Adversity presents opportunities, even in a pandemic. In a changed world, prices that used to be nonnegotiable are suddenly open for bargaining.
Financial hardship or uncertainty gives some Americans new leverage to negotiate the costs of some of their biggest expenditures. For others, an expectation that products will be lower quality or services diminished opens doors to price reductions or concessions. Buyer’s markets in industries suffering from reduced demand make sellers more willing to deal.
But negotiation is a skill, and bargain-hunters would be wise to school themselves in the do’s and don’ts of potentially difficult conversations. It’s crucial to know what it’s reasonable and fair to ask for, especially when looking for discounts on higher education or child care, where haggling is normally unthinkable.
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Here are some places to look for coronavirus discounts:
College
Many schools have protocols for dealing with a change in the financial circumstances of students and their families, and the coronavirus has certainly changed a lot of circumstances. If the school doesn’t have a formal process, then parents and students should be prepared to make a special case by providing detailed information backing their hardship claim.
Schools will be most inclined to boost financial aid packages for students with strong grades, high campus profiles and the potential to donate to the endowment after graduation, said Beth Walker, author of “Never Pay Retail for College.” And negotiations go better when students themselves take the lead, not their parents.
One common argument for tuition discounts is that online classes are a weak substitute for the real college experience. Maybe that’s true, but saying so won’t provide much leverage unless a student is really ready to walk away from the institution if the school won’t negotiate. Students who mean business should arm themselves with information about what other schools would charge, especially those in the student’s home state, and also whether credits could be transferred and how long it would take to graduate after a switch. Competitive numbers might prove persuasive to a school that’s loath to contemplate declining enrollments.
Some schools will give financial aid offices the authority to negotiate. Others won’t. It’s all new for them, too. Incoming freshmen probably have the most leverage, since schools are nervous about the empty spaces left by high school graduates taking gap years. Sometimes a school’s inexperience with bargaining can work to a family’s advantage: Ignore a stingy financial aid offer, and a school just might come back with a more generous one.
Childcare
Childcare providers are hurting now, too, so they’re likely to resist discounting. That means that a parent who bargains too hard might end up dealing with no help at all.
One alternative is for parents to appeal to their employers for assistance with some of the expenses, said Marni Pastor, chief operating officer of childcare website Flexable. Parents should ask employers to provide tax-advantaged dependent-care savings accounts if they don’t offer them already, or to consider providing subsidies for backup care, sitters or tutors.
But it might be possible to win carefully targeted concessions. Parents who are confident about their future financial prospects might offer to pay less now and more later. And for parents who anticipate taking on more childcare duties while their children are home, it may be helpful to consider adding responsibilities for in-home childcare providers, such as running errands, rather than cutting pay, or shifting hours to match the school day.
Nanny shares are becoming more common and could be a helpful way to reduce childcare costs, too.
Real estate
It’s too early to predict how the housing market will fare, and some areas of the country are actually experiencing a surge in demand that gives sellers the upper bargaining hand. But brokers in major cities say buyers there are the ones with leverage.
Leverage has to be applied the right way, though. For those interested in new developments in New York City, for example, it’s best to negotiate closing costs rather than sales prices, since developers often worry that a lower sales price will hurt future sales. Another approach might be to request extras like parking spaces and storage units.
Cars
As more urban dwellers look to spend time in less densely packed communities, car sales have been ticking upward in places like New York. There won’t be many bargains in the used-car market, which is hot right now, but new car prices may soften as manufacturers ramp up production. As always, it’s smart to wait until month’s end, when dealers are trying to meet sales quotas. Local dealerships with service shops tend to be flexible since they’ll want the parts and service business down the road.
