Why do high-net-worth individuals negotiate on art purchases?

High-net-worth individuals become wealthy by being savvy with money, and that includes negotiating on purchases—whether it’s cars, real estate, or art. For them, negotiation is often sport rather than financial necessity; they enjoy the process and the feeling of winning a deal. When they negotiate art down from, say, $26,000 to $19,000, they’re not thinking the art lost value—they’re thinking they just acquired a $26,000 asset for less, which feels like a win. The only people who consistently pay full retail price are those who inherited wealth and never learned negotiation. Smart artists anticipate this behavior by pricing higher initially, then graciously ‘accepting’ offers that land exactly where they wanted to be all along.

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Asked by general business education · Answered by Patrick Shanahan and Nick · art-marketing-podcast · 2020-09-03