I just saved a bunch of money by asking if they could do better on a price of a washer & dryer

[kimbutgar]

My old dryer finally gave out. The washing machine was working fine so I decided to go to a used appliance dealer to buy a dryer. I live in San Francisco and a lot of rich people upgrade their still working appliances and have installers haul away perfectly good working appliances. I found a dryer for $250 but I had to arrange my own delivery and install it myself which is out of my or my hubby's skill set.

On the way home I passed a big box hardware store and decided to check out buying a new dryer there. As I was looking around I noticed a washer and dryer on the floor that was reduced. Someone brought it and returned it. The dryer had a clearance price of $556.60 and the washer was priced at $399. I told the salesman I was interested but since they appeared gently used I asked if they could do a better price. He called his manager who I asked the same question. She said she'd give me the pair for $200!!!!.At first I thought I heard $200 apiece but she sold me the pair for $200 plus I had to pay for full delivery, hoses, hardware, installation and taxes. It came out to $542!!!The pair were delivered two days later. I went online and downloaded the manuals and was good to go. I checked several stores for the same models and found out the pair would have cost $1300 plus delivery and taxes. It was one of best bargains ever. My husband was so surprised I got such a great deal.

That said even in big box stores, they will make deals with you if you ask. If you see an opened box for big appliances askif they can do you better. I think they wanted it off the floor to make more selling space.

[Warpy]

1. There are places here that sell refurbished appliances

When I bought my house, I did it on a shoestring since I wasn't sure how long it would take the other place to sell, so I trotted over to one of them. I bought matching appliances, delivered and installed, for a fraction of what new ones would have cost. The guaranatee was decent and I've had no major repair bills although the fridge finally conked out.

If you have a dying appliance, it's really worth it to find one of these places in your area. This is a really poor state, so the type of people who redo their kitchens every three years to keep up with the fads are few and far between, but there's a steady market of stuff that can be fixed and recycled and people willing to do it.

[marybourg]

2. Good for you! You earned the bargain. nt

[Iggo]

3. Score!!!

[DashOneBravo]

4. You did well ma'am

Awesome!

[mopinko]

5. yeah, i found that out too. got a screeching good deal for clearing out a big chunk

of shelf space.
they had a half dozen ott lights, including displays. they had them marked as clearance. they were taking up about 10 linear feet of shelf space.
i offered to take them all if they gave me a good enough deal.
took a few minutes to track down someone to authorize it, but i got them for less than half of the clearance price.
from the ott website, they were $85. i got them for $10. bought some spare bulbs for a couple bucks ea, too.

i also got a deal of a pile of seeds i was buying. just cuz.

it never hurts to ask, especially anything that isnt standard/unopened/etc.
shelf space is super precious in these stores.

have a friend that is the buddy of a manager at a big box. the guy lets him know if he has anything oddball around. 50% off is the usual offer.