Anyone who’s traveled outside the country knows that bargaining for a better price is often a part of the retail experience.

Consumer Reports 2012 Buying Guide found that 35 percent of major appliance shoppers tried to negotiate a better price with retailers – and 72 percent of them were successful! The median savings was $72.Perhaps it’s a sign of the times, but the same is becoming true to some extent in the United States.

Overall, the consumer research group found that only one in seven or eight consumers haggled over the price of major items. Of those, half were successful, including computer buyers who were able to save about $105 on average.

But when it came to television sales, two-thirds of those haggling over the price received a reduction – for an average savings of $165.

The study found that buyers had a better chance of getting a price break at independent stores or regional chains like hhgregg (80 percent) than at national chains like Sears or Best Buy (60 percent). Few respondents tried to bargain with online retailers, but of those who did, they met with just as much success as the in-store hagglers.