Name-Your-Own-Price Sites Offer Consumers 'Thrill Of The Hunt'

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — More and more websites are allowing consumers to haggle for discounts and deals.

After 33 years in the same house, Tracy Crowley from Torrance is finally getting her dream kitchen with brand new appliances, like a dishwater.

"It's really cool. So, it's like you've got the dishwasher, and then you've got the top tray, and then you've got a really little third tray that you can lay all those clumsy utensils and stuff," Crowley said.

She researched online and double checked prices in the stores.

"People tell me you can walk into Home Depot and haggle. That would never be me," she said.

But the art of haggling is alive and well on the Internet.

In fact, there are handful of new websites where consumers can name their own price for products from furniture to fashion, even Crowley's kitchen appliances.

"The more that dial moved over into the green, the better I started feeling. Like, this is really pretty cool," she said.

Even though Crowley paid $1,300 before taxes and shipping on the dishwasher she purchased from an appliance store, Crowley still wanted to know if she could have haggled a better price on Greentoe.com, one of the new name-your-own-price sites.

She typed in her model number and named her own price and discovered $950 got her in the range where retailers were willing to work with her.

Greentoe matched her bid with a retailer selling her exact dishwasher for $949. That's $350 less than what she paid and the site's price includes shipping and taxes.

"Knowing that that's already been figured in, and shipping has been figured in, and that's still the same price," she said.

Greentoe CEO/Co-Founder Joe Marrapodi is based in Los Angeles and says customers can expect to save an average of 18 percent to 19 percent on the lowest price they find online.

"There really is a secret out there and the secret is: if you ask for a lower price, you can get it," Marrapodi said.

Greentoe isn't alone.

Garmentory.com, another website, sells hot new fashions online by listing the original price and then allowing shoppers to make them an offer.

Viyet.com, another website, is an online resale site for furniture that's been described as an upscale flea market, where buyers can name their own price on thousands of items.

"I think people love the thrill of the hunt, right? And this really gives it to you," Catey Hill, a MarketWatch.com reporter, said.

Hill, a shopping expert, says customers may be tired of just clicking to buy and looking for a new way to become more empowered.

"I'm not gonna pay what you asked. I'm gonna pay less, and some people really love that," Hill said.

Now that Crowley sees the savings she missed out on, she's planning to make a habit out of online haggling.

"I'm feeling like I'm somewhat empowered because I didn't give you your top number and you didn't take my low number, but we kind of came a mutual win-win," Crowley said.