During the course of negotiations, people often misrepresent information to gain at least a temporary advantage. For example, a seller may fabricate existence of another interested buyer or a buyer may misrepresent the price and availability of an item from a different vendor. Reflect on deceptions in negotiations and describe four ways to evaluate information during negotiations. Relate an example of a recent negotiation in which you have been misled and one in which you may have overstated a claim.; define how far you would be willing to go to leverage your position.
One of the most prevalent experiences I have read about and witnessed that aligns with deception in negotiating is the used car selling process, particularly from person-to-person (as opposed to buying from a dealer).
There are several reasons for buying and selling through the private party process. If the car is already paid for, it can usually be sold for more than a dealer would give the seller. A dealer may be more willing to take a less-than-perfect car off a seller's hands, but the dealer not going to do it at a premium. A seller can always expect to get more than the wholesale price. Even if someone owes money on their car, they still may be able to make a profit after a private sale, or at least make enough to pay off the car.
When I was looking for a car, I really wanted a vehicle that looked clean and newer than it was. I paid close attention to rust, dents, paint jobs, new tires and delicately used interiors. I wanted a CD player, leather seats, clean floors and automatic windows. I found that a lot of the cars I viewed only had one or two photos - some of them were of the same side of the car. When I requested additional photos, I received close shots of specific parts of the car. On two occasions where I went to view the car in person, the opposing side of the vehicle which was unseen in photos had obvious accident damage or had been vandalized. The seller had no way of explaining such an omission from the ad and the phone discussion before I traveled. As Wharton notes, "a negotiator must estimate the cost of detected deception. This can include... reputation costs" (Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E., 2001, p. 192). As soon as I arrived home, I made a request to the webmaster to remove the ad. It was a waste of money and time to travel to see details which should have been exposed online.
I am currently helping a friend sell her car, and the process involves some deception I have taught her. This teaching came from my experience selling personal items (furniture, electronics, etc.) on CraigsList during my many relocations over the years. I let her know to push the virtues of the car, such as the optional equipment and accessories, its desirability in the marketplace, and any recommendations and awards by used-car guides or magazines. If there was a big issue, address it, but downplay it. I also told her to publish a price that was 50% higher than she wanted for the car, and its defects would drop the price (The Federal Trade Commission, 2014). Though many articles state that 25% above the expected sell price is fine, I believe it is harder for women to sell their cars alone, as buyers think women know less about cars and can be pushed around a bit more. This is as far as I would go to deceive someone, as it is part of the car selling process. Let the potential buyer point the problems out. I would never encourage someone deny or lie about them. I would not sell someone an unsafe car.
As a car buyer, I have looked at several venues to buy cars and read thoroughly on how to compare products. The evaluation process should consist of feature-by-feature comparisons of the cars; the evaluation of trade-offs among competing models; and cost comparisons (Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E., 2001, p. 196). I conjure up a group of knowledgeable friends and task them with reviewing and evaluating specific ads, as they affect each persons’ areas of interest and expertise. One of my friends is a tinkerer; he enjoys fixing his cars and prefers cars that make it easy for him to engineer with simple tools. One of my friends is all about the year, make, model and mileage comparisons - he believed he can edge up the last-ability of a car without knowing anything else but these details. I sit this group of friends in front of a stack of printouts of cars I'd like to make an offer on and they will call other friends who may own or work on the different cars, and they check references with sellers about past owners and service records. They also check outside references, like Carfax, Kelley Blue Book and TrueCar to review salvage alert and accident records.
References
The Federal Trade Commission. (2014). Buying a Used Car. Accessed at http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0055-buying-used-car
Hoch, S. J., Kunreuther, H., & Gunther, R. E. (2001). Wharton on making decisions. New York:
Wiley.
Kelley Blue Book. Step 1: Find Out How Much You Can Afford. KBB.com. Accessed at http://www.kbb.com/car-advice/car-buying/step-1-find-out-how-much-you-can-afford/
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