[inboulder]

"This is really just a myth. If you present a buyer with well-justified and thought-out reasons for your number, it's going to be hard for them to counter-offer with something ridiculous, unless they're just being an ass"

Wrong, you're missing the point entirely, I'd like to buy a business from you...

The point is that if you offer a price first, this is the HIGHTEST the buyer will pay, he might have valued the business at more, in this case you have left money on the table.

[kirse]

In my deals, I usually take $Well-Justified-Price and then tack on $Extra to swing the deal far in my favor. Usually $Extra brings the price close to where I think the buyer would walk away.

You must have missed this. If a buyer is willing to pay my seriously inflated price, then I think I'm making off like a bandit and the buyer thinks they're getting a discount (assuming they were going to offer more than my inflated price). Easiest deal ever.

At some point you at least need a price in your head where you say "yea, I'd be happy exiting for $X and $Y would be icing on the cake"

Everyone's happy with the terms, sign the papers, deal's done, go pop the champagne.

[dkersten]

If you won't be happy with $Well-Justified-Price + $Extra because you feel they may have offered higher, then either your $Well-Justified-Price or your $Extra is too low, since you obviously wouldn't be happy with that amount anyway. If you feel the real $Well-Justified-Price + $Extra is higher than what they'd pay, then obviously you're not going to be happy with any outcome, so why are you wasting your time on this deal? The whole point of $Well-Justified-Priceis that its a good amount that you would happily walk away with and $Extra is exactly that - an added bonus. If they would have paid higher, good for them, they've got a discount, but you just walked away with an amount you decided would make you happy PLUS an added bonus.

Don't worry that they might have offered more. Be happy. If you can't be happy with that amount, you did the find a price you'd be happy with part wrong.

(Obviously not directed at parent, but rather agreeing with parent)

[brk]

The point is that if you offer a price first, this is the HIGHTEST the buyer will pay

This all depends on your negotiation skills and tactics. It is almost trivial to throw out a low-ish number and then build that up to something 2x or 5x that number after you've added on all the "extras".

While I'll concede that the prototypical hacker is probably not also a keen negotiator, I'll also say that you shouldn't get so caught up in absolutes when talking about something than is in the end more about emotion and personality than absolute value.