Hi there, this is Harry.
Welcome back to Advanced English Lessons with Harry, where I try to help you to get a better understanding of the English language, to help you with your conversational skills, your business English skills, interview skills, whatever your goals are.
We're here to help.
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Just get in touch wwwenglishlessonviaskypecom and you can apply for a free trial lesson and we'd be very happy to hear from you and very happy to help you.
And today's lesson is about helping you to speak better.
So I'm going to give you phrases and expressions that will help you when you're speaking, particularly about a topic where you have to buy or sell something and it involves some element of negotiation.
OK, so let me just set the scene for you.
So let's say that you're moving to an English speaking country and you need to buy some furniture for your apartment.
Perhaps you need a new desk or a second hand desk that you want to use.
You don't spend a lot of money on it.
You might even want to buy a bicycle because there are lots of bicycle lanes.
Indeed, you might even want to buy a second-hand car.
So you have to check out the classified ads, as they call them, and you can check on all sorts of platforms.
You can find the bicycle you want.
You can find the personal training equipment that you might want to put in your apartment.
You'll find everything there.
OK, so if you want to buy something, perhaps you don't want to pay over the odds.
So you'll have to do a little bit of negotiating.
Yeah.
So people like to bargain.
They like to barter.
They like to trade.
They like to negotiate.
OK, so these are going to be phrases and expressions that might help you in that situation.
And the same on the other side.
If you're leaving that English speaking country and you've got a house full of furniture or odds and bits and pieces that you have collected over your years there, but you don't want to pay a lot of money to transport them back to your home country well, the best thing to do with them is to try and sell them, and the best place to sell them is on some of these platforms.
So again, you'll need some negotiating skills, but here the opposite will be true.
You'll want to make sure that nobody rips you off.
You want to get the best price you can possibly get.
So you'll need some words and expressions for that.
So that's what our lesson is all about.
So I've split the lesson into a few different parts.
The first part is Opening negotiations.
So this is when you meet somebody for the first time.
Perhaps they've seen your advertisement and they're going to respond to it or you've seen their advertisement and they are going to respond to your inquiry about the bicycle or the wardrobe, whatever it is you want to buy. or whatever it is you want to sell.
Okay, so one opening remark that you need to have is perhaps I'm open to suggestions or I'm open to offers.
So let's say, you are looking to buy a nice camera.
OK, so I'm looking in a camera now and perhaps you are into photography.
So when you arrive in the beautiful country like Ireland, there are lots of wonderful places that you can see and go to.
And you want a nice camera to take some nice snaps that you can share with your friends.
So you check out one of these sites, these classified ad sites, and you see a camera.
So you send a text message or you call the number and you want to see what the price is.
So the person on the other end of the phone might say, well, I'm open to suggestions.
I haven't got a fixed price.
I can describe the camera to you and then you can make me an offer or I'm open to offers.
So that's the first couple of lines somebody will make.
And you on the other side.
When you come to sell something later on sell the bicycle, sell the sofa or the bed then you could use those too.
When somebody asks, well, how much do you want?
You could say, oh, I'm open to offers or I'm open to suggestions.
So you're not telling somebody specifically how much you want, because you want to really see how much they are prepared to pay.
Okay.
Or you can be a little bit closer to the situation and say, well, what I'm looking for is.
So you might just tell them the price.
What I'm looking for is offers around 100 euro.
What I'm looking for is a a good bicycle that I'd be able to use to go back and forth to university.
It's about 10 kilometres, but I'd also want to do some cycling at the weekends just for enjoyment.
So what I'm looking for is a good quality bike for the city, but also to use on country lanes.
So you might want a mountain bike.
So that's what I'm looking for.
If you want to let somebody know that you're not going to take any offer.
So you really want to sell it, but you want to sell it for a reasonable price, but a good price for you.
So you might start by saying, my starting point is this.
Okay, so here's my starting point.
I'm not going to accept anything. any offer below €200.
So if you can't match that or above it, then I'm really not going to sell it.
OK, so that could be your starting position or your starting point.
So my starting point is I'm not going to accept any offer below €200.
In fact, whoever offers me the highest price over €200 by the end of the weekend can have it.
Okay, so you let people know that whoever wants to offer it or wants to buy it is going to have to offer you something over and above 200.
And if there are two or three or four people interested, well of course, then you get a little bit of a race going on, a bit of a competition.
And whoever comes in with the best price gets the particular product.
