question Adding a price vs using "make offer"

[Hashim]

Hey everyone, hobbyist domainer here that's been lurking for a long time. Apologies if this has already been asked recently but the search didn't turn anything up.

What's everyone's opinions on leaving out a price for buying a domain - i.e. leaving only "make offer" as an option? I'm doing this currently on my all my domains because I feel it makes the domain look more exclusive, and for some of them I'm not even sure where their upper limit is so I'd prefer to keep offers as high as possible. Is there any hard data on how this affects buyer behaviour versus adding a fixed price that might make it more likely to get snapped up quicker? What has everyone seen in the wild with their own domains?

 

[Eric Lyon]

Personally, I've found the following:

• Auction = Low, Mid-range or High Conversion potential (Depending on venue, criteria, exposure and domain quality)
• Fixed Price = Highest Conversions (When priced competitively)
• Fixed Price + Minimum Offer = Mid-Range Conversions (Priced slightly below market value and flexible to go a bit lower)
• Make Offer = Lowest Conversions (many potential buyers are hesitant to make the first offer, not knowing the market value and not wanting to offend the seller. It also has a fear factor, where the potential buyer is now afraid the seller will use their own number against them, when they could have got it cheaper. It's psychological, really.)

Others may have had different experiences over the years, but the above sums up mine when it comes to sales format.

I set all my NamePros landers to Fixed Price + Minimum Offer and monetize them with affiliate/referral commission banners/links.

 

[JB Lions]

Hey everyone, hobbyist domainer here that's been lurking for a long time. Apologies if this has already been asked recently but the search didn't turn anything up.

What's everyone's opinions on leaving out a price for buying a domain - i.e. leaving only "make offer" as an option? I'm doing this currently on my all my domains because I feel it makes the domain look more exclusive, and for some of them I'm not even sure where their upper limit is so I'd prefer to keep offers as high as possible. Is there any hard data on how this affects buyer behaviour versus adding a fixed price that might make it more likely to get snapped up quicker? What has everyone seen in the wild with their own domains?

It has helped my sales, I have them all priced with lease to own option enabled.

I can see some exceptions, maybe:

your top, most valuable domains
a domain that can fluctuate based on what's happening in the world

If I owned tennislessons.com, there is nothing that's going to happen in the world that will cause the value to spike vs....

Fast changing tech like AI, maybe some laws getting passed that could affect some domain prices, if you have cannabis domains. That kind of thing.

But for me, with Make Offer or Price Request, eventually you need a price in order to sell it. So might as well go ahead and figure that out. Those options are basically an unneeded extra step, when you can have that info already out there.

I think of all the things I've purchased in my life, how many started with me making an offer or requesting a price. I can't think of any. I can think of times where I bargained something down, but that started with the seller having a price, like at a yard sale or flea market. Even with the possible exceptions above, your top domains, top real life real estate has prices.

 

[GoDaddy]

Hey everyone, hobbyist domainer here that's been lurking for a long time. Apologies if this has already been asked recently but the search didn't turn anything up.

What's everyone's opinions on leaving out a price for buying a domain - i.e. leaving only "make offer" as an option? I'm doing this currently on my all my domains because I feel it makes the domain look more exclusive, and for some of them I'm not even sure where their upper limit is so I'd prefer to keep offers as high as possible. Is there any hard data on how this affects buyer behaviour versus adding a fixed price that might make it more likely to get snapped up quicker? What has everyone seen in the wild with their own domains?

Hi @Hashim,
From our perspective, pricing your domains is crucial to supporting a good sell-through rate. Domains at Afternic with a Buy it Now price are 3–4x more likely to sell, compared with unpriced names.

 

[fka1080405]

The reason people (especially novices) bristle at the idea of setting a Buy It Now is that they are worried that they are going to make a pricing mistake and leave money on the table.

"If I price my domain at $2,500 and someone buys it, was $2,500 the most they would pay? Doesn't that suggest I could have priced it at $3,000? or $4,000? why not $10,000? or $100,000? What if Google or Microsoft want my domain?"

And sure, that's true, you will leave money on the table with Buy It Now... but you're always leaving money on the table, in every sale! You will never price a domain at the maximum your buyer would pay, whether you use a Buy It Now or Make Offer.

If you chase the maximum price possible, you will hurt yourself more than help: you will lose deals. A fear of selling for too little will prevent you from ever making a sale. You shouldn't chase the maximum or worry about what could have been. A sale is a sale, and if that sale is at a price that's right for you, that's a great sale. Price your domains with a Buy It Now price that you would be happy with.

