Haggling in English

Haggling in English

That's too expensive!

Welcome to the first of our special activites which help you learn practical English for real situations.
In life, whether you love it or hate it, sometimes you need to haggle - you need to try to get a better price for something. Some people are natural hagglers, and even if you are, you can still learn some useful English expressions to help you get the best deal.
In the UK, haggling is not as common as in some other countries. You wouldn't normally haggle in a department store here, or in other big shops. But you might haggle in a market, or for something like a second-hand car...

To do

Listen to the audio. Rob is trying to buy a car from Neil, while Finn explains some of the language they use. How much does Rob eventually pay for the car? While you listen for the answer, make a note of the haggling phrases and expressions that Finn talks about. You'll also find some definitions of key words in the vocabulary area.

Listen to the audio and complete the activity

• Play Pause
• Mute
• 00:00

Show transcript Hide transcript

Finn Hi, this is Finn and I've got some special language for you today. And how about this: I might even save you some money! Learn English and save money? Well, today we're talking about haggling – now that's what we do when we're trying to buy something for a cheaper price – like at a market, or on holiday.
Haggling is, of course, very common in many different cultures, and here in the UK people do haggle but they don't really do it in big shops: you might hear it, maybe, at a market – or, as we're going to hear – if you're buying something expensive like a second-hand car.
Now, Rob is looking for a good deal. But will Neil – who's selling – be happy with the price? Let's listen. And while you do, listen out for a particular phrase – instead of saying 'could you sell it for...', what does Rob say?
Rob
Excuse me. How much for the Vauxhall over there?
Neil
Oh the Vauxhall, oh yeah, that's a bargain. £700.
Rob
700?
Neil
Yeah. It'll cost you at least 800 anywhere else.
Rob
Could you do it for 500?
Neil
500? No, sorry, no: I can sell this car for 700, I'm sure of it.
Rob
I've got the cash. You couldn't do it for 550?
Neil
No.
Rob
You couldn't do a bit cheaper, could you?
Neil
Well, I tell you what, I could probably do it for about 650.
Finn
Ok, let's pause their haggling right there. Did you hear the phrase Rob used? Instead of saying 'Could you sell it for £500', Rob said:
Rob Could you do it for 500?
Finn
Do it. Simple, huh? Could you do it for 500?
Rob
Could you do it for 500?
Finn
You could also say Can you do it for £500 – can rather than could. But could is a little bit more polite. Now listen to these examples of it as well – you can use it in the negative, with couldn't:
Rob
You couldn't do it for 550? You couldn't do it a bit cheaper, could you?
Finn
You couldn't do it for 550? You couldn't do a bit cheaper, could you? Now remember, haggling goes both ways – and the seller will use lots of language to keep the price high. So did you notice the language Neil used – he called it a bargain – that's a good price, and said it would cost more in other shops.
Neil
Oh the Vauxhall, oh yeah, that's a bargain. £700.
Rob
700?
Neil
It'll cost you at least 800 anywhere else.
Finn
But Rob is persistent – he doesn't give up! He's succeeded in getting the price down by £50 already. You could say – Neil has knocked off £50. Now, knocked off means he's taken the price down by £50. Now, let's listen to the end of their conversation – the end of their haggling. How much does Neil knock off in the end?
Neil I tell you what, I could probably do it for about 650.
Rob
650?
Neil
650, yeah. You can't say fairer than that.
Rob
Well, is that really your best price?
Neil
It's my best price. 650. Come on.
Rob
I've got all the cash here. I haven’t got 650, I've got 600. I'll give you 600 for it.
Neil
630, how about that? I've just knocked off another £20.
Rob
It's too much: I haven’t got that kind of money. Look, I saw it down the road for 600. In fact, I think I might go there and buy it. Thanks anyway, bye.
Neil
Hang on, hang on, let's not be silly here. Let's not be silly here. I'll tell you what. 600.
Rob
600. It's a deal.
Neil
Go on then.
Finn
So how much did Neil knock off? Well the final price was £600, and it started at £700 – so he knocked off £100. How did Rob do this? Well, he used another good phrase: I haven’t got that kind of money.
Rob It's too much: I haven’t got that kind of money.
Finn
And he also did something I always do if I'm haggling and I can't get the price down – he started to walk away.
Rob
I saw it down the road for 600. In fact, I think I might go there and buy it. Thanks anyway, bye.
Neil
Hang on, hang on...
Finn
It's a bit naughty, isn't it - but it tends to work! Anyway, finally they reached a deal. And what did Neil say at the very end?
Neil600.
Rob
600. It's a deal.
Neil
Go on then.
Finn
Go on then. You'll often hear this in spoken English – in a haggling situation like this, so if you hear it, well done – your haggling has been successful, and it's time to pay up!
Neil
600.
Rob 600. It's a deal.
Neil
Go on then.
Finn
That's it for this time, but let me know if you manage to use any of this language next time you haggle. You might even save some money. I'll leave you with their conversation one last time.
Rob
Excuse me. How much for the Vauxhall over there?
Neil
Oh the Vauxhall, oh yeah, that's a bargain. £700.
Rob
700?
Neil
It'll cost you at least 800 anywhere else.
Rob
Could you do it for 500?
Neil
500? No, sorry, no: I can sell this car for 700, I'm sure of it.
Rob
I've got the cash. You couldn't do it for 550?
Neil
No.
Rob
You couldn't do a bit cheaper, could you?
Neil I'll tell you what, I could probably do it for 650.
Rob
650?
Neil
650, yeah. You can't say fairer than that.
Rob
Well, is that really your best price?
Neil
It's my best price. 650. Come on.
Rob
I've got all the cash here. I haven’t got 650, I've got 600. I'll give you 600 for it.
Neil
630, how about that? I've just knocked off another £20.
Rob
It's too much: I haven’t got that kind of money. Look, I saw it down the road for 600. In fact, I think I might go there and buy it. Thanks anyway, bye.
Neil
Hang on, hang on, let's not be silly here. Let's not be silly here. I'll tell you what. 600.
Rob
600. It's a deal.
Neil
Go on then. 