Or very simply, here is what I'm after.
So you tell them very clearly, here's what I'm after.
I need to sell these bits and pieces from my apartment because I'm leaving in two weeks time.
I need to clear everything out as quickly as possible.
So I'm open to offers.
So no realistic offer will be turned down.
So if you're packing your bags, you're trying to move out the apartment to go back home, you've got pieces of furniture that you really can't transport back home.
So you're open to any offers.
Anything reasonable will be accepted.
So here's what I'm after.
I need to completely clear this apartment within two weeks so you can walk around, look at what it is.
If you're interested in something, quote me a price.
If it's realistic, you can have it.
Take it away with you.
Everything is done and dusted.
Okay, good.
All right, so they're the opening phrases and expressions that you might use before you get into your bargaining situation.
Okay, so let's look at the second situation.
This is where we are making and accepting offers, okay?
So we either want to make an offer or we want to accept an offer that somebody else has made to us.
Okay,
So you could be very formal and say I'd be prepared to accept 50 euro, i'd be prepared to accept 150 euro.
So they might start saying, oh well, i didn't really want to to pay more than 110, you know.
He said well okay look, let's split the difference and i'll give it to you for 135, okay?
So yeah, that's that's when you can shake hands and that's, everything is over.
Okay, so I'd be prepared to accept X amount.
If you're in a situation where you're buying that bicycle or buying the car or the laptop, then you might make a statement like I'm not in a position to offer you more than.
So you give them a number and perhaps the number is under what you really want to pay.
So it gives you a little bit of bargaining room.
So I'm not in a position to offer more than that.
600 euro.
And the person thinks about it and said, well, I was hoping to get a little bit more.
And could you push it up to perhaps 650?
Yeah, okay, 650.
Okay, so I'm not in a position to offer you more than 600.
Gives you that opening bargaining position.
You might ask the question how much would you like for it?
Or how much are you looking for it?
So perhaps the person hasn't said in the advert and when you send your text message or the WhatsApp message, you just want to know how much are you looking for it, how much would you like for it or how much do you want for it.
So you want to find out exactly what is the guy in terms of the price, so that you know whether it's in your range or it's not in your range, or you're wasting your time, Or is there an opportunity for you to do a little bit of more bargaining?
So how much would you like for it?
How much would you do you want for it?
How much are you looking for it?
All exactly the same.
The other person might say, well, you know, how much are you willing to pay?
How much are you willing to pay?
Well, I don't want to pay over the odds.
I have a fair idea what it's worth.
I've seen some on some other sites.
So this is what I'm willing to pay.
So how much?
Are you willing to pay?
So then you start the little bit of the negotiation, or the dancing around the handbags, as we sometimes say.
I'd be prepared to offer 100 euro.
I'd be prepared to offer 250 euro.
And the guy might say, whoa, well, that's a little bit on the low side.
Look, there's a couple of other people interested.
I'll take your number.
And if I don't get any better offers, I'll come back to you.
So there you've undershot.
OK, so you might have just gone in a little bit low.
You might get another opportunity.
Say, look, well, I'll tell you what.
I can go to 280 or 290 is my final offer.
OK, look, let me just check this other guy.
And if he can't come up with anything higher, it's yours.
OK, so you again have to do a little bit of bargaining, a little bit of negotiating haggling, as they like to call it.
To haggle means to argue over the price.
And then finally, you could say, what would you say to an offer of 175 euro?
I have the cash here.
I can give it to you now.
I can take it away.
OK, what would you say to?
All right.
So there are some suggestions of expressions and the words you can use when you want to make an offer or you want to accept an offer.
I'd be prepared to accept X amount.
I'm not in a position to offer more than a certain sum of money.
How much would you like for it?
How much are you looking for it?
How much do you want for it?
How much are you willing to pay?
I'd be prepared to offer X. What would you say to an offer of?
Okay.
All right.
Now next section we're looking at is asking for a little bit more or prepared to offer a little bit less.
So depending whether you're buying or selling.
Okay.
So if somebody makes you an offer for the bike you're selling or the desk you're selling, you might be a little bit put out that the fact that they haven't offered a lot and you say I think it's worth much more than that.
So you're trying to put the pressure back on the other person to increase their price.
OK, so you've asked for 200 euro for your bicycle, because it's a really good city bike that you can also use in the countryside.
But when the person comes around to see it, they offer you 120 euro and you go.
No, it's worth much more than that.
