Listen to the storekeeper, he knows best....

Owning a store has certainly changed the way I buy stuff from other stores.

Even though I'm not much of a consumer, on those rare occasions when I do buy something, I try to take the advice of the salesman. If -- and admittedly this is a big If -- if I think the salesman is trying to give me his best advice and not just trying to sell me something.

I can't tell you the number of times I've known -- known from 30 years of selling this stuff -- exactly what the customer wanted and needed. Only to have the customer pick something that I knew -- just knew -- wouldn't satisfy him in the end. After remonstrating a couple of times, trying to use soft reasoning, I'll give in. The customer wants what the customer wants.

But basically, a smart retailer wants you to be happy and satisfied so you'll come back.

I also use this approach when I start buying into a new product line. I'll ask the rep. for advice. If he steers me wrong, I never go back. But if he steers me right, I listen to him even more the next time.

There have been occasions when I had a preconceived notion of what I wanted, and the rep would try to talk me out of it and I ignored him. And almost always -- he was right. Not always, but often enough to make me take notice.

Confrontational tactics probably backfire more often than not. Ask me nicely for advice, and I'd be more likely to bendover backward to find what you need. I might even give you a discount. "I'm giving you a bit off," I say, "Because I talked you into it." Being demanding will probably just get the retailer to close down and hide behind polite but fixed regular procedures.

If you've given the salesman sufficient and accurate information about what you want, he'll probably be able to steer you right.

Now, I suspect this works with repeat type business; not so much that once in a blue moon purchase. (Which is why car salesmen and real estate agents are more dangerous...)

And you have to have a pretty good bullshit detector; which being a salesman myself I like to think I do. You want to avoid fly-by-night stores because they aren't in it for the long run and could care less if you buy the 'right' thing; which is also a pretty good argument for avoiding flea markets and e-bay, come to think of it.

Still, I think generally, most storekeepers want you to buy the right thing because you'll be so happy with it you'll come back and buy more.

This takes more faith in the average goodness of retailers than most customers possess these days, but there it is. I suppose you might test the salesman with a smaller purchase, and see if he's right.

Of course, in the mass market world you're in danger of running into salesmen who: 1.) don't know anything or 2.) don't care. And, of course, all bets with phone or e-mail salesmen; in fact, I refuse to buy anything that way. Buying something cheaper isn't helpful if you buy the wrong thing, or if you buy something this isn't as good as something slightly more expensive.

It's a false savings.

Another argument for buying from a specialty retailer.

In essence, I'm saying "Trust me." Which is a phrase that usually has customers backing away.

But I just haven't had that many bad experiences buying product from salesmen in my own industry. They are usually honest and helpful. So....I'm willing to believe that in most cases -- obviously not all, that would be naive -- but in most cases, the salesman in front of you isn't trying to screw with you.