This guy contacts me and wants to buy a domain, great. I ask him to make an offer, he says $150 and when I counter with a more than reasonable price, he starts ranting about how people like me suck, while flipping burgers is honorable. I’m sure most of you have come across at least one douchebag like this guy and only one thing bugs me: how can someone claim that selling unhealthy heart attack inducing burgers is honorable, while investing in something isn’t?
Here is his reply btw:
“Youre a greedy idiot and everyone like you should be ashamed to be selling domains at these prices while others struggle with honorable jobs flipping burgers!!”
The sad part is that this person is not alone. Ok, so investing in domains is not “honorable”?
Alright, then what is?
- Selling unhealthy heart attack inducing burgers to ignorant sheeple? (aka flipping burgers)
- Selling alcohol/cigarettes to the previously mentioned sheeple? (aka being a bartender or owning a bar, whatever)
- Selling Pepsi or *insert unhealthy soda brand* to children who don’t know better? (aka anyone who works, in one way or another, for or with soda companies)
The list could go on and on but this much is certain:
MOST people should look in the mirror before opening their mouth!
Does this mean that investing is the most honorable occupation out there? Of course not, I’m always the first to admit that what a doctor does (for example), is far more important than what I currently do as an investor/business owner but at the end of the day, let’s face it: investing in something (domains, real estate, whatever) is anything but shady, this is what capitalism is all about!
March 20th, 2011 at 11:21 am
It is relatively common to find comments on Twitter from individuals who blame “domain squatters” for ruining some idea they had for a project. There is often a feeling of entitlement that an individual who has a potential use for a domain should be given that domain if someone else who “isn’t using it” hasn’t done anything with it after a set period of time. The property behind my apartment, a former golf course, was bought during the real estate bubble for ~$7.5 million. The original plan was to build 100 one million dollar homes and a shopping center. Well, the real estate market collapsed and so did those plans. However, the city wanted to build a park on the east side and there were few available properties which were suitable. The city ended up buying the property for $9 million. Most South Florida real estate acquisitions made during the 2005-2007 time frame are now worth considerably less than the purchase price.
March 20th, 2011 at 11:35 am
What an idiot, if he had the domain he would probably be asking the same price as you. Funny how when they want to buy they expect a low price. The person is obviously mad because they can’t afford the domain, he should just go and register a crappy one for $8 and use that instead. Most people still don’t understand the value of a good domain, and how hard it is to get a good one.
March 20th, 2011 at 11:39 am
I do not reply to these kinds of emails. But if you feel like replying, you can ask what he would do if you sold him the name for $150, and then a week later someone were to offer him $10K or $100K for the name. Would he do the right thing and give you all the money, or would he keep all the money to himself and think how dumb/unlucky you were.
March 20th, 2011 at 11:45 am
I would have simply responded that I had no intention of ever doing business with him, but, while he was at it, could he get me a Quarter Pounder and fries?
March 20th, 2011 at 11:45 am
Bottom line: if owning a domain is so dishonorable, how come he wants it for himself?
March 20th, 2011 at 11:46 am
“…ruining some idea they had for a project…”
Those sheeple fail to see that the Domainer is someone who doesn’t have just “some idea” but a “lot of ideas” which are reserved for future development.
To counter such sheeple we need to have
parkingplace-holder pages like the one my name is linked to.March 20th, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Paraphrasing the actual text, I had an email exchange 2 weeks ago where the 1st email was “would you be interested in selling…” I replied “yes, for the right price, please make an offer.”
The reply was “you have had it since 2007 and done nothing with it, so I will give you $25.”
Interesting negotiating tactic, I thought, to insult your opponent in email #2.
It is a worthless domain (commercially), but is no longer for sale to this person / political party.
I didn’t waste my time telling them, of course.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:26 pm
But many domainers do not develop, and are disliked because to some extent, they are idea thieves.
An entrepreneur’s idea may make a domain far more valuable to him than anyone else. A domainer who tries to extract this added value is thereby taking advantage of the buyer’s idea.
Buyer should have no complaint if domain is priced at market value, but this is not particularly common.
March 20th, 2011 at 12:43 pm
@Hal: in my opinion, domainers are actually doing future buyers a favor by not developing. Think about it for a moment, let’s assume that you’re a person with an idea: selling green bottles online. You try to register GreenBottles.com but like most good domains, it’s taken.
What would you prefer:
1) If it were owned by a developer who turned it into a $30,000 per month business and who, as a result, would not be interested in selling.
2) If it were owned by a domainer who, in most cases, would be interested in selling it.
I’m sure you’d choose scenario #2 because let’s face it: at least if the domain is owned by an investor, a potential buyer has a realistic chance of acquiring it.
To sum it all up: I’m sure we can agree that any person who wants to launch a business in 2011 and beyond will find out that the best domains are taken and that, at the end of the day, them being owned by domainers represents the best possible scenario for the previously mentioned person.
