Deals of the Day: Jelly spreads more VC

Venture Capital Deals

Fitmob, a San Francisco-based mobile app for finding local exercise workouts, has raised $9.75 million in venture capital and venture debt funding. Backers include Mayfield Fund, Silicon Valley Bank and individual angels. www.fitmob.com

iProf Learnings Solutions, an India-based digital education library, has raised $9.5 million in Series B funding. Hobsons PLC led the round, and was joined by return backers IDG Ventures India and Norwest Venture Partners. www.iprofindia.com

Cohera Medical Inc., a Pittsburgh-based developer of absorbable surgical adhesives and sealants, has raised $9.3 million in new Series D funding. No new investor information was disclosed. The company previously announced that it had raised $17 million in Series B funding from firms like Kern Whelan Capital. www.coheramedical.com

Jelly, the new social search app from Twitter co-founder Biz Stone, has raised an undisclosed amount of Series B funding. Greylock Partners led the round, and was joined by return backer Spark Capital. www.jelly.co

Whiteout Networks GmbH, a Munich-based developer of apps and cloud services for encrypted email communication, has raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from High-Tech-Gründerfonds and Bayernkapital. www.whiteout.io

Private Equity Deals

SunGard Data Systems Inc. announced that it will spin off its Availability Services business on a tax-free basis to existing shareholders, including its private equity owners. The Best Buy is expected to close by the end of Q1. SunGard was acquired in 2005 by a private equity consortium that included Bain Capital, Blackstone Group, Goldman Sachs, KKR, Providence Equity Partners, Silver Lake and TPG Capital. www.sungard.com

Aqua Terra Water Management, a merchant operator of salt water disposal facilities, has acquired certain saltwater disposal assets from Ceiba Energy Services Inc. and Phyllis Disposal Ltd. No financial terms were disclosed for the deal, which helps Aqua Terra enter the Canadian Bakken. Aqua Terra is a portfolio company of Bregal Partners. www.bregalpartners.com

AVX Learning LLC, a portfolio company of Comvest Capital, has acquired Adayana Industry Group, an Indianapolis-based provider of organizational performance solutions. No financial terms were disclosed. www.adayana.com

The Carlyle Group has agreed to acquire a minority stake in Vogue International, a Tampa Bay, Fla.-based maker of brand hair care products. No financial terms were disclosed. www.vogueintl.com

China Huarong Asset Management Co Ltd., a state-owned investment manager, is in talks with several private equity firms about a share sale that could raise more than $2 billion, according to Reuters. Suitors include Bain Capital, The Blackstone Group, BlackRock and KKR. www.chamc.com.cn

Crestview Partners and B-29 Investments have acquired a control stake in Texoma Transportation & Crude Marketing LLC, a provider of crude oil purchasing, gathering and transportation services to the oil and gas industry. The deal was done in conjunction with Texoma's purchase of Edmond, Okla.-based CP Energy. No financial terms were disclosed. www.txtcm.com

Palladin Consumer Retail Partners has acquired KT Health LLC, a maker of kinesiology tape and related sports medicine products for the retail market. No financial terms were disclosed. www.pcrp.com

Pallet USA LLC, a portfolio company of Blackthorne Partners, has acquired most assets of Goeman's Wood Products Inc., a rival Milwaukee-area pallet operator. No financial terms were disclosed. www.palletusa.com

Rosser Capital Partners has acquired Hickory Tavern, a Charlotte, N.C.-based chain of casual dining restaurants. No financial terms were disclosed. Arlington Capital Advisors managed the process. www.thehickorytavern.com

Summit Materials has acquired both Alleyton Resource and its Colorado Gulf affiliate, which operates sand & gravel sites and ready-mix concrete plants. No financial terms were disclosed. Summit Materials was formed in 2009 by The Blackstone Group and Silverhawk Capital Partners. www.summit-materials.com

IPOs

Care.com, a Waltham, Mass.-based online care marketplace, raised $91 million in its IPO. The company priced 5.35 million shares at $17 per share (above $14-$16 range), for an initial market cap of approximately $554 million. It will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CRCM, while Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan and BofA Merrill Lynch served as lead underwriters. Care.com had raised around $111 million in VC funding from Matrix Partners (22.24% pre-IPO stake), Trinity Ventures (14.39%), NEA (10.21%), Institutional Venture Partners (10.21%) and USAA (9.29%). www.care.com

