How being cheeky saved me £1700 per month

A few months ago, I was in emails with someone I wanted to buy link space from. We had a short email conversation which saved me approximately £1,669 per month for the price of being a little cheeky.

Dear Mr Tom Cash,

Thank you for your inquiry.

I am able to offer you the following ad solution:

One 240x240px advert space in top right corner of each page, linking to your website.

This space will be only yours, doesn't rotate, and will always be visible. Last month we have had 34,000 page views in total.

This will let your website reach more of your industries professionals and extend your companies reach worldwide.

This I am able to offer at £1,676 per month.

This price is negotiable, if you have another rate in mind.

Please send me your feedback.

Best regards,
Joe Blogs

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Hey Joe,

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.

How much would you charge for a text based advert?

Kind Regards,
Tom Cash

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Hi Tom,

For a text based advert I could offer you £877 per month.

Please inform me on your target buying price or your available budget.

Maybe we could work-out a deal for our mutual benefit.

Best regards,
Joe Blogs

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Hi Joe,

Typically, for a website similar to yours (with a Google page rank of 1) I would pay $10-15 (USD) per month.

For £880 per month, I honestly do not think my client would receive a return on investment with a link from your website.

Would you consider moving on this price and maybe coming down to my level, at all?

Kind Regards,
Tom Cash

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Hi Tom,

10 USD per month for 1 text-link on the home page sounds good for me.

Please send me your link text and destination and I will send you a recurring payment option via PayPal.

Best regards,
Joe Blogs

I know!... I didn't see that one coming either, but I was very happy with the result. I was surprised Joe even replied to me after my email, let alone, moved down to my level.

That is it; I moved the price from £1,676 to £877 to £6.10 in less than 24 hours and 6 emails.

Do you have any thoughts or comments or even a story of your own to share? If so, please feel free to post them below.

Posted: 20/4/2011
Categories: Search Engine Optimisation

Good going, it just shows how inflated prices are and if you don't attempt to haggle then you'll be paying way over the odds!

— Matt, 20th April 2011 at 15:34

Very cool, If you don't mind me asking. What website is it that your are now advertising on?

— Anthony Young, 20th April 2011 at 15:37

Amazingly, some people (without the knowledge) are willing to pay such a high price, hence why so many people offer it at silly prices. Well done for your epic negotiation skills...

— Jack, 20th April 2011 at 17:50

Matt & Jack - Cheers guys, It turns out that it pays to be in the know - literally!

Anthony - I'm not going to disclose that I'm afraid. I've already changed names and removed words that could link this post to those involved and their websites. Hope you understand.

— Tom Cash, 20th April 2011 at 18:41