I mean, I'm looking for 200 euro, but I'm looking for a quick sale.
So I really think you're way below the market value.
OK, so it's worth much more than that.
So let's give the example where you're looking to buy that camera.
And it's a really, really good camera.
Not so old by the looks of it.
They're going to throw in a tripod with it.
So lots of little accessories.
So it looks really, really good.
A nice kit, yeah?
Nice lenses and everything for it.
So you ask them the price.
And the guy says, looking for 450 euro.
Oof, that's a lot of money.
Well yeah, but you're getting the camera, you're getting the tripod, the two lenses.
There's a case.
So
There's a lot of equipment there, so it costs a lot of money.
Yeah, I know, but 450 euro.
Look, how flexible can you be on that?
Are you prepared to negotiate?
And the person will say, well, of course, yes, make me an offer and let's discuss it.
But that's my ballpark figure.
That's the figure I'm looking for, 450 euro.
So how flexible can you be with that?
There's a nice word here we use in English called wiggle.
Yeah.
And we use it in this expression.
Is there any wiggle room?
Yeah.
And wiggle room is that little.
Is there any wiggle room?
Is there any room for us to negotiate on that price?
I know you're looking for 250 euro, but really, I just don't have that much money.
I have some of it, a large part of it, but I don't have it all.
So is there any wiggle room?
So the guy might say, well, look, how much do you have?
And he says, well, I can stretch to 220, 225 max.
OK, look.
We'll take it, €225.
So yeah, there was a little bit of wiggle room, a little bit of room for maneuvering.
You see the bicycle.
You like the bicycle.
It's really clean.
It looks quite new.
There's no damage to it.
The tires are certainly new.
Everything looks like it's been serviced.
The brakes are working.
So you're quite pleased with it.
But when you look at the price, hmm.
It's a little bit pricey, a little bit on the high side.
So you might ask the person, is there a chance for you to shave a little bit off the price?
To shave a bit off the price means to reduce the price somewhat.
And the guy says, well, are you prepared to buy it today?
I said yeah look, I can give you a deposit and I can come back with the rest of the money tomorrow or later tonight and I can collect it.
OK, look, I'll tell you what I'll do.
I'll knock off 20 euro.
So he shaves the price by 20 euro.
You look at it and think, yeah, that sounds good to me.
It looks like a bargain.
I'll take it.
So you pay a deposit and off you go.
Yeah.
OK, so to shave something off the price.
So if you are offering something for sale so let's say you want to sell your laptop, you want to buy a new one and you've cleaned up your old laptop, so you advertise it over the internet and you get a few calls and somebody comes around to see it and they like it.
They think it's clean.
It's the sort of laptop they're looking for.
They ask you about certain questions about it.
You answer the questions, give them the information.
So they're looking at it.
They're thinking about it.
So they say, well, look, I don't have all of the money.
How much are you looking for?
And you say, well, 300 euro.
Yeah, look, I didn't really want to pay more than 200.
It's not really new.
And could you come down some way to meet me?
So this is what the person might say.
He wants to negotiate.
He wants to find some compromise where you might reach an agreement somewhere in the middle.
So he will ask you can you come down some way to meet me?
So you're looking for 300.
He's offered or prepared to pay 200.
So if you can come and meet him halfway for example 250, 260 somewhat then you're likely to get a deal.
So can you come down some way to meet me means Can you meet me somewhere in the middle and we can do a deal.
I can walk off with the laptop and I'll give you the cash immediately.
Okay?
Or again if somebody offers you a price that you're just not quite so happy with, but you're not far from it.
So he offers you €260 for the laptop and you're still holding out, hoping to get €300.
So you might say to him, well, could you see a way to increasing that just a little?
Throw something in just for good luck.
So say okay look, final offer 270, take it or leave it.
Okay, that's it.
Yeah, that's it bargain.
So you wanted 300.
He offered 260.
You tried to push him up a little bit.
Could you see your way to increase that offer a little?
Yeah, so he offers an extra 10 euro.
Enough to seal the deal.
Yeah okay good, Now you might have lots of people interested in certain products that you're selling.
Some things sell much quicker than others.
I know, when I've been in that situation several times over the last number of years, then things like bicycles laptops sofas, tables these go very, very quickly.
So you might have... several people interested.
So when you get a few people interested, of course, it puts you in the driving seat.
Okay, so you might say to one or two people, well, look, tell me, is that your best offer?
Yeah, because really have somebody else interested.