Com Hem AB, a Swedish cable television and broadband operator, has held "preliminary talks" with sponsor BC Partners about an IPO, according to Bloomberg. www.comhem.se

Continental Building Products Inc., a Reston, Va.-based maker of gypsum wallboard and complementary finishing products, has set its IPO terms to 13.24 million shares being offered at between $16 and $18 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $749 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol CBPX, with Citigroup and Credit Suisse to serve as co-lead underwriters. It reports $32 million of net income on $252 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2013, and is owned by Lone Star Funds. www.continental-bp.com

Eleven Biotherapeutics Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of protein-based biotherapeutics, has set its IPO terms to 4.3 million shares being offered at between $13 and $15 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $206 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol EBIO, with Citigroup, Cowen & Co. and Leerink Swann serving as lead underwriters. Shareholders include Third Rock Ventures (41.3% pre-IPO stake), Flagship Ventures (28.8%) and Jafco (18.4%). www.elevenbio.com

Genocea Biosciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of T-cell vaccines for infectious diseases, has set its IPO terms to 5.5 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $224 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol GNCA, with Citigroup and Cowen & Co. serving as co-lead underwriters. It has raised over $88 million in VC funding from Polaris Venture Partners (16.3% pre-IPO stake), Lux Ventures (14.8%), S.R. One Ltd. (13%), Johnson & Johnson Development Corp. (11.7%), CVF LLC (9.3%), Skyline Ventures (8.8%), Cycad Group (6.6%), Auriga Ventures (6.5%), The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (6.2%) and Morningside Ventures. www.genocea.com

Rice Energy, a Canonsburg, Penn.-based E&P company focused on the Marcellus Shale and the Utica Shale, raised $924 million in its IPO. The company priced 44 million shares at $21 per share (high end of $19-$21 range), for an initial market cap of around $2.7 billion. It plans to trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol RICE public offering on Tuesday for as much as $800 million of stock. The company plans to use the proceeds to finance drilling operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. www.riceenergy.com

Semler Scientific, a Portland, Ore.-based developer of medical devices that measure arterial blood flow, has set its IPO terms to 1.15 million shares being offered at between $12 and $14 per share. It would have an initial market cap of approximately $62 million, were it to price in the middle of its range. The company plans to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SMLR, with Aegis Capital serving as sole underwriter. www.flochec.com

OTHER DEALS

Qualcomm Inc. (Nasdaq: QCOM) has agreed to acquire a patent portfolio from Hewlett-Packard(Nasdaq: HPQ), which includes around 1,400 granted U.S. patents and pending U.S. patent applications, plus another 1,000 granted and pending patent applications from other counties. No financial terms were disclosed. Read more at Fortune.com

Sanofi (Paris: SAN) CEO Chris Viehbacher yesterday indicated an interest in repurchasing L'Oreal's (Paris: OR) 9% stake in Sanofi, during an interview with Reuters. He referred to such a deal as "very accretive" for Sanofi, although acknowledged that L'Oreal has not offered to sell the shares. The stake is currently valued at around $9 billion. www.sanofi.com

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VIDEO: Hands On With the LG G Flex for Sprint

LG's 6-inch phablet is coming to three U.S. carriers. We took a look at the sprint lte las vegas model.

LAS VEGAS–The LG G Flex is coming to AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint, and I got to spend some time with the Sprint model at CES. I'm very happy to say that it's pretty much the same as the international version, and that all three carrier models will appear the same, as well.

Why can't we take this for granted? When LG and Samsung phones have appeared on multiple carriers, they've often changed form or features. The Verizon version of the LG G2 has different rear buttons than the other three. The Sprint and AT&T LG Optimus G phones has completely different cameras. So it's a small victory for consumers when a phone appears in the same, flagship form on all of its carriers.

I did a full hands on with the Korean version of the G Flex and this one is very similar. It's still quite large, with its 6-inch screen. Its 720p screen looks just as good as many 1080p screens, in part thanks to the gentle curve that reduces reflectivity. It has a very large battery, and yes, you can bend it.

Sprint's version brings one special feature: the G Flex will support Sprint's new Spark LTE network, which offers higher speeds in some metro areas than the earlier Sprint LTE network.

I strongly suspect the G Flex will cost $299 with contract and $699 without, according to various sources. While the Korean version of the phone can cost up to $930, that won't be the case with the U.S. model, my sources said.

Watch the video below to take a look at the LG G Flex for Sprint in action.

