What Would You Reveal to Get a Great Deal?
A NEW Negotiation Exercise: Sneakerhead Red
Authors:
Gaylen D. Paulson, University of Texas at Austin
Chris W. Bosh, Former NBA Player, Toronto Raptors & Miami Heat
A rare pair of 1986 Air Jordans. A motivated buyer. A seller who has just discovered something that could significantly reduce the shoes’ value. Sneakerhead Red turns a seemingly straightforward sale into an engaging negotiation about ethics, trust, and the risks of sharing information.
In this two-person role-play, both the buyer and seller hold private information that could dramatically affect the negotiation. The seller discovers written markings that reduce the shoes’ appraised value and must decide whether there is an ethical obligation to disclose them. The buyer already knows about the writing—and knows something the seller does not: it confirms that the sneakers are a long-lost family heirloom.
That creates a very different disclosure dilemma for the buyer. Revealing the sentimental connection could open the door to benevolence or a creative agreement, but it could also give the seller an opportunity to demand a much higher price.
The exercise gives instructors an accessible way to explore ethical disclosure, trust-building, information sharing, and creative problem-solving in negotiation. Debrief discussions can examine what constitutes fraud, when disclosure is required versus strategic, the risks and rewards of revealing interests, and how negotiators determine how much information to share.
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