grandad wrote:
Most supermarkets charge the same prices for everything give or take a penny or two. There are 4 petrol stations in my town and the prices are usually the same.
That's because it's a competitive market margins are thin and it's easy for consumers to compare prices.
Petrol stations in particular tend to gravitate towards the same prices because they know that if they raise prices then they will lose lots of custom but if they drop prices then in all probability the others will follow suit, thus competition is muted.
Quote:
there is a difference between shopping around and negotiating a price at the point of sale. When was the last time you went in a pub and asked if they would sell you a pint for less than the pub down the road
But you're not comparing like with like. I think it generally depends on the price (the higher, the more likely that there's some negotiation) and the practicality (Tesco won't let check out assistants haggle over the price of a pint of milk if only because it's impractical).
If you go into a shop with higher value items you can haggle on price, particularly if you're dealing with the owner or someone who's afforded a bit of discretion (Dom Littlewood does it all the time!!).
It's the same with taxis in effect - the hired drivers tend to quote only the metered prices, whereas most owner drivers I know will negotiate a price on the longer runs, while they won't on the shorter runs.
Why are so many drivers willing to negotiate discounts if you think the scenario is similar to a pub etc?
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