Everyone wants to buy low and sell high. Find out about negotiating prices in English in this episode.
Slow dialogue: 1:11
Explanations: 3:14
Fast dialogue: 16:34
Justin: Hello.
Rachel: Hi, Justin. It’s Rachel from McQ Corp.
Justin: Oh hi, Rachel. Did you get our bid for the job?
Rachel: Yes, we did. We like your proposal, but we still need to come to terms on the price.
Justin: We’ve already given you our rock-bottom price because we want to get this job, but we always try to be flexible.
Rachel: Good. Could you do better on what you’ve quoted us for labor? The price seemed a little high.
Justin: We might be able to trim a little off of that. How about if we discount that by 10 percent?
Rachel: That’s an attractive offer, but we were hoping for 20 percent.
Justin: You’re driving a hard bargain. We have certain fixed costs, you know.
Rachel: I do and that’s why I’m only asking about labor costs. Can you meet me halfway at 15 percent?
Justin: I think that might be doable, if that’s the only stumbling block to us getting the job.
Rachel: I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.
Justin: That’s all I can ask. I’ll send you over a revised bid.
Rachel: Great. I hope to have good news for you next week.

Script by Dr. Lucy Tse