discuss Got greedy, egoistic and lost a deal

[Arpit131]

I hand registered a domain name recently which was one of the initial few .co domain registration just as an experiment to see if they work for me.
I saw that there were some companies on the same domain name in the country code extensions and I was pretty sure that I struck upon a decent name.
Why?

Because it was a popular term, easy and common to use and could have multiple end users. Having researched a little bit more about the possible end users, I registered the domain name and started with outbound marketing.

I carefully drafted the email for each of these companies and sent them a "Make an Offer" proposal.
Received a $199 offer from one of the leads.
I started with $1,199 and the buyer went upto $399.
With some back and forth negotiation, I stayed firm at $699 and the buyer stayed at $499.

I was willing to take the $499 offer as well and it was only a day after registration, so that was like easy $500.
I didn't give in and let my ego into this. Lost the deal.

Take away: While every deal may be different, if you are willing to accept an offer, take it! It is better to accept an offer and move on to better names than waiting for a small difference which doesn't even matter much.

Any questions are welcome!

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I think that if you are in a position where your idea of domain value and that which seems possible have a spread, never a bad idea to confidentially ask advice from someone you trust their expertise to get a second opinion. You can of course use Appraisal here, but perhaps the individual approach is better.

 

[NickB]

Thanks for starting this thread Arpit - reading through all the replies has been a good eye opener in how to conduct business within the industry. I have been in sales within many industries for nearly 20 years now and closing the deal is always the hardest part!

I wouldn't get to hung up on it - there is always another deal around the corner!

 

[Smiles76]

Thanks for starting this thread Arpit - reading through all the replies has been a good eye opener in how to conduct business within the industry. I have been in sales within many industries for nearly 20 years now and closing the deal is always the hardest part!

I wouldn't get to hung up on it - there is always another deal around the corner!

This is simply not true. If it were, nobody would go out of business. Sometimes, lost deals are gone forever.

 

[Smiles76]

Good thread and thanks for posting.

At this point, I would just set the Landing Page for the domain name with a BIN between $500 - $700 (whatever you feel comfortable selling it for).

The potential buyer might take a peek at the landing page at some point and decide to buy it. And one of your other outbound emails for this name might see the BIN also, and they might go for it.

btw, the idea of "holding firm" reminds me of the story on the sale of Whisky.com for $3.1 Million. If I recall, the owner negotiated several times (over many years). He first offered it for $1,000, then a year later when the buyer wanted it he said it was now $10,000, then sometime later again the buyer offered the $10,000 and he said it is now $100,000. In the end, he sold the name for $3.1 Million. So sometimes even a "loss" turns out to be a "win" -- if you feel strongly your name is worth it, then "hold firm." But for "weaker" names you might as well sell it and move on.... I'm still learning how to identify the really strong vs. the weaker names in my portfolio...

Regards,
DN

The market determines the value. Many domainers refuse to listen to the market that's why they are stuck holding onto domains for years hoping for a sale that will never come.

 

[NickB]

This is simply not true. If it were, nobody would go out of business. Sometimes, lost deals are gone forever.

In sales - there is always another deal around the corner! Some people / companies are not good at sales and will go out of business - if you are not good enough then tough you lose out and go under if you have skills, willing to learn, self critical and learn from your mistakes then you WILL do a deal

I never said in my post a deal is lost forever....just that another will be around the corner - please do not mis quote me

 

[maxtra]

Thank you for sharing @Arpit131. I agree, sometimes a fast nickel is better than a slow dime.

 

[DanBingham]

I guess this is something we all experience, I certainly have and there were times I could have kicked myself. Best advice would be to move on to the next sale. Remember, you own the domain and if your buyer is REALLY that interested, they too wouldn't want to lose out for the sake of $200.

Would they?

 

[golan]

In sales - there is always another deal around the corner!

When you sell bolts, cars or milk - yes there is.

With domains however, sometimes you have very limited circle of potential buyers. And from those, everyone has their own idea about the pricing. So...

