what is a zone of possible agreement zopa 
not a physical place the zone of possible agreement or bargaining range is considered an area where two or more negotiating parties may find common ground it is this area where parties will often compromise and strike a deal in order for negotiating parties to find a settlement or reach an agreement they must work towards a common goal and seek an area that incorporates at least some of each party s ideas understanding zone of possible agreementno matter how much negotiation occurs an agreement can never be reached outside of the zone of possible agreement in order to reach an agreement successfully negotiating parties must understand one another s needs values and interests a zopa can only exist if there is some overlap between what all parties are willing to accept from a deal for example in order for tom to sell his car to john for a minimum 5 000 john must be willing to pay at least 5 000 if john is willing to offer 5 500 for the car then there is an overlap between his and tom s bottom lines if john can only offer 4 750 for the car then there is no overlap and there cannot be a zopa negative bargaining zones