discuss My first $1,000,000 offer to purchase

Elad n said:

6


Because u want the domain ? Lol

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I wanted a house too but based my decision not only on the address but also on the price, how long the house was on the market, and what the expected resale was. If a house sits on the market unsold I will offer a lot less then if there is a multiple bidding war going on. I put in three offers on houses until one was accepted that was mutual to purchaser and seller.

If they come back, yes, that would mean that his offer is now in the ballpark, and I'd agree with lowering his offer at that time, if that happens.

But over all, this was an offer that was well below market and had no chance of success, and was not in the ballpark at this time. I am actually impressed that MapleDots put so much time and effort into discussing and making the offer, I mean he must have known that it would not be accepted. I imagine he had that slight feeling of breathlessness over the remote possibility that it would be accepted, but by no means any sort of legitimate anticipation that he'd be transferring funds.

I am not trying to disparage what was done, but it's not so different from the people who make offers for pennies on no reserve ebay auctions for brand new MacBook Pros. They are dreaming. Well, let's say that this offer was more like...offering $1000. for a brand new MacBook Pro worth $3000.

xynames said:

Over the years I’ve seen Ferrari Daytonas offered for sale including even at eBay. For such cars nowadays people do come in and bid a hundred or two hundred K or whatever but they must know that the bid is unrealistically low and won’t happen.

There’s a big difference between placing a high dollar bid that might close and one that will never close. Such bids might be in complete good faith but still amount to just dreaming.

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Let me pose a Q to MapleDots though, in all honesty, if your offer had been accepted, would you have immediately transferred funds or started asking a bunch of questions such as if the domain had clear title any trademark issues any claims from the government to retake it etc. etc. I mean - questions that you should have asked up front before even throwing a price out there. Honestly!

xynames said:

If they come back, yes, that would mean that his offer is now in the ballpark.

But over all, this was an offer that was well below market and had no chance of success, and was not in the ballpark at this time. I am actually impressed that MapleDots put so much time and effort into discussing and making the offer, I mean he must have known that it would not be accepted.

I am not trying to disparage what was done, but it's not so different from the people who make offers for pennies on no reserve ebay auctions for brand new MacBook Pros. They are dreaming. Well, let's say that this offer was more like...offering $1000. for a brand new MacBook Pro worth $3000.

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What was the domain?

xynames said:

I am not trying to disparage what was done, but it's not so different from the people who make offers for pennies on no reserve ebay auctions for brand new MacBook Pros. They are dreaming. Well, let's say that this offer was more like...offering $1000. for a brand new MacBook Pro worth $3000.

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You know.... it gave me a few sleepless nights because a million is a ton of money for me. The broker started at 2.4 and moved to 1.5 pretty quickly. It could just have easily moved to a million and I would have been committed.

This whole domaining thing is not an exact science and when it comes to deals I am sometimes surprised by what gets accepted and also by what gets declined. However I really cannot see myself going back with that amount of money if they cannot find a buyer.

They only reason they would ever come back to me is if they could not get 1.5 or if there never was a mysterious high bidder client.

Just imagine, after a month they come and say.... ok nobody took the bait the domain is still for sale and we will take your million. I would respond and say..... yup, I've bought a few domains since then and only have 750k left in my budget. It would be a whole new ballgame at that point.

That's a lot of speculation though.... chances are it will sell and that will be the end.

Internet.Domains said:

What was the domain?

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I don't want to discuss that until it sells and I also ask everyone politely not to speculate on it in topic.

There is always a chance some form of negotiation could re-occur and I don't want to spoil it for myself or the next person looking at bidding.

xynames said:

How longgg does it take to writeee like thattt or do you have some auto script that does it for you?

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I don't answer these type of questions in these type of threads.
Nothing against your question and nothing against this thread but the combination does not correllateee

Internet.Domains said:

What was the domain?

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I assume the domain was "nice.plot" / "hot.air" / "create.awareness" or something like that.
So I doubt that we will ever get to know it hahaahaaa

@MapleDots
I ask you politelyyy to understand my speculating.

Internet.Domains said:

What was the domain?

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There are very few dot-com's applicable to a million dollar plus value and a market in Canada. I am only guessing but Canada.com quickly came to mind for some odd reason.

After going to the website I see it appears to be not updated often, has some stale or old content and does not look that good overall plus does not seem to be well monetized, for such a nice domain. So I suspect the owner is more than open to offers to buy and would like to sell it.

That's just my opinion and I could easily be wrong and just guessing on the name but seems to be a likely acquisition candidate in Canada.

Elad n said:

6


Because u want the domain ? Lol

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Exactly, the “go lower” idea is just a way of ensuring a sale never happens.

For $1mln better to buy Bugatti Veyron and crash it at 300 km/h and get your dose of adrenaline.