 

Downloads

You can download the programme and transcript from our Unit 1 Downloads page.

Key language

So, Rob paid £600 in the end. And here are the 'haggling expressions' that Finn talked about:
1. 'Do' = sell
When we are haggling, instead of using the verb sell, we often use do. We use it with can/can't and could/couldn't:

• I can probably do it for about £650.
• Can't you do it a bit cheaper?
• Could you do it for 500?
• You couldn't do it for £550?

2. To 'knock off'
This phrasal verb means 'lower the price'.

• Can you knock off another £30?
• I could knock off £10 for you.

3. When you've got a deal: 'Go on then'
To show that the price is agreed, it sounds very natural in spoken English for the buyer and/or the seller to say: Go on then.

• Buyer: £600?
• Seller: Go on then.
• Buyer: I'll give you £40 for it.
• Seller: Go on then.

Next

Now – can you use these expressions to haggle? Let's find out in the next activity, as you try to buy a camera at a bargain price.

100 Level Learn english Speaking fast 1 month with Bacitikdaithanh

speaking english practice, speaking english fluently, speaking english fluently in 10 days, speaking english conversation, speaking english fluently tutorial, speaking english practice in india, speaking english practice videos, speaking english course, speaking english with subtitle, speaking english in hindi, speaking english advanced pronunciation, speaking english activity, speaking english at work, speaking english about family, speaking english accent, speaking english at the airport, speaking english australia, speaking english advanced, speaking english american accent, speaking english and khmer, a french speaking english, speaking english basic, speaking english beginner, speaking english british, speaking english bts, speaking english backwards, speaking english badly, speaking english by niharika, speaking english bangla, speaking english - bad habits, speaking english bbc, bobby team b speaking english, block b speaking english, team b speaking english, zico block b speaking english, kyung block b speaking english, jazzy b speaking english, m.i.b speaking english, b.i speaking english, b.a.p speaking english, b.i.g speaking english, speaking english conversation practice, speaking english comedy, speaking english course in bangla, speaking english class, speaking english confidently, speaking english contest, speaking english children, speaking english course in hindi, c clown rome speaking english, c clown speaking english, c.a.p speaking english, c ronaldo speaking english, speaking english dan artinya, speaking english daily, speaking english denis drolet, wooyoung speaking english dream high, g dragon speaking english, danny ahn speaking english, dutch accent speaking english, dara speaking english, d.o speaking english, dilma rousseff speaking english, simon d speaking english, g.o.d speaking english, d.o exo speaking english, d.o speaking english samsung, d.o speaking english 2014, speaking english everyday, speaking english exercises, speaking english easily, speaking english exam, speaking english easy, speaking english english, bts speaking english eng sub, austin powers speaking english english, kai speaking english exo, kris speaking english exo, san e speaking english, e vidyarthi english speaking, e.den lc9 speaking english, speaking english for kids, speaking english fluently and confidently, speaking english funny, speaking english fluently practice, speaking english for beginners, speaking english fluently ielts, speaking english funny videos, f(x) amber speaking english, f(x) speaking english, f(x) sulli speaking english, f(x) luna speaking english, f(x) victoria speaking english, speaking english grammar, speaking english game, 2pm speaking english game, mark speaking english got7, japanese speaking english game show, jackson speaking english got7, kpop speaking english game, german accent speaking english, got7 speaking english, ns yoon g speaking english, tiny g speaking english, g.na speaking english, g dragon speaking english 2014, g.na speaking english to kyuhyun, g.e.m speaking english, g dragon speaking english kcon 2014, speaking english how to answer the phone, speaking english how to say p f b v, speaking english how to say ch & sh, speaking english hindi, speaking english - how to count syllables, lauren speaking english hello baby, tablo speaking english haru, learn english speaking through hindi, hindi to english speaking