It's supposed to be outrageous. This is called "anchoring" so when the counterparty brings you down to your desired salary he thinks "he won". That way, they ar

It's supposed to be outrageous. This is called "anchoring" so when the counterparty brings you down to your desired salary he thinks "he won". That way, they aren't mad and return to the guy for another negotiation where, presumably, he does it to you again. Not sure if this is a cultural thing, but from my experience most salespeople and lawyers in america employ this tactic (and many others like htem!), so I recommend everyone on HN read these books to know when you're being taken advantage of. Merely identifying the tactic often neurtralizes it in any real world way.