Rob & Melissa Stephenson from Flea Market Flipper talk about how to master the art of negotiation.
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How To Master The Art Of Negotiation
Rob: What's up, pro Flippers onto today's episode, we are talking about the art of negotiation.
Melissa: And at the end of the episode we have our winner for the hundred dollar gift card giveaway. So we finally got that finished and we are excited to announce the winner. Woohoo.
Rob: All right guys, so today we are diving into negotiating and how important it is in your business when you are trying to get a good deal on an item so you can turn around and make some good money.
Yeah. We're gonna give a couple little tips on how to get better at negotiating because it is a very important part of our business.
I mean, we really have to do it on both sides of it. So we're negotiating the sale when, but when we're buying an item. And then we're also accepting offers and negotiating the sale when we're selling an item. So it's definitely a very important skill to get better at.
So, absolutely, and I still remember when I was learning this skill, how awkward this felt to me.
I have some of you guys know my story where I used to go to the flea market and like yard sales or to, auctions with my mom, and I would lean on my mom more to do the negotiation. She had, she had the comfort, she had the confidence to be able to do it, and she didn't really care.
Melissa: I would love to see her like that would be really cool.
Rob: It was cool. She was able to do it and she could walk and she had the perfect confidence to do it, and that's one thing that does not come right out the gate. So, my first time going to the flea market without my mom, typically it was about a 45, it still is about a 45 minute to an hour trip. If I don't find anything really good and talk to the vendors and stuff like that, but if I just browse and look 45 minutes to an hour, my first time there without my mom by myself, literally like 10 minutes, I'm bee lining it through it because I didn't wanna talk to anybody 'cause I was nervous if they told me a price, if I asked them a price that I would have to either talk to them and, and not know how to say, okay, that's too much money. I just, it was very, very, can't say no nerve wracking for me to do that. So that was one of the things. And now I can talk to anybody and it's very easy to go to the flea market, negotiate, talk to people, walk away, do what you need to do, so it is a learned skill. The more and more you do it, do it, the better you get at it.
Melissa: Yeah, it's a pretty, it is definitely learned skill and I don't love it. It's not something that comes naturally, I don't feel like to anybody. I think it is something you have to practice. I think it'd be really funny though to just see you walking through the, flea market with your head down.
Like not even look at anything like what is even the point of going if you're just? There was no point. If you're just gonna zoom, beelining through the whole thing, not say anything. And did anybody try to talk to you?
Do you remember?
Rob: No, but it, it just feels awkward. It feels awkward if you don't know how somebody's gonna handle talking to them.
And you don't know what price. My biggest thing, my concern was I'm gonna ask them for a price. They're gonna tell me what the price is, and then what am I gonna say? Am I'm feeling obligated to buy it? Or, you know, how are, how am I gonna handle that? And since then, the more and more you do it, the better you get at it, the better you can get at negotiation and walking away, really playing the game, doing the dance on the negotiation skillset.
Melissa: So yeah. And because, and the people that are selling too, like at a place like the flea market, they've been doing this a while usually. So they're really good at, at negotiating as well. So they wanna get you to buy their stuff. So it is, it's a dance. Yeah. It's a back and forth and it's a learned art and you just really have to do it.
So even just this weekend. Yeah. Were you gonna go into that?
Rob: Well, yeah. Last weekend, so we went to the flea market. We went really, because my daughter outgrew her bike and we needed to find a new bike. And I didn't wanna go to Walmart and spend $120, $150 on a bike. My kids go through bikes like crazy.
They're hard on bikes. They're hard on bikes. So that's what we went, we went to look at one. So within the first three vendors of getting to the flea market, the guy had a nice bike. It was a, not a BMX, like a mountain bike, but it was a smaller one for my daughter's 10 years old, was perfect size for her.
