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discuss Buyer asking about traffic stats on a parked domain?

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xynames

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Been going back and forth with offer/counter on a domain, and latest buyer offer was fairly close to my original asking, so I am probably going to accept.

On the latest offer buyer asked about traffic stats. I mean, why make an offer and ask a question at the same time. (n) Anyway, I am inclined to answer that this is a parked domain and traffic stats are not relevant.

I checked and to my surprise I did find that one of my domains lately is bringing in about five dollars a day all by itself (not this one that I am about to sell). Surprising because this five dollar a day domain is not my former #1 parked domain that was bringing about the same five dollars a day last year, now that one is #2 and this other one is #1. Just interesting that the #1 rank for PPC for my parked domains has been taken over by a domain that wasn't even in the top 20 last year.

Anyway this one that I am about to sell gets about two visitors a day, which still isn't bad, but not relevant.

I mean these are all undeveloped sites with nothing on them but PPC parking links, and For Sale links going to my landing pages.

The domain name being sold is a great one, traffic notwithstanding. It's going to sell for low to mid four figures.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
I generally just say I don't price domains based on traffic stats, and leave it at that.

Brad
 
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I think the damage comes from marketplaces that show traffic like eg. sedo.

By mentioning traffic when someone looks for domains they imply that traffic is important thus confusing the potential buyer (especially if said buyer is not knowledgeable on domains).

I always believed that such tactic is wrong.. knowing the traffic of a domain prior to purchase is irrelevant unless we are talking about a marketplace that is dedicated to selling parked/traffic domains (eg. Above.com's marketplace)

I think the buyer was affected by what they saw on their search on marketplaces like sedo and was trying to find more info on what that 'traffic' is about.
 
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Yeah .. .definitely weird. If he was replying to one of your counters then I could see it a more of a tactic used to maybe lower the price since I'd think the traffic on most parked domains isn't very high compared to an actual website with content. But if he was asking while making an offer, then maybe he was just genuinely curious or simply isn't all that knowledgeable about domains.

Also .. if it was a keyword domain then I could maybe understand as well (but that doesn't seem to be the case based on your post).

If I were asked that question I'd simply say I don't track that information and that the domain should be considered sold as is without any further promises or guarantees.

That might sound like you're making the domain look bad .. but in reality what you're saying to an experienced buyer (who could be asking as a negotiating tactic) is: "Come on buddy .. I know you don't care about the traffic .. just get on with your counter offer if you're going to make one" .. lol

Looking at it that way, if someone asks as a response to your counter, then it's a helpful clue as to the (probable) type of buyer (an aggressive one).

But again .. in this case where he asks while giving his offer, I wouldn't read too much into it. If anything I'd almost ignore the question. Or here's a good reply:

"I do not give traffic information, as my domains are sold as is, with no promises of traffic (which can fluctuate significantly from month to month based on many factors, including change of ownership and new content)."

I'm sure there is better wording, but you get the idea. Because I think in a negotiations it's better to say that than something like "8/month" .. which makes it look bad on your side (when in reality it's not really a factor either way most of the time for most buyers).
 
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In all my years in the business there was just one end-user buyer who ever asked about traffic (and that one buyer only asked because traffic was mentioned in the marketing).

Domainers may sometimes ask about stats but end-users do not and don't care, imo.
 
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My #1 domain (as far as PPC traffic) was previously something to do with cash. My new #1 domain for this PPC traffic deals with tee shirts.

I actually have received a number of offers somewhat recently on the shirt domain, but none high enough.
 
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<<No buyer wants to waste money>>

I have sold domains for mid to high five figures no buyer have ever asked such a question. This is the first one to ask about the traffic stats on a parked domain. Anyway I accepted the buyer's offer it is in escrow now.

Why would traffic stats matter on a parked domain? unless it is a domain that is worthless except for its traffic, which is definitely not the case here.

I found this article
https://qualitynonsense.com/domain-type-in-traffic/
that shows that of the 1.8M domains parked at Sedo in 2009, for example, only 25 ! got double digit daily traffic. That's 0.001% of the domains parked there. So does that mean that only 0.001% of the domains parked at Sedo are worth buying? Probably ten years later in 2019, even less percentage get double digit visits daily.
 
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Yes, I just ignored it and put the domain into escrow. Now it's up to him to pay, he has accepted the terms already anyway. It is a very good domain.
 
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This thread has been both interesting and informative. Thank you for starting it @xynames and thanks to all the experienced and successful domain investors who have contributed.

I found it surprising that traffic is so seldomly asked. By some marketplaces showing traffic stats it seems to be giving importance to something which does not apply to certain types of domains, and in any case most end users don't much care about since they know the content on site will determine traffic.

I found it interesting that one of your domains that was not that trafficed before is now generating $5 per day. Understand you would not want to share name but could you give general area @xynames ?

Bob
 
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I found it interesting that one of your domains that was not that trafficed before is now generating $5 per day. Understand you would not want to share name but could you give general area @xynames ?
My #1 domain (as far as PPC traffic) was previously something to do with cash. My new #1 domain for this PPC traffic deals with tee shirts.
I actually have received a number of offers somewhat recently on the shirt domain, but none high enough.
@Bob Hawkes ... "XYTees.com is taken" ;) .. lol
 
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Looking from a buyers perspective if I want to buy a certain domain and I see it parked, then I'd obviously request more info such as traffic stats. No buyer wants to waste money and seller should understand and respect this. IMO.
 
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It's a basic marketing question. They only know the CPC and search volume, but they cannot know how many sales/leads a certain domain will bring to their business. But this only applies to keyword based domains, not brandables.
 
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When I'm buying a domain (for resale) I do want to know the traffic. If that information is available, I will check for it. If I'm considering making an offer or someone is outbounding to me, sometimes I do ask about traffic but the domainer usually does tell me. If I'm trying to re-sell a domain, I'd rather have one that gets 50+ views a month rather than 5 views a year.

But sure, it's weird he was late to ask the question after the negotiation. If he's paying low five figures, he obviously has an intention for the domain and the traffic isn't very relevant in this end-user case.

@xynames Where are you parking, by the way?
 
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Traffic is a bonus if it is relevant. Value doesn't come from traffic. Traffic can be zero and domain can still be worth a million.
My top sold domains didn't have much, if any traffic. They may have not been visited by people who purchased them.
Also my traffic domains earn almost nothing even if traffic is 100/day. (maybe Sedo's fault).
Casino domains are supposed to get 100 USD per click. I have a dashless version of a casino site, and sometimes it was receiving 25 visitors per day, but there were no clicks, and no income.
PPC is dead, or PPC providers are corrupt.
...
Where do yo park to earn 5 usd per day? Bodis?
....
I prefer that Sedo uses ppcless landing pages, and has better tracking, and show ip's of visitors and bidders separately. They are wasting our sales potential to create continuous income and free advertising for themselves.
 
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