Prior to Negotiating
The Situation: I am trying to sell my 1998 Volkswagen Jetta GL so that I can put a down payment on a new Subaru I have already agreed to buy. In fact, I am supposed to go and pick up the new Subaru tomorrow morning. If I am unable to sell my Jetta by tomorrow, I will have to borrow the money for my down payment at prime plus 5% interest. Needless to say, I would like to sell the Jetta today for no less than $4,700, which is what I need to put a down payment on the Subaru. If I am unable to sell to the party I am negotiating with, the Subaru dealer said he would buy it for $4,400, but I think I can get more than that.
Negotiation Arrangements: The buyer I am negotiating with is Carole Meriwether. We have agreed to negotiate at 6:30 pm in BAH because it is neutral territory. We both felt that it would be in our best interest to negotiate somewhere where we both felt equally comfortable.
Strategy: I am going to pursue a strategy of active-engagement. I will be as competitive as possible because I see this as a distributive bargaining situation where the more I win, the more she looses.
Planning and Preparation: I am going into the negotiation with an idea that I am going to drive a hard bargain. After researching more about the car on Consumer Reports and reading reviews, I believe that the car is worth more that $4,700, and I plan on obtaining more than that. My strategy will be to start out higher than one might expect at $7,800. After all, studies show that negotiators who have an exaggerated first offer tend to get better results. I am planning on Carole thinking this value is way to high, so I will be prepared to argue why I priced the car at that price point. Things I will mention will be the low mileage compare ...