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discuss Got greedy, egoistic and lost a deal

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Arpit131

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I hand registered a domain name recently which was one of the initial few .co domain registration just as an experiment to see if they work for me.
I saw that there were some companies on the same domain name in the country code extensions and I was pretty sure that I struck upon a decent name.
Why?

Because it was a popular term, easy and common to use and could have multiple end users. Having researched a little bit more about the possible end users, I registered the domain name and started with outbound marketing.

I carefully drafted the email for each of these companies and sent them a "Make an Offer" proposal.
Received a $199 offer from one of the leads.
I started with $1,199 and the buyer went upto $399.
With some back and forth negotiation, I stayed firm at $699 and the buyer stayed at $499.

I was willing to take the $499 offer as well and it was only a day after registration, so that was like easy $500.
I didn't give in and let my ego into this. Lost the deal.

Take away: While every deal may be different, if you are willing to accept an offer, take it! It is better to accept an offer and move on to better names than waiting for a small difference which doesn't even matter much.

Any questions are welcome!
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Thank you for your thread.

Could I ask you how you got the buyer to make an offer?
 
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Thank you for your thread.

Could I ask you how you got the buyer to make an offer?

I sent out the outbound mail explaining the name, how it could benefit their business and ended with "If you are interested, kindly reply back with an offer".
The normal outbound technique.
 
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Thanks for your honesty..wonder how many other domainer would admit to letting their greed take over.. I did and I admit too it (few months after the fact..)
 
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I understand how you feel. But we should remain positive. Maybe one of your other outbounds will buy it at a higher price. Or you maybe need to do more outbounds, to people who have the term included in their full domain name :)
 
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Was this actually greed? Doesn’t seem like it when it’s just $600 or so, and a name you thought was pretty good.
 
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I hand registered a domain name recently which was one of the initial few .co domain registration just as an experiment to see if they work for me.
I saw that there were some companies on the same domain name in the country code extensions and I was pretty sure that I struck upon a decent name.
Why?

Because it was a popular term, easy and common to use and could have multiple end users. Having researched a little bit more about the possible end users, I registered the domain name and started with outbound marketing.

I carefully drafted the email for each of these companies and sent them a "Make an Offer" proposal.
Received a $199 offer from one of the leads.
I started with $1,199 and the buyer went upto $399.
With some back and forth negotiation, I stayed firm at $699 and the buyer stayed at $499.

I was willing to take the $499 offer as well and it was only a day after registration, so that was like easy $500.
I didn't give in and let my ego into this. Lost the deal.

Take away: While every deal may be different, if you are willing to accept an offer, take it! It is better to accept an offer and move on to better names than waiting for a small difference which doesn't even matter much.

Any questions are welcome!
You are inspiration for me. Amazing thread with very important message. Thanks buddy.
 
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Yes, I agree. If you are willing to accept an amount offered, take it, and move on.
No need to play hardball when you a willing to accept,otherwise you may regret it.

Best of luck to you in a future sale for your name. :xf.smile:
 
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This is something most of us do... get greedy and loose
just learn from it for next time..
 
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I lost two deals being greedy.
Had "China" offering $5,000 for GFVirtual and I got greedy and countered with $10,000 but they stuck with $5,000. They said they felt this was the fair price for this domain. I countered with $8,000. Waited.
Emailed again a week later. And then email bounced back. Buyer deleted their email. I even switched email accounts and yes it was deleted.

Then there was the $5,000 offer on bitsuisse

Again countered with $10,000.

And they would not counter.

Then said that bitsuisse Twitter account was taken so now their offer dropped to $2,500 and went with other domain.

Ehhh. I'm hoping though that BitcoinSuisse.com/.ch will want it as a URL shortener. Not that they need it.

Bit is more generic than Bitcoin.
Also have CoinSuisse.com

No real way to gauge if greed is good or bad really.

Every "winner" who sold a $100k domain was a "loser" up until the $100k sale.

Its all about perspective.

Would we call the guy who sold Cryptogame.com for $85k greed or smart?
 
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I carefully drafted the email for each of these companies and sent them a "Make an Offer" proposal.
Received a $199 offer from one of the leads.
I started with $1,199 and the buyer went upto $399.
With some back and forth negotiation, I stayed firm at $699 and the buyer stayed at $499.

I was willing to take the $499 offer as well and it was only a day after registration, so that was like easy $500.
I didn't give in and let my ego into this. Lost the deal.

Take away: While every deal may be different, if you are willing to accept an offer, take it! It is better to accept an offer and move on to better names than waiting for a small difference which doesn't even matter much.

Any questions are welcome!


Quick question:
If You are not completely SOLD on your product that you offered at a random $1,199USD, why do you expect anyone else to BUY IT?
 
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Thank you for starting this post @Arpit131. I totally agree with the view expressed in your closing paragraph.

Selling domain names is not easy, the vast majority go unsold, and when we get an offer near to what we consider the right one, I think it is better to err on the side of accepting the offer.

Pricing of domain names is not an exact science - I firmly believe that if you took the 10 most experienced people on NPs and had them blindly suggest worth of some domain names, we would see a lot of variability. We were "sold" on a domain name when we chose to invest in it, and probably over estimate what the real worth is, in general.
 
