> Even if it was less than what they would have paid, why should you care if you are happy This is a weird argument. It seems like you're saying "these scenar

> Even if it was less than what they would have paid, why should you care if you are happy This is a weird argument. It seems like you're saying "these scenarios are fine even if they lose you money." I would argue that "you should care" because most people would, all things being equal, like more money. The point of a job offer negotiation is to optimize a few different variables, of which "money" is generally a (or the) primary one. If saying a number first (as you do in all 3 of these scenarios) reduces the ultimate amount of money get (it generally does), you should not do that.