In these tough economic times many are taking action, like looking for sales and discounts. What if you could haggle for more than just a car or a home — but virtually anything?

Is the first price the final price when it comes to shopping? Phil Landers, a professional haggler, says no!

"They deserve to make some money. They really do. It's the American way," Landers said. "But in these tough times we sure don't want to give them more than we have to."

Landers charges clients to do the dirty work for them.

"Mike's buying the car and I'm just going to be assisting him on this," he told a local car dealer.

Landers got his client Mike a Toyota Corolla for $1,838 below sticker price — all because he was prepared.

"You knew the model, you had all the pricing, you had everything spelled out for me," the car dealer told Landers.

Landers says haggling is for more than just cars.

"Say, if it's important to you, 'Is there a manager I can talk to?'" Landers explained. "Again, be polite."

Bruce Grevengoed teaches a course on finances at his church in Goshen.

“If you don't get a good enough bargain where you're at, be patient and go to another place," said Grevengoed.

Grevengoed tried his talents on a television. We went with him to a big name electronic store in search of the best buy.

"The only thing I can do is knock like a hundred bucks off,” the clerk told him.

So in the end, Grevengoed got a $100 discount just for asking.

We decided to put Landers’ and Grevengoed's strategies to the test.
And with a hidden camera and a lot of nerve we hit the streets in search of savings.

We tried the techniques at local car washes and asked if there were any coupons available.

"If you get this wash and the $8 vacuum and windows you get like $3 off," the employee told us.

At another car wash, we asked if there was a manager who could give us a better price. The manager gave us a discount on buying multiple services.

"If you do that often enough, you could save thousands of dollars a year," Grevengoed said.

Do your research, ask for a discount, speak to the manager, and compare prices elsewhere, and it turns out the best bargain really is bargaining.

"You have nothing to lose. Sometimes it won't work, sometimes you won't get a discount, but the worst you've done is taken up a few seconds of your time," Landers said.

Watch WSBT News at 5 p.m. next Monday for more money saving tips.