Leonard Britt posted a comment yesterday about how a production company refused to pay more than low $xxx for a domain which would have represented either the best possible choice for their project or if not, one of the best choices for sure.
I think such mentality issues deserve to be addressed.
Why?
Because as a domainer, you will unfortunately end up dealing with end users such as the one Leonard described every once in a while.
End users who adopt a strategy that leaves you scratching your head.
In Leonard’s case for example, they tried to haggle by using the “severe budget restraints” approach and wouldn’t budge from their low $XXX zone.
Oh and to top it all off, Leonard listed the domain in question with a fixed BIN which was below $1k, so it’s not like he asked for an outrageously high amount.
Yet the end user wouldn’t budge.
The strange thing is that such strategies are often illogical.
Let’s start with the person who is contacting you.
In some cases, the person in question is a Web consultant or a lawyer hired by the end user. Needless to say, that person is probably not doing pro bono work. Instead, the consultant/lawyer charges money for his services. Sometimes, a lot of money and a paradox materializes: a person who charges extremely high hourly rates lowballs you.
Wouldn’t it have been better for the end user to just use that money to increase the offer instead of paying a consultant/lawyer to lowball you?
It would have been logical in my opinion but sometimes, you’ll have a hard time finding signs of logic in such situations.
Or ok, maybe it wasn’t a consultant/lawyer who contacted you. Perhaps it was a 9 to 5 employee of that company. We now have another paradox because in a lot of cases, your domain could generate considerably higher net benefits for the company in question than the employee who is contacting you and the one-time cost associated with buying it would be a mere fraction of the employee’s yearly salary.
Yet, once again, you are lowballed.
… the list could go on and on.
In such cases, your first reaction probably revolves around trying to make sense of it all. Around trying to identify some kind of a logical pattern.
You, my friend, are looking for something that just isn’t there 🙂
As time passes, you’ll learn to accept the fact that some end users engage in deeply irrational behavior.
The best advice I can give you is this: be polite, try to educate them but if it’s clear that the negotiation isn’t going anywhere, move on.
July 8th, 2014 at 5:10 pm
I will add that since this initial contact was recent it is possible the company will eventually come back and realize that given the value of their service, the higher $XXX price I am asking is not unreasonable. On the other hand, the main point I am trying to illustrate here is that selling domains is not as easy as acquiring a cool-sounding keyword and just waiting for that $XXXX offer to show up in your inbox a few weeks later. Many developers and end users just don’t view domain names as something you should have to spend any real money on. Just add an extra letter or word and you can pick up something for reg fee. Some small businesses will use a .Net or another TLD because the thought of paying real money seems unreasonable. Approach them with a better domain and good luck trying to pry open their wallet. Approach them with anything other than .COM and you are likely wasting your time.
No doubt there are many domain investors who have better portfolios, better marketing techniques or who sell cheap to keep cash flow turnover high. However, my first domain registrations were in late 2005 so I am far from a newbie.
I find a number of the new TLDs interesting as potential brands for a website. Some pro investors such as Michael Berkens are registering dozens of new TLDs though still a small portion of their portfolios. However, I have to look at my own experience where most domain sales are under $1000 and the fact that in those years I have only had a handful of sales over $1500. How can I justify spending what appear to be end user sales prices to acquire a domain when my personal experience selling anything other than .COM has been buyers just not wanting to pay more than $XXX. So thus far I remain on the sidelines when it comes to new TLDs.
Could things change over the next decade? Of course – but I don’t expect the end user demand for brandable domains to change radically in the next few years. So I believe caution with regard to acquisition cost and renewals is prudent.
July 8th, 2014 at 11:44 pm
*
Sometimes, just politely waiting them out works.
I have had end users come back months later, hat and money in hand.
🙂
*
July 9th, 2014 at 12:48 am
I think the issue really is the mentality of domainers not endusers, we moan about someone who will not pay our price yet we’d never pay a fraction of that price ourselves. We also got all caught up in personalities, talking about lowballers, guessing at how they are making some grand mistake not buying our domain at the asking price. What a load of time wasting nonsense!
Given it is a .tv domain they would have lots of choices, e.g. keywordtv.com, keyword.com, longer term .com etc.
Not many people will pay say $1000 for a .tv, the domain is already compromised, it is unlikely to 1st choice.
Leonard would be wise to come down in his asking price in my view if he wants sale, or be prepared to wait (probably for another buyer). Sounds like he has spent about $100 on it so he’s going to have a healthly profit even at the current offer by the sounds of it.
July 9th, 2014 at 8:18 am
@Snoopy: you’re generalizing when saying that “we moan about someone who will not pay our price yet we’d never pay a fraction of that price ourselves”.
Let’s assume you want to start an online project.
Wouldn’t you be willing to pay a reasonable amount for a domain which represents a good (or even the best) fit?
I would.
In my case:
1) MegaSites.com (my recently launched development service) was not a hand registration, I liked the domain and bought it
2) VFH.com wasn’t a hand registration, it’s a LLL domain that I liked due to the fact that “Vitality – Fitness – Health” is a great brand for a website about healthy living, so I bought it and turned it into a megasite about just that
3) Articles.biz (my article writing service) was not a hand registration, I thought it represented a good fit and bought it
4) DomainingTips.com was not a hand registration either but maybe this isn’t the best example, since the blog was developed back when I bought it, so it wasn’t a “domain only” purchase
5) AffiliateMarketers.com was not a hand registration either, it’s a very good domain and once again, I bought it
Based on my personal experience alone, I can invalidate your previously mentioned “yet we’d never pay a fraction of that price ourselves” generalization.
I invest in domains but at the same time, will gladly pay a premium for a great domain myself whenever I’m starting a project (in other words, when I’m the end user).
I’m sure a lot of domainers feel the same way.
July 9th, 2014 at 1:39 pm
FYI regarding this domain – it is a short one-word domain so forget about acquiring the equivalent .COM – not going to happen for anything short of well into five figures (1995 reg date). The keywordTV.com is held by another investor so it is likely they are not selling for low $XXX either. While the keyword really has nothing to do with this company’s business, for some crazy reason they decided to name their company ___ so sorry I am sticking with my argument that this is a lowball offer.
July 9th, 2014 at 6:24 pm
Andrei, what did you actually pay for the domains?
Take VHF.com for example, did you pay what a domineer would pay at auction or did you pay what a domainer might expect to sell it for to an enduser?
Quote: “so sorry I am sticking with my argument that this is a lowball offer.”
Leonard, What is the highest offer you’ve had on it, how does it compare to this offer?