advice Cold emailing domain owners to sell them similar domains?

[kprojects]

Do you guys follow/search sites like namebio to find owners of domains that are similar to ones that you're selling so that you can contact owners of recently purchased domains to see if you can sell them some of yours in the same niche?

I know I can't stand those emails, but have been thinking about it more and more lately to unload some of mine...

Thanks!

 

[hawkeye]

Now there's a good way to raise the ire against you from those domainers and others, and turn your name to mud in the industry. You can't stand those emails but want to do the same. ...good grief...

 

[johname]

Read up on the threads that talk about this at length: The finding endusers, the domainers spaming domainers threads

Namebio full of people that bought that one domain they want. Good Luck

 

[garptrader]

Do you think that someone who recently purchased a new sportscar would be interested in a similar one?

 

[kprojects]

Which is why I asked - thanks for the responses.. you've convinced me to not go down that road...

 

[cocaseco]

I'd say there are degrees....frankly the emails I get regarding a domain for sale are horribly written and often, difficult to read. But occasionally, I get a well written piece that is articulate, thought provoking and presents a compelling case. Being in the latter group, is not a bad place IMO, but I know it is all spam.

As I had posted in another thread, I am currently test driving Domainero, which is at it's core, a spam machine. Some of the recipients are probably other domainers, though I try to remove them. But, it is generating some discussions so for me it seems to be worth the risk of being called a spammer. But again, I do send a well crafted piece that tries to help them envision what they can gain from taking a look as an end user. As a business owner, If I can gleam even one idea from an unsolicited email, I'm OK with the rest of it. I am completely unconcerned with what other domainers think of the practice. They aren't my suppliers or my customers....they are my competitors.

BTW, comparing a sports care purchase to a domain purchase is an incredibly naive argument.

 

[Beezy]

I do it only when trying to sell a liquid domain, numerics, or something that would interest investors in the Chinese domain market. If they are a buyer in that category, chances are they will be very happy to get another one without having to fight for it in an auction.

 

[Kees Kroos]

I don't do it that way ...but if its your way on you have succes with it you can also use the site zfbot.com

 

[Grego85]

I will only do this sort of thing in certain cases:

If I own the same exact name but in a different extension I will consider contacting the owner about it.

I will send sales pitches to appropriate and functioning businesses with an inferior domain name to the one I'm selling.

That's not to say I don't send out sales emails for domains, I just try to stay away from contacting other domainers with similar names.

 

[Omar Negron]

I will send sales pitches to appropriate and functioning businesses with an inferior domain name to the one I'm selling.

This is one of the thing things I look at to see if I want a domain name or not. If I see several other websites with longer, uglier versions of a domain name that I am looking at, I usually go for it. If a website owns SweetTea4Life.com and you own SweetTea.com, there could be a chance they want the shorter more memorable domain name.

But if you own SweetTea.com and you are trying to sell it to you a car company, then that don't make much sense now does it!?

-Omar

 

[infosec3]

This is something I tried a few times several years ago, but it does not seem to work. It is better to save that energy and time to contact well-established companies, which already have a website. That is where the money is. It works for me very often...

 

[SlimPickins]

to be honest, if once, just ONCE, i received an email from another domainer offering a "similar" domain that was the .com of my .net/org/biz/whatever..... or was SHORTER than my own acronym domain (ie 3 letters to my 4, 4 letters to my 5), and i received only ONE "heads up"/tantalizing offer.... i would probably appreciate it and even answer the email. But that has never happened for me. Almost DAILY i receive, often repeatedly over a few weeks, offers for domains that are the net (or worse) of my .com, or are the same as my 4-letter domain but plus "somethin' special" as a 5th letter................ and often they are obviously expiring domains which they haven't even actually purchased yet. and THAT is the worst part for me, realizing that if I, with my modestly small portfolio, and seemingly high tolerance level as a fellow domainer, receive these emails constantly, it is a fairly safe assumption that many potentially great endusers are inundated with similar annoying solicitations on an ongoing basis to the point that they may not even take the time to sift through them and notice the occasional email of REAL value.

 

[fm1234]

It can't hurt to look up the owners. If they are end users, eg. a bank that owns a portfolio of finance generics, and you have a quality finance generic, then by all means contact them. But chasing after brandables and geos and such, or chasing after non-portfolio holders, is not going to make you any money.


Frank

 

[HeyNow]

Do you guys follow/search sites like namebio to find owners of domains that are similar to ones that you're selling so that you can contact owners of recently purchased domains to see if you can sell them some of yours in the same niche?

I know I can't stand those emails, but have been thinking about it more and more lately to unload some of mine...

Thanks!

Go ahead, add to the stench that's permeated the domain industry. Perhaps if you're annoying and ethically-challenged enough, and if you're an auction cheat, you'll be asked to be a guest speaker at any of the hackneyed domainer conventions designed to separate naive domainers from their money.

