Retail customers revive the art of haggling (1/3ページ)

Remy Fenelus remembers a time when customers at his south Fort Myers, Fla., shop paid the asking price for his custom-made suits and dresses.

"When you'd tell them something's 50 dollars, it's 50," he says.

But that was then and this is now.

Experts say a wave of haggling - fueled by hard economic times and Internet pricing research - is sweeping the country's retail landscape.

Even chain stores such as Home Depot, which traditionally had a strictly fixed price policy, are now more willing to bargain although there are limits.

Dan Lubner, vice president of marketing/business development at Fort Myers-based furniture store Robb & Stucky, won't strike a deal.

His regular customers benefit from the better service and personal relationship they build up with the store and that more than makes up for any advantage they could get haggling, Lubner says.

"The problem with bargaining is that if you become capricious with your bargaining, it's hard to tell what something costs. The price we have on Monday is the same we have on Saturday."