course full, how learn english speaking, speaking english ielts, speaking english in japan, speaking english ielts test, speaking english in korea, speaking english in france, speaking english in germany, speaking english indonesia, speaking english in quebec, speaking english in canada, speaking english japanese, speaking english japan, shinee speaking english jonghyun, xi jinping speaking english, jackson got7 speaking english, jessica speaking english, super junior speaking english, jay park speaking english, bts jungkook speaking english, bts jin speaking english, may j speaking english, shorry j speaking english, crown j speaking english, lucky j speaking english, j hope speaking english, j balvin speaking english, speaking english khmer, speaking english kpop, speaking english kids, speaking english korean, jyp speaking english kpop star, exo speaking english kai, ailee speaking english korean, nicole speaking english kara, iu speaking english kcon, kai exo k speaking english, exo k speaking english, jun k speaking english, 2pm jun k speaking english, k idols speaking english, k-on speaking english, k will speaking english, k-idols speaking english eng sub, speaking english lesson 1, speaking english like a native speaker, speaking english learning, speaking english lesson, speaking english like an american, speaking english language, speaking english learning videos, speaking english lessons for beginners, speaking english lesson in hindi.english grammar.spoken english-fluent and confident lvl 1 lesson 5-a, speaking english lectures, infinite l speaking english, l.joe speaking english, l.joe speaking english weekly idol, speaking english muet, speaking english movies, speaking english malayalam, scottish people speaking english maybe, messi speaking english, angela merkel speaking english, kiko mizuhara speaking english, martina stoessel speaking english, wow mali english speaking kariton, got7 mark speaking english, luhan exo m speaking english, exo m speaking english, b m english speaking, speaking english naturally, speaking english niharika, speaking english news, aron speaking english nu'est, nichkhun speaking english, neymar speaking english, nepali actress speaking english, lets talk english speaking niharika, norwegian accent speaking english, nadech kugimiya speaking english, vixx n speaking english, speaking english online, speaking english on phone, bts speaking english on plane, online english speaking course free, english lectures on speaking, oxford english speaking course, onew speaking english, speaking old english, ok taecyeon speaking english, exo d.o speaking english, exo d.o speaking english compilation, mblaq g.o speaking english, speaking english practice for beginners, speaking english practice in hindi, speaking english practice with subtitle, speaking english practice for kids, speaking english practice ielts, speaking english practice toefl, speaking english practice in india in hindi, t.o.p speaking english, t.o.p speaking english interview, t.o.p speaking english 2014, p j joseph speaking english, english speaking p, speaking english quickly, queen letizia speaking english, queen maxima speaking english, queen beatrix speaking english, sultan qaboos speaking english, queen silvia speaking english, queen mathilde speaking english, queen sirikit speaking english, queen sofia speaking english, quebecois speaking english, speaking english ronnie, wendy speaking english red velvet, park bom speaking english roommate, exo speaking english ranking, roy kim speaking english, cristiano ronaldo speaking english, ronaldo speaking english, rain speaking english, russian speaking english, red velvet speaking english, t r speaking english, speaking english slowly, speaking english skill, speaking english subtitles, speaking english story, speaking english song, practice speaking english skills, learn english speaking english subtitles, henry speaking english super junior, exo speaking english sehun, improve english speaking skills, speaking english, speaking english tutorial, speaking english topics, speaking english tips, speaking english to strangers, speaking english test, speaking english to koreans, speaking english to japanese, speaking english to foreigners, speaking english to bangla, speaking english to russians, zion t speaking english, t-ara speaking english, t rajendar speaking english, t-ara dani speaking english, t s madaan english speaking, speaking english uk, speaking