Say you want to buy luxury items, such as cars, boats or hot tubs. This process can be very intimidating, mostly because Americans don’t know or understand the art of haggling. If you haggle with the salespeople, you are bound to get the price you want, or close to it, on the hot tubs of your dreams.

Haggling is definitely an art form of which most people in other countries, particularly Third World, take advantage. Haggling means you banter with the seller to get the best deal you can. For example, let's say you're in Mexico, eyeing a sterling silver cuff bracelet. The seller is asking 50 dollars, a price you think is outrageous. But you really want that bracelet. Other people, foreigners, come up and look at the beautiful jewelry. They find the prices too high too. So what do they do? They offer less money. The seller asks for more. The buyer demands less. Soon, they reach an agreement and both parties are happy. You've just witnessed haggling, and you try it yourself. Though shy at first, you soon get the hang of it and you walk away with your bracelet for 15 dollars. How proud of yourself you are!

Well, you can do the same thing when you deal with vendors of cars, boats or hot tubs – talk them down in price. You've probably done something like that when buying a car already, so why not try it when buying hot tubs? You've gotten good deals on cars, so you can do the same with hot tubs.

The best way to get a good deal is to pretend you don't want the item at all and are just browsing. That way, the salesperson will not pressure you at first to buy anything. Soon, though, you are ready to buy hot tubs. So you approach the salesperson and explain that you want such and such. The salesperson tells you the retail price. You scoff. It's way too high, you tell her. So you lowball her, giving a price you know is out of the range. That person will then say she will talk to her manager to see what can be done to sell the hot tubs to you. She wants the sale, you see, no matter what. She probably works on commission and has quotas to meet. If you cannot get the price you want after haggling for a while, just leave the showroom. More than likely, the salesperson will chase after you, finally relenting to sell at the price you want. When the price isn't quite what you wanted but you decide it's acceptable, ask for free add-ons or extras. More than likely, she will give you at least one for which you ask.

If you're afraid to haggle or just too shy to do so, bypass the showroom altogether and search the Internet. More and more, e-commerce merchants sell hot tubs on the Web, and you can get a great deal without having to leave your home or argue with a salesperson. You can also find great deals when you search the Web.

Of course, haggling can either be fun or stressful, depending upon your frame of mind and personality. So try it if you like. If you succeed, you'll not only be ecstatic, but also proud.