advice A little sales inspiration from lowball to sale

[inforg]

a lot of threads about lowball offers that don't want to spend any money. I was able to turn one into an X,XXX sale today.

Inquiry came in with low XXX offer. I responded with my full asking price. They emailed back the usual about not being anywhere close to budget but thanks anyway.

I replied and asked if a payment plan could help them increase their budget. They replied back asking for details and I gave them a 12 month plan with each payment being the amount they offered.

They accepted and I received the first payment and pointed the name servers over. Full ownership won't transfer until paid in full.

Don't give up on a potential sale too quickly or blow people off with a low starting offer. Sometimes you can get the deal done.

 

[Nattydomain]

Not sure how I feel about this one as they could just "rent the name" for a while and if they did not like what they see they saved thousands of dollars and you still have the domain. By pointing the nameservers over they got what they wanted...use of the domain but you may still be out future money AND the domain to boot.

 

[hxp]

Not sure how I feel about this one as they could just "rent the name" for a while and if they did not like what they see they saved thousands of dollars and you still have the domain. By pointing the nameservers over they got what they wanted...use of the domain but you may still be out future money AND the domain to boot.

Usually you have a legal agreement in place, to deter these kinds of issues. It covers cancellation fees, how the domain is to be used, date/method of payments, etc.

 

[mhdoc]

Not sure how I feel about this one as they could just "rent the name" for a while and if they did not like what they see they saved thousands of dollars and you still have the domain. By pointing the nameservers over they got what they wanted...use of the domain but you may still be out future money AND the domain to boot.

How would he be out the domain if he holds it until payment in full? I assume he has some language in a contract that says all rights revert if payment in full is not made on time.

 

[infosec3]

I think this is a good move. The name was not generating any money anyways, therefore, a monthly payment guarantees income. Even if they decide not to keep making payments, at least you got some profit and still have your domain.

In reference to the low ball concept, it is always good to respond. I have also turned $100 offers into $X,XXX several times. Don't let your emotions get in the middle of your business.

 

[Nattydomain]

I meant they could say "well i dont want the name no more so I wont need it" all the while they were just "testing the waters" to see how the domain would benefit the business. So at that point if no contract then he just got a few hundred for the domain and it is back on the market again

 

[inforg]

If they stop making payments, they lose whatever they have paid. No ownership until paid in full.

I'm confident enough in the name, that I'd be happy to lease it at the current payment and keep the name.

The buyer is in a hobby niche where they are very passionate about what they do. He is plugged in to this niche, so he knows the name has value.

No real downside for me on this one. There are situations though where a payment plan might not be the best course. I'm comfortable with this one.

 

[mhdoc]

There are situations though where a payment plan might not be the best course.

I would appreciate some examples of those.

 

[inforg]

I would appreciate some examples of those.

1. Liquid domains where the buyer is speculating at low cost hoping to flip it.

2. Traffic domains where there someone is tasting the traffic and could potentially affect the traffic/revenue through sketchy use.

3. Where my investment in the name isn't recouped or more with first payment.

4. Where buyer seems shady.

5. Where payments/price are too low to justify the hassle.

I'm sure there are more.

 

[joethrows]

I meant they could say "well i dont want the name no more so I wont need it" all the while they were just "testing the waters" to see how the domain would benefit the business. So at that point if no contract then he just got a few hundred for the domain and it is back on the market again

you say that like it's a bad thing.

 

[bonavee]

1. Liquid domains where the buyer is speculating at low cost hoping to flip it.

2. Traffic domains where there someone is tasting the traffic and could potentially affect the traffic/revenue through sketchy use.

3. Where my investment in the name isn't recouped or more with first payment.

4. Where buyer seems shady.

5. Where payments/price are too low to justify the hassle.

I'm sure there are more.

Spot on!

 

[AEProgram]

Great move!

 

[Blueforever]

What's the average monthly rental on a domain. $50 bucks or $500

 

[Respondent]

Question. What happens if the "potential buyer" uses the domain for illegal activities (spamming, phishing, etc) and gets the domain name blacklisted in various ways? Then what happens to the value of that domain name?

 

[Genius327]

a lot of threads about lowball offers that don't want to spend any money. I was able to turn one into an X,XXX sale today.

