"I feel bad for the people who don't do their homework," said our friend Chris the other night over dinner.
Chris and his wife just bought a new (to them) truck and he was sharing the standard war stories about haggling over price with the salesman.
"They offered me $3500 less than Blue Book for my trade in," said Chris. "The poor guy kept coming back with offer after offer and I just kept saying no."
Then the sales guy came up with an excuse.
"Well you know those Blue Book/Edmonds sites always give inflated prices but they're not an accurate reflection of the value of the vehicle once it's here on our lot."
That was when Chris pounced.
"Oh really? Because the truck I'm looking at is priced at Blue Book so that price must be inflated, too. Right?"
He ended up getting exactly what he wanted.
Here's the point: Even if you're not shopping for big ticket items, do your homework on the web before you leave the house. The balance of power has shifted and it's no longer buyer beware, it's buyer be aware.
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