Wedding Markings Are Real so Don’t Be Afraid to Call It and Haggle.
Wedding margins are real, and Consumer Reports has numbers to back it up. In a recent study, it was found that 28% of sellers increase prices for wedding events. The good news is that many of these vendors are willing to bargain when you tell them to.
In Consumer Reports, mystery shoppers obtained prices from 40 sellers in 12 states. They explain:
Pairs of shoppers called the same photographers, florists, food service providers, and other party vendors weekly apart and received comparative ratings for a wedding and 50th birthday party that were otherwise identical. (For example, we told photographers that we only needed their services at the time of reception.) More than a quarter of the time — 28 percent — sellers gave us prices that were higher for a wedding than for an anniversary party. Such a wedding allowance was more frequent in some regions than in others.
In one example, an Atlanta-based photographer charged $ 300 an hour for a Saturday wedding, compared to $ 150 an hour for an anniversary at the same time and on the same day of the week. They also found that some sellers charge up to 26 percent inline tips.
We have discussed wedding tax before and this is nothing new. Surprisingly, however, Consumer Reports said their findings weren’t that cut and dry simply because some manufacturers were willing to negotiate with buyers.
They reported:
… we also found a number of the same sellers willing to work with our customers to cut costs. Some have even come up with solutions to save money. However, a survey by the National Research Center for Consumer Reports found that consumers generally do not exercise their bargaining power.
Their general takeaway is to read the fine print, ask questions, and try to bargain before signing anything. For more tips on saving money for your wedding, check out their full post and follow the links below.
Get More Wedding For Your Money | Consumer Reports via Consumerist