offers Gonna buy a domain, don't know it worths the offer!

[Mohammad]

I'm going to buy a domain. First time, seller didn't reply my email and second time I offered him $500 for a 2 words .com domain which estibot says its value is about $950. Now, I think I could buy it cheaper and I made a mistake by offering $500. I thought he won't sell it lower than $1000 but now he accepted the $500 offer. How may I be sure that the domain is valuable like $500? Should I take a time and ask a 3rd party (my close friend) to buy it for lower price?

 

[TRY]

Thank you everyone for joining this thread.

First of all, I don't see any unaccetable behavior in myself. I just offered and seller accepted. I think some of you took this so serious. For example, I had experience here in NamePros. A dude won my domain in the auction and he told me if I don't mind, he would like to cancel the deal and I just accepted.

As I said, the seller didn't reply me at the first time so I thought he won't sell or wants to sell for high price. I randomly offer $500 and he just replied and accepted my offer. And I'm willing to buy the domain with that price.

I have my rules and it's my money. I really really don't care what do people think about me here after reading the thread. Honestly, I don't care even 1%. But I appreciate all ideas.

Mohammad

A man's word shows his true worth, in this case seems its not even worth a couple hundred dollars.

 

[Shams]

Everyone has different opinions. I made many wrong deals in past. Even here at namepros. I offered a seller higher amount than market by the time i realize that he already accepted my offer. Which i honor and sent him the money.

It's your money and business. You have to think how you want to play ball. You want to play by reputation or by wealth.

In the last you will only do. What's deemed best for you.

Good Luck and keep us update.

 

[TRY]

Fyi I own Mohammad.us

 

[TRY]

ask the seller if he would be willing to accept less then make him another offer. Can't hurt to try

 

[TheBaldOne]

In this business, perhaps more than any other modern business, a person's reputation matters as we are constantly doing business with people we never meet from all societies around the world, but the thing that is paramount is that your word must be your bond. (Obviously there are times when for whatever reason something might occur that prevents someone keeping their word, but if such an event happens then that persons reputational history for dealing honestly is taken into account - an example is the trader ratings displayed under our avatars.)

If though a person decides not to honour their offer to buy or sell at an agreed price then that persons 'word' is not to be trusted, and as such that person will lose the respect not of only the person s/he has broken their word to but also of others within the business. Here is the dilemma for the OP, should he accept that he made an offer that was accepted and therefore a deal has been agreed or should he now attempt (with no apparent good reason) to get the price reduced to one below what HE offered and was accepted. I personally, like most other members on here I think, would expect him to honour the agreement he initiated by making the offer, just as I hold that I and most others would feel obliged to honour such an agreement if we had made it.

What the OP does will likely have a great bearing on how members here consider whether to transact business with him in the future. Therefore I will ask of the OP one simple question, do you honestly only value your reputation at a few measly dollars?

 

[DU]

Domainers really are weird people.... they claim these high moral ethics while:

• Regularly buying undervalue where possible
• Regularly selling overvalue where possible
• Provide a detailed explanation to unknowledgable buyers of why they refuse to take more than $X for their domain because that's all it's worth and no negotiating will ever change that (not)

I read things like "word is there bond" but do you know how many domainers do the following

• Lie about sales (to the tax office too)
• Lie about purchases
• Lie about traffic
• Lie about NDA
• Lie about their personal scenarios when looking to buy

On a similar vein

• Get an offer on a domain they dropped, register it and sell it (rather than just being honest)
• List a domain at multiple venues when they sign a contract of exclusivity
• Make up a "partner" and a "business budget"
• Contacted a seller outside of an auction to avoid commission
• Contacted a buyer outside of an auction to avoid commission
• Gotten free perks at FLIPPA

Some of the most respected members on this forum have at some point

• Front run
• Shill bid
• Backed out of commitments
• Done things in Private they shouldn't have
• Dealt in obvious TM domains (and defended them)
• Sold crappy ebook of freely available information with "reviews"

I wish everyone would get off their high horse for a change.
I'm not saying you should back out of solid agreements. I'm not saying shill bid or cheat. But damn... you'd think you're all as pure as the driven snow.

