This is your lesson not to take advice from people who don't care about you personally. People usually give advice based on THEIR experience, which may or may not apply to you. If you are moving to a company that pays higher than the current one, and you really want to work for them anyway, that means they hold all the cards. In what world does it make sense to "stand your ground" when you have 0 cards in your hand? We don't negotiate for the sake of negotiating, we negotiate for our goals using the leverage i have. You had no leverage and negotiating was against your goals, yet you went and negotiated anyway, so they told you to walk. It's not a big deal, there is nothing to be shocked or dismayed about. Just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, remove the unrealistic assumptions about the world that you seem to be carrying with you to these interviews, and carry on interviewing.