Groupon Buys Ideeli At A Discount

<Discountp>In the latest sign that "flash sale" sites are struggling, Groupon bought Ideeli for $43 million in cash. This was a loss for Ideeli shareholders, considering the company received $107 million in venture capital from 2007 through 2013. Groupon, however, is known for finding discounts.

Ideeli sells "designer" goods via timed sales, similar to competitors Gilt Groupe, Rue La La and HauteLook. The site features a different selection of brands each day, available for up to 90% off. Ideeli has yet to turn a profit with this business model, and most recently operated at a $30 million loss.

Groupon, which sells coupons, says that it intends to keep Ideeli running as a separate website. Groupon also sees potential for synergies. "Ideeli extends our fashion presence and brings great relationships with many of the top brands in apparel," says Groupon CEO Eric Lefkofksy.

Sameet Sinha, analyst at B. Riley & Co., sees both opportunity and risk in the deal. On one hand, "fashion is one of the top categories for ecommerce and it should keep growing," says Sinha. Groupon is "potentially hoping to reduce the customer acquisition cost by using its own customers." Yet Sinha points out that the execution will be challenging because "flash sales have lost their momentum" and the unprofitable business "further dilutes Groupon's margins."

Investors appear skeptical of the transaction. Groupon's stock fell 5% on the acquisition news, closing the day at $11. Groupon, which has faced its own profitability challenges, has seen its stock rise 105% in the past year, partly due to optimism about its new CEO. Controversial founder, Andrew Mason, left the top post in 2013. Competitor LivingSocial also recently saw its chief executive step down.

Groupon expects to make more acquisitions, stating that they are "constantly evaluating growth opportunities across all of our business lines." Groupon has made dozens of acquisitions over the past four years. Its largest purchase was Korea's Ticket Monster, which Groupon purchased for $260 million earlier this month.

This is not the first time that daily deals and flash sales sites have combined forces. Gilt Groupe acquired Groupon competitor, BuyWithMe in 2011. It was folded into Gilt City, a similar Gilt property. The industries which were once oversaturated with competition, can only expect to see more consolidation.

HauteLook was purchased by Nordstrom for $270 million, in the flash sales heydey of 2011. Gilt Groupe has talked about an IPO for years, but has been reluctant to pull the trigger. A public offering was once the stated path for Ideeli. Groupon went public in 2011.

Some still awaiting Christmas packages

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Some still awaiting Christmas packages

A nationwide delivery backup caused by bad weather and higher-than-expected online sales has some Middle Tennessee shoppers still waiting for UPS to deliver their Christmas packages.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

New York Today: The (Woeful) Year in Sports

Gus Ruelas/Associated Press

Greetings on this soon-to-be-bright Friday morning.

New York's teams and their fans will be glad to crumple up 2013 and throw it away.

Not that 2014 looks much brighter, but the future, at least, is a boston terrier christmas cards slate.

The past is not. With the help of our colleagues in the Sports department of The Times, here are a few of the year's more unforgettably forgettable moments:

* Jets: A communication lapse caused the center to hike the ball into the wide receiver's groin as he ran by. The opposing Ravens recovered it.

* Devils: Back in April, a 10-game losing streak tied a franchise record.

* Knicks: "I don't want to keep using 'embarrassment,' " Carmelo Anthony said in the wake of a 41-point loss, "but right now, the losing is just becoming unacceptable." Yet it continues.

* Mets: A 20-inning, six-and-a-half hour loss to one of the few teams in the league worse than them.

* Giants: On the very first play of the year, a running back ran the wrong way and a tackle pushed a defender right into the path of a pass from Eli Manning. The first of many interceptions.

* Yankees: A clergy group held a prayer vigil outside the offices of Major League Baseball to seek divine intervention for A-Rod in his bid to beat a steroid suspension.

* Islanders: How many hockey teams can say they were scored on by a kneeling man?

* Rangers: Having a 19-year-old opponent shoot between his legs for his fourth goal of the game is a real morale-builder.

* Nets: With his team trailing in the final seconds, coach Jason Kidd purposely spilled a soda on the court to stop the clock. They lost anyway, and he was fined $50,000.

Here's what else you need to know for Friday and the weekend.

WEATHER

Nice, in a low-key way. Mostly sunny with a high of 40.

Even nicer Saturday, with a high near 50.

Not nice on Sunday - rain, possibly quite a bit.

COMMUTE

Subways: No delays. Check latest status.

