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zac3366

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We were recently contacted by someone from Ename ("The #1 domain name marketplace in China"), asking for a client if we would like to sell a domain. At first the client's budget was $5,000. Now, after a few days and with no hard negotiations, their budget has gone up to $30,000. Me and my partners feel this domain name could be worth a lot more for the right buyer. We don't know who the buyer is, but one of the largest online companies in China has a brand/product that matches the .com domain name.

We think this might a real opportunity for us that we would like to explore. We don't have much experience when it comes to selling domains. The question is, what to we do next?
  1. Ask who the buyer is to be able to negotiate better?
  2. Set a high fixed price and see what they say?
  3. Start an auction and contact the companies we think might be interested in the domain name?
  4. Hire someone professional to negotiate the sale for us?
  5. Something else?
Any advice is welcome :)
 
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No
they contacted me representing a client

the Domains/money was transfered using ename escrow service
Ok, did you pay a fee to ename or did the buyer do that?
 
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Would it be considered unprofessional to start an online auction where I invite the current buyer and others that I think might be interested? And would it be fruitful?
highly recommend not to auction
as you have only 1 buyer for now
 
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  1. Ask who the buyer is to be able to negotiate better?
  2. :)

they won't tell you anyway

  1. Hire someone professional to negotiate the sale for us?
why? you can do it yourself



look they want the name.
that's cool

now you need a price
one you decide

tell them and stick with it.

that's all.
 
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they won't tell you anyway

  1. Hire someone professional to negotiate the sale for us?
why? you can do it yourself



look they want the name.
that's cool

now you need a price
one you decide

tell them and stick with it.

that's all.
You make it sound so easy :) Thanks for your input!
 
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ename brokers are reliable,
i had good experience with them with the names i sold there
i remember being nervous in the first deal closed at ename,
but everything worked just fine in a few days i received the cash
Did they seem to be straightforward up front about the top price offered, or were you able to get much higher prices with further negotiation?
 
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Did they seem to be straightforward up front about the top price offered, or were you able to get much higher prices with further negotiation?
i was always able to increase from the initial offer
but each domain is a different case, some domains were a dying trend, so i was happy with low 4 figures

my experience is to always negotiate with Chinese and middle east buyers, because they could disappear if you accept their initial offer
 
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Ok, did you pay a fee to ename or did the buyer do that?
the full agreed amount was deposited into my ename account,
withdraw fees depend on the method you choose(paypal/bank), make sure to choose the cheapest option for you
the fees depend on the country you reside
 
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If you don't have experience with Chinese buyers hire an expert that does. In almost all cases people mess these sales up. There is a 95% possibility you already lost the sale by waiting.

Time is critical right now. Chinese buyers have incredible power to walk away and never think about a product again if they feel things are not going smooth. I hope you can still save the sale by stopping all games and responding with a clear buy it now price that has a deadline. Deadlines in Chinese culture is not a pressure technique, it is respected.
Who might be a resource for domain name dealings with Chinese buyers?
 
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Who might be a resource for domain name dealings with Chinese buyers?
There are domain name brokers. I’ve talked to one that could help me. They seem very professional, but they want 10-20%. Another 7.5% to the Escrow service they use.
 
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There are domain name brokers. I’ve talked to one that could help me. They seem very professional, but they want 10-20%. Another 7.5% to the Escrow service they use
Since commissions for brokered sales generally seem to be 20-30%, sound like they are in the right ballpark?
 
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Since commissions for brokered sales generally seem to be 20-30%, sound like they are in the right ballpark?
I guess I'm just not used to it. Sounds like a high commission. But if they are good and manage to double the price... :)
 
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I guess I'm just not used to it. Sounds like a high commission. But if they are good and manage to double the price... :)
the only broker who could do so is afternic
 
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the only broker who could do so is afternic
I tend not to take such super confident statements so seriously :) But I'll look into Afternic. Thanks! :)
 
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I tend not to take such super confident statements so seriously :) But I'll look into Afternic. Thanks! :)
Feel free to give an update. I'm sure that there are a good number of folks on the forum that would really enjoy hearing about a successful sale. And, even if the sale doesn't go through, sharing what you learned would be appreciated.
 
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We were recently contacted by someone from Ename ("The #1 domain name marketplace in China"), asking for a client if we would like to sell a domain. At first the client's budget was $5,000. Now, after a few days and with no hard negotiations, their budget has gone up to $30,000. Me and my partners feel this domain name could be worth a lot more for the right buyer. We don't know who the buyer is, but one of the largest online companies in China has a brand/product that matches the .com domain name.

We think this might a real opportunity for us that we would like to explore. We don't have much experience when it comes to selling domains. The question is, what to we do next?
  1. Ask who the buyer is to be able to negotiate better?
  2. Set a high fixed price and see what they say?
  3. Start an auction and contact the companies we think might be interested in the domain name?
  4. Hire someone professional to negotiate the sale for us?
  5. Something else?
Any advice is welcome :)
ask for 2.5x of what you would be happy with and let them "win" by beating you down 50%
 
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Too much research will make matters more complicated to take a decision. If you think the domain is worth $50,000, just counter their offer with $ 50,000 as your FINAL price. If they really in need of the domain name, they will accept your offer.
 
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Doesn't hurt to know who the potential buyer is. Once got an offer for low xx,xxx, but found out the buyer had received an enormous amount of funding from well-known investment funds and banks. So I knew they were able to pay 3x their original offer.

If I couldn't find out who the buyer was I'd be happy to sell for the amount I had in mind when I acquired the domain.
 
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you can ask amount whats you need for portfolio
 
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Update: the first negotiation in May ended as we didn't come to an agreement. In July another person from the same company got in touch with us asking if we wanted to sell the domain. When I asked if it was the same buyer as back in May they could confirm that it was. They also raised their bid another 30%.

Since we are not willing to sell at that price, I explained our valuation of the domain and also mentioned the company that we think might be the buyer and what it would be worth to them in that case. They did not deny that it was that buyer (which might have been a good negotiation strategy?), which makes me think it might be them. But we could be wrong, of course. What do you think?
After we gave them our asking price negotiations politely stopped. They did not have an offer in that range.

We have invested a lot in this name and have plans for it, but it would still be interesting to know if it is the buyer we think it might be. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to contact them directly or shall we just forget it for now and see if they contact us again in the future? What would you do in our situation, given that you have not gotten a bid close to your asking price?
 
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