MapleDots said:

...but I did not know how else to provide proof. In retrospect I should have transferred the excess out before providing proof of funds because they probably thought they could squeeze me for more.

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It is simple, get a letter on bank stationary signed by an officer saying you have 1 million on deposit on that date. Another option is to open a new money market account with a balance of exactly 1 million $ and show it to them.

For someone as experienced as you and with so much money and assets It's surprising you did not do that.

namemarket said:

It is simple, get a letter on bank stationary signed by an officer saying you have 1 million on deposit on that date. Another option is to open a new money market account with a balance of exactly 1 million $.

For someone as experienced as you and with so much money and assets It's surprising you did not do that.

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Agreed it is a common document, especially in real estate.

wwwweb said:

Agreed it is a common document, especially in real estate.

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I deal with a virtual bank and getting anything out of the norm is like pulling teeth.
A screen shot was the simplest solution for me to show I had the funds.

All mute now anyways because its radio silence at this point.

This was a learning experience for me and I have a possible broker lined up to do my heavy lifting in the future.
It's worth paying someone to dot all the i's and cross the T's.

MapleDots said:

I deal with a virtual bank and getting anything out of the norm is like pulling teeth. A screen shot was the simplest solution for me to show I had the funds.

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The online banks make it extremely easy to open a new account and transferring funds via other accounts. I believe it takes no more than a day to open a new account and fund it online at the banks I have seen advertising.

namemarket said:

The online banks make it extremely easy to open a new account and transferring funds via other accounts. I believe it takes no more than a day to open a new account and fund it online at the banks I have seen advertising.

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No thanks to that

Moving that amount of money around draws attention and increases your odds for an audit. I have nothing to hide but having gone through audits they are not a pleasant experience.

That's a very good point..

I remember a story about one of the titans who was buying a llll.com I think the price started around 250k and after 8 years of wearing him down he settled on 65k....the party least interested is always in control..

toughdomains said:

I remember a story about one of the titans who was buying a llll.com I think the price started around 250k and after 8 years of wearing him down he settled on 65k....the party least interested is always in control..

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The person who was chasing it for 8 years wasn't in control at all, all i got from that story is previous owner couldn't sell so lowered his original asking price and still got a fantastic price.

8 years is hell of a long time.

Kingslayer said:

The person who was chasing it for 8 years wasn't in control at all, all i got from that story is previous owner couldn't sell so lowered his original asking price and still got a fantastic price.

8 years is hell of a long time.

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the point I was trying to make was if you have the patience and can develop a relationship with the seller and the seller isnt totally unrealistic the patience may work to your advantage. it did there...however if its a really great name you could lose it..large domain sales are usually complicated.

MapleDots said:

I am about to make my first One Million dollar offer to purchase and I want this to go a smooth as possible.




I have asked the advice of a couple of my peers on how to best proceed with this but I thought I would also put it out to some of the members on namepros.

My usual way of doing business when I go after a domain is to attach a time frame to the offer to purchase, but to be quite honest this one is kind of in a league of its own and I have to be careful how to pursue this.

My plan is to offer 500k down and 500k when the deal closes.


What do you guys think?


1. Make an offer with no strings attached

or

2. Set a time limit to add an urgency to the sale

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I would not mention a million dollar sale until after the deal officially closes. People will promise you the world but until you have a hand written contract or equivalent...its just empty words and anyone or anything can ruin the sale.

@MapleDots -

It's a great question - but to provide a respectable recommendation would need to better understand several dynamics of the transaction.

For example...

1) How did you hear of the domain? Meaning, was it listed on a site with a "Make an Offer" button? Or, did you find the domain via research and are making a "blind" offer? What I'm really asking here is how did the name come to your attention?

2) Is there an active website associated with this domain? Or is this a stand-alone domain? And if a stand-alone domain, how long has it been out of circulation? Or has there ever been an active website? What I'm trying to assess is - what has been the history of the domain?

3) Do you have any insight to how long the current owner has held the domain? Is the owner an operating business, a recently declining business, or is it owned by a fellow domainer?

4) Are you funding the purchase with cash or equity?

5) Has your communication only been via email, only been via phone, or a blend of the two? And how long has it been since your original contact?

6) For that matter, have you done business with individual/entity previously? Meaning, do you have an ongoing relationship with the (potential) seller and have purchased items from them in the past?

7) Are you dealing with a DM (Decision Maker), a "wanna-be" lower level manager, or legal?

8) Do you already have a potential buyer lined up for a near-term sale? Or are you looking to sit on this domain with a "Hold" position approach?

The reason for all the questions - is the dynamic of your introduction to the opportunity and (if) any prior relationship with the other party will have a HUGE impact on your approach.

