“You can negotiate, but you have to do your research,” said Mr. Achee, who works<br>for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. “When I’m bargaining, I’m<br>bargaining with information.”<br>Information from the Internet helped Amber Kendall, 24, and her husband, Matt,<br>when they shopped for a camera last October. The couple, who live in Boston, found the<br>Canon camera they wanted online for $350, then used the Internet price to bargain with<br>Ritz Camera, where the price was $400. Then they used the Ritz Camera offer to get the<br>same price at Microcenter, where they preferred the warranty offer.<br>The technological influences are not just on the consumer side. Retail industry<br>analysts said corporate retailers have begun using computer systems that let them do<br>real-time pricing and profit analysis. Such systems tell a company what price it can set<br>and still make money, and they illuminate the trade-off between lowering prices and<br>raising sales volumes, said Andy Hargreaves, a retail industry analyst with Pacific Crest<br>Securities.<br>Mr. Hargreaves did a little negotiating himself recently. At Best Buy last November,<br>he bargained down the price of a 50-inch Samsung plasma television.<br>“They gave me a number. I gave them another number, and he gave me a final number,” he said, noting that he got a $100 price break in addition to the $200 sale discount.<br>“A lot of people don’t realize you can go into Best Buy and ask them for a lower price.”<br>Frederick Stinchfield, 23, was a Best Buy salesman in Minnetonka, Minn., until last<br>January. He said about one-quarter of customers tried to bargain. Much of the time, he<br>said, he was able to oblige them, particularly in circumstances where a customer buying<br>electronics (like a camera) also bought an accessory (like a camera bag) with a higher
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