I'm sure everyone will (like the last time I posted this) lambast be and say that I'm a terrible person for accusing anyone here of being imperfect but people need to be realistic. Capitalism always fails for someone.

Bottom line is that this is something that you will NEVER know the outcome of so where's your TRUST and BOND then? 99% of bad things you'll never know and a large number of lies you'll never recognize.

 

[TRY]

Domainers really are weird people.... they claim these high moral ethics while:

• Regularly buying undervalue where possible
• Regularly selling overvalue where possible
• Provide a detailed explanation to unknowledgable buyers of why they refuse to take more than $X for their domain because that's all it's worth and no negotiating will ever change that (not)

I read things like "word is there bond" but do you know how many domainers do the following

• Lie about sales (to the tax office too)
• Lie about purchases
• Lie about traffic
• Lie about NDA
• Lie about their personal scenarios when looking to buy

On a similar vein

• Get an offer on a domain they dropped, register it and sell it (rather than just being honest)
• List a domain at multiple venues when they sign a contract of exclusivity
• Make up a "partner" and a "business budget"
• Contacted a seller outside of an auction to avoid commission
• Contacted a buyer outside of an auction to avoid commission
• Gotten free perks at FLIPPA

Some of the most respected members on this forum have at some point

• Front run
• Shill bid
• Backed out of commitments
• Done things in Private they shouldn't have
• Dealt in obvious TM domains (and defended them)
• Sold crappy ebook of freely available information with "reviews"

I wish everyone would get off their high horse for a change.
I'm not saying you should back out of solid agreements. I'm not saying shill bid or cheat. But damn... you'd think you're all as pure as the driven snow.

I'm sure everyone will (like the last time I posted this) lambast be and say that I'm a terrible person for accusing anyone here of being imperfect but people need to be realistic. Capitalism always fails for someone.

Bottom line is that this is something that you will NEVER know the outcome of so where's your TRUST and BOND then? 99% of bad things you'll never know and a large number of lies you'll never recognize.

You can always find bad and good in every industry, doesn't mean you can use that as an excuse.

 

[DU]

You can always find bad and good in every industry, doesn't mean you can use that as an excuse.

I'm not talking about excuses. I'm talking about misplaced self-righteous indignation over a non-issue.

 

[SirDrago]

Some of the most respected members on this forum have at some point

Sold domains for other NP members commission free.

Shared tools and resources for free.

Given their personal client contact info to help them achieve connections and sales.

Helped develop their websites for free.

Shared available to register domain names. (Chips included).

Helped others on "How to" close on their first sale.

Pushed domains to clients before payment to build trust and help them get of the ground including Payment plans.


Your definition of "Most respected" is different from mine.

 

[DU]

Your definition of "Most respected" is different from mine.

No, I do think some of the most respected members of NP shouldn't be so because people tend to focus on the $$

The others I think do some of those things because it's not such a big deal to inflate sales. You'll never make money if you buy and sell on pure value. I'm just saying there's a reasonableness in play.

The vast majority of NP members are great people that do much of what you mention; however, even within that group to pretend that this "your name is everything do the right thing" nonsense is over the top. This is all predicated on a difference between a concrete agreement / contract and just the establishment of a vague offer - bidding on an auction comes with legal terms (it's why NP says you must have a timeline, a method of payment, transfer etc) and just being flexible.

You know as well as I do that if someone offered vaguely $500 and then came back and said no you'd likely brush it off and move on. You'd never force the issue on the offer. I would hope you wouldn't come here and destroy someones reputation etc. You'd take the moral high ground and likely be wary in the future of that individual if they ever came back. You wouldn't castigate the poor guy. NP members are, in general, more forgiving than that. I don't know why everyone tries to then, when questions turn up like this, make it so black and white.