So I asked him, how much is this? And he came over and it's $45 and a decent deal. And I, I told the guy, okay, we just got here. I'm gonna walk around and see what else. And he is like, well, how much are you willing to pay? And he's trying to get me to buy that bike right then. And I'm like, yeah, thank you.
Thank you. But yeah, we're gonna walk around. And he was hounding me. And that was what I was worried about when I was coming up, years and years ago. My first time to the flea market myself is something like this happening. And I would've freaked out. I probably would've turned around. Here's the money, shut my mouth.
Either gave him the money or walked out of the flea market and not finished it. So that was what I was worried about, but knowing how to handle that and somebody coming on you, you know, to get the sale, you just have to kind of learn how to deal with that. And this guy, I literally came at me probably four or five times before, how much are you gonna pay? Before we walked away and he's coming down on the price and, but I just got there. It was like the third vendor we got to, so I wanted to see what else was comparable at the flea market. There's bikes all the time in the flea market, so we ended up getting one for half that price.
I think we ended up paying $20 . Yeah, it was $20. $20 for the one that we got. And it was the same exact bike, the same exact one. It was nicer, but nicer and newer than what we bought. Yeah. Well, I mean, what we found right when we got there. So that's why we always walk around and, and look at everything before we actually pull the trigger on something, unless it's a steal of a deal and you just grab it, which I have another story about that one too.
But, but this is where you do learn this. So, like I can go now and it's not a big deal to negotiate with people, to communicate with people. And just, you know, talk and do it. It gets easier and easier the more you do it. So there's no way around this if you are uncomfortable about this kind of stuff, and this is in-person negotiation that we're talking about, but if you are uncomfortable, it will get better.
Trust me, the more you do it, the better you get at it.
Melissa: Yeah, and I would say like when you're walking around, like say you go to like flea market where there are lots of vendors. And you could do this at a yard sale too a little bit. You know, you'd say you just got there. I just got here. I'm just looking.
You know, and so that's kind of the thing. Even if you walk away and you say, you always say like, I just got here. Let me walk around and I'll be back. And that kind of gives you that out. And they still wanna sometimes give you, sometimes they'll start going down and down and down on the price. Like the Jager machine, remember jägermeister, like, and I think he started at $50, was it $50?
I think it was $50 and we'd sold one before and around $300. And so we knew $50 was worth it, but we're like, eh, and you just said you just did the same thing. Like, let me walk around, let me see, what else is here? And then he's like, $25. And like.
Rob: Well, he came down from $50, I think he went down to $40 or $35.
And finally as we're walking away and I'm like, let me think about it, $25. And I turned around and said, okay, I'll do it for $25. And I came back and bought it immediately because I knew we had sold one for that.
Melissa: Yeah, that's, you just have to kind of stay quiet. Yeah. Like if you're, that's one of the tricks, I guess is you don't do a lot of the talking, you just kind of stay quiet and then sometimes they just talk themselves down, when you're trying to negotiate on a, a purchase.
Rob: So, yeah, and my strategy for negotiation in person is always get what the price is, walk away and do some research on your phone, figure out what it's worth.
And this jägermeister that I had sold years and years prior, so I wasn't sure exactly what they were selling for, but I did know I made probably $300, somewhere in that area. So I didn't know exactly what they were selling for currently. That's what you were gonna go? Yeah, I just walk away, do a little bit of research, come back, negotiate if I needed to, whatever I needed to do.
And he wouldn't let me do that. Like he saw somebody who was interested and he was gonna get the sale. And a lot of our vendors at our flea market are like that. They will try to pounce on a potential buyer and try not to let them walk away because they know the chances of them coming back are slim to none.
So that's one of the things that our strategy for that is ask for the price. Walk away, do the research, get the name of the item, the model number, do all that stuff while you're sitting there looking at the item, asking for the price. Walk away, do the research, come back and buy it after that.
