carrying wads of cash to pay for coffee, food and groceries has left me feeling a little uncomfortable. I, like many, am just not used to it any more.

But then, a recent experience on a holiday reminded me of the savings to be had by not only using cash, but by using that cash to negotiate lower prices.

My family and I cruised to the South Pacific on Carnival Adventure – just before it broke down and was pulled from rotation – for a dance cruise with my daughter’s dance school.

Read more

Beauty giant confirms permanent exit from all Westfield shopping centres

Through Dance Travel Tours, the girls were given the opportunity to perform on the cruise for guests and attend a workshop with one of the professional dancers, and families got to tag along at a discount.

That’s how I found myself at a market in Nouméa with my mum, where I witnessed one of the most effective haggling interactions I have ever seen.

About 15 years ago, Mum went on a few holidays with friends to Europe and the South Pacific, and returned transformed from a gentle little Italian woman to a fierce negotiator.

I’m serious when I say she hasn’t paid full price for anything since.

My partner Shamus and I don’t share her haggling skills. In fact, each time she went in for the kill, so to speak, we’d wander away feeling very uncomfortable.

Suffice to say, we paid full price for everything we purchased, and my mother did not.

She must have saved hundreds, and by the end of the trip I found myself pointing out items I wanted for myself or my daughter, then leaving Mum to hash it out. All these negotiations were cash negotiations.

Back home, Mum has negotiated lower prices for furniture, white goods, appliances – you name it – due to her newfound passion for haggling.

In her mind: why pay full price for anything when you don’t have to?

In my mind: because haggling is embarrassing. But why do I feel this way? That is a matter for me and my future therapist to figure out.

For now, I plan to try to start doing a little haggling myself. Why not?

With all the cash signs that have been appearing, I may as well try my luck – especially at places they aren’t yet displaying such signs, but for whom cash negotiations are now cheaper than digital ones.

I plan to start at my local coffee shop, where I currently pay $5.50 for a skim cappuccino three times a week.

I’ll simply ask, as my mum has taught me, “Any less for cash?”

But unlike my mum, I’ll accept their answer. Mum not only asks for a lower price, she doesn’t accept no for an answer, and then once they start to negotiate, she goes even lower.

I secretly admire her for it, and I’d love to save money on purchases myself.

But I’ll have to start small, with coffee, and see how I go. I figure starting at my local café, where they know me, will be a perfect launch to my future as an effective haggler.