Vendor Price Negotiations

[ericanatalie]

Hi! I was hoping someone might have advice on pricing negotiations with vendors, Mexico specifically. I have read that many vendors will quote a little higher expecting you to barter. In particular, currently we are trying to book our Audio/visual equipment supplier and lighting. One company provided a fast quote with an invoice attached almost right away. A second vendor made us arrange to speak over the phone, went through their whole catalog and then came up with a price list that in some cases is over double the first vendor (eg. $600 for string lights vs. $1400). I did initially balk at these prices and honestly admitted they were higher than I was hoping to pay but the vendor insisted these were only individual prices and once we pick out a package of items we need (lights, DJ, dancefloor etc) the package price would be lower.

Long story short, of course it seems obvious to book with the first vendor, whose prices seemed so transparent and competitive. But now am I expected to barter with them? We are on a tight budget but I am not opposed to paying the original quote, just not sure if in actuality I would be getting ripped off for not asking for a lower price.

Help! I hate this kind of stuff