Melissa: Yeah. One of the ones I was thinking of too, I was thinking about you going to the flea market, and you're so nervous without your mom because that's the first time you're there. You, one of your, nephews asked you to go look at a car with him and. Yeah. Or when you came back from it, you're like, he just completely talked. Like we had no, nothing. We couldn't play any moves because he just went,
Rob: oh, it looks great. Yeah, I'll take it. And I'm like, what? You're gonna take it? Come on.
You just put all your cards on the table and told the guy that you like it. So, that leads you into kind of another thing is, this is a dance, this is a game. And for me it's reading people. It is, it's psychological too because, for some people, like, I feel like if somebody is asking a price for an item, and you jump in and you buy it immediately on their side of it.
'cause I've done this myself on eBay. I've listed an item on eBay, sold it within 24 hours, and I'm like, what the heck? I sold it way too cheap if I sold it that quick. And that's what buy, I mean, that's what sellers do as well. So sellers, if they sell it super quick and they give you a price and you're like, oh yeah, here's my money, I'll take it.
They realize, hey, maybe I asked too little for it and I should have asked more. And that's where I'll come in, unless it's a steal of a deal. Yeah on, and I can't even think of something. Well, the, the Jagermeister for $25 was a deal. So when he came down that price.
Melissa: Oh, and the other one, that we got on vacation, the Bowflex.
Not Bowflex. Total. Total Gym. Total Gym. Sorry. Yeah. I, another it was like $40. And you knew you could get it? Yeah, probably at least $2,000 for it. So you're like, okay, I'm not even gonna negotiate.
Rob: And that one wasn't in person. That was on one of the apps that we actually found, but I didn't wanna talk him down.
The retail on this thing was $4,000, and I was sure for $40. $40 is what I think you listed it. A hundred and then dropped it to $40 'cause nobody would buy it. So that kind of item, I'd just say hey, yeah, when can I come pick it up? Are you available? And then I would set it up. The majority of the time when we're buying something, we always try to offer just a little bit less.
Even if, and I'm talking about, you know, $200, $150, a hundred dollars, try to offer, you know, $10, $15, $20 less. If they come back and say they cannot go lower than what they are, you tried. And then you can come back and say, okay, I can do it at that price. And that's kind of psychological. They're not thinking that they listed it too low and somebody's jumping on it.
They're thinking, okay, well they tried to talk me down and I wouldn't go down. So now they're coming up to my price. I win and that's what they're thinking about the whole thing. So it is kind of a dance, a kind of psychological, game that you are playing with the with the seller, that it, it helps if you do offer them a little bit less and then you come back and you can even pay what they're asking if it's worth it. But when it's so low, $25. $40 on items that are thousands of dollars, it's not even really worth it. It's just one of those things that I feel bad trying to get them lower than what they are at their asking price. I'll just try to see if I can pick up the item and grab it.
Melissa: Yeah. One other thing, like when you say about the psychological thing, You take, I know, I know we're talking about negotiating on a couple different things.
We're kind of going back and forth, but when somebody offers you something that you like, say you have something listed for $500 and they offer you $400, you don't go back and just accept it, like almost never. Even if you're ready to get rid of the item or whatever it is, you almost never go back and just take that money. And you say it's because it's psychological? Yeah. Like the person wants to get a deal. But if you just go right ahead and say, take the offer. Take the offer. A lot of times they don't follow through because they're like, oh well, I could've got it for less, I could've got it for less because they accepted it right away.
So it's the same thing. It is just on the other end of it. So.
Rob: It is, and we're on that end. So when somebody, even on eBay, I don't accept offers typically on my listings. If somebody reaches out through an email and says, hey, would you take, you know, a hundred dollars less than what you have it marked at?
Typically I don't jump back and say, yeah, absolutely. Here's the thing, because they won't buy it. They think, well, if he'll take a hundred dollars less, I should have asked $200 less. Yeah. And seen if I could have got him to that. So what I will do is if they come back, hey, will you take a hundred dollars less?
