Pixelrage.net

We all have weaknesses, and mine, by far, is that I absolutlely suck at negotiation. Thanks to several shows on channels like History and Spike, I think I’m getting the hang of it.

Lately, my obsession includes shows like Pawn Stars, Auction Hunters and American Pickers. All of these shows basically take place in the same niche – buying and/or reselling antiques and collectibles. All of them have one major ‘art’ in common: the art of hardcore negotiation.

This is something I don’t have any experience in. I’ve suffered from it every single time I went through a salary negotiation at a new job, a domain name sale, or even a garage sale. However, good negotiation skills can mean the difference between a $500 or $1,000 profit. Or, perhaps, FAR more.

Each of the three shows mentioned show different levels of negotiation tactic. In Pawn Stars, the shop owners notoriously throw out a spirit-crushing low-ball offer for anything that comes through the door. They follow up with cookie-cutter rationales, such as “this is going to sit in my shop for months” or “there’s such a limited market for this item, it will take forever to re-sell.” The purpose of these lines is to attempt to make the seller think their item isn’t worth as much as they thought. Conclusively, the pawn shop negotiators make a beautiful profit by using these tactics to success.

In Auction Hunters, two business partners travel around to various storage unit auctions, take a quick scan of what’s inside a unit, come up with a dollar figure as the absolute most they’d be willing to bid on the unit, and go for it. Afterward, they sort out the storage unit’s contents and sell any unique items found to various collectors or resellers. That’s where the negotiation takes place. Long-time storage unit seeker Allan Haff is by far one of the best negotiators I’ve seen in my life – if you want to know how to negotiate, watch him in action. His tactics are purely psychological. He verbally notes the buyer’s attachment to an item, shoots out facts about the item’s rarity or worth, and exploits all of these aspects to the fullest extent. Finally, all counteroffers are further countered with a drastically higher amount, resulting in fantastic sale amounts.

Lastly, American Pickers features two partners who travel around the country to various “junkers,” which are basically people who accumulate vast collections of vintage items through decades of auctions and garage sales. The guys immediately start by working a personal connection with the junker they’re dealing with – getting to know their interests, how they got started collecting “junk” and what they intend to do with it in the future. They then negotiate by constantly reminding junkers that they are “in retail” and “in the business of selling, not keeping” these items whenever a high-ball offer goes their way. This instills the notion that they aren’t a bunch of upper-echelon collectors looking to add more trinkets to their home, but rather, a couple of average guys trying to make a living. In the end, they wind up selling all items picked for at least double what was originally paid for them.

In all, these are the 4 main points I’ve learned:

1. Psychology is key. Negotiation has everything to do with getting into someone’s head, and convincing them that their end of the bargain isn’t really worth anywhere near what they seem to think it is. In order to make this work, you need adequate knowledge of the product being negotiated.
2. Negotiation works best once you’ve made a human connection with the person you’re negotiating with. Try being more “off topic” with them. Be more human and friendly, and less corporate/stiff/cold.
3. Negotiation is business. There shouldn’t be any hard feelings, or feelings of “guilt” in trying to get what’s best for you. Keep in mind, the other party is looking to get what’s best for them, too.
4. People expect the tradition of a good negotiation. They purposely throw out a high-ball offer, EXPECTING you to low-ball it for an amicable medium in the end.