With Chinese investors becoming the focal point of the entire domain industry, it stands to reason that at some point you'll probably be doing business with someone from China, Hong Kong, or Singapore. The Chinese culture has many different standards and protocols to abide by when conducting business, and I think that as Western investors, it's important to take on board these differences. It could lead to success when selling your domains to China.
It's worth pointing out that many investors in China will only buy domain names through trusted brokers, and it is often best to sell your domains (especially high value LL.com, LLL.com, NN.com, NNN.com, or NNNN.com) to China via an experienced broker with knowledge of the local market and extensive contacts. Take George Hong of Guta.com as an example: he's been responsible for the sale of many high-valued domains to China, and he can often produce higher sale prices thanks to his trustworthiness and his existing relationships with investors.
Relationships and trust are very important in traditional Chinese business, and I believe that getting the best sales results from Chinese investors will involve forging some sort of relationship first. I often send an introductory email first of all, explaining who I am (with links to my blog posts, social media, and more) and the type of domain names I have available for sale without listing the names or mentioning pricing. I've found the response to these emails has been positive, resulting in a couple of sales and the potential for more sales in the future.
I've also started to experiment with WeChat and QQ. These are both popular messaging platforms in China, and I've set up profiles on both, as well as adding both profile usernames to my email signature. WeChat includes a translation feature that is helpful when communicating via the app.
When it finally comes to sending over your domains and prices, consider the fact that China has a strong affinity to lucky numbers, especially the number 8. Pricing your domains in the right way can produce sales on its own. For example, instead of $8,000 why not try $8,888? Patterns and numeric combinations mean a lot to Chinese buyers, as is evident by some of the domain sales profiled on DNJournal.com, such as Rick Schwartz's sale of 989.com for $818,181.81
Bear in mind the fact that auspicious days can mean something to many Chinese investors. It is not uncommon for a Chinese investor to wait for a favorable day on which to place an offer for a domain name. If you contact a Chinese investor with a sales email, then it may be worth your while to wait until an auspicious day to send your email. This month, next Monday (9th) and Wednesday (11/11) are apparently two of the most favorable days this month.
With this information in mind, following up a sales email should be done after a couple of weeks, as the silence could be down to the fact that your new contact is waiting for an auspicious day.
Selling Chinese premium domains without contacting someone directly is, of course, possible. Marketplaces such as 4.CN, GoDaddy's Expired Auctions, and NameJet are popular destinations for Chinese buyers in categories such as four-letter .COM, four-number .COM, five-number .COM, and a number of other combinations.
These are my observances through my work with some LL.com and LLL.com domain names over the past few months, as well as the result of a lot of research.
Do you have any tips of your own when selling to Chinese investors?
It's worth pointing out that many investors in China will only buy domain names through trusted brokers, and it is often best to sell your domains (especially high value LL.com, LLL.com, NN.com, NNN.com, or NNNN.com) to China via an experienced broker with knowledge of the local market and extensive contacts. Take George Hong of Guta.com as an example: he's been responsible for the sale of many high-valued domains to China, and he can often produce higher sale prices thanks to his trustworthiness and his existing relationships with investors.
Relationships and trust are very important in traditional Chinese business, and I believe that getting the best sales results from Chinese investors will involve forging some sort of relationship first. I often send an introductory email first of all, explaining who I am (with links to my blog posts, social media, and more) and the type of domain names I have available for sale without listing the names or mentioning pricing. I've found the response to these emails has been positive, resulting in a couple of sales and the potential for more sales in the future.
I've also started to experiment with WeChat and QQ. These are both popular messaging platforms in China, and I've set up profiles on both, as well as adding both profile usernames to my email signature. WeChat includes a translation feature that is helpful when communicating via the app.
When it finally comes to sending over your domains and prices, consider the fact that China has a strong affinity to lucky numbers, especially the number 8. Pricing your domains in the right way can produce sales on its own. For example, instead of $8,000 why not try $8,888? Patterns and numeric combinations mean a lot to Chinese buyers, as is evident by some of the domain sales profiled on DNJournal.com, such as Rick Schwartz's sale of 989.com for $818,181.81
Bear in mind the fact that auspicious days can mean something to many Chinese investors. It is not uncommon for a Chinese investor to wait for a favorable day on which to place an offer for a domain name. If you contact a Chinese investor with a sales email, then it may be worth your while to wait until an auspicious day to send your email. This month, next Monday (9th) and Wednesday (11/11) are apparently two of the most favorable days this month.
With this information in mind, following up a sales email should be done after a couple of weeks, as the silence could be down to the fact that your new contact is waiting for an auspicious day.
Selling Chinese premium domains without contacting someone directly is, of course, possible. Marketplaces such as 4.CN, GoDaddy's Expired Auctions, and NameJet are popular destinations for Chinese buyers in categories such as four-letter .COM, four-number .COM, five-number .COM, and a number of other combinations.
These are my observances through my work with some LL.com and LLL.com domain names over the past few months, as well as the result of a lot of research.
Do you have any tips of your own when selling to Chinese investors?