Say, hey, can you split the difference with me? You know, I'll do $50 bucks off of it. I'm coming down $50. You're going up $50. If you can do that, I can send you an offer and we can, we can do the deal. And that is, it goes back to psychological. That's one of those things that people, if you accept the offer, they're thinking, well, why did I pay this much?
I probably could've got them even down more. And they're thinking that, so this is kind of a a
Melissa: And they're not obligated to pay at that point. No. So they might not go through with it. No.
Rob: This is kind of a pro tip. This is what we've learned through years and years of negotiation through sales. So that's what we're trying to give you guys, is this is the, the best playbook on negotiation with buyers and sellers.
Melissa: Yeah. But the biggest thing is you do have to get out and do it. It's not something that you can just learn about. It's something you have to do to get more comfortable with it. So, I mean, I, I don't like it in person, but at the same time, I feel like I'm a lot more comfortable saying no now. Like, if you're just browsing, I'm like, no.
Or I'll say something like let me go catch up with my husband and ask him or something just to, you know, like if we're, whatever, he's got the money, I gotta go grab him or whatever. So it, it gets, it gets a lot easier and a lot better. It's easier to say no and easier to talk to people. So, yeah.
Rob: And once you do get good at it, you will learn how to read people as well. Kinda like my nephew throwing all of his cards on the table when somebody's there and like you walk out it like, oh, I love it. They're itching to get that deal. And they're like, okay, well, well, you take less. No, I gotta price at the right price.
And they're like, okay, I'll take it for that price. You know, you, you learn how to read people's body language, how they're talking to you with it. That is just like Melissa's saying, it's all experience. The more that you get out and we're really harping on, it's more in person negotiation is what we're really talking about.
The more that you get out and you do that at yard sales, at flea markets, at thrift stores, all those kind of things, and yes, you can negotiate at thrift stores. Absolutely. I do it every time I buy some of from a thrift store, I try to talk them down on the price. Sometimes they will and sometimes they won't.
But it does not hurt to try and talk them down on prices. And, go ahead.
Melissa: I was just gonna add in and a big point to that is we're also being super polite. Like, that's like when you're going to negotiate with somebody, you do not wanna come off. You don't wanna be rude to, you never wanna be rude to people.
Like you wanna be nice to people, but you, there, you, you definitely don't wanna come out of like, hey, you're going to take this price, or you,
Rob: or, it's only worth this. It's only worth this. Either. This is broken, that's broken, this is what it's worth. So you're gonna either take it. No, we don't do that stuff.
Melissa: And if you have been selling or you've been on any of the platforms and sold before, you've, I'm sure you've gotten those messages because people do that. Oh, this item's not worth that. How do you have it listed for that? There's no way they're gonna get an offer from you with after. Like, that's not how you come about it.
Like, you, you catch what is it? You catch more flies with honey. Like, be nice to people and if they're ready to get rid of the item, like then they'll give you a deal on it.
Rob: So absolutely, and this is, this is a great point as well. You don't ever have to be rude. Don't ever. Pick somebody's item apart to trying to get them to cut out on the price.
I mean, my famous line is if, hey, this is all the money I have to spend on this item. Yeah, it, we can do it or we can't do it, but it's not a rude way. So can you take $40 for this? That's all that I really wanna spend on the item. They'll either say yes or no. Don't say, well, it's got a scratch here. It's got a a dent here.
Yeah. I mean, I, I shouldn't say, don't say that. That's just not how we negotiate. We would rather negotiate with people and just let them know this is what it's worth for me to pay for it. If not, and no big deal. I'll walk away. I'll find something else. But it's one of those things that you always wanna be polite, never, never be rude to people.
It just never pays off.
Melissa: Yeah. Like, and that line you use a lot or like, my budget really is only this for right now. Like, I can't really go more and you're running a business. So you have to know what is the most that you can spend on absolutely an item to make it worth it. Like you don't feel like you have to go pay this full $200.
