We bought the poster at the Day Out with Thomas even at the B&O Railroad Museum in Baltimore (a great place if you are ever in the area). I think I paid $12 for it. At the time I did not really have a plan for Alex's room but knew I wanted to do something with gray, blue and red so I knew I could make this work.
Fast forward 9 months and I am getting all of the pieces of his room together. This piece needed to be framed. I didn't want the standard poster framing but a real wood frame with white mat. I head over to my local frame place which I don't frequent too often since I try to DIY my framing projects, but this was something I wanted done right. I pick my frame and mat, and the saleswoman measured and gave me a price of $275. {Gag} Not what I had in mind. In my head, I was thinking "There goes my $150 budget". I understand that it's a large piece but that seemed extreme since I chose a simple frame and a single mat. I told her that I needed to think about it because it was more than I wanted to pay. She asked me how much I wanted to pay and I said $150. She walked over to her manager. I expected her to come back and say $200. Instead, she came back and said "Okay." I must have looked confused because she said "Do you want it for $150?" Ummmm... yes! I grabbed the sales slip and ran out the door. A week later I picked up this beauty and I am so glad I went for it.
Never hurts to ask. This is why it's great to deal locally and not use chain stores whenever possible. I'm sure this would not have happened at Michael's even with their 50% off sales. Guess what? Those prices are jacked up to begin with!
Any great negotiating tips? Good stories to share?
More on Alex's room here and here.
