When I was much younger and a student I had a go wheeling and dealing by selling a small batch of seconds self assembly furniture that I got from a local DIY store. There was no hope of me ever making a loss. I managed to completely refurnish my own house, chucking out/selling the really basic furniture that.
I did this instead of working during one summer holiday and in case the revenue are reading, yes I did come under my threashold for that year
. It was interesting who walked through the door to view. I had them all from buy to let landlords wanting to trim the deal to the little old lady who just wanted a nest of tables.
It was really interesting to see how people buying dealt with the seller. Most tried to negotiate, but I did learn a lot about how they negotiated.
The usual was "If I buy that lot what how much do I get off?" If I hadn't closed the deal at that point, I may or may not round down to the nearest £5 or so to sweeten the deal. If they were genuinely nice people I may have knocked more off.
One bloke was just plain rude. How his wife kept her composure when he was mouthing off at what a load or carp is was I don't know. I really felt sorry for her. His approach was never going to earn him favours. I learned a lot from that. It is often in the forefront of my mind.
Another was very good. I only had one like him. He was polite, but was quite a haggler. I would say he was a natural, probably wheeling and dealing sweets etc in the school playground as a kid. He negotiated on specific items, then when he decided what he wanted, negotiated
again on the job lot! He used non verbal communication in a really expert way. There was no way anyone else would have got the deal he did. After he left with his bargains I reflected on a few of his strategies and have since used them to great effect.
It helps to know how much margin there is in a proposed sale, and what the competition are doing. Then you can foster a good rapport with the seller and go from there.