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Quick question:
If You are not completely SOLD on your product that you offered at a random $1,199USD, why do you expect anyone else to BUY IT?

Becuase these are the tactics to get a good but minimal income to keep us work as a domainer. We must sell at a good price one day to invest more on quality domains and gain more.
 
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I am normally more flexible on pricing on recently acquired names, as well as on outbound.

I am firm on the ones I know that has tens/hundreds potential end users and will eventually sell. And I tend to overprice considerably those names that I see own use for. Those are the names I normally end up selling for $xx,xxx.

If the deal does not close, I don't beat myself up for it. Choose a strategy and stick to it and don't view each deal separately. It is all about overall profitability at the end.
 
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I totally understand your feeling, but still I think you negotiated well. You couldn't know the buyer's maximum price and budget.

If I end up like this, I'll usually wait for a week and then I try to reach to them once again for the last time. I will then state that we have had a discussion (which is true as my wife is in the same company :sneaky:) and say that we have decided to accept your last offer. Sometimes they will be ok with this, sometimes they will not even reply.

I think it is important to stay polite, rather short and strictly professional through the whole process, regardless if you think they are greedy etc. Simply because I think this is a very important factor if you try to reach out to them "a last time".
 
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Don't dwell over it. All experiences, good or bad, brings us wisdom.
 
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nice! I also loose 2 offer because of greed!:xf.grin:, I know my domain are quite good, buts it doesn't change the fact my domain are hand reg! if we just lowering to under $500, I think outbound and handreg can be a gold mine! but just like I said, handreg is not for everyone:xf.grin:
 
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It's good of you to share. But none of us are experts in every business out there or every mindset in negotiations. You haven't so much "lost a sale" more like you've put in some good work without a return. If we self analyse every sale, there's always going to be an element of either under-selling or not negotiating hard enough. and of course the reverse on uncompleted sales. I've had buyers come back to me years after previously stalled negotiations.
 
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Good thread and thanks for posting.

At this point, I would just set the Landing Page for the domain name with a BIN between $500 - $700 (whatever you feel comfortable selling it for).

The potential buyer might take a peek at the landing page at some point and decide to buy it. And one of your other outbound emails for this name might see the BIN also, and they might go for it.

btw, the idea of "holding firm" reminds me of the story on the sale of Whisky.com for $3.1 Million. If I recall, the owner negotiated several times (over many years). He first offered it for $1,000, then a year later when the buyer wanted it he said it was now $10,000, then sometime later again the buyer offered the $10,000 and he said it is now $100,000. In the end, he sold the name for $3.1 Million. So sometimes even a "loss" turns out to be a "win" -- if you feel strongly your name is worth it, then "hold firm." But for "weaker" names you might as well sell it and move on.... I'm still learning how to identify the really strong vs. the weaker names in my portfolio...

Regards,
DN
 
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Was this actually greed? Doesn’t seem like it when it’s just $600 or so, and a name you thought was pretty good.
ok... more ego and stupidity than greed. i like money.
 
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I think that if you are in a position where your idea of domain value and that which seems possible have a spread, never a bad idea to confidentially ask advice from someone you trust their expertise to get a second opinion. You can of course use Appraisal here, but perhaps the individual approach is better.
 
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Thanks for starting this thread Arpit - reading through all the replies has been a good eye opener in how to conduct business within the industry. I have been in sales within many industries for nearly 20 years now and closing the deal is always the hardest part!

I wouldn't get to hung up on it - there is always another deal around the corner!
 
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Thanks for starting this thread Arpit - reading through all the replies has been a good eye opener in how to conduct business within the industry. I have been in sales within many industries for nearly 20 years now and closing the deal is always the hardest part!

I wouldn't get to hung up on it - there is always another deal around the corner!

This is simply not true. If it were, nobody would go out of business. Sometimes, lost deals are gone forever.
 
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Good thread and thanks for posting.

At this point, I would just set the Landing Page for the domain name with a BIN between $500 - $700 (whatever you feel comfortable selling it for).

The potential buyer might take a peek at the landing page at some point and decide to buy it. And one of your other outbound emails for this name might see the BIN also, and they might go for it.

btw, the idea of "holding firm" reminds me of the story on the sale of Whisky.com for $3.1 Million. If I recall, the owner negotiated several times (over many years). He first offered it for $1,000, then a year later when the buyer wanted it he said it was now $10,000, then sometime later again the buyer offered the $10,000 and he said it is now $100,000. In the end, he sold the name for $3.1 Million. So sometimes even a "loss" turns out to be a "win" -- if you feel strongly your name is worth it, then "hold firm." But for "weaker" names you might as well sell it and move on.... I'm still learning how to identify the really strong vs. the weaker names in my portfolio...

Regards,
DN
The market determines the value. Many domainers refuse to listen to the market that's why they are stuck holding onto domains for years hoping for a sale that will never come.
 
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This is simply not true. If it were, nobody would go out of business. Sometimes, lost deals are gone forever.

In sales - there is always another deal around the corner! Some people / companies are not good at sales and will go out of business - if you are not good enough then tough you lose out and go under if you have skills, willing to learn, self critical and learn from your mistakes then you WILL do a deal

I never said in my post a deal is lost forever....just that another will be around the corner - please do not mis quote me
 
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