Business Domain,how to get it???

[Barrybomb]

I am about to open up a new business and have been giving thought to a domain name for it.Naturally,I would prefer to have a .com .

I have several names for other potential interests registered for many years,so I am not an absolute newbie.

My first choice (one word name of the company.com) is taken,and has an established website on it.

My second choice is MY(name of company).com .
There is no website for this name,and I am able to get the registrants name,address,phone and email off of the whois data.They have had it since 2009.

So,in other words,if say the company is called "Tablecloth,Inc.",tablecloth.com is taken and established,but I would be happy with "mytablecloth.com".And the registrant of "mytablecloth.com has had it for 2 years and has no website for it.


So,can you recommend a way to go about trying to acquire it?Strategies to negotiate a low price?How do I tell if the owner is in the domain business?I checked Sedo and it was not listed there.

I appreciate any help I can get to try and get info on the domain and how to negotiate it.I have other options for the domain,and would only go a couple hundred bucks,before moving on.Thank you!

 

[Nathan]

Personally, if I had to have the domain, I wouldn't let on it's for a business, otherwise the owner will see dollar signs everywhere, also don't stress that you NEED the domain - again they will just want as much as possible - I'd send an email first, saying you were interesting in the domain and if it was for sale - Then you'll either get a yes or no, and then can start to offer a figure for the domain. Chances are if he/she has had it since 2009 and hasn't developed it that it may be for sale.

I would start off at the lower end of your budget and work your way up from there based on your discussions.

Good luck!

 

[Barrybomb]

Thank you,Nathan,I greatly appreciate your view on this.

Today,I registered 7 domains that would work fairly well,all vaiants of the business name and the other variants (such as mytablecloth.net,mytablecloth.us,mytablecloth.info,etc.)

I think the .net would be fine,so I am not in a desperate position.The site won't require a billion hits,it is a showcase of work for new clients.

The owner of the site seems to be a private person,I guess I can check the address from whois and see if it residential.

 

[alien51]

If i know that i used to be the only one sitting on top with the COM domain, then all of a sudden all the neighboring extensions get gobbled up and regged from the same registrar or same reg date... then it's a sign that something is up. I'd better jack-up the price tag.

It's a human self-defense mechanism. You probably should have negotiated first, before regging the rest of the domain clan.

 

[Nathan]

If i know that i used to be the only one sitting on top with the COM domain, then all of a sudden all the neighboring extensions get gobbled up and regged from the same registrar or same reg date... then it's a sign that something is up. I'd better jack-up the price tag.

It's a human self-defense mechanism. You probably should have negotiated first, before regging the rest of the domain clan.

I agree, however I don't believe .com is king - When you look at google, sure .com might rank higher if all extension have been optimised but you'll still appear on 1st page regardless, and people will look for you if they want you than the random website find, specially since it's a business.

Even if you don't get the .com, I'd develop the .net and send your extensions to that, however I don't believe you need all the extensions to protect your .net.

Happy Developing

 

[alien51]

I don't believe .com is king - When you look at google, sure .com might rank higher if all extension have been optimised but you'll still appear on 1st page regardless, and people will look for you if they want you than the random website find, specially since it's a business.

Sorry, what i meant with my .COM "sitting at the top", is if you check whois using DomainTools-- it lists the domain extensions starting with .COM on the topmost.

But yes, i agree, based on personal experience, you can thrive with any other extension. I have a dozen .NET websites myself that are doing well.

It also helps that the .COM owner was not developing his domain so his .COM is not showing up on Google.

I don't believe you need all the extensions to protect your .net.

It's a "safety measure" just to prevent any competitor from gaining advantage of the exact keyword matches for the domain. One less headache.

But based on personal experience again, even Google matches the exact keywords in the "Title" portion of your website evenif your domain has a weird name.

 

[Barrybomb]

If i know that i used to be the only one sitting on top with the COM domain, then all of a sudden all the neighboring extensions get gobbled up and regged from the same registrar or same reg date... then it's a sign that something is up. I'd better jack-up the price tag.

It's a human self-defense mechanism. You probably should have negotiated first, before regging the rest of the domain clan.

Lol,that is why I asked others for their take on the situation,very interesting.My thinking was that if I inquired to the owner of the .com,if they were in the domain biz,they may snatch up the other extensions,and then really have the upper hand.Does anyone work like that?

I really don't know how savvy this individual may be.Is there any way to determine if the person has regged many,many domains?

 

[alien51]

My thinking was that if I inquired to the owner of the .com,if they were in the domain biz,they may snatch up the other extensions,and then really have the upper hand.Does anyone work like that?

Well, for one thing, making an inquiry will not cost them anything. If you regged the whole thing and nobody came back to inquire again, then it's a waste of renewal fee dollars each year. You're not even sure if the "potential buyer" making an inquiry was just a blogger looking for 100 bucks worth of domain.

Some .COM owners can be a thorn for people who own the rest of the extensions. Especially if he starts developing his .COM domain. You now have a pesky neighbor who has exactly the same brand as yours.

Is there any way to determine if the person has regged many,many domains?

DomainTools dot com has that premium service. You can trace all the domains regged with that registrant.

Some other free sites can map the association of that domain with other domains being hosted on the same server. Less accurate guess-timate.

 

[johname]

I would return(if you can) those 7 names and concentrate on getting one dot com.

 

[DU]

I would return(if you can) those 7 names and concentrate on getting one dot com.

