Re: Discounts
 

I don't blame anyone for getting as good a deal as they can! What sense does it make to pay more for something when you don't have to?
I negotiate on the majority of things I buy: Cars, holidays, sofas, TV's etc etc etc.

Re: Discounts
 

It's is strange, but it's only VM and insurance I find the have to haggle with to get a decent price. Electricity/Gas you'll get no where haggling, they have set rates, but it's easy to switch. Water you just have to pay whatever they charge. It's a pain, but those that don't haggle subsidise the rest of us. Guess most don't bother, or realise they can negotiate, and this set up is profitable for VM. Capitalism at work !

Re: Discounts
 

I hate haggling in general, all it seems to create is the majority of people all paying different prices for the same product which then becomes unfair.

Re: Discounts
 

A general rule of thumb is that they tend to start offering it when you express your desire to leave...so you don't even have to ask. When you tell them that you want to downgrade / can't justify the cost etc, they'll start offering discounts etc.

Re: Discounts
 

It's entirely fair. There are examples all throughout the economy where price differentiation for the same/similar products goes on.

If someone values Virgin's offering at £100, and someone else £120, and the first is willing to put in a bit of effort to get there then that's their prerogative (and Virgin's as a seller to engage with it).

Re: Discounts
 

I've rang up before to get faster speeds and managed to get discount without asking, twice.

---------- Post added at 19:00 ---------- Previous post was at 18:57 ----------

There might be examples but I still think it's unfair. Why should I pay £99 for VIP, you pay £90 and someone else pays the full price £125. That's 3 different prices for the same product.

Re: Discounts
 

Yeah and usually if they can't give you the speeds they generally tend to compensate you with a lower cost for the speed that you get but they may want you to re-contract if they need to install a bunch of new equipment etc - from what I know anyway. (Make it worth their while and so on). Aside from offsetting their own homes the equipment is then already there in the property the next time that anyone else wishes to join etc.

Re: Discounts
 

I was on the VIP package with 200Mb and the hub 3. First I went on the online chat and asked to go up to 350Mb as that is what comes with the VIP and he said ok and I can offer you discount. At that point the laptop restarted so I phoned retensions and explained what happened and at that point he stated he could better the discount.

Re: Discounts
 

Which goes to prove the first discount wasn't really a discount just the standard price. There is a price psychology to some of these 'discounts', i.e. offer an inflated price plus then a 'discount' to make you happy. It's not just VM do this, it's in everywhere online and on the high street.

Re: Discounts
 

It's just the same concept with wages. Once a person gets higher up than the minimum wage jobs, it's now prevelant for people to have to negotiate their wage, leading to disparities for people doing exactly the same job.

The days of collective bargaining and paying everyone the same are generally behind us, often viewed as socialism or working against the free market. Society can't have it both ways.

Because of equal pay legislation, some employers have come unstuck where this has led to women receiving less pay than men.

Re: Discounts
 

True dat...

(One exception I would say is a genuine depreciation on an item / set of goods that comes with time, like a car etc - for services it is almost always due to the fact that there is now better or like you said, a feel good factor for the customer etc).

Re: Discounts
 

Exactly. Companies obviously want to get the highest price for their product that they can, but a lesser product from those who can't or won't pay this is better than nothing and stops money going into the business of a rival.

Re: Discounts
 

Point is, I didn't ring up for discount nor did I mention any prices. The standard price is the price on the website.

Re: Discounts
 

Not necessarily, I have worked in sales before and sometimes the sales agent may take a dip in their commission and give their customer a better deal.
This happens with industries like mobile telephony, kitchens etc. It all depends on how desperate the agent is to secure the deal.

Re: Discounts
 

If it is commission based etc? I assume that varies from company to company though. (What their policies are etc).