I know that some people are more serious than others. I know @stub for example did sell a name he didn't own and then actually repurchased the name and sold at price at a loss when most of us (me included) would have just said - my bad and chalked it up to an accident.

Point is not that NPers are bad. The point is that that people on this thread are way too preachy about ethics that most of us don't actually practice.

Most members here are awesome. I'll leave it there before I get too misunderstood.

 

[TRY]

The op could very well be a very good person. I may have been a bit harsh, I just think there's a better way. Good luck

 

[namerav]

You liked the domain for some reason irrespective of domain market price, So I think you should go ahead and close the deal.

 

[Name Trader]

Most members here are awesome. I'll leave it there before I get too misunderstood.

It's your double entendres which mostly make you misunderstood [B]@DU[/B] In case you hadn't realised

 

[Name Trader]

Domainers really are weird people.... they claim these high moral ethics while:

• Regularly buying undervalue where possible
• Regularly selling overvalue where possible
• Provide a detailed explanation to unknowledgable buyers of why they refuse to take more than $X for their domain because that's all it's worth and no negotiating will ever change that (not)

I read things like "word is there bond" but do you know how many domainers do the following

• Lie about sales (to the tax office too)
• Lie about purchases
• Lie about traffic
• Lie about NDA
• Lie about their personal scenarios when looking to buy

On a similar vein

• Get an offer on a domain they dropped, register it and sell it (rather than just being honest)
• List a domain at multiple venues when they sign a contract of exclusivity
• Make up a "partner" and a "business budget"
• Contacted a seller outside of an auction to avoid commission
• Contacted a buyer outside of an auction to avoid commission
• Gotten free perks at FLIPPA

Some of the most respected members on this forum have at some point

• Front run
• Shill bid
• Backed out of commitments
• Done things in Private they shouldn't have
• Dealt in obvious TM domains (and defended them)
• Sold crappy ebook of freely available information with "reviews"

I wish everyone would get off their high horse for a change.
I'm not saying you should back out of solid agreements. I'm not saying shill bid or cheat. But damn... you'd think you're all as pure as the driven snow.

I'm sure everyone will (like the last time I posted this) lambast be and say that I'm a terrible person for accusing anyone here of being imperfect but people need to be realistic. Capitalism always fails for someone.

Bottom line is that this is something that you will NEVER know the outcome of so where's your TRUST and BOND then? 99% of bad things you'll never know and a large number of lies you'll never recognize.

I can be accused of #1, but I don't consider that dishonest. It's the marketplace at work. I have never done any of the other things on your list.

 

[Willox Perez]

As many have already mentioned you must honor your word in this business. But most important you have to make sure you learn your lesson and understand the importance of doing your due diligence and make sure to research a lot about the domain and its potential value before making an offer.

Also if $500 was your max you should start with a low ball offer just to see where the seller wants to be at. Potential buyers do it to me all the time sending $20 offers just to get my real price first. I understand you feel maybe if you would have said $200 he would have accepted as well but it may not be the case.

Estibot will give you an idea but you have to base value on more than just that. There is a lot of information on NamePros on how to determine the value of a domain name. Read up! =-D

- Will

 

[kandyan]

I can be accused of #1, but I don't consider that dishonest. It's the marketplace at work. I have never done any of the other things on your list.

I beg to differ... If you know the value and buy it undervalued.. IT IS dishonest..

Every action we make is ultimately our own responsibility, rather than buying it undervalued.. why cant you give fair/reasonable value??

blaming on the externalities (ie.. marketplace at work) is a nice cover ...

"blaming everything else is great.. until you've got nothing left to blame but yourself"

 

[Rahulseller]

you posted wrong offer because estibot cannot calculate value properly
Like some long 3 word domains still shows 300$+ value so it means they are worth nope
the value calculate as per recent sale and search report

 

[thetruman]

I beg to differ... If you know the value and buy it undervalued.. IT IS dishonest..

