Endusers still don't get it!!!

[Robbie]

Is anyone finding it easier or harder selling to endusers?

Im still finding that they just dont get it!

Especially Sales and Marketing VP etc.

Whats everyone elses thoughts?

Regards,

Rob

 

[Robbie]

Did they come to you first or you too them?

Endusers for the most part just arent interested if they already have a solid web presence. I just sold a 2 word .net that gets around 20k EXACT searches/mo to an enduser for $645 - not exactly a huge price but i acquired for reg fee. Enduser said he wouldnt pay more than $250 but I got him from $250 to $645 with this little response:

"Mr. Enduser,

By owning XYZ .net your company will not have to pay to place ads on Google or Yahoo for the term “XYZ” due to the specificity of the domain and the natural search potential of the keywords; this will ultimately save your company money in the long run, not to mention that domains as generic as this hold a significant value that will only increase with time. If you were to compare XYZ .net to a diamond then this would be an F color with VS clarity, the only flaw being that it is .net – but search engines do not give .net a lesser score when ranking relevant sites, .com and .net are seen as equals and the only defining criteria is unique content, which you already possess.

We feel that XYZ .net is worth at least $750 during a healthy economy but do to the current state of the economy we would be willing to revise our original price of $750 to $645.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Speak to you soon, "

He responded with we will let you know within 24 hours - and he did, he bought it after saying he wouldnt spend more than $250. Endusers love to play games as much as we do - they are running a business and who wouldnt try to cut their costs? I drive a hard bargin and never settle for one of their offers, I ALWAYS counter closer to my initial price; it works out most of the time and I'm sure ive walked away with more money then ive lost.

Good Luck All.

 

[-REECE-]

Yeah, agree. I was negotiating with one not too long ago -- actually forgot to respond to him and then a week later he comes running back begging to buy it for my price. The "I couldn't care less if you bought it attitude" seems to work for me most of the time and to be honest, I really couldn't care less if he would have bought it or not -- my asking prices are usually very reasonable and if they don't want it, I'll usually find someone else who does.

Endusers for the most part just arent interested if they already have a solid web presence. I just sold a 2 word .net that gets around 20k EXACT searches/mo to an enduser for $645 - not exactly a huge price but i acquired for reg fee. Enduser said he wouldnt pay more than $250 but I got him from $250 to $645 with this little response:

"Mr. Enduser,

By owning XYZ .net your company will not have to pay to place ads on Google or Yahoo for the term “XYZ” due to the specificity of the domain and the natural search potential of the keywords; this will ultimately save your company money in the long run, not to mention that domains as generic as this hold a significant value that will only increase with time. If you were to compare XYZ .net to a diamond then this would be an F color with VS clarity, the only flaw being that it is .net – but search engines do not give .net a lesser score when ranking relevant sites, .com and .net are seen as equals and the only defining criteria is unique content, which you already possess.

We feel that XYZ .net is worth at least $750 during a healthy economy but do to the current state of the economy we would be willing to revise our original price of $750 to $645.

We look forward to hearing back from you.

Speak to you soon, "

He responded with we will let you know within 24 hours - and he did, he bought it after saying he wouldnt spend more than $250. Endusers love to play games as much as we do - they are running a business and who wouldnt try to cut their costs? I drive a hard bargin and never settle for one of their offers, I ALWAYS counter closer to my initial price; it works out most of the time and I'm sure ive walked away with more money then ive lost.

Good Luck All.

 

[Burano]

THEY don't get it... as if the .net was going to receive that many visitors
That's one pretty nice example of clueless end user, and there are countless such examples.

See...I don't think they are that clueless. Your .com doesn't necessarily get a higher ranking just b/c it's a .com. I see .nets rank higher than their .com versions all the time - it's whichever page is optimized better.

Yes, type-ins are a big deal for certain names, but not all. And most legit companies will be putting up a lot of unique content and better websites than domainers are...that's where a lot of their marketing budgets go. It's naive to think that just because a company is large that they have hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw at a domain. They have budgets and limits and overhead to pay.

