The OH and I are thinking of buying a new tent with the clear favourite being a Montana 6. Ideally we would like the tent itself (obviously), the footprint, carpet, and extension. The dilemma we are faced with is whether we can stretch the budget and buy it all new or whether we pick up a second hand Montana 6 and buy the rest new. The only reservation i have about buying a second hand Montana 6 is that we have no comeback or support if anything goes wrong.
So my question is..... If we were to bite the bullet and buy the lot from a reputable dealer, is it worth haggling or do they not budge from the RRP's? All of our previous tents have been second hand so never really dealt with with buying brand new kit and certainly not spent as much!!
Any advice gratefully received.
Tim
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You may have more haggling joy with the smaller outlets, as in being able to do the haggling with someone who can make decisions - as opposed to a 'sunday lad' who doesnt realy want to be there anyway, and not having any say in pricing. The smaller places may just have the actual owner, or a manager there, who you can barter down.
Most retailers will do a price match, or throw in freebies as a package. Don't ask, don't get, so it's always worth asking! If you pay by cash it's a plus, btw, as the retailer doesn't have to pay the card charges. if you're feeling embarassed, ask about "package "deals. Sounds better than asking for free stuff!
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My suggestion would be to go to a local dealer and haggle over the price of a new Montana 6, although you might not get a huge amount of joy at this time of year as it is peak tent-buying season. Then see how much money you've got left and prioritise between the tent frills you want as well. If you want an extension as well then that would probably come top - a cheap tarp will do the same job as an expensive footprint underneath the tent and you might already have some picnic or other rugs at home you could use for a bit of warmth underfoot to be going on with.
------------- Tackling life the Western District way
I bought Nevada M at the weekend, went to Go Outdoors, Outdoor World (Warrington) and Yeomans and not one of them would budge on RRP even though i was prepared to buy tent, footprint, carpet and windbreak... In the end i just bought the tent and will prob get the rest of the gear off the internet.
You may have more chance if you speak to the manager of a small independant... The big boys wouldn't give me the muck from under their finger nails!!!
I haggled with Yeomans for my new Hartford XL, they gave me the footprint free - better than nothing - couldn't get them to budge any further that that!
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Quote: Originally posted by Grotbags on 23/4/2009
I haggled with Yeomans for my new Hartford XL, they gave me the footprint free - better than nothing - couldn't get them to budge any further that that!
A colleague had asked my advice as she and her OH were completely new to camping. I recommended a tent and told her what other bits she'd need, and recommended Sports Warehouse in Edinburgh as we'd previously had good service there.
Her OH called them, said they'd be coming in to buy "everything" and asked if they'd give a percentage discount. They said they couldn't do that but would throw in some freebies.
Don't know what they actually got free but they were delighted. As I'd pointed out, if it's £10 - £15 worth, that would be their first night's pitch fee covered and anything beyond that would just be a great bonus.
Obviously, as they needed everything - tent, sleeping bags (for 4), pots, plates, stoves, camping chairs, etc, etc, they were making a fair purchase so it made sense to get them onside and that's just what the Warehouse did. They're now the store's best ambassadors and are recommending them to everyone - you can't buy advertising like that so it's in shops' interest to be flexible and help buyers, especially in this economic climate.
------------- Best Wishes and Happy Travels,
Feecamp
I'm (hopefully) going to be buying a new caravan in the near future. There are 3 dealers within an hours drive of us and i will be going with pen and paper to all 3 to get the best deal. The one furthest away has already promised a discount for cash but as we weren't putting a deposit down there and then we didn't go into it.
If i ever get there then i will be screaming it from the rooftops so any dealer is going to be getting advertising from me lol.
We got our monty12 from yeomans and also bought side canopy and a cooker and got a good deal by being cheeky and asking. Pays off for them in the long run because if a shop treats you right you go back there and also put a good word out on them. Always ask, if you get a no you're no worse of!!!
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Quote: Originally posted by Mick S. on 23/4/2009
You may have more haggling joy with the smaller outlets, as in being able to do the haggling with someone who can make decisions - as opposed to a 'sunday lad' who doesnt realy want to be there anyway, and not having any say in pricing. The smaller places may just have the actual owner, or a manager there, who you can barter down.
This is so true.
No point asking a part time worker who has no idea what a tent actually is , to give you a discount. You will be lucky if they can show you the way to the check out lol
Choose what you want then grab the boss (nicely of course) and ask him if he is going to do you a good deal on the items you have chosen.
Most of the family run stores will want to make a sale rather than let cash walk out the door rather than into their tills :)
A point of view from a retailer. Deals are always available but it mostly depends on the stock availability. If your after a discount on a tent that the retailer is finding hard to get from say Outwell or Vango etc etc the you will find it hard if not impossible to get a deal. Again even if the retailer has loads of stock of a tent if they are selling loads then a discount will be hard to get.
On the other hand if the tent your after isny the biggest seller and the retailer can get his hands on as many of that tent as he likes the yes your going to get a discount.
We all know how damp last year was so again discounts were easy to come by. What i would say is if the sun shines and the euro and dollar stay where they are and more new campers come in to the shops (which is all happening now) then discounts will be harder to come by.
I know from the inside that a lot of retailers have been hit hard over the last few years with the way the weather has been. I have heard that a lot of retailers will be sticking to there guns re prices this season. They just need a good year to get back on track...
Thanks for that Gary, a good insight into how things work, my story for Tim, was that I new the specific tent that I was looking for, and started looking to buy end of season, quite a bit of work, phoning every dealer in the land!, but eventualy found a dealer that was clearing stock, with no plans to carry the tent for the following season, no need to haggle as the tent was featured in a flyer, at half RRP, it was a good deal for both consumer and retailer, I got a bargain, and the retailer cleared out the remains of thier stock. the number of bargains I came accross from shops offering me other models was quite amazing, one of the offers I bought and passed onto another member of this forum, for the same price I paid, again 65% saving on RRP. all the dealers making me very good offers, were dropping the brand I was interested in for the 2009 season.
When we bought our tent the guy went from a definitive "no we don't price match" to a " give us £300 and we'll throw in a carpet and footprint". He started off saying he wanted £320 JUST for the tent.
I recently bought a Maryland Xl off ,The family tent shop in shepperton middlesex , they had a deal which included the footprint and carpet for £599 and they give me a discount on a table and four chairs after i asked .
I would highly recommend them as , they have been great with me , I had a few issues with the carpet and they had no problem with changing it for me.
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Topic: To haggle or not to haggle!?!?