I sold a domain with Buy It Now today for ~$3,500. Would the buyer have spent $5,000 if that had been my Buy It Now price? Probably, but I don't care. Could I have negotiated them up if I had required they Make Offer? Sure... but I paid $20 for the domain and sold it for $3,500. I am happy. That's the name of the game. Buy low sell high, not highest.

Unless you're dealing with ultra premium domains, always have a Buy It Now. Don't be afraid to make a mistake and sell a domain for too little. Every sale is a win, and a learning opportunity. Celebrate your sales, learn from them.

More broadly, a mistake I think many novices make is they think too much about individual domains, they agonise over every domain's price. You need to get dozens of sales under your belt before you can get a real sense for how buyers behave, it requires experimentation. Change your prices often, challenge the assumptions you're making. The domain I sold for $3500 today... I had it priced at $100 less than 30 days ago.

My current approach to pricing is:

* For the majority of my domains, the Buy It Now is bulk set and works out to be a few hundred times whatever the domain cost me (the exception is high value domains, that I'm actively fielding interest in, which I price individually)
* If I receive an offer that is at least 50% of the Buy It Now then I accept (no countering unless it's under 50% of the Buy It Now)
* Lease to own enabled with a minimum of $500/month (i.e: nobody should be paying under $500/month for the lease duration)
* I list with every marketplace but adjust the prices to offset commission (e.g: my prices are 50% higher with Afternic)

that might make it more likely to get snapped up quicker?

Just to highlight this specifically: price does not influence the speed at which a typical domain will sell. The majority of domains will never sell whether they're priced at $100 or $100,000. A person wanting your domain is the biggest hurdle, and it is unlikely any of your domains will ever succeed at clearing that hurdle. There are exceptions, like ultra-premium generic .com domains but you'll always know if you have one of those domains, because you'll be receiving unsolicited offers frequently.

 

[VadimK]

Don’t go with ''Make Offer'', go with BIN. You'll scare most potential clients off with your ''exclusivity,'' and if anything there is actually worth something, the only people you'll see will be domainers coming in with a standard $100 offer.

''Make Offer'' is only good for exclusive, short, very strong names. If you don't know whether you have those, chances are you don't (at this stage of domaining at least). Go with BIN.

Good luck!

 

[Hashim]

...

 

[Hashim]

The reason people (especially novices) bristle at the idea of setting a Buy It Now is that they are worried that they are going to make a pricing mistake and leave money on the table.

"If I price my domain at $2,500 and someone buys it, was $2,500 the most they would pay? Doesn't that suggest I could have priced it at $3,000? or $4,000? why not $10,000? or $100,000? What if Google or Microsoft want my domain?"

And sure, that's true, you will leave money on the table with Buy It Now... but you're always leaving money on the table, in every sale! You will never price a domain at the maximum your buyer would pay, whether you use a Buy It Now or Make Offer.

If you chase the maximum price possible, you will hurt yourself more than help: you will lose deals. A fear of selling for too little will prevent you from ever making a sale. You shouldn't chase the maximum or worry about what could have been. A sale is a sale, and if that sale is at a price that's right for you, that's a great sale. Price your domains with a Buy It Now price that you would be happy with.

I sold a domain with Buy It Now today for ~$3,500. Would the buyer have spent $5,000 if that had been my Buy It Now price? Probably, but I don't care. Could I have negotiated them up if I had required they Make Offer? Sure... but I paid $20 for the domain and sold it for $3,500. I am happy. That's the name of the game. Buy low sell high, not highest.

Unless you're dealing with ultra premium domains, always have a Buy It Now. Don't be afraid to make a mistake and sell a domain for too little. Every sale is a win, and a learning opportunity. Celebrate your sales, learn from them.

More broadly, a mistake I think many novices make is they think too much about individual domains, they agonise over every domain's price. You need to get dozens of sales under your belt before you can get a real sense for how buyers behave, it requires experimentation. Change your prices often, challenge the assumptions you're making. The domain I sold for $3500 today... I had it priced at $100 less than 30 days ago.

My current approach to pricing is:

* For the majority of my domains, the Buy It Now is bulk set and works out to be a few hundred times whatever the domain cost me (the exception is high value domains, that I'm actively fielding interest in, which I price individually)
* If I receive an offer that is at least 50% of the Buy It Now then I accept (no countering unless it's under 50% of the Buy It Now)
* Lease to own enabled with a minimum of $500/month (i.e: nobody should be paying under $500/month for the lease duration)
* I list with every marketplace but adjust the prices to offset commission (e.g: my prices are 50% higher with Afternic)



Just to highlight this specifically: price does not influence the speed at which a typical domain will sell. The majority of domains will never sell whether they're priced at $100 or $100,000. A person wanting your domain is the biggest hurdle, and it is unlikely any of your domains will ever succeed at clearing that hurdle. There are exceptions, like ultra-premium generic .com domains but you'll always know if you have one of those domains, because you'll be receiving unsolicited offers frequently.

