If you just can't get anyone to go shopping with you, and you have to go alone, all is not lost. Just pretend you have a husband, wife, boyfriend, or girlfriend.

When you feel that you've gotten all you can from the salesman, write down the price in your notebook. Tell them you like the bed and want to get it. But of course, it's still a lot of money so you'll need to make sure this is ok with your wife (or whoever).

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The salesman does not want you to leave that store without buying anything. So when he hears that you're going home to talk about it with your wife, he'll almost certainly take action to prevent that. What will he do?

He might just lower the price even more. Great!

Or he might ask you how much your wife wants to pay. Or how much you'd be able to pay without having to consult her. Don't give him a number. Just tell him that you hadn't decided on a limit. He will likely still lower the price a little more.

One of the most powerful negotiating tactics is to have a higher power that has to approve your decisions. Even if you do have someone to play bad guy to your good guy, you may want to try this instead. You can decide which one will work best for you. Of course, if you and your spouse are shopping together, which you'll probably want to do, it may be more difficult to use this tactic.