week end find..I found a beauty! & 4 tips to help you get a bargain!

Call it luck, call it fate... but sometimes I get an eary feeling when I come across something that I know was just meant for me! With my new lounge room now built ofcourse I would be needing a lounge to sit on but knew I would have to wait a while to get the one I really wanted due to financial reasons. But I was happy to wait, I'm pretty much used to it!  I knew what I wanted in the back of my mind, a nice comfy lounge with big cushions for Fred and 2 french inspired armchairs, you know the ones with the ornate wood trims,  to give the room a french feel.
Well Fred and I went to a swap meet this weekend, he goes for car parts and I go for my treasures. We rarely walk together as we don't like to slow each other down looking at things we're not interested in. 

So guess what I came across.. I couldn't believe my eyes! A beautiful french Louie style lounge suite! OMG! That's when that eary feeling came over me and I knew that lounge was coming home with me! It would need a fair bit of work to bring it back to it's former glory... but that's ok.

Tip no. 1 - ALWAYS ask for the price. the lounge already had a small tag of $250 on it, but I've learnt that peoples emotions and needs fluctuate constantly when selling, so never take a price tag as the right price.

'How much do you want for the lounge' I asked
'$150'  he said.... so there you have it, he'd already reduced the lounge by $100 without me even trying..
'I just want to get rid of it and really don't want to take it home'  so at this stage I was hearing horns and sirens in my head because I knew he was open to more negotiation.

Tip no.2. -NEVER look too interested, even when you KNOW you are going to buy it.
'Mmmm,  I wish it was blue not green, do you know how much they charge too reupholster lounges' I asked. This part is true, I do not have a clue how  much they charge.. but I thought at that price I can afford to give it a go  myself.. so.. as fate would have it, Fred was coming towards me from the other direction,  and before I even mentioned the lounge he said 'that's a nice lounge'.. well that's all I needed to know.

Tip no. 3- ALWAYS haggle the price.. I'm a pretty good haggler.. and what's the worst thing that can happen?... they'll say no. Either way I was already happy with $150 but the guy didn't want to take it home right?
'Will you take $100 for the lounge?
Approx 10 seconds later he said 'OK'  ..and that was that.... yay!!!!!!!!

Tip no. 4 - CLOSE the deal and pay in full if you can, especially if you aren't taking it with you right away. Like that the deal is closed and he won't be tempted to sell it to the next person who comes along that may offer him a better price.

 So, if anyone out there has any tips and suggestions on how to reupholster I'd be so happy to hear from you.. I'll try googling it and see what I find.  I 'll be painting the wood trim white ofcourse and antiquing the ornate bits for more definition. I'll also try to replace the foam bits and then recover it all in an offwhite fabric. I can't wait to see it finished!  Hope you all had a good week end too! take care, Maryann    ps. I know alot of people don't like to haggle, but asking that one question saved me $50 and if he had said no $150 is the lowest I'll go I would have just said fair enough, I'll take it any way. easy peasy!