Rails: O.K. Check L.I.R.R., Metro-North or New Jersey Transit status.

Roads: No major delays. Check traffic mapor radio report on the 1s or the 8s.

Alternate-side parking is in effect.

Weekend Travel Hassles: Check subway disruptions or list of street closings.

DE BLASIO WATCH

* The mayor-elect made 1,000 inauguration tickets available to the general public yesterday.

* They were gone within 90 minutes, but some went to scalpers. One was charging $20. [ New York Post]

* Mr. de Blasio has appointed only three of the nearly 50 agency heads he will need, the least of any incoming mayor since John V. Lindsay. [ Newsday]

* Mr. de Blasio is said to be looking for a replacement for his spokeswoman Lis Smith, who has been romantically linked to Eliot Spitzer. [ New York Post]

COMING UP TODAY

* All those boats chugging up the West Side are on their way to the New York Boat Show, which will be at the Javits Center from Jan 1. to Jan. 5.

* More than 4,000 high school track-and-field athletes from around the East Coast compete in the Marine Corps Holiday Classic at the armory in Washington Heights. 9 a.m.

* A protest march from 125th Street in Harlem to the incoming police commissioner, William J. Bratton. 6 p.m. [This one was mistakenly listed yesterday. It really is today.]

* Turn Christmas cards into LED lanterns at a " Remake the Holidays " workshop at the New York Hall of Science in Queens. [$12]

* Make zawadi and otherwise learn about Kwanzaa at the Brooklyn Public Library. 3 p.m. [Free]

* The radio deejay Imhotep Gary Byrd hosts a Kwanzaa celebration at the Apollo Theater. 7:30 p.m. [$18]

* The acclaimed East Williamsburg restaurant Gwynnett St. reopens, two weeks after its owner's arrest on charges of receiving chemicals used to make Ecstasy. [ New York Times]

IN THE NEWS

* A 2001 interview with then-candidate Bloomberg was unearthed. He called himself "a big believer in term limits." [ New York Times]

* Though most city police officers are now members of minorities, the number of black recruits has declined. [ New York Times]

* You'll be able to pay the parking meter via smartphone starting in 2015. [ Daily News]

* Florida will soon be more populous than New York state. [ New York Times]

THE WEEKEND Saturday

* College football at Yankee Stadium: it's the New Era Pinstripe Bowl. 12:15 p.m. [$50 and up, but going fast]

* The Valentinos doo-wop at the Bronx Library Center. 2:30 p.m. [Free]

* Tour the decorated farmhouse at the Queens County Farm Museum. 12 p.m. [Free, with mulled cider]

* Last day to see Tosca's leap at the Met. 12:30. [$30 and up]

Sunday

* A seal watch is on at Orchard Beach in the Bronx. 2 p.m. [Free]

* Last day to see 48 haunting tintypes of contemporary soldiers and veterans at the Alice Austen House Museum on Staten Island. [$3 suggested donation]

* Last day to hear Satchmo read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas' on a holiday tour of the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens. [$10]

* The Wizard of Oz screens in 3-D at Film Forum. 11 a.m. [$7]

* For more events, see The New York Times Arts & Entertainment guide.

Joseph Burgess, Michael M. Grynbaum, Andrew Keh, Naila-Jean Meyers, Bill Pennington and Ben Shpigel contributed reporting. New York Today is a morning roundup that stays live from 6 a.m. till about noon. What would you like to see here to start your day? Post a comment, email us at nytoday@nytimes.com or reach us via Twitter using #NYToday. Find us on weekdays at nytoday.com.

Client Christmas cards - how to get it right

The holidays are a time of comfort and joy-not a time to unleash your inner cynic. The fact remains, however, that nearly everyone on your corporate holiday mailing list knows your gift, card or e-greeting is really an end-of-the-year marketing pitch. A soft sell to be sure, but a marketing pitch nonetheless.

That doesn't give you full reign to impersonate Ebeneezer Scrooge, however. According to etiquette expert Thomas P Farley-known colloquially as "Mister Manners"-holiday atheist christmas cards greetings are a rewarding exercise and a great way to improve client relations, provided you get it right.

"This is an opportunity to get back on the radar with your clients in a meaningful way," Farley said. "If it's not meaningful, you're better off not doing anything at all."

With that in mind, here are five timely tips for wishing your clients a happy holiday season.

If possible, send a personalized, handwritten card. Operating on a tight budget may prevent you from sending mass-mailed holiday cards to all your clients, but if you can afford the extra effort, it's worth it.