english usa, speaking english urdu, uk english speaking practice, urdu to english speaking course full, u kiss speaking english, usa english speaking practice, english urdu speaking course, us english speaking practice, urassaya sperbund speaking english, u kiss jun speaking english, u kiss aj speaking english, u kiss kevin speaking english, u kiss eli speaking english, u kiss dongho speaking english, u-know yunho speaking english, u kiss alexander speaking english, speaking english video, speaking english very fast, speaking english vocabulary, speaking english video in hindi, how to speaking english very well, funny speaking english video, learning speaking english video, vijaykanth english speaking comedy, vladimir putin speaking english, british english speaking videos, v speaking english bts, bangtan boys v speaking english, bangtan v speaking english, v s achuthanandan speaking english, speaking english with a spanish accent, speaking english with american accent, speaking english with a german accent, speaking english with russian accent, speaking english with confidence, speaking english with strangers, speaking english with misterduncan, speaking english with text, speaking english with british accent, exo speaking english xiumin, xiumin speaking english, xavi speaking english, xabi alonso speaking english, ximena duque speaking english, xiah junsu speaking english, bo xilai speaking english, xi jinping speaking english in india, amber f(x) speaking english, winner speaking english yg, bobby speaking english yg, yoochun speaking english, yuki furukawa speaking english, gong yoo speaking english, aaron yan speaking english, yong hwa speaking english, yoona speaking english, joon young speaking english, park yoochun speaking english, zhoumi speaking english, zelo speaking english, zico speaking english, jiang zemin speaking english, zea kevin speaking english, zidane speaking english, zlatan ibrahimovic speaking english, bap zelo speaking english, zhao wei speaking english, momoiro clover z speaking english, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 02, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 05, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 03, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 04, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 09, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 06, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 08, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 07, learn english speaking lesson 01, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 11, english speaking practice title 1, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 12, english conversation - learn english speaking - part 10, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 10, 15& speaking english, jimin 15& speaking english, 1tym teddy speaking english, top 10 english speaking countries, english speaking part 1, english speaking practice lesson 1, learn english speaking 1, english speaking practice 1, english speaking english conversation lesson 1, english speaking practice part 1, english speaking class 1, english speaking for grade 1, tiffany speaking english 2014, jessica speaking english 2014, taeyang speaking english 2014, tablo speaking english 2014, gd speaking english 2014, 2ne1 speaking english 2014, rain speaking english 2014, neymar speaking english 2014, tiffany snsd speaking english 2014, hassan 2 speaking english, invincible youth 2 speaking english, roommate season 2 speaking english, english speaking practice title 2, english speaking lesson 2, 2pm speaking english, learn english speaking 2, english speaking practice title 3, 30 days english speaking course, sims 3 speaking english, english speaking lesson 3, english conversation - learn english speaking lesson 30, 4minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 4, the sims 4 speaking english, learn english speaking 4, english speaking practice 4, english speaking lesson 4, 4 minute speaking english, english speaking practice title 5, 5zic speaking english, english speaking practice 5, english speaking practice title 6, english speaking lesson 6, english speaking practice title 7, english speaking 7 rules, speaking english subtitle part 7, english speaking practice title 8, 9muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 9, 96neko speaking english, 9 muses sera speaking english, english speaking practice title 10, learn english speaking 10