Ask For Price Matching at Beauty Supply Stores

“What hair do you have on sale?”

It’s the top question asked by customers coming into most beauty supply stores. They ask because they are looking for a bargain. They ask because they want good hair, but cannot afford to pay retail price for it. They ask because they have been trained by years of retail shopping that the items on sale are the better deals.

In a previous post, we discussed how retail stores can fool you into thinking you are getting a great bargain but actually paying more than you should. Today, we are going to take it a step further than focusing on the final price. We will take that final price and negotiate an even better one.

Most retail stores, including beauty supply stores, are in a rough patch right now. With the economy still in slow-mo, these store need to turnover merchandise. They need to continue to purchase more inventory to replace the sold items while trying to sell those items that aren’t moving off the shelves. Each store has its pricing strategy. Stores with larger stock can buy at a better price (i.e. Walmart). These larger stores can therefore sell to you at a better price than marked.

Large stores with large inventory have large overhead. If they aren’t selling, they are dying. So ask for a better price. But make sure its fair and reasonable. (And don't be rude about it either!) An extra 10-15% off is better than watching you walk out of the store to buy it somewhere else, like down the street or online. When the cashier can’t help, ask for the manager. If the manager can’t help, ask them if the owner is willing to let you walk away without making a purchase.

Small stores are constantly fighting off the larger stores with their lower prices. They have more reason to keep you coming back and becoming a regular customer. They are very sensitive to the pricing wars and probably are already giving their asking customers price matching. So ask. Ask to match the price. Ask for a better price. Just ask.

So don’t ask what hair do you have on sale. Ask for a discount on the hair you came in to the store to buy instead.

Have a blessed week!

-Aly

For more, see NYTimes: More Retailers See Haggling as a Price of Doing Business