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discuss Raising BIN price during negotiation

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Hello,

I'd like to ask for everyone’s opinion regarding the following situation.

Yesterday, I've received an offer for one of my domains at DAN.com. It had the BIN price set, yet the inquirer has chosen to submit an offer a bit below it. Before replying to that offer, I've looked a bit as usual through the recent news published for the term standing behind the domain name, and discovered some recent one covering the event that could potentially have the highly positive effect on the corresponding area and increase the domain name value. I've immediately removed the BIN price and am currently in the process of analyzing the probable extent of this supposed impact. Yet the inquirer has reminded me about her offer and was wondering what's up with the BIN price.

So I’ve started wondering myself – how acceptable would be driving the BIN price up in such a situation? The platform terms of service don’t explicitly prohibit this, but how’s that from the point of good business practices, what do you think?

Thanks
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Thanks for the wise words guys, actually no problem at all, just one of the sales. And, that was a really interesting discussion.

P.S. Just for the case - the previous post was semi-ironic :xf.smile:
 
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But do not most marketplace platforms make the domain not appear as available at BIN if an offer has been made?
Forgot to answer that I've checked that, and BIN button was available on the landing page when I've put it back during the negotiation. This way, starting the negotiation doesn't switch you into the exclusive mode at DAN.com.
 
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Hello,

I'd like to ask for everyone’s opinion regarding the following situation.

Yesterday, I've received an offer for one of my domains at DAN.com. It had the BIN price set, yet the inquirer has chosen to submit an offer a bit below it. Before replying to that offer, I've looked a bit as usual through the recent news published for the term standing behind the domain name, and discovered some recent one covering the event that could potentially have the highly positive effect on the corresponding area and increase the domain name value. I've immediately removed the BIN price and am currently in the process of analyzing the probable extent of this supposed impact. Yet the inquirer has reminded me about her offer and was wondering what's up with the BIN price.

So I’ve started wondering myself – how acceptable would be driving the BIN price up in such a situation? The platform terms of service don’t explicitly prohibit this, but how’s that from the point of good business practices, what do you think?

Thanks

Such an extremely grey area.

Part of me thinks that it's not right:
If you're actively negotiating the sale of a domain, in the midst of which you change the BIN price because you only now realized there's potentially more value to be had, that's technically your fault for not being on top of it.

Part of me thinks that it's acceptable:
If the consumer chooses to try and bring down the price by making an offer instead of purchasing it outright, that's their fault for trying to score a deal.

Ultimately I think you have to bear in mind that the consumer made their offer based on the BIN price. However, at the end of the day it's your property, so you can do what you want with it. There may be no moral issues with raising the price, but it might cost you deal.
 
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Such an extremely grey area.

Part of me thinks that it's not right:
If you're actively negotiating the sale of a domain, in the midst of which you change the BIN price because you only now realized there's potentially more value to be had, that's technically your fault for not being on top of it.
Actually not in the midst but right after the initial offer, so the negotiation hasn't been active from my side yet in terms of giving any reply. Though I guess this might be still considered "active".
 
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Actually not in the midst but right after the initial offer, so the negotiation hasn't been active from my side yet in terms of giving any reply. Though I guess this might be still considered "active".

The negotiation process is active as soon as you receive or make an offer. No ifs ands or buts.
 
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Yes, technically you are right.

And BTW, I agree with your formulation, well said.
 
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If a BIN price is negotiated down and a price agreed upon, under the condition that the purchase be executed in a certain time frame, and that condition is not met, I think it is OK to raise the BIN. I did. They bought it. If they didn’t I would have raised it again.

I don’t raise the BIN because I had an offer.
 
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If a BIN price is negotiated down and a price agreed upon, under the condition that the purchase be executed in a certain time frame, and that condition is not met, I think it is OK to raise the BIN. I did. They bought it. If they didn’t I would have raised it again.
Thanks for sharing, looks like a valid case indeed, especially if the further price raise likelihood is communicated beforehand.
I don’t raise the BIN because I had an offer.
The idea of this thread is raising the BIN not because having an offer but because the landscape of the business area standing behind the domain changing dramatically since the time it was evaluated and the BIN price has been set. This change can happen even overnight sometimes, e.g. in my case that was the major news published a few days prior the offer.
However, at the end of the day it's your property, so you can do what you want with it. There may be no moral issues with raising the price, but it might cost you deal.
Elaborating a bit: while I like the pros and cons points in the first two paragraphs of your post, I still think that there are some potential moral issues, that's why this thread has been started. "It's your property, do whatever you want" rationale has to do more with the legal aspect rather than the moral one.
 
