Domain Name Negotiation Strategy

[richface]

What is the best negotiation tactic when you generate a lead for a domain, find out the buyer is interested, Then the most important part is when they ask how much you want for the domain?

In my experience asking the buyer to make an offer first gets more success.
When I have usually quoted a price first only a handful reply back. And when you start too high is hard to salvage any deal. Start too low and also you might lose out.

Would you show your hand first? Anyone has any thoughts on the best negotiation technique? or advice?

Many Thanks

 

[domainbartender]

I set the prices before I even receive an offer, so that when someone's interested I know how much to ask for.

 

[richface]

Thanks buddy

 

[SlimPickins]

when YOU reach out to buyers the expectation is on YOU to have a price. I personally am surprised that for you

asking the buyer to make an offer first gets more success

that just seems like teasing. They didn't contact you, and thereby put you in a position to ask "what will you offer?", you contacted them actively looking to sell.

When I contact potential buyers I will generally leave the asking price out in the first email, but certainly expect "how much?" replies and not "gee, that hadn't crossed our mind but, now that you have brought it to our attention, we certainly MUST have that domain and would like to offer XXXX for it! Please accept!" replies. If the email is clear, professional and enticing, but without a ceiling asking price which may just turn off someone that MIGHT have been interested at a lower price but doesn't like or isn't familiar with haggling, at least the largest pool of possibly interested will reply. Then I can quote an asking price and move forward from there and, assuming noone jumps on my max price, I can essentially ask for (counter-)offers now that the price ceiling has been established.

 

[GiftedDomains]

after recieving a "how much?" email, IMO best option is to mention that your domains have a "buy it now" price (mention that price), if the buyer wants the domain quick and wouldn't want to risk that someone else buys it,
but that additionally you also have a "best offer" option and that you will also consider offers. (similar to ebay fixed price + best offer option)

---------- Post added at 09:58 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:49 AM ----------

but i would like to add, that IMO there is no "one way of responding" or standardized way of selling a domain to all potential buyers. sometimes you need a "special" way of treatment for certain buyers. this can be different from case to case. this can depend on different things (like who the buyer is, what was written exactly in the correspondence, how much interest, quality of the domain name and your position, how many offers you already have, if any, etc....).

 

[dna]

There is nothing wrong with contacting a buyer and telling him that
your are accepting offers for a particular domain name that
you believe would benefit his business. But you might want
to identify what you believe those benefits are.
Such as, the domain name you are offering for sale is better
than the domain name that his business is currently using
or more related to the product that his business sells.

 

[richface]

Thank you so much guys, I appreciate your experience and words of wisdom. The reason why I am asking this is. I blew a potential sale of an xx.xxx Sale. I contacted the company and they replied and said how much do you want for the domain? and I made a mistake of quoting a high price and also added an offer I had previously received. I said Quote " current offer is xx,xxx but I will be willing to accept high xx,xxx. I did receive one offer before contacting the company but that deal didn't fly buyer said their ceo decided no. Anyway when I sent the email I got a reply to say they will get in touch and never came back. ouch! I only sell a few domains to domainers so just wanted abit of advise on negotiation. Thank you so much for your comments and time guys.

 

[Coopey]

As a buyer, if I saw "" current offer is xx,xxx but I will be willing to accept high xx,xxx" I'd call BS. It doesn't matter if you're telling the truth, by saying there is another offer I'd feel you were trying to rush me in to a buy and that you're trying to legitimise your xx,xxx price with a close-to-xx,xxx price.
There have only been a handful of times when I've needed the specific name I wanted to buy, every other time there have been other options. I'd walk away and go another route.

If you contact someone and want them to buy something from you, give a fixed price e.g. "This domain is available for $700" (and maybe add "...but would consider any reasonable offer") or some sort of ballpark value if you're soliciting offers e.g. "I am looking for offers in the region of $700-$900". If not on the initial contact, then once they've asked 'how much?'
In my experience, sellers who contact you and want you to make the first offer either have an inflated sense of what their domain is worth or no idea what it is worth and want you to do the work.

Another thing, poor-quality writing, especially spelling and grammar, make me cautious and less likely to want to deal with a seller. Clean up your presentation if you want to be taken seriously when you're emailing prospects. If you're better talking than writing, play to your strengths and telephone your prospects instead.

 

[richface]

Cooper before I comment you will be glad to know I sold blackjack.so, cinema.so and diamonds.so for x,xxx. The 3 above were sold to a domain company only paid less than $90 for all three.
I already made my money back. My other stock were sold to individuals also at a profit
I only have 4 domains left
Race.so
Vet.so
Pcs.so
Racing.so

Happy to let them drop. I admit you were right about .so domains as a long term investment. I decided early this year to quickly jump ship. I call it the Flip Fast and Run Technique.


I admit I am no master in every sector of domaining but sometimes risks pay off. I bow to your superior experience in the art of negotiation. I will certainly take your advise. I am angry with myself though not sure if there is a way to salvage the deal. I am a 100 percent certain that should I have excluded "I have a current offer of bla bla" The deal would most certainly go through. I am so useless, the other painful thing is, The company is most suited for the domain name, have you guys had experiences of your deals not going through due to something you did? I would be grateful if you shared your experiences.

Thanks for your time everyone.

