Jun 23 2007
Cheap drapes at Pottery Barn
I needed to buy some drapes because I kept waking up at 9am no matter how late I stayed up the night before because of the morning sun. I went to a Pottery Barn because it is close by.
Pottery Barn: Hi, how may I help you?
Me: I’m looking for some drapes, the thicker the better because I need to block out as much light as possible.
Pottery Barn: These drapes ($50) have a solid backing so it will be good for blocking out light. If you want the breeze to come in and you want some privacy, you can get these thin drapes ($40). We also have these velvet drapes, but it’s velvet ($99).
Me: Hmm.
Pottery Barn: What’s your price range?
Me: The cheaper the better. These $25 drapes look ugly so I won’t buy them but I like the price. I just want drapes that aren’t ugly, can block light, and are cheap. Thanks for your help. I’ll continue looking and maybe I’ll be back later.
I walked 1 mile to look for drapes at the Home Depot and I found some thin drapes for $35. Would I rather pay $35 for thin drapes that aren’t ugly, or $25 for thick ugly drapes that do the job of blocking out light? I’d rather bay $25 for the ugly drapes so I walked back to Pottery Barn.
Me: Hello, I’m back.
Pottery Barn: Hey, after you left, I found some $8.99 drapes. Do you want me to bring them out?
I’m thinking, oh heck yeah. $8.99 drapes. I don’t care how ugly they are, I’ll buy them. Maybe drapes should normally be $8.99, but $8.99 for drapes at a Pottery Barn in Shadyside? Impossible. I can’t even get dinner in Shadyside for that cheap.
I learned a few things from this experience:
1. The story above is the one advantage of shopping at a brick a mortar store instead of at an online retailer. The brick and mortar store will have some bargain basement junk lying around. The online retailer will not bother listing all the bargain basement junk because the quantity of each item is low so it isn’t worth the trouble.
2. Home Depot’s service really does suck. Home Depot is spending $22.5 billion on share buybacks and its service stinks.
3. Hey, I was willing to pay $25 for ugly drapes. All Pottery Barn had to do was to not show me the $8.99 drapes. But if you make the salesperson aware that you’re looking for the best possible price and subtly imply that you will go elsewhere to save a few bucks, the salesperson can either squeeze a few bucks from you or get no sale. That’s the bottom line. Sale or no sale.
To make the last point absolutely clear, I remember a story of a guy who bargained with a TV salesperson and it went something like this:
Dude: So $3000 for this TV?
TV guy: Yeah it’s a great price for the size you’re getting.
Dude: No chance you can sell it to me for less?
TV guy: Well…maybe.
Dude: Look, I really want this TV, but $3000 really is too much.
TV guy: How about $2700?
Dude: You can’t give me any less?
TV guy: No.
Dude: Let me call my wife.
Dude calls wife. Wife says $2100 max.
Dude: Look man, my wife says I can’t spend more than $2100 but I really want this TV.
TV guy: No. $2700. Take it or leave it.
Dude: How about $2400 then? My wife’s going to kill me if I pay over $2100 so I’m already making a big sacrifice here.
TV guy: Alright, $2400 it is.
The TV guy could either sell the TV for $2400 or not sell it at all. If the price isn’t right, it won’t sell.
[...] instead. Also keep in mind that the haggling can be very subtle. If you don’t like the price, just say you’ll look elsewhere. The bottom line is that the salesperson also needs to make a living. Either the salesperson sells [...]