7 ms·

I once sold a car to a man for $500 more than my initial asking price because he made me mad with ridiculous haggling. I thought it would make him just go away

I once sold a car to a man for $500 more than my initial asking price because he made me mad with ridiculous haggling. I thought it would make him just go away. He produced the money instantly. I've always wondered about that...

WhompingWindows 7y ago
Yeah, that is a puzzler. According to Adam Grant, those who are intelligent negotiators don't necessarily get better short-term results for themselves, but their business partners do better, maybe because smart negotiators value the win-win for the long-term relationship. How this other guy was so bad that it made him look smart? Wow, head scratcher. Maybe he thought "Now HERE is a good negotiator, after all my BS he raises the price". Haha.
vegetablepotpie 7y ago
If you just raised the price and did not tell him why, he may have thought it was a consequence of you having a stronger negotiating position, like there was another buyer, his negotiating time was limited and he should make the payment while he still had control.
scott_s 7y ago
He needed the car, and was worried you'd go higher!
auggierose 7y ago
An explanation would be that your asking price was ridiculously underpriced. The man saw that and thought you are obviously clueless, maybe he can make you go even lower. After you raised the price he abandoned that strategy and just bought it.
- habnds 7y ago
  the few times I've sold things on craigslist or whatever (I'm usually a buyer) as soon as the person has accepted my offer I'm instantly concerned that I way underpriced it and want to reneg lol.
  - wl 7y ago
    If I'm posting something on Craigslist, I'm usually more interested in getting rid of it than getting the best price.
qzw 7y ago
I once heard a haggling tip when buying something: make an initial offer, when the seller make a counter offer, walk away. Then go back a little later and offer slightly less than your first offer. The psychological effect is to make the seller feel like he’ll either lose the deal or end up at an even lower price. It sounds like you basically used the reverse trick on this particular buyer.
- habnds 7y ago
  as someone who also appreciates the subtle arts of haggling, you might enjoy the book Getting to Yes. It's more about negotiation than haggling but very interesting and practically useful.
  - raverbashing 7y ago
    Yes, this and its successor "Getting Past No" are good to understand the ways you can bend a negotiation.
- coldtea 7y ago
  >I once heard a haggling tip when buying something: make an initial offer, when the seller make a counter offer, walk away. Then go back a little later and offer slightly less than your first offer. The psychological effect is to make the seller feel like he’ll either lose the deal or end up at an even lower price. That wouldn't work well in e.g. some chinese markets, where the vendors sell to touristy looking people for 5x or 10x the reasonable price. So, they ask for $200, you make an initial offer of $150, they refuse, you leave, then come back and make an offer of $120. They accept it and you think you've won -- but they might have gone down to $50 too... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJhD6D75tE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJhD6D75tE
appleiigs 7y ago
Any one know what happened to Saturn's fixed price cars idea? I know the brand is gone, but not sure if its troubles had anything to do with fixed prices.
- koolba 7y ago
  Doesn’t Tesla do that too?
- boring_twenties 7y ago
  No idea about new cars, but Carmax is a nationwide used car dealership chain that does no-haggle pricing.
- q2ctf 7y ago
  Well Saturn went away around 2008 I think. But IIRC Scion had fixed prices, but then Toyota ended the Scion brand in 2016.
- maerF0x0 7y ago
  Lots of used car brands doing that now. "No Haggle Pricing" I have noticed their prices are consistently lower than the asking price at high touch dealerships. Especially when you remove hidden feels like "Doc fee" . I will likely buy from a place with a fair advertised price sooner than walking in at an advertised price of 125% aiming to negotiate it down to 95%.
  - Marsymars 7y ago
    You can also outsource it for new cars, e.g. Unhaggle.com
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]

WhompingWindows 7y ago

Yeah, that is a puzzler. According to Adam Grant, those who are intelligent negotiators don't necessarily get better short-term results for themselves, but their business partners do better, maybe because smart negotiators value the win-win for the long-term relationship. How this other guy was so bad that it made him look smart? Wow, head scratcher. Maybe he thought "Now HERE is a good negotiator, after all my BS he raises the price". Haha.

vegetablepotpie 7y ago

If you just raised the price and did not tell him why, he may have thought it was a consequence of you having a stronger negotiating position, like there was another buyer, his negotiating time was limited and he should make the payment while he still had control.

scott_s 7y ago

He needed the car, and was worried you'd go higher!

auggierose 7y ago

An explanation would be that your asking price was ridiculously underpriced. The man saw that and thought you are obviously clueless, maybe he can make you go even lower. After you raised the price he abandoned that strategy and just bought it.

habnds 7y ago
the few times I've sold things on craigslist or whatever (I'm usually a buyer) as soon as the person has accepted my offer I'm instantly concerned that I way underpriced it and want to reneg lol.
- wl 7y ago
  If I'm posting something on Craigslist, I'm usually more interested in getting rid of it than getting the best price.

qzw 7y ago

I once heard a haggling tip when buying something: make an initial offer, when the seller make a counter offer, walk away. Then go back a little later and offer slightly less than your first offer. The psychological effect is to make the seller feel like he’ll either lose the deal or end up at an even lower price. It sounds like you basically used the reverse trick on this particular buyer.

habnds 7y ago
as someone who also appreciates the subtle arts of haggling, you might enjoy the book Getting to Yes. It's more about negotiation than haggling but very interesting and practically useful.
- raverbashing 7y ago
  Yes, this and its successor "Getting Past No" are good to understand the ways you can bend a negotiation.
coldtea 7y ago
>I once heard a haggling tip when buying something: make an initial offer, when the seller make a counter offer, walk away. Then go back a little later and offer slightly less than your first offer. The psychological effect is to make the seller feel like he’ll either lose the deal or end up at an even lower price. That wouldn't work well in e.g. some chinese markets, where the vendors sell to touristy looking people for 5x or 10x the reasonable price. So, they ask for $200, you make an initial offer of $150, they refuse, you leave, then come back and make an offer of $120. They accept it and you think you've won -- but they might have gone down to $50 too... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJhD6D75tE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IJhD6D75tE

appleiigs 7y ago

Any one know what happened to Saturn's fixed price cars idea? I know the brand is gone, but not sure if its troubles had anything to do with fixed prices.

koolba 7y ago
Doesn’t Tesla do that too?
boring_twenties 7y ago
No idea about new cars, but Carmax is a nationwide used car dealership chain that does no-haggle pricing.
q2ctf 7y ago
Well Saturn went away around 2008 I think. But IIRC Scion had fixed prices, but then Toyota ended the Scion brand in 2016.
maerF0x0 7y ago
Lots of used car brands doing that now. "No Haggle Pricing" I have noticed their prices are consistently lower than the asking price at high touch dealerships. Especially when you remove hidden feels like "Doc fee" . I will likely buy from a place with a fair advertised price sooner than walking in at an advertised price of 125% aiming to negotiate it down to 95%.
- Marsymars 7y ago
  You can also outsource it for new cars, e.g. Unhaggle.com

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]