Negotiation

I have been thinking about the types of negotiation we discussed in class and I realize that I tend to use soft negotiation with friends and hard negotiation when I am trying to make a deal. When I am with my friends and someone suggests something to do, I will be happy to join them and participate even if I have made a suggestion to do something else. I feel that if that's what everyone else would like to do, we will have more fun, and I will have more fun too, rather than argue my point on what we should do. Last year, when negotiating to buy a car, I talked to the seller and made an offer that was much lower than the selling price. I told him that I would not pay any more than I offered. I explained the cost of repairs that needed to be made for it to be in fair Kelley Blue Book condition. He was surprised at my figures for what it would cost so he told me that he would look into it and contact me. The next day, he called me back and told me that my offer was fair because the repair costs were even higher than what I had originally thought. So, I bought the car and have been driving it ever since. This is an example of hard negotiation because I showed my bottom line and said that was all that I was willing to pay for the car. I essentially said "take it or leave it" and he chose to leave it temporarily and look into it further, just like the insurance adjuster example in class.

-Josh Heber