March 20th, 2011 at 1:00 pm
Depends on the price… The higher the price, the less reward I’ll get for my idea – because some of it has gone to the domainer instead.
As long as the price leaves enough reward, 2) is better.
March 20th, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Put a fricken fixed price on the domain and douchbags like me won’t have to blow a gasket. It’s when you ask me for a price and I give it that you become a greedy bastard with the counter offer. If you know what the fricken domain name is worth, then just set a price like a reasonable business man. I don’t go into a burger place and have to guess the price, do I?
March 20th, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Domainers also helped to build the web. Without those early investments in domains, registrars and the rest of the internet infrastructure might not exist. Don’t domainers deserve profits on those risky early investments?
March 20th, 2011 at 3:05 pm
wouldn’t begrudge anyone a profit, just feel that domainers often take things a bit too far. ps. I’ll make up a new name…
March 20th, 2011 at 9:46 pm
@Douchebag, it’s because a domain is like a piece of art or collectable at auction. There may be a number of potential buyers for that piece of art, all with different amounts on the max they’ll pay. Art and collectables often sell for way more than what the auction house expected, and sometimes sell for much less or not at all. Domains are similar in that most of them are hard to value. Put a fixed price on it and you may lose out if the buyer was willing to pay more. You often don’t know if the person contacting you about a domain is Joe Blow who will pay at most 50 bucks, or the next hot start-up with a five or six figure budget. And if it’s the latter, they won’t tell you that and will try to get the name for as little as possible. Likewise, the domain owner should be trying to get the highest amount they can. The price will depend on what other similar names have sold for, does the seller need the money or not, does the domain make money, etc. Bottom line is domains are hard to value, but some try to offer very little for names of obvious higher quality, and I’m sure sometimes domainers have price targets that are way too high, and that’s why some sales don’t happen.
March 20th, 2011 at 11:18 pm
@jrb: So if you’re not going to sell it to the guy who will only pay $50, then put a five or six figure price tag on it and be done with it.
If you’re not going to take less than $50,000, let’s say, then have the balls to say it.
Art-shmart. Domain names are not art. If you think someone may come along someday and offer you $50,000, then ask for it now.
March 21st, 2011 at 3:26 am
@Douchebag: if I own a domain and a potential buyer contacts me, it’s my right to ask him or her to make me an offer, just like it’s your right to have fixed prices for your own portfolio if that’s what you prefer.
March 21st, 2011 at 5:43 pm
It’s your right to do anything you want as the owner of the domain names. Just stop whining and complaining when an offer comes in too low. Or grow a pair and set a price. One or the other, but you can’t do both and be a man.
March 21st, 2011 at 6:36 pm
“Art and collectables often sell for way more than what the auction house expected”
But there is a crucial difference. Domainers usually have no interest in selling at auction (ie. market) value. They want much more. Even if a domain may have little value to anyone else a buyer may be forced to pay top dollar.
March 21st, 2011 at 6:47 pm
@Douchebag: what gave you the impression that I complain when receiving lowball offers? This post is about a potential buyer who was pissed off because he considered my price too high, not the other way around.
For what it’s worth, I’ve never sent a rude reply when someone lowballed me (it’s their right to lowball me, just like it’s my right to decide whether or not I want to sell at a certain price), I either politely explain that I am not interested in that offer or simply don’t reply if the offer is low enough to make it clear that replying would be a waste of time.
Setting a price has absolutely nothing to do with “growing a pair”, it’s all a matter of doing whatever works best for you. If fixed prices work great for you, congratulations. If asking potential buyers to make an offer works better for you, congratulations and if it’s a combination of both… congratulations 😉
March 21st, 2011 at 7:01 pm
@H: in my opinion, “domainer to domainer” and end user sales complement each other. On the one hand, selling domains to end users is what we are all ultimately here for but on the other hand, without “domainer to domainer” sales through auctions or other venues, there would be no liquidity and without liquidity, there would be no domaining industry.
Sure, any domainer would love to rely exclusively on end user sales but as an investor, it feels good to know that you can simply move inventory via auctions and other venues if you need liquidity.
Just one more aspect I’d like to clarify: the great thing about capitalism is that nobody can force you to buy a domain. If the price is too high, you can simply start searching for alternatives. There are indeed situations such as the ones you describe, with huge sales taking place because the buyer who wanted that domain wouldn’t settle for anything else and the seller wouldn’t budge but there’s nothing wrong with that IMO. In fact, let’s face it: I’m sure we’d all want to deal with such buyers exclusively if it were possible.
March 30th, 2011 at 5:58 pm
Hi everyone I have recently been doing some research into domain flipping. I came accross a site domainflipclub.com and I bought their complete domain flipping package. It was one of the best decisions I have ever made. I recently found a domain using their easy to use software and resold it for $1500. Anyone considering buying and selling domains should take a look at this site. You will not be disappointed.
May 10th, 2011 at 6:55 pm
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August 22nd, 2011 at 11:39 am
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