Many domainers suffer from a severe bout of unrealistic expectations. This has been the complaint for years...at some point, people have to wake up and realize that it's many of us who just don't get it. Also realize that this industry has been hyped into infinity - think about those behind it and what they gained from it (and still are gaining). Think hard about that. Think about how little transparency occurs at these auctions and dropped names and the outrageous prices you saw publicized. How many times have you scratched your head in wonder? People - at some point, you've got to realize that many of us (not all) - but many - have been had!

Bottom line - lower your expectations, research & accomodate your expectations, and learn how to properly negotiate. You can still make money - but for the vast majority of you, you're not going to get rich.

 

[bgmv]

Did they come to you first or you too them?

I approached them via email yesterday morning - got a resposn within 15 min. of sending email, so I knew they were interested.

 

[-REECE-]

See...I don't think they are that clueless. Your .com doesn't necessarily get a higher ranking just b/c it's a .com. I see .nets rank higher than their .com versions all the time - it's whichever page is optimized better.

Yes, type-ins are a big deal for certain names, but not all. And most legit companies will be putting up a lot of unique content and better websites than domainers are...that's where a lot of their marketing budgets go. It's naive to think that just because a company is large that they have hundreds of thousands of dollars to throw at a domain. They have budgets and limits and overhead to pay.

Many domainers suffer from a severe bout of unrealistic expectations. This has been the complaint for years...at some point, people have to wake up and realize that it's many of us who just don't get it. Also realize that this industry has been hyped into infinity - think about those behind it and what they gained from it (and still are gaining). Think hard about that. Think about how little transparency occurs at these auctions and dropped names and the outrageous prices you saw publicized. How many times have you scratched your head in wonder? People - at some point, you've got to realize that many of us (not all) - but many - have been had!

Bottom line - lower your expectations, research & accomodate your expectations, and learn how to properly negotiate. You can still make money - but for the vast majority of you, you're not going to get rich.

Well Said Burano!

I really don't know what to add to that -- echoes my feelings exactly about your average domainer and the industry.

 

[bgmv]

Burano, I completely agree with you. To reiterate what you just said just take a look at the sales threads and see the horrific domains for sale at $X,XXX - not even the most motivated enduser on the planet would pay that for these names. Many people think they will get rich from domaining and will have endusers just knocking on their doors offering $XX,XXX for a domain, not very likely, unless you know what you are doing and are acquiring generics its not gonna happen. This really isnt an easy industry to be in, it is pretty much saturated. It took me almost a year and half to learn how to start making money and understand the intricacies of domain names and selling. It is a refined practice that takes patience and dedication, dont expect overnight success.

I must also add, dont be greedy.

 

[Burano]

This really isnt an easy industry to be in, it is pretty much saturated. It took me almost a year and half to learn how to start making money and understand the intricacies of domain names and selling. It is a refined practice that takes patience and dedication, dont expect overnight success.

That's the other problem. Many newcomers still believe it's just about picking a cool name!

 

[copper]

The "I couldn't care less if you bought it attitude" seems to work for me most of the time and to be honest, I really couldn't care less if he would have bought it or not

I had very similar experience like this not long ago.

Enduser contacted me asking if it's available for sale.
I simply replied with it might be, but, I have plan for it.

He came back with $150 offer and said that would be fair since
I didn't do anything for many months and it's just parked.

I replied with brief explanation of what domain means to me
and what I gathered (contents, resources) so far to develop that domain
and I have personal attachment to this particular domain.

I ended up selling it for mid $x,xxx and he wired the money
to my bank acct in 3 days from initial contact email.

I never mentioned how much I wanted for the domain.
He did most of the talking, negotiating and selling.

All I did was made sure to let him know that "I hope you
do NOT offer top $ that I can NOT refuse." and I rather
keep my domain than money :D

 

[trezblue]

I had very similar experience like this not long ago.

Enduser contacted me asking if it's available for sale.
I simply replied with it might be, but, I have plan for it.

He came back with $150 offer and said that would be fair since
I didn't do anything for many months and it's just parked.

I replied with brief explanation of what domain means to me
and what I gathered (contents, resources) so far to develop that domain
and I have personal attachment to this particular domain.

I ended up selling it for mid $x,xxx and he wired the money
to my bank acct in 3 days from initial contact email.

I never mentioned how much I wanted for the domain.
He did most of the talking, negotiating and selling.

