A Question...

HostPoet · May 21, 2012

Owning over three hundred domains (I am not bragging, its actually a bit sad really).. every now and then I get an inquiry from someone wanting to buy one of my domains.

These generally fall into two or three categories:

A: Serious, for these I truly wish I could somehow pay a professional negotiator by the hour.

B: The one's from people who insist that a pre-purchase appraisal is required.

I guess the 1st time I fell for this I was like, wow, this guy seems perfectly okay about paying $190,000 for my domain! Then came the small matter of the appraisal, and of course for some reason it seemed as if only the one "he was recommending" was good enough.

What is the standard in such matters? If I am selling domains, as apparently I am really working on these days, it's because I need some money. :bingo: The other thing is, typically (the two times this happened) the guy sends me an e-mail asking about one of my (what I believe to be) hottest domains. %%- In other words, he is reaching out to me, on a domain that might not even be listed for sale, anywhere. [ I like to keep a few of my coolest domains -... under wraps.

Then I go ahead and spend some time trying to price it correctly (that was for the second one, which was less than a month ago) so I give him a price under $10k to see what happens, then he says okay, :sold: but I have to pay for a pre-sale appraisal, :bah: which of course he tells me is standard!

Is that so?

m-i-k-e · May 21, 2012

So you are asking if you should ever pay for an appraisal?

The answer is no.

Whenever I email somebody about buying their name, I already have a max amount that I will pay in mind and any serious buyer will do the same.

Research is done before contact, not after and doesn't include third party appraisals.

Ms Domainer · May 21, 2012

*

"B" is a common scam; don't fall for it.

You will end up paying for an appraisal, and then the "buyer" will disappear.

NEVER pay for an appraisal that has been requested by a potential buyer.

Tell him/her to pay for any appraisals.

*

infmoney · May 21, 2012

I think anyone asking for an appraisal is pure bs.

Don't fall for it, even if they say they want to buy your domain.

I've been emailed plenty of times with the same crap.

lothos · May 22, 2012

If the buyer wants an appraisal, he can pay for it himself.

south · May 22, 2012

Appraisals are bull. You need to have a price goal in mind prior to beginning negotiations. It is worth what you are willing to sell it for. Period.

Either ask the person to make an offer and see if/how they respond. If they ask for a price, give them your predetermined price plus some to allow room for negotiation.

snicksnack · May 22, 2012

if he wanted the domain badly, he wouldn't need an appraisal. These scams must be working as they still send out thousands of emails a day.

MikeRibby · May 22, 2012

Was it from Web Domain Hosting Inc?

I was getting at least 4 email per week for over 2 months all different names, all from the CEO. They must have 100's of CEO's.

I finally called them out and the emails stopped.

HostPoet · May 23, 2012

Confirms what I was thinking...

Thanks for some solid advice guys. The thing is these folks always seem to somehow find some domain I feel is worth some big money, [ Weather it is or not of course is another story ]

I remember finding similar comments last time a scammer along these lines appears. What is a good way to market a domain, that one feels is a high value domain?

Do people hear ever have any success with trying the companies like Moniker or Sedo, or hiring a broker, I know I see there is some thread on that elsewhere.

ExampleName · May 24, 2012

They pick the ones you think are worth money because they think they're worth money, too.

They pick out good domain names because they know if they ask about a lesser one, you'll immediately wonder why they care so much about appraising it.

I agree with the point above in regard to redirecting the appraisal request.

Any time ANYone asks for an appraisal, tell THEM to get it and you'll knock the cost off the price if you end up agreeing to a sale. (With proof of cost, of course.)

It immediately shuts up the scammers (I've tried it on ones who kept e-mailing me) and if someone does actually pay for an appraisal, congrats - you have a wicked interested buyer.

HostPoet · May 24, 2012

So that's how it's done...

motorhed said:
They pick the ones you think are worth money because they think they're worth money, too.

They pick out good domain names because they know if they ask about a lesser one, you'll immediately wonder why they care so much about appraising it.

I agree with the point above in regard to redirecting the appraisal request.

Any time ANYone asks for an appraisal, tell THEM to get it and you'll knock the cost off the price if you end up agreeing to a sale. (With proof of cost, of course.)

It immediately shuts up the scammers (I've tried it on ones who kept e-mailing me) and if someone does actually pay for an appraisal, congrats - you have a wicked interested buyer.

:sold:

Gee, that answer is "so simple" how come I never thought of it!...

:talk:
Thanks!!!

alien51 · May 24, 2012

Even if someone asking for an "appraisal" is real and authentic, its one and only purpose is to BRING DOWN your asking price.

This is why a buyer will ask your selling price first, BEFORE pushing for an appraisal.

Come to think of it, if the buyer was prepared to pay you $10,000, and you mentioned your selling price is 100 bucks, will he ask that you do an appraisal on your domain so he can pay you MORE as a GOOD SAMARITAN ??? B.S.

m-i-k-e · May 24, 2012

Although, everybody is onboard that the most likely reason of getting an appraisal request is that it's coming from a scammer, I am seeing some people making mention of situations in which a legitimate buyer might bring up a request for an appraisal.

Has anybody actually come across this? It surprises me that anybody buying a domain name would care what an appraisal says either way. If somebody needs to get an appraisal on the name they want to buy, they probably shouldn't be buying it.

Appraisals can't factor in what a buyer is about to do with the name. A buyer needs to factor that in himself and become his own appraiser.

alien51 · May 25, 2012

m-i-k-e said:
It surprises me that anybody buying a domain name would care what an appraisal says either way. If somebody needs to get an appraisal on the name they want to buy, they probably shouldn't be buying it.

It will probably work for someone who is desperate to sell a domain, or someone who is in the business of fast-track domain flipping. An appraisal (granting it is real and authentic) can set the tone on price negotiations and closing the deal.

But then, a domain must have some kind of tangible metrics to appraise with. How much traffic it is getting so we can atleast have a ballpark estimate of potential income from those traffic to appraise its value.

seojoint · May 25, 2012

Man here you go :

First email :

Email to me : We are interested in purchasing *.com. I noticed that it was for sale. Please let me know your price.

Our company is investing in domain names and web projects.

If you sell more domains I will review them.

Best Regards,

J***************
President
----- Inc.

Second after my reply :

6000. Ok. In order to process with the deal I need two small things to be
accomplished.

1. I need a professional evaluation (appraisal) from you.

It should be from an independent evaluation company. I don't trust automated
services from companies I've never heard about.

Without a professional evaluation we both cannot be sure in the final sale
price. It will minimize the investing risks.

2. I need the evaluation service with a trademark verification. It's
important for us to know that you domain has no problems
with trademarks. Some evaluators include this option in the appraisalsal
service.

I asked in the forum about reliable evaluation services. Please read this
information:
****

If the evaluation comes higher you can change your asking price. After you
send me the professional evaluation via email (usually it takes one day to
obtain it) we'll be doing business.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire
transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

m-i-k-e · May 25, 2012

seojoint,

yup, the guy you are dealing with on this one is a scammer for sure.

gcttirth · May 26, 2012

I have had one of those scammers mailing me like a year ago...

I just checked the whois of the site he referred me to for appraisal. Guess what I found? Thw whois email and the email he mailed from were same. I replied honestly that I'm not willing to sell it.

If we think from the point of view of an owner of appraisal site, it's a kind of marketing that they would use to find "end-user". Quite simple.

shivamagrawal · May 28, 2012

That's some great info there Phil. I appreciate all your hard work as it's a great reference to look to when considering where to invest funds and what's been bought out, etc.

rupok98 · May 29, 2012

Nice discussion hare I appreciate you job .Nice discussion .

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