The biggest issue in a large transaction is the dynamic of the dialogue.

-Cougar

ps: How can you make a vote decision without all the details (relationship dynamics and ongoing dialogue)

BrandCougar said:

@MapleDots -

It's a great question - but to provide a respectable recommendation would need to better understand several dynamics of the transaction.

For example...

1) How did you hear of the domain? Meaning, was it listed on a site with a "Make an Offer" button? Or, did you find the domain via research and are making a "blind" offer? What I'm really asking here is how did the name come to your attention?

2) Is there an active website associated with this domain? Or is this a stand-alone domain? And if a stand-alone domain, how long has it been out of circulation? Or has there ever been an active website? What I'm trying to assess is - what has been the history of the domain?

3) Do you have any insight to how long the current owner has held the domain? Is the owner an operating business, a recently declining business, or is it owned by a fellow domainer?

4) Are you funding the purchase with cash or equity?

5) Has your communication only been via email, only been via phone, or a blend of the two? And how long has it been since your original contact?

6) For that matter, have you done business with individual/entity previously? Meaning, do you have an ongoing relationship with the (potential) seller and have purchased items from them in the past?

7) Are you dealing with a DM (Decision Maker), a "wanna-be" lower level manager, or legal?

8) Do you already have a potential buyer lined up for a near-term sale? Or are you looking to sit on this domain with a "Hold" position approach?

The reason for all the questions - is the dynamic of your introduction to the opportunity and (if) any prior relationship with the other party will have a HUGE impact on your approach.

The biggest issue in a large transaction is the dynamic of the dialogue.

-Cougar

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The domains I am pursuing will all be either officially for sale or will have owners that have expressed interest in selling. I am currently bidding on a different domain but have hired a broker to negotiate for me. Upon the advice of my broker I am instructed not to communicate further until a purchase has completed in which case I will probably be listed on namebio.

My goal for 2019 is to try and purchase 1-2 high profile .com properties and about a dozen or so one word .ca's. My broker is confident that I can get multiple high profile .com's for the price I was offering on this single domain.

@MapleDots -

Since you are using a broker, I recommend having a time limit attached to your brokerage purchasing (relationship) agreement. All real estate listings and respectable purchase agreements have time limits on them. Otherwise, it is an offer in perpetuity (a foolish approach).

Dynamics in markets and in brokerage relationships evolve over time, hence the reason for a "duration" clause in your relationship agreement.

ALL brokers want "in perpetuity", but quality brokers will broach the topic up front with you when you initiate your intent to develop a relationship with them (aka - use their service).

You mentioned your target items are "officially for sale" or "will have owners that have expressed interest in selling".

In that situation/dynamic, then any offer you (or your broker) presents to them should definitely have a time limit (expiration period) as part of the presented offer.

I personally prefer handling negotiations that arrive at verbal (mutual) agreement that THEN are followed up with a written agreement as a formality. Lawyers and brokers should be documenting agreement, not tossing out paper volleys (paper hand-jobs that only lead to extensive waiting time periods).

You should be at the table (not to talk) but to observe and GAUGE INTENT of the seller.

Being the one actively haggling puts you in a blind spot (as using your voice provides inflection to your intent), but being a silent observer provides you a non-emotional way to gauge seller intent.

BTW - On a $million transaction, I agree you should not be winging it on your own. And having council (a broker or an attorney) at the table chatting away is okay, but for Pete's sake... it's your money!! And if you don't have the skills to gauge (weigh) seller intent or behavior, then it's also likely you will be clueless gauging BUYER INTENT on the back end when you go to sell your new $1M trophy. Therefore, think very clearly about your skills set before hiring a bunch of "pros" (consultants who make a living off other people) to handle your investing.

Your goals for 2019 are clear and articulate - the 1st step to success - my only recommendation is when it comes to spending your money on high ticket items - have a direct line of sight on the sellers view & behavior during the negotiations. A broker (or lawyer) rarely risk their own money during these transactions and CERTAINLY ensure their risk is mitigated (while their gain is always additional cash flow).

A $1M deal is not an email volley, it should be a professional face-to-face transaction.

-Cougar

ps: Best of luck with your business. It looks like 2019 will be an exciting time for you.

I would set a time limit. But I wouldn't put $1m to a single domain unless my net worth is $100m.

One last word:

Whatever domain name that you buy make sure that you can put it to some good use and recoup your money quickly. Things can change fast when AI based smart assistants start using the internet on behalf of humans. Domain names were created because humans could not remember IP addresses but smart assistants are not going to have that problem. IMO

My humble suggestion: do yourself a favor and pass that on. $1M for a domain is absolutely crazy and in the realm of end-users, not domainers.

unless the domain you want is toptop.... .top that everyone knows is the most expensive domain in the world.