Contacting Companies about domains

[cjcjcj]

I've seen posts on this in the past but I thought people could pool some ideas here on the subject of contacting companies that may be interested in purchasing your domain name as they:
a) Own a similar name
b) Operate in an industry that would benefit from the name.

I'm particularly keen to know what sucess people have had - and whether this is through email.

If through email contact - did you just get the general contact address from the website? and who did you put it for the attention of?

webmaster?
marketing?
purchasing?

 

[RegFee]

Every company I've ever emailed has never replied, so I'm useless to you.

 

[Morgan]

Would like some great tips i currently own 6230i.com which you may know is a new nokia phone getting realesed.

 

[linker]

I have emailed approx 25-30 companies in the past few months. I have recieved only approx. 5 replies, all were "Thanks, but no thanks"... But, it only takes one to make you a few $$ so it is worth the effort...

 

[ApeXX]

I have also emailed a few companies, but usually with no response

 

[ThreeD]

I have emailed approx 25-30 companies in the past few months. I have recieved only approx. 5 replies, all were "Thanks, but no thanks"... But, it only takes one to make you a few $$ so it is worth the effort...

yeah I've contacted a couple of companies, but only about 10% reply - usually their answer is "thanks but no thanks". I still won't give up on fr.com though :D

 

[.Mike]

I have sent a few and had no replies, however I did find that my hits on those domains I offered shot up (100% - 200%) over the next week or two. So I think it might be worth putting a pertinent page up against a domain before you notify people of it ( however I am still not sure what a pertinent page would be :D )

 

[dodo1]

Don't send out e-mails. They're useless if you want to sell a domain name.
My experience is that you have the best chances to get in contact with
a company's management if you call them via phone or contact them via
postal mail. That's professional. Usually it's the only way to get in touch with
the right person in a company you're going to sell a domain name to.

 

[StudioWorks]

I sent around 30 emails when I tryed to sell one of my names. I got 2 replys back.. all negative of course :D

Keep trying

- SW

 

[EbookLover]

Would like some great tips i currently own 6230i.com which you may know is a new nokia phone getting realesed.

Best tip you can get for that domain is...

DROP IT. I believe that it is TMable seeing how it is a mix of letters and numbers. If you contact them to buy it, you are asking for trouble.

==============================

But about contacting companies...

I, too, have had no luck with responses. One company has a domain with "the' at the beginning. i got it without the "the" - a much better domain, of course. They responded telling me that they did not appreciate me sending spam emails to them and that domains with "the" are better than those without it.

I have had 2 other prospects email me tellimg me to stop spamming them, even though I wasn't. I naever send out emails with more than one recipient and I have yet to send out an email to one company twice.

Other than that, never got any responses.

I have yet to try snail mail or phone. Not sure it is worth a shot at this point. I am beginning to think that to most people I will look like some wannabe home biz owner that thinks domains trading/brokerage/realty is a viable business when it's not. Like I said, many people just do not understand...nor do they care to have it explained to them.

From my experience...

1. Many end-users have no clue as to what makes a domain better from the other. They are perfectly fine with their own no matter how technically bad it is.

2. the vast majority of the web surfing community thinks buying a domain for more than reg fees is insane and borders on criminal if you try to sell them for more than reg fees. They just do not understand that domains are the virtual equivalent of real estate.

As I have said in another thread, it is really hard to sell domains to end-users. Your best bet is to trade them to other traders for less money. You get less but you sell more. Of course, you shouldn't sell every domain this way.

Another thing I just thought of today. I constantly get these scammer snail mails from companies that try to get one up on me. For instance. Say I own XXXX.com. i get mail from "companies" that tell me that my domain XXXX.US is about to expire and that I should call them to renew it or send in my money. Well, I do not own the .US, just the .COM. they are trying to fool me. this gives legit brokers a bad name.

Just today I got a similar one. The company claimed that my "search engine renewals" were up for XXXX.com (which I own, hypothetically). They are trying to say that if I do not pay the $35 fee, that my domain will be dropped from the SE's. Again, this could make folks like us look bad.

All of this mail looks like bills some with letters with nice letterheads. they look really legit. I have been gtting them for a while now so I am guessing that there are enough follks out there that actually send them their money.

It is a lot like commercial spam. The only reason why it still exists is because it is still profitable (mega profitable). People buy from spam merchants everyday.

Oddly enough, I have only gotten such mail for domains that I have initially registered at BuyDomains.com. hmmm... Makes you wonder, aye? the mail I got todday was for a domain that I first regged with BD even though I no longer have it regged there.

 

[DavidH]

Well, I cant believe I am that much different from anyone else but I love the responses I get from contacting people by email and to date I have got only a few complaining about spam, etc.

I contact suitable companies which I find from Google and from Whois.sc with similar names / alternative extensions and send a once only email to whatever suitable email address I can find on their website advising that the name is for sale and asking them to contact me if interested.

Mostly I sell to small companies and usually for relatively low end user prices (depending on where the company is - less than $/£/€500 and more usually in the 200-300 range - this still gives a reasonable profit for a mostly reg fee name and IMHO represents an amount that many companies are willing to spend on impulse when you show them the additional benefits of having your particular name.)

The key I find is in the numbers of emails you send. If you send some emails, you might get some response; if you send lots of emails well targeted to companies where there is an obvious link to what you are offering, you will get more response. If you send lots of emails consistently you get lots of enquiries and a few sales. Also remember that if you get no response to emails about one name, try another. The timing may be wrong or the name may simply not be as good as you think. As you make more sales, it becomes easier to understand what companies are looking for and you become more selective in what names you register.

It certainly helps me to have a "For Sale" page and I have got rid of all advertising off it (is the page there to sell advertising or to sell a domain name?). There is only one link on the page and this leads to an email so the visitor can enquire about the availability of the name. In other words there are no distractions from the main goal of the page which is to encourage enquiries.

Be persistent, have lots of patience, be selective about what names you register, dont be greedy about how much you are asking for names and I am sure you will join those who are having success using email messages to market domain names.

DavidH

 

[.Mike]

Nice Post DavidH :tu: Thank you!

 

[FanCube]

It seems in general that companies not are willing to accept offers by e-mail. It also depends on what kind of domain you are selling. For example if you have the .com and the company have the .net version of a domain can a direct e-mail give good results. In general is it better to list domains at services like Sedo and Afternic.

 

[EbookLover]

In general is it better to list domains at services like Sedo and Afternic.

Yes, that is the easy way. However, it seems to me that the VAST majority pf buyers at domain marketplaces are other traders/brokers, not really end-users. Am I wrong?

Yes, that was a good post DavidH. Basically, you are saying to make lots of inquiries to many people and be persistent...the same goes with any type of sales position. Numbers and persistence. Thing is, I get too discouraged when selling domains because it has been rough for me the whole time and I get the impression that most folks look down on domain traders. Oh, well.

 

[Ray]

a

 

[cjcjcj]

Good posts - thanks for your help