I agree. If it's a business I wouldn't even focus on keywords - I'd focus on memorable if your overall marketing strategy allows for it.

What I mean by that is - if you're NOT going to RELY on keyword searches then focus on the message that you give your users.

If you think you could benefit from keyword searches then you could develop those sites to ultimately take people to your brand.

I don't trust any businesses that are on keyword domains It's my rule.

I find MyXXXX domains to be cheesy looking and I don't like them. It's a personal thing. I wouldn't want to compete with the pure XXXX .com. You're likely to lose a lot of traffic unless you're really that good at getting established. I'd go with something far more unique. This also provides you with more business protection should the .COM or other owners choose to try to directly compete. Uniqueness is a business' best friend (after solid marketing).

 

[Barrybomb]

Some .COM owners can be a thorn for people who own the rest of the extensions. Especially if he starts developing his .COM domain. You now have a pesky neighbor who has exactly the same brand as yours.




DomainTools dot com has that premium service. You can trace all the domains regged with that registrant.

Some other free sites can map the association of that domain with other domains being hosted on the same server. Less accurate guess-timate.

Thank you for the insight.
I guess I'll find out more,but the owner of the .com registered it from a residence in a large house out in the boonies(google and zillow).They registered with Godaddy.

OK,I'm ready to contact this person.Which method do I make initial contact (letter,phone,email) and how should I say it? What should my tact be,and when do I make a money offer?

I registered 3 extensions of the domain I prefer,and 4 .com of other long winded versions of the company name,that is a fall back.

Without giving it away,the company name is only mildly descriptive of the work we do.For example,if someone sold fresh fish online,they might want to be "Seafood.com",but someone else might want to be "tidalwave.com".My company would be closer to the "tidalwave.com"

 

[johname]

I would return all those other extensions and back up names to have more $$$ to offer for the one name you want

You could write him/her an email just asking if the domain is for sale. This makes sure 1) the person is receiving your email 2)is willing to talk to you, and 3) tells you if it is for sale, before you get down to numbers.

 

[alien51]

If you believe the domain is brandable, and not the weird nonsense types that drop by the thousands everyday, then i think an XXX offer can be a good bait start to break the ice.

Making low-ball offers like 50 bucks, as your opening greeting can be interpreted as 'insulting'. And insulted sellers tend to demand more money.

I've gotten 20-50 buck first email offers in the past. They got dragged straight to trash bin with no replies.

If you inspect the domain sales lists posted on the internet, the bulk of domain sales are hovering around the XXX area. I think it is best not to drag the haggling too much, if he counter-offered at the higher-end of the XXX range. Pay the man and sleep happy.

If you end up confronting a hardball seller, talk to yourself the maximum X,XXX you are willing to go. Remember, you are a company with a business. The price of the domain 'can' be an investment expense you can eventually recover anyway. It's not like you're just going to blog with that domain for adsense income.

In the end, all negotiations lead to an ultimatum. Show you last card offer, and prepare to walk away if things don't budge. No point in cursing at a 'pond scum' like others do, because you'll just end-up feeling like a loser and it will just keep you awake all night.

 

[johname]

would only go a couple hundred bucks,before moving on.Thank you!

I take it $200 is his limit

 

[alien51]

If $200 is the max limit, then you have to go the Full Monty outright. There's no more room for haggling.

 

[Barrybomb]

First,please understand,that the company's website will only supplement the operation and the marketing of it.It is not the driving force,and it will not make sales(but it may help get the sales process going).This is a local business (by nature and necessity),so it will always be a small traffic site.Keywords don't apply.It is a service business.

I believe that company name.net will be fine,but,you know people,they automatically think .com.

However,there is a cable company in this area that hosts lots of the email around here that has always used the .net for their email accounts,so many are used to that.

But,yes,a lost sale could mean xxxx or xxxxx,so getting the .com could be worth more than a couple hundred.But,everything has a budget.

Question is,do I start off with asking if the domain is for sale,or do I offer a low xxx with the first contact

 

[johname]

Question is,do I start off with asking if the domain is for sale,or do I offer a low xxx with the first contact

you see my post #12

First see if the person will even talk to you in an email. Maybe your email will get dumped in there spam folder. Just see if they talk back. They might even give you an offer without you tipping your hand

 

[Barrybomb]

you see my post #12

First see if the person will even talk to you in an email. Maybe your email will get dumped in there spam folder. Just see if they talk back. They might even give you an offer without you tipping your hand

I just sent the person an email,asking if the domain was for sale.I purposely worded it so it seemed as if an unsure high schooler wrote it,not very polished.

I await the response.

 

[copper]

I just sent the person an email,asking if the domain was for sale.I purposely worded it so it seemed as if an unsure high schooler wrote it,not very polished.

I await the response.

I get few of these type of inquiries and I always reply with VERY SHORT words.

"Let me know your offer."

I know these type of inquiries are one of two.
1. Inquirer is really high school kid - no money.
2. Domainer pretending as high school kid - won't pay fair enduser price.

Neither will get my interest, thus short reply or no reply at all.

 

[Barrybomb]

I get few of these type of inquiries and I always reply with VERY SHORT words.

"Let me know your offer."

I know these type of inquiries are one of two.
1. Inquirer is really high school kid - no money.
2. Domainer pretending as high school kid - won't pay fair enduser price.

Neither will get my interest, thus short reply or no reply at all.

Ha,ha,I love to get the view from others from the other position.

I'd be happy to get a response back.Let the games begin!