ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bargain down

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to talk to a seller until they agree to lower the price of something.

phr. v.. to negotiate with a vendor to reduce the asking price of a commodity or service; implies a successful outcome for the buyer.


SIMPLE

I managed to bargain the seller down to fifty dollars.

CONTEXTUAL

At the street market, you can often bargain the vendors down if you offer to pay in cash.

COMPLEX

The procurement team successfully bargained the supplier down by leveraging the high volume of the order and the promise of a long-term contract.

Particles
down
Separability
optional
Pattern
bargain + object + down
Usage

usually takes a person as the direct object, followed by 'to' and the final price.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'haggle' (the process) and 'beat down' (more aggressive); 'bargain down' focuses on the result of the negotiation.

Pitfall

I bargained down the price to $10.I bargained him down to $10.while you can bargain over a price, you typically bargain a person down to a lower amount.

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