A cold deal
I have fallen for this salesmen’s tactic many times.
“Do you want the TV delivered to your door for only $120 extra? No? OK, what if I lowered the price to $50?”
This is called the ‘rejection-then-retreat’ technique.
The unwitting person rejects the first offer (which usually was never a serious offer in the first place). Then the salesman lowers the price or gives a ‘better’ deal. The customer takes the offer without actually thinking if it that ‘better’ deal was still an objectively favorable deal.
It works because it plays into our evolutionary innate sense of reciprocity. The ‘better’ deal is seen as a concession by the salesman. We then feel the need to reciprocate on that consession and give them our money or time in return.
If you want to read more I ‘heartily endorse’ this book: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