 

[GiftedDomains]

"I am looking for offers in the region of $700-$900".

this must be the most senseless reply to an end user.

why? because that means : i am looking for 700 + i have actually no clue what i really want.

don't use this. this makes you look like a noob who has no clue what the name is worth.

you don't want your name to be appraised by the buyer. you want to sell your domain. therefore you shouldn't mention a price "range" !

if you chose fixed price + make offer option, then the make offer option shouldn't include any price range.

IMO!

 

[jacal1]

Good thread and good question. IMO the best strategy is to ask for an offer from the potential buyer, BUT not to push too hard if they do not want to give one. In the latter case just ask for what you feel is a good price for the domain, after getting advice here, looking at comparable domain sales, and considering other offers you've recieved. Remember that the end user may know only a fraction of what you know about domains, and if they feel at all nervous about their baraining position they will disappear.

 

[richface]

I certainly go with the gentle approach. Its a tricky subject though. Anyone wish to share their experiences? How effective is calling? I have never called an end user.

 

[alien51]

I'm an end user.

As a Buyer, the most annoying thing for me, is a Seller who cannot come up with a price tag for his merchandise.

To me, a Seller who opens up to you by saying, "How much are you offering me?" is either: (1) a seller who has a very precious merchandise with lots of suitors to choose from; or (2) a sleazy seller who is testing whether you are naive who will make a mistake of offering a high number that will make him flutter.

As a Buyer, you can pretend to be ignorant and say, "I have no idea. How much are you selling it anyway?". Naturally, the Seller will take the bait and offer a high number. Buyer says, "I can only afford XXX". Usually at this point, negotiations end.

Then comes the waiting game.

If the Seller is the one who tries to contact you offering to slash the price tag, it's a sign that he is having a hard time selling his item. You can then use this opportunity to play your Low Ball cards.

If he doesn't call back, and you need the domain badly, your last card is to offer a midway price deal compromise (presuming his asking price is within reasonable bounds).

But if both of you have an "extreme" difference in the perception of value of the domain (e.g. you think the domain is worth XXX, but he thinks it's worth 50,000), then i have always conditioned myself to walk away and find another domain alternative.

That's just me.

 

[lincolndsp]

if you initiate the contact they have the priority to ask for your asking price first, if they initiate contact you have the priority to hear their offer first.
that simple =)

 

[dna]

The seller never has to name a price.
The Seller does not name the price during an auction.
He does not have to name a price when its not an auction either.
It does not matter who contacts who first.
It does not matter if it annoys Alien.

 

[GiftedDomains]

The seller never has to name a price.
The Seller does not name the price during an auction.
He does not have to name a price when its not an auction either.
It does not matter who contacts who first.
It does not matter if it annoys Alien.

lets get real please.

if you are an average domainer who is proactively selling to end users, you can't come up with this "arrogant" attitude.

if you contact an end user, and he asks you: "how much do you want?", then in 90% of cases, you must tell him your price. you can add a "make offer" option, but without mentioning any price after been asked to do so, the chances are high that you won't hear anything from the potential buyer again.

we have to get out of our little domainer's world and behave like businessmen like in any other business.

the time for the behaviour you mentioned is over.

 

[bmugford]

The seller never has to name a price.
The Seller does not name the price during an auction.
He does not have to name a price when its not an auction either.
It does not matter who contacts who first.
It does not matter if it annoys Alien.

I totally disagree with this logic.

If you are pitching domains proactively, you need to be prepared to price them.

There is nothing more annoying to an end user than someone proactively contacting them, and getting a "make an offer" response when they ask "how much".

Brad

 

[alien51]

I agree. There are two (2) types of Sellers: the Active; and the Passive seller.

Active Sellers are the ones who make email templates and do mass-mailing to "potential" buyers. Obviously, a "Make Offer" approach in such case won't work. It would be like a telemarketer who calls you up while you're in the showers offering to sell you his 3-Minute Chicken Marinader. He's making unsolicited offers and yet has the gall to ask you to bid on it??? Approach doesn't make sense.

Passive Sellers are just sitting pretty. It makes sense if they hang a "Make Offer" sign on their domains. "Make Offer" is a clever way to maximize your profits from someone who will make a mistake of offering more money than what you have in mind. But of course, it goes without saying that you are not in a hurry to sell anyway. You can afford to play your prima donna cards for as long as it would take.

"Make Offer" will also work for domains that are already earning via website monetization. I mean, if you are bothering me trying to buy me out when my domain is already earning moolah, then you should be the one who should offer me a price that will make me drool.

Most of this is just common sense approach anyway. You just have to be tactful on the right occassions.

 

[richface]

I got another question about strategy.
How about first emailing to see if a potential Buyer is Interested.
If they are then a second email is sent with pricing.
The reason why I am asking is, sometimes I send emails out Initially to see if potential buyers will be Interested and most of the time they reply back with an offer, sometimes they will reply and request a price? Anyone of you Guru's use this method?

Or is the most effective method getting straight to the point with your first email?

Thanks Guys

 

[GoQuickly]

I usually will let the end user know that I'm looking for an offer within a specific time frame set in the email.

This A) lets the customer know I have other people who will see it. B) they may not have a chance to own it in the future if they don't come up with at least something.

Secondly, I will and highly recommend post a price you are looking for and would accept as a buyout. This means to them, "Hey if you want to cut negotiations, just pay the set price".

This method generally will only work for the higher value domains anyways though.