Retailers responding to a question about discounts in the November/December issue of Greetings etc. magazine all said that there’s no way they’d cave in to this request.

These retailers minced no words. Some of them said they’d not been asked about discounts, but the ones who had were blunt about their policy.

Think about times when you were asked to accept a lower price.

Did you hesitantly say “yes?” Did you decrease the price just to get the sale but at the same time make yourself unhappy?

Perhaps these responses from the Greetings etc. survey will change your tune.

I simply say, ‘I am so sorry, but we are so small that we cannot afford to give discounts.’

I say NO. Does their trashman, electric company, water company give them a discount?

What do you do for a living, and may I have a discount on my colonoscopy?

Since I can remember, the gift basket industry has based itself around offering discounts for mega orders and early holiday orders.

However, after reading these responses from traditional retailers, perhaps it’s time to re-think our own strategy for 2010 and beyond.

None of us can afford to give anything away, so perhaps extra balloons or something else added to a gift, such as a slow-moving product, is enough incentive for a sale. Remember that once a discount is approved, that client will always expect it no matter what they buy.

Customers will always ask for discounts, but it doesn’t mean you have to give it.

What’s your thought about discounts? How willing are you to cave in to this request?

Shirley George Frazier

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