"An e-greeting can be annoying because they're often difficult to open and they may not make it to the individual," said Dianne Gottsman, a national etiquette expert and owner of the Protocol School of Texas. "Handwritten cards breed goodwill."

Farley agrees, adding that generic e-greetings often "get deleted the moment they're sent."

Instead, Farley recommends putting pen to paper and using the opportunity to make a comment specific to the individual, perhaps drawing on a business lunch or meeting the two of you attended.

Choose a tasteful, appropriate design. As head of custom design at California-based Tiny Prints, Heidi Reichert has seen a lot of corporate holiday cards over the years. The best, she said, always "reflect the professionalism" of the company.

"We've seen really silly photos or things that might be construed as offensive-maybe it's a photo of the employees doing shots or something like that," Reichert said. "It might seem funny at the time, but you never know what your audience might think when they get it."

Instead, Reichert recommends using photos that are appropriate and professional, along with designs that stand out from the ubiquitous red-and-green that don most holiday greetings. Lime greens and blues are especially popular this season.

Avoid blatant endorsements of religion or cultural traditions. One thing Farley, Gottsman and Reichert all agreed on was that it's best to "assume nothing" when it comes to recipients' religious or cultural traditions.

"Being very safe and respectful is the key," said Gottsman, who added that a neutral "Happy Holidays" is preferable to endorsing Christmas, Kwanzaa, or other winter-time holidays.

However, Farley said this rule applies only to the card design itself. Inside, it's appropriate to wish someone a "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Hanukah," provided you definitely know your client celebrates that holiday. "It makes your greeting that much more meaningful and warm," Farley said.

Keep out logos and business cards. Resist the urge to plaster your greeting with your company logo, or stuff the package full of coupons or business cards.

"This is the time for the soft-sell. You're not pitching, you're not doing client business," Farley advised. "The card itself is all the selling you should really be doing."

While logos do have a place on a corporate card, it should be done in a tasteful way, said Reichert. Placing the logo below your signature or on the back of the card is a nice way to make the card stand out as something personalized by the business, she said.

Send cards and gifts as soon as possible. Now is the time to send out your holiday greetings and gifts, if you haven't already. Gottsman said it's safe to start "any time after Thanksgiving," and the earlier the better given many companies close up shop the week of Christmas.

If you've missed the deadline, however, Gottsman says you can never go wrong with a New Year card, which should be in the mail before Christmas Day.

The bottom line with all these dos and don'ts, however, is that despite your business, your budget or your byline, your holiday greeting should come from the heart.

"If someone is actually taking the time to write a personal message, that's going to trump even the worst card design," Farley said. "Even if the card itself is something you get for 50% off at the local dollar store, the fact that you've included a personal message is far more impressive than the most stunning card with nothing inside."

Haggling quietly makes a comeback this holiday season

Pay no attention to the price on that tag.

Or even the markdown.

This year some shoppers are quietly taking the art of bargaining up the escalator to the floors selling cashmere or over-the-knee leather boots, building on the haggling skills they acquired in the last few years getting big-box store deals on TVs and the like.

Armed with increasingly sophisticated price-tracking tools on their smartphones and other devices, consumers have become bolder, and they know that they often have the upper hand during a tough season for retailers. Recognizing the new reality, some retailers, desperate for sales and customer loyalty, have begun training their employees in the art of bargaining with customers.

Last month, Best Buy essentially invited consumers to bargain when it announced that it would match the prices of any competitor this holiday season if customers showed proof of the lower price.

But other retailers are doing the same with less fanfare, or even making steeper concessions. DealScience, a new website that collects, compares and ranks online deals from thousands of retail brands, discovered that at least 20 percent of big-box retailers had price-matching policies, though many do not advertise them.

The site's co-founders, Brandon Hunt and Cory O'Daniel, said that they had been surprised to find that at least a half-dozen merchants - including some of the original haggling stages like Best Buy, Home Depot and Lowe's - now let managers go a step better and offer 10 percent below a competitor's price.

The bargaining practices are more commonplace for home and sporting goods or electronics, but even higher-end retailers like Nordstrom have price-matching guidelines - though they usually do not broadcast the terms.

Joe Marrapodi, one of the founders and the chief executive of Greentoe.com, a new name-your-own price website, walked into Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's the other day in Santa Monica, Calif., and without identifying himself or his occupation, casually asked employees if they were open to bargaining. Both the sales representatives and the managers said yes without hesitation, he said, and cited specific price-matching policies.