Inquiry came in with low XXX offer. I responded with my full asking price. They emailed back the usual about not being anywhere close to budget but thanks anyway.

I replied and asked if a payment plan could help them increase their budget. They replied back asking for details and I gave them a 12 month plan with each payment being the amount they offered.

They accepted and I received the first payment and pointed the name servers over. Full ownership won't transfer until paid in full.

Don't give up on a potential sale too quickly or blow people off with a low starting offer. Sometimes you can get the deal done.

Great sale!

Did you use Escrow.com for creating the payment plan or something else?

 

[inforg]

Great sale!

Did you use Escrow.com for creating the payment plan or something else?

Some here will certainly tell me it is a bad idea, and it can be, but I created a PayPal subscription link.

I've used it several times without any problems, but i always check out the buyer first.

 

[frank-germany]

Some here will certainly tell me it is a bad idea, and it can be, but I created a PayPal subscription link.

I've used it several times without any problems, but i always check out the buyer first.

I really like that idea
and I will try to clone it

thanks a lot for letting us know

 

[ricksinfoshop]

Congrats man!

 

[ResoluteDomains]

a lot of threads about lowball offers that don't want to spend any money. I was able to turn one into an X,XXX sale today.

Inquiry came in with low XXX offer. I responded with my full asking price. They emailed back the usual about not being anywhere close to budget but thanks anyway.

I replied and asked if a payment plan could help them increase their budget. They replied back asking for details and I gave them a 12 month plan with each payment being the amount they offered.

They accepted and I received the first payment and pointed the name servers over. Full ownership won't transfer until paid in full.

Don't give up on a potential sale too quickly or blow people off with a low starting offer. Sometimes you can get the deal done.

I love the idea of leasing / renting to own (or not to own) domains.

Do you provide a service level agreement which give them a timeframe for which they can expect you to respond to requests for any DNS record type changes? Like NS records or MX records (which is another question - do you permit them to send/receive email from the domain name?) or any other of the DNS record types: Address record, Text record, etc, etc?

 

[SheikhOvais]

Question. What happens if the "potential buyer" uses the domain for illegal activities (spamming, phishing, etc) and gets the domain name blacklisted in various ways? Then what happens to the value of that domain name?

Using a domain for spamming would be a big mess if the deal didn't go well. But it is nothing that could not be cleaned. Sending requests to Google, removing/cleaning spammy Archive.org history, and etc. is a lot of work , especially for non-techie domain owner, but if the domain is worth it, I am sure it is manageable. Still, that scenario would MESSY. hehehe

 

[pablohc86]

Thanks to post this thread i'm really interested to understand how to handle the rent of domain names and how to manage payment and contracts.
Never thought to a monthly subscription with paypal.
Any other user know if there are also other ways?
i don't think escrow have something like that..


Btw yes, i always reply too to all the inquiry i receive also the 1$ lowballers

 

[deez007]

Nicely Done dude....

I think that was a great move. You still have ownership until the domain is fully paid so u have no risk. The monthly payment you get for the domain is probably a lot more than you would have made from parking the domain for another 12 months. If the person pays for 6 months and then stops paying then you still sorted because you would have scored 6 months rental on the domain and still have full ownership of the asset.

Well played!

 

[bazabizo]

Sometimes as well its great to firm reject an offer if its coming form a reputable company and want to pay $500 at most for an xx,xxx domain! Its just an employee who wants to impress his manager that he saved the company $$$$! Happened to me once before!

 

[ResoluteDomains]

...............Btw yes, i always reply too to all the inquiry i receive also the 1$ lowballers

Haha! Yes, I am deciding to respond to a $1 offer right now actually. Quite frustrating especially when the domain makes triple that per day in parking. Ugh.

 

[BrandZen]

Some here will certainly tell me it is a bad idea, and it can be, but I created a PayPal subscription link.

I've used it several times without any problems, but i always check out the buyer first.

That is a great idea! My only concern is a charge back. What if after the 12 months you are paid in full, transfer the domain then the buyer decides to dispute the charges? I know some credit card companies only allow you to go as far back as six months but there is still a lot of risk involved. How would you protect yourself from that?