A domain is just a domain until someone emails about it?

[Chris_C]

Just a bit of a rant, not intended to offend but it might anyways.

*snip and rewrite*

Thankfully noone read that.

The point of the post is that an undeveloped domain is a commodity like anything else. While it is agreeably subjective, an undeveloped domain's value is not based upon who the purchaser is. It's based upon the quality of the domain, the usefulness of the domain, the current market for domains, etc. When I go to buy a car, thankfully they don't ask me what I'm going to use the car for and what my salary is before determining the price. Certainly there is some dickering involved, but the point is that the price is determined before I ever step into the room.

*snip again*

heh, what prompted this? PMs and email responses with reg fee level domains and asking prices of $xxxx.xx ++.

Lately I've got the impression that buydomains has outsourced their autoresponse software to everyone so that immediately IF someone is interested in a domain then it MUST be worth $2500.00+.

At any rate, my advice is determine what you want for the domain, write it down and then try to sell it at that price if you're not doing that already. If it's reg fee you paid, then you shouldn't be looking it as a lottery ticket, but rather a stepping stone to a larger portfolio. Get appraisals from knowledgable people such as the forum here.

 

[Elefekt]

good explainations.

 

[Chris_C]

If someone built a complex for Australians (big BBQ, big built-in fridge for beers, place for the pet Kangaroo) I would expect to pay more for the customisation. If I was a Canadian and bought it and resold it later to an Australian for 50% more...I'd be feeling pretty happy with myself.

big BBQ? big built-in fridge for beer? Save the kangaroo I thought those were standard house features worldwide.... :P

Seriously though, I think most of these posts are describing changes to the domain themselves.
i.e.
all domains are unique
some domains have traffic
domains are like real estate
aquisition took a great deal of effort and time

None of these to me really have anything to do with whether you charge a price based upon the buyer or not. They do indeed change the value of the domain and the subsequent price you should charge. Futher, I'm not going to argue if you have daffy duck emailing you pleading to help you part him with his money. All I'm saying is that looking around at what some of the more successful sellers are doing, it doesn't appear to me that many of them are waiting for a buyer to determine their prices. Smaller marginal profit, more sales appears to be the ticket...

With respect to posting $50 domains at $500.00 for a particular buyer, I bet that thread didn't end in a sale, right?. Either that or a savvy seller sent a PM stating something like "Look, these prices are well overvalued but I have some very nice domains (sdfsd.com, and sdfs.com) that I'm selling for $150"

 

[jj2ii3344]

Nice reply Coastalguy!
My interest for a domain name quickly diminishes as soon as I see the phrase "Make an Offer"!!

 

[armstrong]

Hmm. I guess I can soften my stand a bit.

From a buyer's point-of-view, a product with a fixed price does seem somewhat more attractive, specially if you have no idea how much it is worth. And with domains, does anyone really, truly know?

Since in most cases, you won't know what special interest the buyer has in your name, then fixed price should work best. But (and this happens rarely) if the buyer was stupid enough to reveal a special interest, then the variable pricing would work better.

Think, think, think.

 

[Coastalguy]

I just bought a domain name from a thread that said "make an offer". What's the harm in trying? You either get a YES, NO, or a COUNTER OFFER.

I made what I considered was a fair offer and got what I wanted (maybe I could have gone slightly lower but I can live with that). The one thing that didn't happen was the seller saying "No that offer is far too high, but I will sell it to you for $$ lower".
ST

 

[Terry]

I'm coming in late on this thread, but I'd like Chris to clarify a bit. If I come accross a domain that I like - Let's use one I just bought - EzBlock.com; as a reseller I am tying to figure what the top dollar is when I buy it. (Right now I'm still learning to figure this, so you'll have to indulge my ignorance.) Let's say I figure if I hold it long enough, I'll find just the right company that will give me, say, $1000. You don't have a problem with the high price here, do you?

If I am reading you correctly, you disagree with the reseller that doesn't know what the top is. I'm free to wholesale the name for less, of course. But, what you object to is if I buy it, not knowing what I will take for it, then when EzBlock inc. comes calling, I put a 5k price on it. In other words, I didn't really have an asking price in the first place.

Side note: I'm one who, at this time, does not usually list an asking price. Only because I'm still learning how to price my inventory.

 

[Chris_C]

Honestly, I was more venting some frustration than anything else I think. I really don't like the mentality of an economic free loader, regardless of the industry. That is, some one along the supply chain that is adding absolutely no value to a product but increasing it's price. Or, someone who expects/hopes/wants to get something for nothing or by doing as little as possible.

These people are everywhere, and honestly they drive me a bit crazy. A long time ago I worked in a goodyear tire plant over a couple summers to pay for tuition. In that plant there were 2 types of people, those who worked and those who didn't. In the latter, it was a source of pride to be able to do as little work as possible while still managing to get the job done. I had people ask me to work a little slower, take longer breaks, etc. because it was making them look bad.

At anyrate, my opinion of setting prices based soley upon the buyer is somewhat equivalent to friday night bingo or lotto 649. You can buy 100 lottery tickets and hope that you'll have some lucky numbers (i.e. the right buyer) that will end up giving you *insert_large_percent* margin return on your investment.

Is everyone in the domain business doing this? No, definitely not, some people are making millions.

How about you? Have you got an edge or are you holding tight to some tickets and crossing your fingers?