Traditionally layaway programs are used to allow people to save up and pay for things that they normally wouldn’t be able to afford, and after they save up all of the money needed to pay for the product, they are guaranteed access to the product. There’s no worries that the product will no longer be there after they finally save up the money, since the store is saving the item in the back specifically for them. Did you know that layaways have another much better function too? You can use them to save ridiculous amounts of money on electronics and other major purchases. Here’s how to do it.

1. Research – The first thing you need to do is heavily research what you’re going to buy. You should know the exact model of the item that you want to buy, what the wholesale price of the exact model is and how much money the store is making on the purchase before even talking to a sales person.

2. Haggle – After you know exactly how much the store paid for the item, and what they’re making, just start haggling. Use every purchase negotiation you know of. Say things like “That’s not good enough” and “You’ll have to do better.” Study negotiation techniques and just mess with them. Agree to a price that’s as close to the amount they paid for it as you can get to.

3. Layaway – After you’ve agreed on a purchase price, put your item on layaway and put the minimum down that you possible can, usually it’s 5% or 10%. In most cases the layaways are completely refundable, but be sure to check first so that you don’t get yourself into trouble.

4. Go to a Competitor – Take your layaway slip to a competitor to the store you have the layaway at. Make sure it’s one that pays a commission to its sales representatives, this way they have an incentive to sell you the product, and make sure you go visit them near the end of the month. This is when they’ll try to meet their quotas. When they sell more units, they often get some very decent bonuses. Quite often they’ll give up their entire commission just so they can make another sale.

You can use your layaway slip as a starting point, and make them go down from there. If they won’t budge, go to another competitor. If you can’t get anyone else to budget at all, you still have already negotiated a lot of money away from the product and are still getting a good deal, but chances are that won’t happen. Usually you’ll be able to negotiate even more away from hungry sales managers and sales representatives.

5. Return the Layaway Slip – After you’ve made your purchase at the competitor’s store, go back to the first store and return your layaway slip without any consequences.
Following this five step process with layaways can easily save you a ton of money on your major electronics and other purchases. Just remember to not get suckered with accessories and make sure you are getting the exact model that you want, and you’ll save big.



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