Negotiate late: –Make others negotiate against themselves.
4 Hour work week, page 331
Never make the first offer when purchasing. Flinch after the first offer (“$3,000” followed by pure silence, which uncomfortable salespeople fill by dropping the price once), let people negotiate against themselves (“is that really the best you can offer?” elicits at least one additional drop in price) then “bracket.” If they end up at $2,000 and you want to pay $1,500, offer $1,250. They’ll counter with $1,750 to which you respond: “I’ll tell you what — let’s split the difference. I’ll overnight Fedex you a check, and we can call it a day.” The end result? Exactly what you wanted: $1,500.