[Jon&Candy]

I need to buy about $4000 of electricals to start the unfurnished rental in Wellington. I'm probably going to buy from either Harvey Norman or Bond & Bond.

None of the goods I want to buy (fridge, TV, dryer, freeview box) are discounted at all (anywhere), but I'm hoping to get a discount for buying so much stuff.

Does anybody know if this is acceptable, and if so, what sort of discount can I expect to get?

[peebles16]

Absolutely - barter every time shops in NZ seem so used to it they never expect to get ticket price and also look out for sales happening all the time... We did it with all our white goods and our car and I think got good discounts so go for it :)

Karen

[IanW99]

All the shops will regularly have sales including Harvey Norman so its always best to buy at those times if at all possible.

At the very least check out the prices on Ferrit (http://www.ferrit.co.nz/) before you buy.

Also check out DSE for Freeview box (and TV) as they may be cheaper.

Definitely ask for a discount, and what ever else they can throw in especially if you can buy the same thing cheaper elsewhere.

If you haven't found them already, a few more places that have some of the things you are looking for around Porirua:-

The Warehouse, Farmers, K-Mart, L V Martin & Sons, Newbolds, Noel Leeming, Dick Smith Electronic (DSE).

If you don't know already, Bond & Bond, and Noel Leeming are the same company.

Ian

[Genie]

Wow, great link Ian. Thank you for that, now we can get a good idea of prices for essential white goods.

Do you find retailers on the whole have their sales at the same time? And would you know of any retailers who have a reputation for being the best value/bargain?

Great thread :yes

Jeannie

[IanW99]

Wow, great link Ian. Thank you for that, now we can get a good idea of prices for essential white goods.

Do you find retailers on the whole have their sales at the same time? And would you know of any retailers who have a reputation for being the best value/bargain?

Great thread :yes

Jeannie

It's a good link to get a good idea, but personally think the website could be a lot better - similar ones in the UK are far better sites.

Retailers don't tend to have sales at the same time as each other, but most do have them regularly. Some so much so that its just not worth buying from them until they have a sale (which will be along shortly).

That said, many will have sales over public holidays (assuming that the shops aren't shut) to get the customers in who don't have to go to work, so if a holiday is coming up it's well worth waiting for.

It should be noted that not all electrical retailers are nationwide so each area would be different.

Not sure that I can say which give the best deals, would say that Harvey Norman give the widest choice.

Ian

[CJ22]

If a shop is selling stuff on sale, is it still worth attempting to negotiate a discount?

[StevieD]

Nothing ventured, nothing gained my friend.... especially if you spending a lot of money and getting a lot of items....

[jackie m]

Would definately try Harvey Norman we always get a discount with whatever we buy from there.
More recently we brought a fridge & electrical items ie kettle toaster etc they gave us $100 dollars off the fridge & $25 off the kettle & the toaster :D
The more you need the more they will discount I'm sure. Good luck with who ever you choose.

Jackie

[Jon&Candy]

Well thanks Ian and Peebles for giving us the confidence.

My shopping list was for a 400ltr Westinghouse Fridge/Freezer ($1500), a 4Kg Simpson Dryer ($400), a 32" Sony LCD TV ($2000) and a Freeview HD Terrestrial Set Top Box ($450). The total cost should have been $4350.

The only two places I could find to buy exactly what I wanted were Bond & Bond and Harvey Norman.

First I went to Bond & Bond. After giving the sales assistant my shopping list, he went away and then came back to say he didn't really have any margin to play with (yeah - right). He said he could only do a deal if I went for the extended warranty. I told him I wasn't interested in extending the warrantyl and then left.

I then went to the Harvey Norman directly opposite (in Porirua), gave the same list to the guy and he came back with a total price of $3815 (a saving of $535). Don't tell anyone, but my target price was $4000, so I left a very happy customer!

Oh - and I get a free Sony HDD / DVD recorder with the Telly (worth $600).

[Familyofmonkeys]

Agree......always ask for a discount. Even when electricals or furniture are on sale, you can usually still get a further discount and free delivery thrown in too. We bought a kids bed and mattress on sale last week...not expensive in the first place, but still managed to negotiate a further $200 reduction and free delivery the following morning.

[Tia Maria]

More haggling stories:

www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=7346

Cheers

Tia

[CJ22]

Blimey, the set-top box was expensive. You can get a terrestrial Freeview in the UK for £20!

[Wonderbob]

Well thanks Ian and Peebles for giving us the confidence.

He said he could only do a deal if I went for the extended warranty. I told him I wasn't interested in extending the warrantyl and then left.

I then went to the Harvey Norman directly opposite (in Porirua), gave the same list to the guy and he came back with a total price of $3815 (a saving of $535). Don't tell anyone, but my target price was $4000, so I left a very happy customer!

Oh - and I get a free Sony HDD / DVD recorder with the Telly (worth $600).

Never be afraid to ask for a healthy discount, if they say no, or offer a pitiful one,then vote with your feet...... As far as these "extended warranties" are concerned ,they are a bit of a scam really, as new goods sold in NZ are covered by a piece of legislation known as the "Consumer Guarantees Act". The GCA protects consumers against faulty products that fail before a reasonable lifespan has elapsed. The product "must be fit for purpose", and it's a $2K TV, that means longer than just the 12 mth manufacturers warranty that it comes with, so even if it were 2-3 yrs old, you could take it back to the retailer and quote the GCA to them. There are plenty of documented cases in Consumer Magazine, where perople have done just that, and the retailers have had to repair/replace the item, even though it was out to official warranty. Consumer Mag is very scathing about these extended warranties, and I agree with them, it's really just another method of gaining back margin that they sacrificed by discounting, as are "booking fees" etc. Shop around, retailers are hurting right now, and cash is king...

[IanW99]

Blimey, the set-top box was expensive. You can get a terrestrial Freeview in the UK for £20!

Terrestrial Freeview in NZ is HD, the UK doesn't even have HD available yet.

The closest comparison would be Sky HD which is £250, which doesn't make the cost in NZ sound too bad.

Ian

[Jon&Candy]

Blimey, the set-top box was expensive. You can get a terrestrial Freeview in the UK for £20!

Like Ian said, it's High Def, which is why it costs a lot. Plus it's only just come out here, so there are only a couple of boxes on the market. One has to pay to be an early adopter.