 

[DomainGist]

I think emailing a BUSINESS with an offer for a VERY GOOD and HIGHLY RELEVANT domain which there is a VERY good chance they will be interested in is fair game.

But you find those businesses via GOOGLE.

And even then, why email? Why not pluck up the balls to pick up the phone (during business hours)?

I've had much better success on the phone.

 

[iowadawg]

Such emails go to my spam folder.
Enough said.

 

[S-B]

Go ahead, add to the stench that's permeated the domain industry. Perhaps if you're annoying and ethically-challenged enough, and if you're an auction cheat, you'll be asked to be a guest speaker at any of the hackneyed domainer conventions designed to separate naive domainers from their money.

Thanks. This stuff never gets old. :D

 

[phantasmagoria]

Never thought of that, but that's digging deep imo, why not though if it works. Only time my offers usually work is if I get a dot.net for a business that has their main site on a non .com. example, main site .us, offer .net, id say for me it has been 50/50 so far, and usually also half the time the only reason they got a .us (example) is because all other extensions were taken, but dot nets drop like flies all the time, that's when you go there and register it. NO TM issues are also being violated, it has to be generic, there are many generics companies btw

 

[Maxwell]

Wouldn't do it, emails like this almost always come off as spammy...

 

[HeyNow]

Thanks. This stuff never gets old. :D

Of course not. You and those of your ilk are a huge part of the problem. Go ahead, have another beer.

 

[S-B]

Of course not. You and those of your ilk are a huge part of the problem. Go ahead, have another beer.

I'm drinking Don Julio on the rocks, thank you.

 

[Omar Negron]

Almost DAILY i receive, often repeatedly over a few weeks, offers for domains that are the net (or worse) of my .com, or are the same as my 4-letter domain but plus "somethin' special" as a 5th letter..........

Yeah, I think this is part of the problem. We have to think rationally for a sec. Why would someone want a .net version of their name or a .org or .info or w.e, if they have the best version. Only way they could possibly want an inferior extension is if they want to complete eat up all possible competitive domains and not let their competition have them.

But in this case, you have to have a super generic domain name in my opinion.

I think emailing a BUSINESS with an offer for a VERY GOOD and HIGHLY RELEVANT domain which there is a VERY good chance they will be interested in is fair game.

But you find those businesses via GOOGLE.

And even then, why email? Why not pluck up the balls to pick up the phone (during business hours)?

I've had much better success on the phone.

Good point.

I guess picking up the phone is "scary" to most people. It takes us out of our comfort zone but that may be exactly what needs to be done to sell a domain. I know a lot of the big time brokers def use the phone to get deals done

Only time my offers usually work is if I get a dot.net for a business that has their main site on a non .com. example, main site .us, offer .net, id say for me it has been 50/50 so far, and usually also half the time the only reason they got a .us (example) is because all other extensions were taken, but dot nets drop like flies all the time, that's when you go there and register it. NO TM issues are also being violated, it has to be generic, there are many generics companies btw

Yeah, this makes the most sense. They want to upgrade from their domain they were pretty much forced to get since all the other extensions where taken. If they chose to get a .US and you have for instance, a .COM. There "may" be a chance they want to upgrade to the .com.

You can also let them know you are offering this name to their competition as well. Maybe that would be the extra motivation they need. haha

-Omar

 

[Jen-Sin]

Yeah, I think this is part of the problem. We have to think rationally for a sec. Why would someone want a .net version of their name or a .org or .info or w.e, if they have the best version. Only way they could possibly want an inferior extension is if they want to complete eat up all possible competitive domains and not let their competition have them.

But in this case, you have to have a super generic domain name in my opinion.

It's called defensive registrations and many companies do that to protect their brands and names. Even when you register a name at GoDaddy, they would offer you a bundle deal of other "inferior" extensions.

And you explained it yourself, this is to monopolise the name and not let their competition have them.

 

[eyedomainous]

Domainers can't stand those emails, but do the same thing to others when they park their domains; which raises the public's ire against ALL domainers and turns the industry's name to mud.

Actually, I'm being unfair to the domain spammers... as they are sharp-shooting their spam to thousands, while parking domainers plant fields of land-mine spam that blow-up in the face of hundreds-of-millions. Then sell the de-indexed property to another unwitting soul.

At least the email addys used by domain spammers can't often be sold once they're de-indexed (as the names are so bad). Though, some likely park the domain once the email addy is banned.

Now there's a good way to raise the ire against you from those domainers and others, and turn your name to mud in the industry. You can't stand those emails but want to do the same. ...good grief...

 

[alien51]

I receive TONS of emails like this from domainers all the time. And 99.9% of the time, the ones they are selling to me that are "similar to mine", are actually much worse.

And these guys cold emailing my whois addy, do not even care to check my domain front webpage where it says my domain is for sale.

Why are you selling to me your stuff, when you can see that i'm trying to get rid of my own stuff ??