When like, oh, I, I could make money on it, but it really makes more sense for me to get it for a hundred dollars. So if it that makes more sense, then you can walk away. So absolutely. It's getting comfortable with, with doing that. I feel like, so, and practice is the only way that you can do it. Do you wanna quickly talk a little more about the online negotiation, because that's a little different?
Rob: Yeah. We can, so online negotiation is way easier to do because all you do is send an offer to somebody and you're not face to face. You don't have to face that person and you don't have to worry about body language, worry about what they're doing.
So, and typically for ours, yeah, we offer way, way less than what they're asking price is, just to see if they're willing to negotiate and then they come back with, yeah, I'll take it. Or they'll come back with a, a higher offer than what we did, but you know, they're willing to work with you. Very, very easy.
And a lot of people find it really hard. Like if somebody's selling something for $200 and you offer them $150 or $125, they're like, oh, I can't do that. That's way, way underneath what they're asking. You totally can do it, and it's one of those things that if they don't wanna do it, they don't have to take the the offer.
But that's where you're at and that's kind of where I pointed to the fact of, hey, this is all that I have to spend on this. And somebody might come back and say, no, I'm gonna leave it at $200. You can write back and say, listen, thank you so much for your response. This is really all I have to spend on this item. But thank you. I appreciate you, responding quickly to my offer. Always be polite and back and forth, and you can do that. But very, very easy to negotiate on apps, versus in face-to-face, it just feels a lot more awkward and face to face when you're learning it. Once you get good at it, it's fun.
It is so much fun to read people and negotiate with them. Trust me, you will absolutely love it. The better, the more and more you do it, the better you'll get at it. And it's just so much fun to be able to read people.
Melissa: It's fun to watch you do it too, and it's fun now taking the kids to the flea market too and letting them.
Learn how to like, you know, they're taking the money and they're gonna go pay and they actually get really good deals because people think they're cute. And so, 'cause they're kids, they're kids and they're like, oh, you can just have that, or, here it, it's a dollar. And it's like, what? So it's pretty crazy.
Yeah, it's pretty funny. There was something else that you said, oh, on the, negotiation on the app too. When you do that and you say, this is all I really can spend, you would be amazed how many people come back a week later, a month later and still have the item and say, hey, do you wanna take it for that?
Because that happens a lot. I didn't sell it. Absolutely. So that it's something that that is still there. Like maybe they didn't take it, but then they didn't get what they wanted and a month later they just need it gone and they'll give it to you Almost.
Rob: So, and like we said, some of the items that you know are really, really good deals and you send an offer and they don't take it. You can come up to what they're asking prices if it's worth it. You can come up and say hey, yeah, okay, I can do that price. That's a fair price. And you can totally do that. And you are doing the psychological with hey, you know what? I'm offering a little bit less, but I know it's probably worth what it is so I can pay the more for it.
That's all on the seller if they're willing to come down or willing to stay at the where it's at, you're meeting them wherever they're at and you're making the decision if it's worth walking away or if it's worth paying what the seller is asking for it.
Melissa: Yep. So awesome. Practice, practice, practice that negotiation, get out there and do it. And if you're just getting started with your flipping gig, we have a 47 household items that you can start with that could make you a hundred bucks this week. So grab that at freeflippingguide.com. So.
Rob: Alright guys, we are spinning the wheel for the hundred dollar gift card now.
Melissa: Yes, we love and appreciate you all for leaving your reviews and I know we promised this last week, so, so sorry that this is delayed a week, but here is the gift card winner. Let's go ahead and we're gonna click to spin and see who I love these new online spinners. They're great. I put all the names in and then we don't have to draw out a hat. Derek, Derek Baker. Baker, congratulations.
Rob: Awesome. You rock. You won the hundred dollar gift card and.
Melissa: Send us an email with your address and we will get it sent to you. So.
Rob: Woo-hoo.
You guys rock. Thanks for hanging out with us today, and we cannot wait to see you on the next episode.