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I think you may have said it yourself. Don’t do it routinely, but in certain cases, if communicated - sure you can raise the BIN. IMO.

The ”whoops”-like scenario is tough luck. Comes with the territory. Swings and roundabouts.

If you raise the price because you screwed up you are admitting to incompetence. Bad business.

I think that goes for your example aswell. If you use BIN, set a price you are comfortable with and don’t tvink twice. Win some, lose some.
 
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Thanks for sharing your opinions guys. I've got that, actually matching my own perception. I wanted to elaborate that a bit by using a "crypto" domain as an example - e.g. imagine having a good one listed with the BIN price before the cryptomadness has started a couple of years ago, then opening the laptop one morning and seeing an offer for it below the BIN price, while noticing some high volume sales started indicating the beginning of the uptrend - wouldn't it be OK to re-evaluate the BIN price or just remove it? But I agree that the end user should be frustrated in the similar situation indeed. So I won't go above my initial BIN price during this negotiation cycle indeed, thanks for clearing my doubts.
I think just like your example above somebody sold crypto + game name some months or about a year ago like that and that sale was reported here but I do not remember the exact name. He got an offer on his BINed domain through Afternic and later he sold it to the same buyer for way more than the BIN.
 
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but how’s that from the point of good business practices, what do you think?

I think it is no problem, while u put BIN, u actually give the opportunity to everyone to own that name, it is buyers decision, buy it now(imm.secure the name) or take any risk(like the name been bought by others, like the seller raise the price, like the seller put it unsale...)....of course u also taking risk, u may lost the chance to sell it to this buyer...
 
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This turned out to be a highly controversial topic. I get the points on both sides; yet it's interesting to see members having either the definite "that's absolutely fine" or "that's a no-no" answer to this question.
 
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I think it is no problem, while u put BIN, u actually give the opportunity to everyone to own that name, it is buyers decision, buy it now(imm.secure the name) or take any risk(like the name been bought by others, like the seller raise the price, like the seller put it unsale...)....of course u also taking risk, u may lost the chance to sell it to this buyer...

I actually think Zilla is correct. Ultimately they buyer had the opportunity to purchase and secure the domain, yet passed it up in self-interest.
 
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I think it is no problem, while u put BIN, u actually give the opportunity to everyone to own that name, it is buyers decision, buy it now(imm.secure the name) or take any risk(like the name been bought by others, like the seller raise the price, like the seller put it unsale...)....of course u also taking risk, u may lost the chance to sell it to this buyer...

This is very true.

From my own experience as an end-user (Buyer):

I always weigh this when I'm buying a domain as an end-user. I recently purchased Super//Premiums//com from hugedomains for $3,200. I didn't want to pay this much, but I did a lot of research and found from others that hugedomains rarely gives discounts, and in some cases will raise the price of the domain once interest is shown and they do more research. So I just chose the "Buy Now" option, because the last thing I wanted was them looking up my ultra//premiums//com site or seeing other similarly named sites that were developed by others including super//premium//com.

When I bought Ultra//Premiums//com the prior year, it was a similar, but totally different story. The domain was listed on Sedo with a Buy Now of $915. I took the Buy Now as soon as I could because it looked to be under priced, at least for my own valuation. I could have tried to negotiate it down to $600 or $700, but in my opinion that would be stupid. Risking the purchase to save a couple hundred dollars didn't make sense.

I think it comes down to 2 very distinct absolutes in the domain negotiation process:

  • As a Seller - If a buyer purchased it via BIN, then you (as the seller) ethically need to follow through with the sale if they pay for the domain in a reasonable amount of time. (If it's been a week, and they are potentially trying to sell it without actually making any payments to you first, then that would be my only exception.)
  • As a Buyer - If you (as the buyer) make an offer instead of taking the BIN option, you have essentially made a counter-offer, and you are risking your ability to purchase at that BIN price. As a buyer, you need to realize that the seller can counter offer, raise the price, or no longer list the domain for sale. Nothing is guaranteed once you start negotiating and before any offer is accepted. As a buyer, I've had several deals that don't happen even after a BIN. A seller can simply have too much sentimental attachment, just like if they were selling their first car. You never know...
Many of the opinions on this thread (including mine), focus on the fact that it will look bad, or the buyer will take offense if you raise the BIN price or retract it. Guess what? They will for sure. So you need to make the decision whether you are going to follow through with the gut wrenching sale, or increase the price to what it's worth at today's valuation. You'll either lose the sale (most likely), or find out how much the buyer really wants the domain.

