If you've ever played fantasy sports of some kind, you've probably been hit with your fair share of trade offers from competitors. This means in order to succeed, you have seen an assortment of trade negotiation tactics in play. Let us review some of the most common and my take on them as someone who has played fantasy baseball for many years. Hopefully they will improve your results in your respective leagues and prove useful in other areas like negotiating your salary at work.
The Low-ball Offer:
Particularly if you're new to a league, expect to be tested. You will see this. There are two variations I want to call out. One is a blatant low ball offer where terms are obviously heavily skewed. This should be easy to spot and swat away. The second often seems more fair because there is a big name involved, usually an over the hill star in hopes that name recognition will win out over numbers and sense. Be careful not to be seduced here. In either case, research is your best bet. Look up stats and make sure you've analyzed contracts, salaries etc. in dynasty leagues before accepting any offer and if you get a lowball offer, reject it outright. Don't bother with counter-offers.
Pressure Tactics:
Depending on the personalities in the league, you may encounter someone who will constantly follow up on a trade offer sent to you in hopes you'll be pressured into accepting without having had a chance to analyze fully. Do not feel obligated. Make sure you've done your homework before deciding on an offer. If they nag too much, tell them off. Your team is your team and nobody gets to dictate the speed at which you finalize trades but you.
Feigning Disinterest:
This is a tricky one because it is hard to know if disinterest is genuine or not. If you're on the receiving end, call their bluff and end negotiations. Your team is no worse off. If you're using the tactic, be prepared to have the.other party call yours. If you absolutely believe you need to acquire player X from another team, don't use this tactic lest you miss out or have the embarrassing experience of having ro return to the table hat in hand with more generous terms.
Needless Complexity:
Some trade offers can be complicated, in fact needlessly so. This tactic will likely be used by experienced and knowledgeable players to try and sneak something past a less diligent and knowledgeable player. The key is to break down the offer into smaller chunks. For example, in baseball, ask yourself who wins the pitching side? Who wins on hitting? Who wins on draft picks? And don't forget to weigh in by how much. If the answer isn't you in at least one of those categories, decline. If you are thinking of offering a complex trade package, still do this analysis lest you outsmart yourself.
The Encyclopedia:
Some people are knowledgeable, very knowledgeable, or at least they seem to be. They will bombard you with numbers and facts and you must make sure they are accurate. If they're not, you know to decline the offer and also to never trust that person with anything. If the person truly is knowledgeable then make sure they are telling you the full story. Just because they didn't lie doesn't mean they told you everything. Most likely, they cherry picked that which supports their arguments. If the offer is workable, start negotiating in earnest but be ready to deal purely in facts and numbers. Logos will trump pathos here. If you are the encyclopedia, be wary of how much you share since the tactic involves arming the other side with information.
"I'm Interested in X. Make Me An Offer." :
Never do anyone's thinking for them. If they are interested in a player, they must make you an offer. If they pull this trick it is because they want you to reveal your hand, ie: your assessment of what the player is worth. Or they may simply not know what they want. Either way, it's not your job to figure out their needs and I highly discourage you doing this.
Stall Tactics:
Some people do this by design to try and panic the other side into better terms, others unintentionally because we have jobs, families and other obligations. Either way, never feel like you need to better an offer because someone is slow to reply. And never rush into a trade. No trade trumps bad trade. My advice here is to have other options to get a trade done to reduce the urge to freak out over slow responses or open talks promptly to avoid being up against a trade deadline and risk a rash decision. Also, be diplomatic please even if it is annoying. And if you use stall tactics, just make sure you have a plan B in case the other party decides to make a trade elsewhere.
Belittling Your Alternatives:
You know your options as well as anyone so ignore the trick even if you indeed have no alternatives. I wouldn't recommend trying it either.
Bait and Switch:
You may encounter a situation where you are offered some player in a package only for the other party to then float another that will cost you more. If this happens, still analyze the offer as you normally would. It's possible that in trying to play you, they played themselves. If so, pounce. If not, insist on what was originally agreed upon and if that fails walk away.
"Take It Or Leave It"
Just leave it. I will not be spoken to in that manner and you shouldn't allow it either. And if you pull this, you deserve to be told off also.
Win-Win:
These are the ones that I wind up making. Most people will immediately pick up on a bad offer so the best way to get something done is to offer what you have in excess to someone who lacks it. For example if you are pitching rich you want to dangle a pitcher to a team with weak pitching. How much they win depends on the negotiating skills of both parties but generally the trades that get done are those with mutual benefit.
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