Sticker prices are for suckers. That's Stephen Popick's theory. From iPods to about-to-expire cuts of meat, Popick (a government economist) has taken up the habit of asking retailers if the stated price is the best they can do. And guess what?: His tactic often works. He's saved $100 on a bicycle, bought Christmas decorations for 75 percent off, and talked Best Buy into matching Costco's online price for an iPod Touch.

A recent Washington Post article examines the new trend in haggling. People have become more assertive, thanks to a recession that has hurt just about everybody's bank account, says Nancy Koehn, Harvard Business School retail historian. Haggling in the United States is "the biggest sea change of consumer behavior since the end of the Second World War," she says.

Consumer Reports released a study which found that 66 percent of Americans have tried haggling one or more times in the last six months, and that they have been successful more often than not.

The author of The Washington Post article tried a number of negotiating tactics and saved $730 in one week, including a better cable TV deal and a $100 cell phone credit.

The article also mentions a haggling service for people who are too shy to haggle themselves. Its called Negotiate4U and they claim they can get a better deal for you on everything from cell phone bills to automobiles.

Mark Frauenfelder – Editor-in-chief of MAKE magazine and the founder of the popular Boing Boing weblog, Mark was an editor at Wired from 1993-1998 and is the founding editor of Wired Online.