Negotiation, friend or foe?

The thing most people don't like about buying a new car, is dealing with the salesman and negotiating on the final price of the car. Nobody wants to pay sticker price and the dealer does not want to lower his price more that he has to. Because of this, companies like (now defunct) Saturn came out with fixed pricing. That is, there is no negotiating on the price. Take it or leave it. But for some people, like me, that takes the fun out of it. Again, nobody wants to pay more than they have to for something. But what about when buying other goods or services? Most people assume that you cannot negotiate the price of goods and services at stores and other businesses, but that is not true. In most cases, all you have to do is ask. Most retail stores change their prices all the time when they have sales or promotions, so why couldn't they do it for you on a one-on-one basis? I have a real estate friend who tells me that he negotiates the price on almost everything he buys. Ironically, he admits that he rarely negotiates the fee that he charges for his house buying clients! Just this week, I tried this out by calling my cell phone carrier to discuss the monthly fee that they charge me. I asked if they would lower my bill and was told that they could drop it $10 per month! That's a savings of $120 per year with no change in service plan just for asking! Most people who have traveled abroad have come home with stories about haggling over the price of a souvenir and how much fun it was. But they are afraid to do it here. The worst that can happen is they say no and you pay what you were going to pay anyway. Don't be afraid to negotiate for things you normally would not consider, you just might be throwing away money you could be keeping in your pocket. Like the business man says, don't leave money on the table!