Over the past ten years, we've seen the proliferation of shopping websites all competing for our business. There are websites where we can quickly compare the different prices from different vendors whether it is buying a television or a washer and dryer. They say in life that everything is negotiable and I recently had a chance to see a new website called Netotiate.
Netotiate allows you to not only price shop a given purchase, but it actually allows you to go one on one with the vendor negotiating with them on that particular item. The first thing you do on the website it to pick a product. Netoitate not only shops for that specific item, but then gives you an opportunity to work with specific store owners who are willing to haggle on the price. You give the price that you would like to pay for that item to the store owner and Netoitate will tell you the odds that they will accept the offer. Your offer remains anonymous and you only have ONE opportunity to negotiate with the store owner. Once you make the bid, it will be binding if they accept the offer. Within 48 hours, the store owner will either accept, counter, or reject your bid. You can only Netotiate with one owner at one time on the same product.
I tried a sample product by entering in the word television. The first product that came up was a Samsung 26inch 720p 60Hz LED HDTV (Black). Like many consumer shopping websites it showed ranges of prices from $247.99 to $360.99. When I clicked the button to 'name my price' there were four vendors that were willing to actually negotiate on the price of the television. I then clicked the button on the vendor with the lowest price at $247.99 and a button came up that would actually allow me to name a lower priced on the television set. The process seemed really easy to me as my last step would have been to actually enter a price and see whether the store owner would take my offer. The one thing to keep an eye on is that shipping showed up in really small fine print which needs to be factored into your overall offer for the purchase.
I don't often blog about websites as new ones crop up every day on the internet. I thought Netotiate was a neat one that could help you save some money especially if you have a knack for haggling. So get out there and start making smart money moves by getting the price you want for what you buy.
Written by:
Ted Jenkin, CFP®, AAMS®, AWMA®, CRPC®, CMFC®, CRPS®
Co-CEO and Founder of oXYGen Financial, Inc - The Leaders in Gen X & Y Financial Advice and Services
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