This article on negotiation topped on reddit this morning. The article claims, as it is often heard, that you should avoid making the first offer, along with some other tips.
This is a wrong negotiation tactic.
The reasons given are that you may find yourself stating a lower figure than what you actually wanted, and that the other part may in fact be willing to offer you more than you expected.
As this article explains, you are better off by making the first offer. Obviously, if this means that you “find yourself stating low numbers”, you have some confidence issues that you should deal with first. But if you know what you are worth and you feel comfortable with the given price, you will be the one defining the range within which the negotiation takes place. Of course, you will be discarding the possibility that the other part was prepared to pay much more than you expected, but this will be less likely to happen if you actually know what you are worth.
Of course, starting out high (and you do want to start out high – there is no working yourself upwards) can be scary and you might fear that the other part will refuse to deal with you out of offense. I think that this is actually very unlikely to happen. Either the other part is an experienced negotiator and will accept the fact that negotiations have to start somewhere, or he is not which will mean that he is probably just as insecure as you are.

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