Examples

Look at it this way. Let's say you had an old 1968 Ford Bronco parked outside with a "for sale" sign on it for the last 10 years with a price of $6,000. In the last 10 years, the value on these vehicles went from $6,000 to $20,000. If a buyer knowingly comes to you negotiating off the $6,000 price, when they know that the value to them (and the market) is closer to $20,000, are you really going to feel bad for this person? Domains are usually the same. In my buying scenarios above, I fully knew what the domains were worth to me because of my plans for them. So don't feel bad for me if I make a stupid move and try to undercut your already low price. Trust me, these buyer's are not worrying about you when they give you 1/5 of the domain's value.

For me, this happens 1-2 times per year where a domain is under-priced and I disengage when an offer is received (usually low-ball) and subsequently I increase the price. Up until last year, I would more often get the gut-wrenching "Buy Now" sale where I underpriced a domain 5-10 times a year. But I've since fixed this for most of my domains now by updating the prices more regularly.

My most recent example of a similar scenario was this year when I received an email in April asking about the price on one of my brandable domains. I looked at the domain, and it had a BIN of $7,450 on the landing page. I did some research and found that there were at least 3 companies now using this brandable name for their business. So, not knowing if person inquiring ever saw my landing page, I updated the price to $24,500 and sent them a reply. I knew that if they had previously saw the price, there was a 90% chance the sale was dead. That was fine with me. Three weeks later I received an offer of $5,000 from a different email address. I said we needed to stick close to the asking price on the domain, and they came back at $10,000 within 4 hours. Negotiations stalled and I came back at $15,000. We closed at this price 3 months later in August. The company wasn't even 1 of the 3 companies currently using the name. It was a new 4th company that was running under under the same brandable domain in a different industry.

Summary

So, in my opinion as long as an agreement hasn't been reached, you can do whatever you want. But to avoid this, I just try to keep my prices updated more regularly.

If you feel more speculative on the future of a particular domain, overprice it. If you price it at $25,000 instead of $2,500 you're still likely to get an offer from a serious buyer and you can evaluate the value at that time. But if you start with a BIN of $2,500 on your favorite domains, you'll rarely get more than that $2,500.
 
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@NameBuyer.com:
Thanks a lot for taking time to share your experience in such a detailed answer. Great points.
 
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I can not find the thread, (perhaps someone else can, 1.5-2 years ago?) but there was someone here who had a BIN set on one of their domain names. It was a good name, I think two words and crypto if I remember correctly.
The BIN was listed at something like $7800. An offer came in for something like $6800. It was a decent offer and not really low ball either. They changed the BIN to something like $38,000 and got it.
It was a rather fascinating thread and I could feel the rush of the negotiation happening. I found it a brilliant strategy in that instance for certain. An offer was made that was serious enough to know that the name was sincerely wanted and a seller shrewd enough to play it out in their favor.
I think it depends on lots of things. The name, the demand, the offer, the buyer, and how much you need the sale.
Many instances where that would flop and would not be the right thing to do, probably more often than not, but.........

I vaguely remember this ..but not the name nore niche, but Crypto sounds about right time frame.

Would Love to read/ find the thread anyone recall it ??????
 
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Interestingly enough it seems HD at least will do so in some cases and warns you about it in their FAQs

qa_q.png
Are the prices listed on HugeDomains.com negotiable and does HugeDomains
accept offers?
qa_a.png
HugeDomains will always consider your offer; however, our pricing may or may not be negotiable, depending upon the domain itself. The value of a domain is based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: comparable sales, the length of the domain, and the meaning behind the name itself. When approaching HugeDomains with an offer, you are asking us to manually review the price of the domain. In doing so, we may determine that we are willing to accept less than our asking price. In some cases, we will determine that we are not willing to accept less than our asking price, and on the rare occasion, we will discover that our asking price is too low.

All of our Payment Plan options are always for the list price of the domain name. Any discounted offer amounts you receive are only available when you purchase the domain in full. We are unable to offer you a discount and a payment plan on a domain name, it is one or the other.
(emphasis added)
 
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It's not right to increase bin offer if they already accept the Bin price. If it still in the bargain process I think then it's ok, but what about those non-payers in Dan? they wouldn't get any penalty when not paying their offer.
 
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