Some people do not negotiate downward until they have first negotiated the other person downward too.
Every now and then, sending a quotation results in someone suddenly discovering that our work is mediocre, our standards are unreasonable, and our pricing is a personal attack on humanity. Amazing. Especially because five minutes earlier they seemed very excited to work together.
And this is something we have started noticing over the years. Some people do not negotiate prices directly. They first create an emotional environment where your price feels morally inappropriate. Only then does the bargaining begin.
Not:
“Could we lower the fee?”
That would require vulnerability. Instead, they slowly disassemble your value like a disappointed museum curator examining fake artifacts.
The expertise becomes ordinary. The effort becomes exaggerated. The results become unclear. The standards become unreasonable. Then comes a vague sentence floating in from the distance like colonial fog: “Hm. I just don’t know if the value fully aligns.” Ah, yes. The ancient tradition of not being able to afford something comfortably, but needing the other person to spiritually deserve less first.
The funny part is that truly wealthy people rarely do this. Truly wealthy people often do not even need to bargain. And when they do, they are usually very straightforward.
“This is beyond our budget.”
“Can we meet in the middle?”
“We’d love to work together but need flexibility.”
Simple. Elegant. No psychological side quests.
And this is something we have started noticing over the years. Some people do not negotiate prices directly. They first create an emotional environment where your price feels morally inappropriate. Only then does the bargaining begin.
Not:
“Could we lower the fee?”
That would require vulnerability. Instead, they slowly disassemble your value like a disappointed museum curator examining fake artifacts.
The expertise becomes ordinary. The effort becomes exaggerated. The results become unclear. The standards become unreasonable. Then comes a vague sentence floating in from the distance like colonial fog: “Hm. I just don’t know if the value fully aligns.” Ah, yes. The ancient tradition of not being able to afford something comfortably, but needing the other person to spiritually deserve less first.
The funny part is that truly wealthy people rarely do this. Truly wealthy people often do not even need to bargain. And when they do, they are usually very straightforward.
“This is beyond our budget.”
“Can we meet in the middle?”
“We’d love to work together but need flexibility.”
Simple. Elegant. No psychological side quests.
No, this strange performance usually comes from people whose financial reality and superiority complex are no longer on speaking terms. And I suspect part of the reason is historical. For centuries, much of the world was arranged to reassure certain people that they naturally occupied the top of the hierarchy. They evaluated. Others provided. They set value. Others adjusted. Empires train people psychologically long after they disappear politically.
So now when the “local person” suddenly has expertise, boundaries, leverage, premium pricing, and worst of all no visible desperation for approval, their ego experiences turbulence. Because asking nicely would imply equality. And equality is emotionally difficult for people still subconsciously running old imperial software in the background.
So instead of adjusting the ego, they attempt to adjust the hierarchy. Before lowering the number, they lower you. That is the real negotiation. And honestly, the comedy of it all is that many of these people are no longer globally superior in the way they imagine themselves to be. The world changed. Talent globalized. Entire economies evolved. But psychologically, some people still approach negotiations with the confidence of empire and the budget of a mid-range Airbnb guest.
Colonialism ended. Now it just occasionally reappears in email threads about quotations and invoices.
So now when the “local person” suddenly has expertise, boundaries, leverage, premium pricing, and worst of all no visible desperation for approval, their ego experiences turbulence. Because asking nicely would imply equality. And equality is emotionally difficult for people still subconsciously running old imperial software in the background.
So instead of adjusting the ego, they attempt to adjust the hierarchy. Before lowering the number, they lower you. That is the real negotiation. And honestly, the comedy of it all is that many of these people are no longer globally superior in the way they imagine themselves to be. The world changed. Talent globalized. Entire economies evolved. But psychologically, some people still approach negotiations with the confidence of empire and the budget of a mid-range Airbnb guest.
Colonialism ended. Now it just occasionally reappears in email threads about quotations and invoices.
Imagery curated from Google, Pinterest, and our studio. If your work is here without a name, let us know and we’ll fix it.
