Originally Posted by
SurferRosa
Usually my prices are firm, and I lower them over time. But if the emailed counter offer sounds reasonable to me, I will reply, "if you made that offer in person this week, I would probably accept it." It's kind of a cordial way of saying, "I'm sort of open to that," and we can meet, but there's still no concrete agreement for either one of us.
This is actually not bad at all and I appreciate it. Doesn't hurt to ask, don't mind if I say no. At least I am not going out of my way to meet you at your convenience instead of going straight to work, and now you want a discount because it is not as nice as you hoped. You could have done your homework and check it out at the nearest store but instead you are here, pissing me off, and evaporating any chance I could have given it to you for less.
I would not negotiate the price before they actually see whatever it is, but I can certainly let them know if the price is firm.