The fun part is that you can flip that pattern around, at least for car buying. Whenever it's time for me to buy a car, I first decide exactly the model I want

The fun part is that you can flip that pattern around, at least for car buying. Whenever it's time for me to buy a car, I first decide exactly the model I want, then research all the sellers. I call them all at once and tell them I'm buying this particular car TODAY and inform them that I'm in touch with 8 other salespeople. Except that I'm not lying, and most of them pick up on the seriousness and actually make an attempt to compete. Bonus: do this on the last day of a quarter and you sometimes get salespeople who are trying to meet their quota.