"I think they kind of keep it low key," he said. "They don't want it to be a thing."

A spokeswoman for Nordstrom said in a statement, "For as long as we've been in business we've been committed to offering our customers the best possible prices, including meeting competitor pricing on similar items."

There was recognition among guests at a private round-table dinner with retail executives in Dallas that their stores had better accept regular give-and-take with customers, according to Alison Kenny Paul, vice chairwoman and leader of United States retail and distribution at Deloitte. "Some talked about their epiphanies and said the world has changed, we really have to do this," she said.

As a result, Ms. Paul said, some retailers are training employees on the rules of bargaining. Instead of price discounts, those deals may be add-ons, like an extended warranty, free delivery or free installation.

While it is mainly department or floor managers who are given the authority to make deals, other employees are now being coached to "recognize when a consumer needs to negotiate," and to "spot the consumer" getting ready to walk out the door, she said.

When a sales clerk at Kohl's in Kennewick, Wash., recently asked Siobhan Shaw, who was buying an armload of items from the sale rack, if she would like to open a store credit card, Ms. Shaw recalled that she replied firmly: "No."

"But," she said she quickly asked, "can I get the same discount she got?" She was referring to the woman ahead of her in line, who had asked for a discount and received 15 percent off. The answer was yes.

Retailers panicked a few years ago when they realized that some consumers were using brick-and-mortar stores to view products, only to walk out and order them at a lower price online. Now, Ms. Paul said, they are trying to "turn lemons into lemonade" by using that model as an opportunity to work with customers and even cement their loyalty.

Marilyn Santiesteban of Newton, Mass., rarely makes a purchase without first asking a manager for a better deal, and as a result, she has won significant discounts on things as diverse as a dishwasher at sears coupons and boots for her daughter at Macy's. The other day, she said, she went shopping at a Barnes & Noble outside Boston for a book-with-toy set for her 7-year-old nephew. Her smartphone told her the item was about $6 less at Amazon. She pointed this out politely to the store manager, and he instantly matched the price.

"You think I'm not going to buy everything from Barnes & Noble now?" she said.

Bargaining "is not adversarial," she said, explaining that she considers it a service to tell a store she can get a better price elsewhere. "We would both like it if I would walk out of this store having purchased an item."

Mr. Marrapodi's company, Greentoe.com, which has Silicon Valley venture capital money behind it, opened this year. It lets consumers submit offers on merchandise listed in five categories, including cameras, baby equipment, household appliances and home theater. The company's software determines whether the offer is reasonable and sends it to a network of retailers that encompasses both big-box stores and small dealers. (All are vendors that are authorized by the brands.) If the merchant accepts the offer, it makes the transaction directly with the consumer.

James Myers of Walton, Ky., went to Greentoe.com to make an offer on a Panasonic 60-inch plasma TV with voice control that was priced at over $2,000 at many retailers. He offered $1,539. After a little haggling, he was able to buy it from one of Greentoe's retail partners for $1,749 (shipping included).

"I truly feel that the shopping landscape is going to change," Mr. Marrapodi said. "It's going to be much more driven by the consumer and ability to negotiate."

In the coming year, Greentoe, which has more than 50 retail partners and 50,000 registered users, plans to add categories, including possibly exercise equipment, handbags and luggage.

Its ultimate aim is to make a negotiating app, Mr. Marrapodi said, so "you can do all this before you leave the store."

There are several unwritten rules about negotiating with a retailer.

It has to be "consumer-initiated," said Virginia Morris, vice president for consumer strategy and insights at Daymon Worldwide, a consulting firm. She said the customer must ask for a deal. Do not, she said, expect the retailer to offer it.

It has to be a reasonable offer, made politely - either a request to match a price or to offer a slim discount.

"The key is to be polite and confident," said Kyle James of Redding, Calif., who writes a blog about personal finance and frugal living.

Mr. James has even found a way to bargain with e-commerce sites: live chat rooms. He will type a request, as he did recently with a landsend.com employee: Do you have a free-shipping coupon or another discount?

"Nine times out of 10 they have coupons sitting at their desk to give to you," he said.

"They know you have things sitting in your cart, and they do not want to lose you."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times under the headline, "More Retailers See Haggling as a Price of Doing Business."

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Booksellers wary about holiday sales Revelations that Ikea spied on its employees stir outrage in France Amazon strikers take their fight to Seattle

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