And if it's your best offer, well, I think we are wasting each other's time.
But if you can improve it a little bit, then we might be able to do business.
So is that your best offer?
Is that the best offer you can make?
And the guy thinks about it.
Well, look, I can offer you another 20 euro.
OK, it's yours.
All right.
So all about business. negotiating, all about offering a price that you think is realistic.
It's all about trying to negotiate the price up when you're trying to sell something and negotiate the price down when you're trying to buy something.
Okay, so we've looked then at asking for some more or asking for less.
So now what we want to look at declining and accepting offers.
So we're getting to the final situation.
So you've got the price there.
You've had the offer from the person.
You're deciding whether you'll accept his offer or you will decline his offer, or the reverse.
You're looking to buy something and he's standing there looking at you trying to think has he got more money in his pocket?
Is he likely to offer a bit more if I hold out a little bit longer?
So is he going to decline or is he going to accept your offer?
So here are some of the phrases and expressions that you could use.
Look, no, I think that sort of offer, it's out of the question.
I mean, it's just too expensive for me.
I can't see my way to paying that much money.
If I add another 100 euros, I could buy a new one.
So that's a certain way of declining whatever offer the guy has made, okay?
It's out of the question.
But look, 350 euro, that's not really an option I can consider because I don't have that much money.
I've got to buy a few other things.
I'm really trying to operate on a tight budget here.
Is there any way we could negotiate?
So that price is not really an option for me.
You could be selling something on behalf of a friend or a sister or a brother.
So if you want to do a bit of negotiating, then you might say look, I'm not authorized to sell this for anything less than so.
You put a little bit of distance between you and the person and you're hoping that will put a bit of pressure on them to offer a little bit more.
So I'm not authorized to accept anything less than the asking price, or not authorized to accept anything less than well, let's say 80, 90 percent of the price.
And then when somebody offers a price, makes a suggestion, you do a little bit of negotiating, you have your bargaining and your haggling and then you reach an agreement.
You say, okay, deal, that will do.
So you feel that it's over.
You've got the best price you can get.
He's got the best price he can get. everybody's happy.
Okay, so yeah, deal, that will do.
Or just simply, okay, that's it, let's shake on it.
Meaning, let's shake hands, we've got a deal, I'll pay the deposit, I'll bring you the rest of the money tomorrow, you pay me a deposit, be back around here tomorrow before six o'clock with the rest of the cash, and you can have it there and then.
OK, so these are the ways in which you can open negotiations to buy and sell products, close deals, close your different ways of negotiating to get the price up when you're selling and to get the price down when you're buying.
OK, so let me go through those sections very quickly again.
So at the very beginning, we're talking about opening the negotiations with expressions like I'm open to suggestions.
I'm open to offers.
What I'm looking for is.
My starting point is this.
Here's what I'm after or here's what I'm looking for.
And when you're making and accepting offers, you can use these expressions.
I'd be prepared to accept 100 euro.
I'm not in a position to offer more than 75 euro.
How much would you like for it?
How much are you looking for it?
How much do you want for it?
How much are you willing to pay?
I'd be prepared to offer €250.
That's my final offer.
I'd be prepared to offer €250.
What would you say to €260?
Now, if you're looking to push the price up a bit, you want a bit more.
Or you want to push the price down a bit, you want to pay a bit less.
So let's look at those again.
I'm sorry, it's worth much more than that.
It's worth much more than that.
How flexible can you be on that?
Is there any wiggle room?
Could you shave a bit off the price?
Can you come down some way to meet me?
Meet me halfway, for example.
Could you see your way to increasing the price a little?
Is that your best offer?
And then finally, declining or accepting whatever has been offered?
No, sorry, that's out of the question.
I can't sell it at that price.
Really, that's not an option.
I need to sell it today.
I'm not authorized to accept anything less than the price on the ticket.
Okay, deal.
Yeah, let's do it.
Let's shake on it.
So that's it, the final offer has been accepted and we shake our hands.
Okay.
So they're all expressions that will help you to improve your speaking, particularly in those difficult negotiation situations buying secondhand car, buying the second hand bike, selling the laptop that you don't need, selling the furniture in the apartment when you're moving out or you're moving back to your home country.
All good, nice expressions.
And if you have any problems with them, when you practice them, come back to me.
I'll give you some further examples.
So thanks for listening.
This is Harry saying goodbye.
And remember, as always, join me for the next lesson.
