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Tips for buying and selling via email

1. Be careful what you put in writing. “[E-mail is] a different type of written negotiation that people in the industry have never been trained for,” says Diane Levine, a lawyer and manager for Sotheby’s International. “I think [associates] should be careful to have a plan in mind and not just let it be about spitting everything out in the next e-mail.”
2. Arguments via e-mail can go wrong. If things get heated, pick up the phone or meet face-to-face.
3. The truth isn’t necessarily the truth. Terri R. Kurtzberg, an associate professor of management and global business at Rutgers Business School, conducted a study of online communications. She found that people aren't always as honest when they communicate via e-mail compared to other forms of communications. They don’t ask pointed questions well online and are sometimes reluctant to reveal their own interests, she said.
4. Sarcasm doesn’t translate. Flip remarks and off-the-cuff humor can kill a deal. It’s much smarter to write in formal language, advises Kathleen L. McGinn, a professor of business administration at the Harvard Business School, who is an expert is resolving conflict.

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