All I did was made sure to let him know that "I hope you
do NOT offer top $ that I can NOT refuse." and I rather
keep my domain than money :D

I think that's part of luck too,cause not every buyer will react the same :imho:

 

[Domainace]

Something happened today that made me think of this thread. I got a weird email by some guy posing as just some guy that would like my website - because "he's not good at developing and liked the look of mine." The thing is, my "website" consists of a Wordpress theme, maybe two articles, and a small link to a Clickbank affiliate program that's not even on the front page of the site. It's got a real half finished and forgotten look about it. On yeah...he wanted the domain name along with the site (as an afterthought).

So, that got me wondering. I had forgotten to check on this website. First I visited analytics to see if traffic had spiked, but Google Analytics was not receiving any data. Ah well.

Next I searched for the keywords my domain uses. Surprise there, I am halfway down page one in Google (zero SEO involved). Exact seaches are only 170/month, but it's a targeted business opportunity phrase.

I click through to see where my affiliate link goes (I had forgotten that, too). I find over $100 on commissions earned in the past 3 weeks - from that buried link!

The sweet part - these commissions are being paid to me by a guy who I offered the domain to for $100. He refused. So now, not only does he pay anyway, but he will pay again and again - and I keep the domain. And this is a guy who is steeped in internet marketing and making money through SEO.

So, thanks to the clueless end-users, I have a site that just needs a little extra love and care to be a nice regular money spinner.

Days like this, domaining is like driving a Porche on a road filled with Toyota sedans.

Maybe it's a good thing end-users don't get it.

 

[john_karr]

Great post!

 

[steveteva]

I just saw on Sedo a domain sold to a end user maguro .jp for $1000 and it's a japan site now, so there are some end users that goes to Sedo and buy even from japan.

 

[copper]

I just saw on Sedo a domain sold to a end user maguro .jp for $1000 and it's a japan site now, so there are some end users that goes to Sedo and buy even from japan.

Damn.
That's one hell of bargain price for that domain

 

[Johnwhite01]

This is really a Good forum,Always i like visit this thread due to its contain and useful information about Many more things.

 

[Robbie]

Thanks to all for there input on this thread.

Maybe one day, Endusers shall get it - But remember guys we also need to help them get it!

Regards,

Robbie

 

[akcampbell]

See...I don't think they are that clueless. Your .com doesn't necessarily get a higher ranking just b/c it's a .com. I see .nets rank higher than their .com versions all the time - it's whichever page is optimized better.

I agree, the thing that domainers don't get is that 99.99% of domains add little value to a company. Getting a site ranked is about relevant content, adding more content regularly, optimisation, and backlinks.

Beyond the 0.01% of valuable, volume type ins, .com has 2 advantages. Firstly, age, it seems to be a factor in search engine ranking. Secondly, media interest, if you are going to work the media to promote your site at launch, they like short, relevant .coms. If you have an impressive $XXX,XXX .com or just something that is bang on the buzzer for your site, a journalist or blogger is more likely to pick up on it.

 

[03kentb70]

I just had to phone an enduser today (who has developed the .net version of a .com I own) to tell him he had info(at)mydomainname.com as a contact on his .net site :hehe:

He was quiet surprised that people bought and sold .com domains...because he thought nobody would buy them as there are so many other extensions available nowadays.

I then told him that I came across another website of his by chance while searching through an expiring/expired domain list, His other website is a .co.uk and the .com is now available for reg fee.

He said, oh - it was'nt available when he registered the .co.uk - Lets see if he has the sense to pay reg fee for the .com version in the next week or so.

If he does'nt I just may buy it myself as it fits perfectly for something I have in mind.


What's that saying, you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink !


.

Didn't read the rest of the thread bust saw this. In th UK .co.uk can often be more valuble to people than the .com - most people I know search with the "pages within the UK option". So a .com would have less chance of being seen.

 

[Jaco]

One need only look at ebay auctions with domainers pricing totallyawful-edomain1800lol.com @ $35,000,000 BIN to see the root of the problem.

I agree that there are plenty of clueless end users who pass up golden opportunities for fair sales, but for the most part, idiots with godaddy accounts who laughably overvalue their domains are the real idiots.