Monday, October 10, 2011

31 Days of Thrifty Finds-Day 10: Don't Be Afraid To Ask

I think that one of the best ways to score the best deals is to simply open your mouth and ask. What does it hurt to ask for a discount or markdown every now and then. You'd be surprised how often you'll hear "Yes"!!!

I'm sharing a few stories to prove that not being afraid to ask can help you get some thrifty finds!!!

The FSBO Playset!
We built our house a couple of years ago and had to basically start with a clean slate in terms of our backyard. Our Landscaping post is pretty interesting if you've never checked it out-be prepared for lots and lots of pictures.

Being that we were on a tight budget we did a lot of Craigslisting, thrifting and plain old DIY projects. One of the things we knew we wanted was a cedar playset for the backyard. The ones we looked at were upwards of $500-$600-which was way more than we were prepared to pay.

I'm a Realtor and while driving around I noticed a home that was FSBO (For Sale By Owner).  What I really noticed about the home was the cute yet simple cedar playset in the backyard. So-I called the number, spoke with the owner and asked if he'd be interested in selling the playset. His response: "I was actually going to tear it down, so if you want it, it's yours."

Here it is-replanted in our yard! Yippee!!
My hubby and I met him over at the house the next day to take a closer look at the playset and work out hauling details. The guy told me that he'd changed his mind because he didn't feel comfortable just giving it to us.

He pulled out a contract and told me he'd sell it to us for $1~! Seriously!! A dollar!! We paid to have some guys haul it to our house-but our kids have more than gotten our money out of their playset!



Over the weekend, my husband and I went tree shopping to replace a couple of the Spruces in our yard that didn't quite survive the Indiana drought! Trees aren't cheap. And paying for delivery and installation is even pricier. We've called around for quotes and we've been very patient.

One of our local nurseries-Frazee Gardens had their annual Fall tree sale, so we were able to score $250 trees for just $99/each. I called to ask about installation-the lady explained that they charge $150 per tree, but it includes a 1-year guarantee.

I hung up and thought about it. That's a lot of money. So, I called back, asked to speak with the Landscaping Manager. I told him about our bad experience with the previous trees ($1,000 down the drain) and kindly asked what the best price he could do would be. Without hesitating he offered to install for $100 per tree (a $50 discount per tree). "We'll take it!!"

The moral of this post is that sometimes you've just got to ask. Don't be afraid of sounding cheap. The worst thing you could hear is "NO"!!

I'd love to hear about any thrifty finds you've scored by not being afraid to ask for what you wanted!

Thanks for popping by-more thrifty tips coming soon!

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2 comments:

Brandi said...

Wow, such a great deal on the play-set! Watching your kids having so much fun while playing on it...priceless!

Unknown said...

Wow! That was a major score! Hee hee, the kids could afford that playset off of their allowance:) Way to go!