Since buying DomainingTips.com, I’ve received my share of requests to broker domains and I always said no because after drawing the line, being a broker is just not worth your time if you’re a serious domainer unless we’re talking about category killer/blockbuster domains worth mid 6 figs or 7 figs and priced to sell. Let’s be realistic for just one moment, shall we?
Problem1: most people wanted me to broker crappy domains.
Why it’s not worth my time: I’m sure I don’t have to waste time explaining this.
Problem2: those who do own quality domains usually price them unrealistically.
Why it’s not worth my time: I have better things to do than try to sell your 4 figure domain for 6 figs.
Problem3: the handful of domains which are decent AND priced to sell would only fetch high 4 figs – low 5 figs in an optimistic scenario.
Why it’s not worth my time: going through all of this trouble for 10% – 15% of a high 4 fig – low 5 fig sale is just not worth it on my end.
All in all: if you own a high 6 fig or 7 fig domain and are willing to price it realistically (no “20 million dollars and a unicorn” asking prices please), contact me. If not, then I’m sorry but brokering your domain is just not worth it for a serious domainer.
March 13th, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Hello
Truth be known, there are maybe a handfull of Brokers who have the right stuff to negotiate with the big dog end users, Been there done that.
The Big End Users are skeptical, and usually listen to their underlings. When it comes to the Ballsy decisions they should be making, they usually punt to those who have no clue.
Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger)
March 13th, 2011 at 4:17 pm
Umm, no offense, but u bought domaintips.com? really?
March 13th, 2011 at 5:03 pm
@Roger: Here’s a little tip that your parents should have taught you. When you preface something with “no offense, but” — you’re really just saying “I’m an asshole and here’s what I think.” It’s always offending.
March 13th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Gee…I’d say that your message is a bit arrogant and presumptuous, to say the least. But in the very unlikely event that I ever find myself desperate enough to seek the assistance of a domain broker, I’ll keep in mind that you’re not interested.
The ‘quality’ of domain brokers is probably one of main reasons why this industry suffers from its poor reputation. I’m a trademark lawyer and executive-level negotiator for a major financial institution; and as such have as many credentials as anyone to jump into this ‘broker’ space. But for the record, I have no interest in doing it either.
Gene
DomainJD.com
March 13th, 2011 at 6:06 pm
Thank you Gene! you took the words right out of my mouth when you wrote:
“Gee…I’d say that your message is a bit arrogant and presumptuous, to say the least. But in the very unlikely event that I ever find myself desperate enough to seek the assistance of a domain broker, I’ll keep in mind that you’re not interested.”
March 13th, 2011 at 6:20 pm
My message is indeed harsh but some things just need to be “said” out loud. I believe in win-win situations and when it comes to the domainer-broker relationship, keeping both parties satisfied is tricky to say the least because the arrangement is just not worth it for a good broker unless we’re talking about top dollar domains.
March 13th, 2011 at 7:07 pm
I agree with your money argument and not just for brokers; if a guy does all that work just to get a few hundred dollars in commissions then he’s probably not a very good broker…
I don’t agree with Gene about you being too aggressive; I’m tired of people hiding behind words. As long as nobody gets insulted, aggressive is fine in my book!
March 14th, 2011 at 11:39 am
So who are you again that you think people should run for you to sell their x,xxx,xxx domains?
I suppose it was a joke, not a serious post. But again I would not take serious anything that comes from “BillionDollarMedia” nickname and domain superstar image at the bottom right.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:04 pm
@Nick
That’s fine that you don’t agree with me, and that you think that being aggressive is OK. So do I, under the right circumstances.
But I don’t get your “…tired of people hiding behind words” comment. Seems to me that the bigger problem involves domainers who hide behind their identities, and their (lack of) legitimate credentials.
Then, of course, there’s the other group of frat boys who want the world to know their name, how they’ve made trillions, what their mother’s favorite recipe is, and what ‘leaders’ they’ve become in the space.
They attend all the events (which is fine – events are good), then blog about how great it was, how the rest of us missed the “event of a lifetime,” and why those who didn’t attend can’t be privy to the ‘million dollar secrets they learned while sipping rum punch at the cabana.’
I love domaining, and have done it since 1997: But I have numerous gripes about how business is done in this space (which I detail a bit on my own blog).
Gene
DomainJD.com
March 14th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
@Algis: you’re the first domainer who ever said something negative about the name of my company, BillionDollarMedia.com. In fact, most people love it but if you don’t think it sounds as “serious”/”legitimate” as nam.es (seriously, nam.es, wtf were you thinking?), so be it 🙂
At the end of the day, you’re entitled to an opinion and as you can see, I never delete comments. I own quite a few businesses and it’s only a matter of time until you will buy something from me, I hope your experience will be positive enough to make you change your opinion once that happens.
@Gene: I also love domaining and as far as this post and my “aggressive” attitude when it comes to this topic are concerned, I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree. Nick likes it, you don’t and there’s nothing wrong with that (you can’t please everyone). I respect your opinion and hope that down the road, you’ll come to the conclusion that my “aggressive” attitude helps me generate win-win situations as opposed to the win-lose scenarios which probably made you less than thrilled about business is done in this space.
March 14th, 2011 at 5:24 pm
If I were a broker Id ask to be paid/hour.Id recommend a price and even if the owner wanted 100x that price,I wouldn’t care as long as I got paid for my time.Id be honest about the price I think it’s worth and Id give a detailed report outlining what I did for that money.So if the owner wants a broker to try sell a domain for more than what the broker thinks it’s worth,hourly billing is fair.Like Andrei said, I wouldn’t waste my time running after a low chance sale under normal broker terms.Either price it right or pay me for my time hehehe
March 16th, 2011 at 12:49 pm
You can’t fault domain brokers for focusing on the high visibility and high-dollar domains. The fact that so many are elephant hunting just confirms there are still elephants able to bring in. I have nothing against bringing in the big deal. At the same time though, I think a systematic, professional domain broker who knows how to network, prospect and use a creative consultative sales approach can still make a well above average income from 10% – 20% commission on 5 figure domain name sales. Stockbrokers start out making 100s of cold calls a day to build their book of business. Hang up after hang up after hang up. A domain broker willing to put in the same effort could fair very well indeed.