Every action we make is ultimately our own responsibility, rather than buying it undervalued.. why cant you give fair/reasonable value??

blaming on the externalities (ie.. marketplace at work) is a nice cover ...

"blaming everything else is great.. until you've got nothing left to blame but yourself"

the fact is that buying a domain at a "undervalued" price is not dishonest; you are buying/selling here at reseller value, so you should always have an edge on the market otherwise there would be no margin for profit. People here hold hundreds if not thousand of domains which is a risk and a costly business to run on such proportion. If you put a domain for sale at a fixed price that is let s say a third of the markey value, is because
1)you need the money fast
2) you don't know about market value
Point 2) involves the fact that you are ignorant about the domain market and probably you don t have worked hard and get on top of the market information. Is not my fault. I do not work hard for you.
People let drop valuable domains everyday. So should you email them informing that their domain might be worth $$$$? Why don t you run such a business? You probably will book a place in heaven, but you are a bad domainer in this world

 

[Fliper]

There have been cases where buyers/companies got sued for doing the same thing. My good named friend you should do the right thing and go ahead with sale. You are ruining your reputation here. People remember names when they research sellers. This happened to me once and I marked the buyer email as spam after realizing that buyer was not serious after I accepted his offer through negotiations.

 

[gustave]

I'm going to buy a domain. First time, seller didn't reply my email and second time I offered him $500 for a 2 words .com domain which estibot says its value is about $950. Now, I think I could buy it cheaper and I made a mistake by offering $500. I thought he won't sell it lower than $1000 but now he accepted the $500 offer. How may I be sure that the domain is valuable like $500? Should I take a time and ask a 3rd party (my close friend) to buy it for lower price?

You're the reason I hate this business. I will make sure to never make a deal with you.

 

[NameOmnia]

you should start with a low ball offer

I really disagree with this. Low ball offers only reach the goal to piss the seller off.
One thing is making an offer that gives you margin to resell, another is low balling. The latter is in my view unprofessional and counterproductive.

the fact is that buying a domain at a "undervalued" price is not dishonest;

Agreed. Everyone says " a domain is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay " ( which I do not necessarily agree with ) so what is undervalued then? If by undervalued we mean reseller price that is not undervalued, it is reseller price! If low balling then see sentence above.

 

[Name Trader]

I beg to differ... If you know the value and buy it undervalued.. IT IS dishonest..

Every action we make is ultimately our own responsibility, rather than buying it undervalued.. why cant you give fair/reasonable value??

blaming on the externalities (ie.. marketplace at work) is a nice cover ...

"blaming everything else is great.. until you've got nothing left to blame but yourself"

No it isn't. If I make an offer for a domain and it is accepted whatever the value is. It's the marketplace at work, good or bad. Just like in this case. See also @thetrueman's post above.

 

[DU]

No it isn't. If I make an offer for a domain and it is accepted whatever the value is. It's the marketplace at work, good or bad. Just like in this case. See also @thetrueman's post above.

If we just pretend it is really that simple then it really is that simple, isn't it.

 

[DU]

Agreed. Everyone says " a domain is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay " ( which I do not necessarily agree with ) so what is undervalued then? If by undervalued we mean reseller price that is not undervalued, it is reseller price! If low balling then see sentence above.

Good luck to people trying to figure out the difference between low-balling and offering less than it's worth

 

[Name Trader]

If we just pretend it is really that simple then it really is that simple, isn't it.

Yep. There is no obligation on anyone not to make a lowball or less than it's worth offer. That's up to the seller to decide and to respond accordingly. What is lowball to you might be perfect for the seller. It's the same as all those lowball $1k offers for Chinese CHIPS we keep getting in the mail. You never know the response of the seller, unless you make an offer. You are obviously not going to make your highest offer, your initial offer. It's a process of negotiations 99.9% of the time. There is no obvious "right" figure for any domain other than what the buyer and seller agree on. Even to a third party, that figure may not be "right".