Some invaluable advice here, both for domaining and sales in general, thanks and thanks for taking the time to properly consider the question.

Don’t go with ''Make Offer'', go with BIN. You'll scare most potential clients off with your ''exclusivity,'' and if anything there is actually worth something, the only people you'll see will be domainers coming in with a standard $100 offer.

''Make Offer'' is only good for exclusive, short, very strong names. If you don't know whether you have those, chances are you don't (at this stage of domaining at least). Go with BIN.

Good luck!

Most of my portfolio is in my signature, would you say any of those qualify for being strong enough to justify "make offer", or are you mainly talking about one-word .coms?

 

[VadimK]

Some invaluable advice here, both for domaining and sales in general, thanks and thanks for taking the time to properly consider the question.



Most of my portfolio is in my signature, would you say any of those qualify for being strong enough to justify "make offer", or are you mainly talking about one-word .coms?

One-word mainly, which could be at other than ''.com'' tld, including ''.ai'', but... not these ones, sorry ) BIN.

 

[SpareDomains]

Main reason to price domains is if your using a registrar that taps into Afternic and Sedo MLS network. Your domains will then be distributed across many registrars with buy it now pricing enabled which can make sales happen pretty instant as the broker doesn't need to ask you your price then.

https://www.afternic.com/fast-transfer

https://sedo.com/us/what-we-offer/registrar-services/sedomls-premium-for-registrars/

Personally I try to price anything in the 1-5k range for sure to get that distribution and those can be a one person decision on purchase since the amount isn't that high. I have higher priced domains with buy it nows as well but less likely someone hits buy it now on 50k over 5k as they may need to discuss it with a partner first etc... But anything in the 1-5k, 1-10k range I think the combo of using a registrar that taps into the MLS networks along with being priced can't hurt ya.

Lot of my higher end stuff is make offer as I haven't committed myself to a buy it now yet or had the time to. On the flip side even though I've done very well with my model of quality domains+distribution+1-5k or 1-10k being priced and my higher end domains being make offer or price request I have domainer friends I've talked to for decades who are successful as well and some say "make offer" on everything and others that say "price request" on everything like it's a exclusive boutique and you must request the price along with your Bentley.

So for me lower end priced, higher end make offer. Maybe I'll get bored and try make offer on everything or price request on everything just to see how it compares. Don't think I've modified as if it ain't broke why fix it but some of these friends telling me make offer and price request have done very well so maybe worth a trial but I think it's more of they have quality domains so doesn't matter which model they use as quality brings buyers.

 

[fka1080405]

Most of my portfolio is in my signature, would you say any of those qualify for being strong enough to justify "make offer", or are you mainly talking about one-word .coms?

Domain hacks are very niche. Exotic ccTLDs are niche. A domain being available to register is an indicator that there isn't demand for it. The lack of offers on the domains is a strong indicator that they're unlikely to find buyers.

Assuming you're paying $50/year per domain that gives you $1k/year in registration fees. My recommendation is to set a BIN on all of the .ss domains at $1k with make offer enabled. After the first is sold, you will have covered your investment and you will gain information about pricing: does it take a year to get the first sale? Do you get lots of offers, but they're all very low? etc. You can raise prices for a month, lower prices for a month, experiment. What happens if you price them each at $5k? or $100? etc.

Every investor has a conviction that may or may not pan out. Igor, who registered a lot of dictionary word .ai domains 10+ years ago, probably looked crazy at the time, but he is rolling in money now. I like domain hacks (e.g: I own e.ml) but I would not invest in them. I would be surprised if these .ss domains are profitable (i.e: I doubt they could generate $1k/year in sales) but you could be an Igor, you could be a visionary, you could see what I cannot.

Ultimately, unless you're starting out with a lot of capital which you use to acquire high value domains, your portfolio is probably going to be made up of garbage domains that only a registrant could love. And so, the opinions of other investors aren't going to be very helpful because they don't share your vision. I wouldn't take your .ss domains for free but that means nothing. And I'm sure you wouldn't take (most of) my domains for free either. Fortunately, all that really matters is whether or not the domains sell, and that can only happen with prices, so rip off the bandaid, price them, and see what happens

or are you mainly talking about one-word .coms?

I can't speak for VadimK but in my opinion, unless people are biting off your hand to acquire your domains for at least $10k (e.g: people would be queueing up to buy shopping.com for $10k) then they aren't high value exceptions to all of the rules. You can look at the portfolios of Hilco Digital and Brent Oxley for examples of high value domains.

