The list price was sixty million dollars a plane. Ryanair reportedly paid twenty-eight.

The list price was sixty million dollars a plane. Ryanair reportedly paid twenty-eight.

Tina Gerbec
Published on: 01/10/2026

Ryanair ordered one hundred Boeing 737s in January 2002 at reportedly under half the list price. The number was decided eighteen months earlier, by two cancelled contracts and a public offer for used aircraft that most people never saw.

negotiationnegotiation preparationBATNAwalk-away alternativeprocurement negotiationsupplier negotiationnegotiation leveragebuyer poweropening moveRyanairBoeingAirbusMichael O'LearyThe Human Signal
Read more
The terms were signed once. They decide who carries the risk.

The terms were signed once. They decide who carries the risk.

Tina Gerbec
Published on: 24/09/2026

dm's standing conditions agreement decided who carried the risk when a product did not sell: returns, delisting at any time, and the cost of clearing store stock. Three of those clauses were rewritten in October 2025. None of what moved was a price.

negotiating non-price termsrisk allocation in supplier contractswho carries the risk when a product does not sellretail supplier negotiationdelisting clausereturns of unsold stockminimum listing periodstanding conditions agreementannual negotiation in food retailunfair trading practices in the food supply chainnegotiation case studycommercial negotiationprocurement negotiationThe Human Signal
Read more
Sony built the format. The contract said who could use it.

Sony built the format. The contract said who could use it.

Tina Gerbec
Published on: 28/08/2026

In 1988 Nintendo signed a contract for a CD drive and handed Sony control of the format. Nothing was hidden. Both sides read the same words.

negotiation preparationcontract termscommercial negotiationdeal structurelicensing rightswhat the other side wantsnegotiation case studyNintendo Sony 1988procurement negotiationreading the counterparty
Read more
Nine of them filed the papers. One did not.

Nine of them filed the papers. One did not.

Tina Gerbec
Published on: 22/08/2026

In 2020, LVMH stopped sending the paperwork it needed to complete its purchase of Tiffany. Nothing was refused and nothing was announced, and the delay stayed invisible until Tiffany measured it against nine other deals that had filed in the same mon

reading signals in negotiationsilence in negotiationLVMH Tiffany negotiationnegotiation case studydelay as a negotiation tacticdeadline pressure in negotiationwhat to do when a counterpart goes quietnegotiation preparationcommercial negotiationprocurement negotiationThe Human SignalPerformance Solutions
Read more