advice The Elusive Premium Domain

TSnow15 · Apr 16, 2021

Hello All - Not sure if there are any other options available to me. I'm trying to buy a premium domain that is unused and parked and was until a few days ago in auction on GoDaddy.

I put in an initial bid that was based on advice from GoDaddy, the seller never responded and the bid expired. I then put in a further two bids 4 times higher than the bid suggested by GoDaddy, significant bids, again on both occasions the bids just expired.

Eventually the auction ended and it just automatically renewed for another 90 days. The who.is information has the domain hidden behind domains by proxy.

Over the last month I've been trying to get GoDaddy Broker Service to engage the owner, apparently the owner/owner company is not answering their emails. I also feel that GoDaddy are not giving it any focus, I've tried to get them to do social media searches to find and alternative contact number, but they're reluctant to and will not give me the owners details to do it myself (understandably).

Over the last few days the domain has disappeared out of auction. The amount I'm offering is substantial and I'm sure if the owner knew they would accept the offer. The Domain is not being used and is just parked at GoDaddy.

The who.is history shows the domain as never being used for commercial purposes, just parked with various registrars. GoDaddy value the domain in the hundreds and I'm offering thousands. I've also offered GoDaddy commission, but they're not interested. Any help would massively be appreciated.

capybara · Apr 17, 2021

TSnow15 said:
The amount I'm offering is substantial

This statement only means it is substantial for you. What if the person owns a Boeing jet?

TSnow15 said:
I'm sure if the owner knew they would accept the offer

If the owner is indeed a seller, they may be receiving your offers but not responding because you are not even close to their desired range. But you don't know that for sure yet, the owner may not be a seller and the domain was in auctions due to some kind of error.

Does the name appear for sale in the GoDaddy search results? Like when you type it, it says "premium" and shows minimum offer?

You could also try checking its whois history (https://www.whoxy.com/), the past records could be without protection. Just if you are going to find a way to communicate with the seller, I suggest you avoid arguments like "you are not using it", because keeping domain name as investment for a seller or just keeping it for an idea of some future project for a non-seller are both perfectly valid uses of a domain name, and trying to devalue it would come off as rude thus not working in your favor.

DomainVP · Apr 17, 2021

TSnow15 said:
I also feel that GoDaddy are not giving it any focus

I sent you a direct message. Touch base when you can.

karmaco · Apr 17, 2021

Did you type in the domain directly into Google? GD is just one place that domains are bought and sold. The seller got the offers but ignored. If you do a whois lookup there is a privacy email that you can write to that forwards to the owner should you wish to contact directly. But to me it sounds like as mentioned above you are not even in their ballpark.

Either way, a simple reply of no thanks could clarify for you. In the sellers defense, people holding domains as digital assets routinely get fake or lowball offers. Some may get many offers a week and the seller only replies to what sounds promising.

GD valuation tool is inaccurate (they all are) and you should not base your offers on it or even mention the tool in any negotiations. If you mentioned the tool that might be one of the reasons you got no reply.

TSnow15 · Apr 17, 2021

Thank you everyone. Whilst the domain was in auction GoDaddy suggested I offer $500 as they felt that was a significant amount for the domain name. I didn't get any response from that offer, so I increased my offer to over $3000 and still no luck. GoDaddy have stated that they cant get hold of the seller through the contact details that have.

When I go tot he link I get a message "This Web page is parked FREE, courtesy of GoDaddy". When I do a whois lookup the sellers details are hidden by domains by proxy, which I believe is owned by GoDaddy. I also used a company called Domain Agents paid the £20 fee and after a few weeks received the below:-

"Unfortunately, after repeated attempts, we were unable to contact the owner to present your offer before the negotiations expired. We have issued you a free DomainAgents credit that you can use to make an offer on a different domain name.

Thank you for using DomainAgents to facilitate your negotiation process. We hope we can help you acquire an even better domain name."

I've tried a whois history lookup, but couldn't see any other information that privacy companies or registrars. I'm not trying to be big headed, by I truly believe if the offer had been presented to the owner it would have at least initiated a response. The fact that both GoDaddy and Domain Agents have had no response to me indicates the owner is not seeing the offer.

FolioTeam · Apr 17, 2021

I think it depends on the name and like others have said, whether the offer of $3k is considered worthwhile by the seller.

You can always try a different name if you don't hear from the seller.

Mike Goodman · Apr 17, 2021

Are you sure the domain is worth the trouble, let alone $3k+, unless you have a very specific use case for it which pushes the value up? A $500 suggestion from GD is in the order of what they would suggest for a name not even worth registering for a domainer.

For $3k you could buy two or three very good domains and make a decent profit.

On the other hand, if the registrant is ignoring a $3k offer there is a very good chance it is worth a lot more than that. Even if they are the only individual on the planet who could possibly think so, it is out of your hands unless you are prepared to offer significantly more.

It is usually possible to trace a domain registrant. But it would take you time to learn how and there are no guarantees. Even if you find them, you cannot force them to sell. There are agencies who would do it for you but how much would that cost? Again, be sure of how much that name is worth before pursuing either of those options.

@FolioTeam has made the best suggestion. Find another name.

likemike · Apr 17, 2021

As it has been said for so many things -- the value is in the eye of the beholder. Domain names have their own value of course. Dot com single word domains are worth big money as are some two-word dot coms. I write about these because I've got a gut feeling that you are trying to buy a short dot com. It's hard to say what the real value of the name you are trying to buy is without knowing it of course. The best thing I could suggest is to get another company to represent you to acquire the name, particularly since it seems like you just might want it for your business. And be prepared to pay more. Whatever the case, best of luck.

TSnow15 · Apr 17, 2021

@likemike @Mike Goodman thanks for your feedback. the domain is 20 characters long. I can seem to get any traffic info on it as its not listed as active on ahrefs or SimilarWeb. The domain name is tied to our company name and you're right we may need to find an alternative version of it, it would have just been nice to own the domain name most closely linked to the company. I've looked for a company to try and source the domain name for us however its tricky to determine which companies are legit and which are scammers. Would you have any recommendations?

likemike · Apr 19, 2021

Mike I wish I could recommend someone for you but I cannot since I have never hired anyone to acquire a domain name myself. As you can see from our website, I'm in the business of selling domain names for e-commerce. However, I must say that you are considering a very long name and the value usually slips with names the longer they are. I wish I could help you more.

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