 

[Hashim]

Main reason to price domains is if your using a registrar that taps into Afternic and Sedo MLS network. Your domains will then be distributed across many registrars with buy it now pricing enabled which can make sales happen pretty instant as the broker doesn't need to ask you your price then.

https://www.afternic.com/fast-transfer

https://sedo.com/us/what-we-offer/registrar-services/sedomls-premium-for-registrars/

Personally I try to price anything in the 1-5k range for sure to get that distribution and those can be a one person decision on purchase since the amount isn't that high. I have higher priced domains with buy it nows as well but less likely someone hits buy it now on 50k over 5k as they may need to discuss it with a partner first etc... But anything in the 1-5k, 1-10k range I think the combo of using a registrar that taps into the MLS networks along with being priced can't hurt ya.

Lot of my higher end stuff is make offer as I haven't committed myself to a buy it now yet or had the time to. On the flip side even though I've done very well with my model of quality domains+distribution+1-5k or 1-10k being priced and my higher end domains being make offer or price request I have domainer friends I've talked to for decades who are successful as well and some say "make offer" on everything and others that say "price request" on everything like it's a exclusive boutique and you must request the price along with your Bentley.

So for me lower end priced, higher end make offer. Maybe I'll get bored and try make offer on everything or price request on everything just to see how it compares. Don't think I've modified as if it ain't broke why fix it but some of these friends telling me make offer and price request have done very well so maybe worth a trial but I think it's more of they have quality domains so doesn't matter which model they use as quality brings buyers.

Great strategy, and getting in the head of potential clients to see how they're likely to behave is an invaluable skill to have for sales, makes perfect sense that for many/most there's a certain cut off that they're happy to pull the trigger on - an impulse buy threshold, so to speak. If you do try that experiment out feel free to post your results and tag me, I'd be interested to see your results.

Domain hacks are very niche. Exotic ccTLDs are niche. A domain being available to register is an indicator that there isn't demand for it. The lack of offers on the domains is a strong indicator that they're unlikely to find buyers.

Assuming you're paying $50/year per domain that gives you $1k/year in registration fees. My recommendation is to set a BIN on all of the .ss domains at $1k with make offer enabled. After the first is sold, you will have covered your investment and you will gain information about pricing: does it take a year to get the first sale? Do you get lots of offers, but they're all very low? etc. You can raise prices for a month, lower prices for a month, experiment. What happens if you price them each at $5k? or $100? etc.

Every investor has a conviction that may or may not pan out. Igor, who registered a lot of dictionary word .ai domains 10+ years ago, probably looked crazy at the time, but he is rolling in money now. I like domain hacks (e.g: I own e.ml) but I would not invest in them. I would be surprised if these .ss domains are profitable (i.e: I doubt they could generate $1k/year in sales) but you could be an Igor, you could be a visionary, you could see what I cannot.

Ultimately, unless you're starting out with a lot of capital which you use to acquire high value domains, your portfolio is probably going to be made up of garbage domains that only a registrant could love. And so, the opinions of other investors aren't going to be very helpful because they don't share your vision. I wouldn't take your .ss domains for free but that means nothing. And I'm sure you wouldn't take (most of) my domains for free either. Fortunately, all that really matters is whether or not the domains sell, and that can only happen with prices, so rip off the bandaid, price them, and see what happens



I can't speak for VadimK but in my opinion, unless people are biting off your hand to acquire your domains for at least $10k (e.g: people would be queueing up to buy shopping.com for $10k) then they aren't high value exceptions to all of the rules. You can look at the portfolios of Hilco Digital and Brent Oxley for examples of high value domains.

You're right that I do believe the .ss domains have at least high 3-figure potential considering what the equivalent .coms are priced at, and how cool/brandable some of them are, but I appreciate the brutal honesty regardless. And yeah, the .ai TLDs are expensive which I'm guessing is why they have such a high turnover, but the right ones still go for decent amounts and I've tried my best to keep mine decent, I bought them days ago so I'm not in any rush to sell and I'm pretty confident I'll be able to do so sometimes in the next few years.

But you're right and I'm also not delusional enough to think they're ultra-premium domains akin to one-letter .coms, I'll need to do some thinking about the pricing for each one.

Great work with the Bluesky stuff btw, I was checking it out yesterday, I still don't fully understand how it works as I don't use Bluesky, but it looks like a solid web app for infrastructure.

 

[Altetra]

If you just expect that make offer will work on your domains, you will be in a long waiting game and receive mostly crumbles, learn to price each domain proper, disable make offer if you know proper domain value or if you can't afford to lose more on BIN by accepting lowball offer, and set a BIN + LTO as combo, Make Offer for liquidation or high valued domains, where you decide how long to hold and decline the incoming offers.

If make offer would be profitable we would see it everywhere in the shops, eg. make offer to buy bread, mobile phone, TV or to hand reg some COM and other TLD domains etc.

P.s. I want to make offer to transfer all my domains at 0 cost and renewals to Godaddy, hope they will accept it or contact me with a counter offer.

 

[Jannes]

Who’s adventurous/desperate enough to try Pay What You Want strategy?

 

[Bravo Mod Team]

Is there any hard data on how this affects buyer behaviour versus adding a fixed price that might make it more likely to get snapped up quicker?

Here's some more data in addition to what's been shared in this thread already: https://www.namepros.com/blog/17-proven-tips-for-better-domain-sell-through-rates.1349455/

 

[AEProgram]

when starting out do what works for most people including huge domains. List the price and lease option. If you don't get sales, try lowering the price, if you till don't get sales, reconsider what names you invest in.

Once you reach the level that you sell 2% of your names a year, you can play around more with what you do on your lander. However, first please confirm that you got the basics down.

BIN's on landers are also good because the potential buyer realizes more easily how quickly someone else can show up and just buy it. We are honest people but most industries would create a lot more pressure on these landers, like

"3 people are looking at this domain now"
"1 person just added name to cart"
"This domain "CarWhatever.blah is part of the 56 trillion a year auto industry making it very valuable in in demand."
"Domain prices 67% lower for a limited time (add a counter that ends in 7 minutes and keep track of users using cookies and ips)"
"92% of people regret not buying a certain domain when they had the chance"
"No marketing will replace the damage of a domain that is not great"
"First time this domain is for sale in 21 years at this price"
"domains like CarWhatever.blah increase 14% in value annually, you can always sell it"
"once someone else buys it, the chances of you getting it to start and go after your dream are gone"
"you are here for a reason, don't add this to the list of things you should have done"
"this domain was listed 18 minutes ago. call 1800.555.5555 to talk to a broker. If the line is busy, please keep trying, this name is in huge demand."
and my favorite "buy now, only 1 left in stock, 0 more on the way"

We can be proud that we are the most honest of all online businesses. Simple, honest information and when we do share a valuation, it usually hurts us more than helps us.

 

[Youssef360]

Ebglobal.com ===== afternic and namecheap

 

[karmaco]

I think BIN on average price to lower priced domains is the best option.

Make offer just brings alot of low ballers and gives the impression you are unsure what price to set.

These guys who collect hundreds or thousands of $100 or $500 offers on domains they clearly won't sell that low are puzzling to me.

You are in this business to sell --not to receive offers that go nowhere.

Domains you want more for or domains that are clearly high value you make those make offer if you are unwilling to name a public BIN price.

 

[nicenic]

Hi, Hashim

Make-offer works for premiums, but fixed pricing converts faster. It depends on your liquidity goals.

 

[SpareDomains]

when starting out do what works for most people including huge domains. List the price and lease option. If you don't get sales, try lowering the price, if you till don't get sales, reconsider what names you invest in.

Once you reach the level that you sell 2% of your names a year, you can play around more with what you do on your lander. However, first please confirm that you got the basics down.

BIN's on landers are also good because the potential buyer realizes more easily how quickly someone else can show up and just buy it. We are honest people but most industries would create a lot more pressure on these landers, like

"3 people are looking at this domain now"
"1 person just added name to cart"
"This domain "CarWhatever.blah is part of the 56 trillion a year auto industry making it very valuable in in demand."
"Domain prices 67% lower for a limited time (add a counter that ends in 7 minutes and keep track of users using cookies and ips)"
"92% of people regret not buying a certain domain when they had the chance"
"No marketing will replace the damage of a domain that is not great"
"First time this domain is for sale in 21 years at this price"
"domains like CarWhatever.blah increase 14% in value annually, you can always sell it"
"once someone else buys it, the chances of you getting it to start and go after your dream are gone"
"you are here for a reason, don't add this to the list of things you should have done"
"this domain was listed 18 minutes ago. call 1800.555.5555 to talk to a broker. If the line is busy, please keep trying, this name is in huge demand."
and my favorite "buy now, only 1 left in stock, 0 more on the way"

We can be proud that we are the most honest of all online businesses. Simple, honest information and when we do share a valuation, it usually hurts us more than helps us.

"3 people are looking at this domain now"

One thing that Sedo does right on the sales page...

"11 people are viewing this offer" etc...