 

[NickB]

When you sell bolts, cars or milk - yes there is.

With domains however, sometimes you have very limited circle of potential buyers. And from those, everyone has their own idea about the pricing. So...

The pricing aspect was my own personal opinion (right or wrong).....with sales there is always an angle - in this industry you might/will have to drop names but the concept of another deal being around the corner is still apt - with the right name, marketing, research there will be another deal around the corner depending on these factors and more that I have probably missed out on! - I have tried to be positive in this thread as my own personal past experiences has shown that making a success out of what you do is achievable with the right mindset

I am still new to this industry, still learning - but will be positive about missed sales opportunities, under value sales, no sales and buying rubbish names (see my thread on this!)

Really like the debate around the concept of selling, the industry and it is teaching me a lot - appreciate all the comments on this - once again thanks to Arpit for opening the door to the conversation

 

[Jurgen Wolf]

The low (or even very low) motivated buyers will not pay much for your domains...
And that's why such offers...
This is a principal difference between outbound and inbound.

 

[Bonsu]

i know this feeling of losing sales out of greed

 

[Arpit131]

I understand how you feel. But we should remain positive. Maybe one of your other outbounds will buy it at a higher price. Or you maybe need to do more outbounds, to people who have the term included in their full domain name

Exactly. Will follow up with them soon.

Was this actually greed? Doesn’t seem like it when it’s just $600 or so, and a name you thought was pretty good.

That's a point to ponder upon. However, since the point was to flip it as soon as possible and take the offer that is on table(leaving room for some negotiation obviously), I got greedy and set up my own price tag.

Its all about perspective.

Would we call the guy who sold Cryptogame.com for $85k greed or smart?

Exactly. You need to be a tough negotiator. But the picture is not all the same considering that I wanted to sell the domain name on the first offer I receive.

Quick question:
If You are not completely SOLD on your product that you offered at a random $1,199USD, why do you expect anyone else to BUY IT?

Yes, greed and ego got the better of me. I decided to sell it since the whole point of buying it was to make a quick flip instead of waiting for a month/6 months or a year.

 

[frank-germany]

I hand registered a domain name recently which was one of the initial few .co domain registration just as an experiment to see if they work for me.
I saw that there were some companies on the same domain name in the country code extensions and I was pretty sure that I struck upon a decent name.
Why?

Because it was a popular term, easy and common to use and could have multiple end users. Having researched a little bit more about the possible end users, I registered the domain name and started with outbound marketing.

I carefully drafted the email for each of these companies and sent them a "Make an Offer" proposal.
Received a $199 offer from one of the leads.
I started with $1,199 and the buyer went upto $399.
With some back and forth negotiation, I stayed firm at $699 and the buyer stayed at $499.

I was willing to take the $499 offer as well and it was only a day after registration, so that was like easy $500.
I didn't give in and let my ego into this. Lost the deal.

Take away: While every deal may be different, if you are willing to accept an offer, take it! It is better to accept an offer and move on to better names than waiting for a small difference which doesn't even matter much.

Any questions are welcome!

has nothing to do with ego

but with negotiation

some people will walk away
when you just don't accept their offer
some people walk away because its raining

and I see no greed in $500 usd

it's part of the business
at least since 2 or 3 years

 

[LaunchUp.com]

Thanks for sharing.

If this deal was successful, where would you complete the payment?
Would it be escrow or Paypal?

It' a small amount but you don't know the buyer/worked with them before

 

[LaunchUp.com]

Also, I don't practice outbound sales/marketing. I think it' time I try it.

I am curious if that will mean all low priced sales? few hundreds the most?

 

[LaunchUp.com]

The low (or even very low) motivated buyers will not pay much for your domains...
And that's why such offers...
This is a principal difference between outbound and inbound.

This is my thought too.

Can outound offers ever be great?

 

[frank-germany]

I guess this is something we all experience, I certainly have and there were times I could have kicked myself. Best advice would be to move on to the next sale. Remember, you own the domain and if your buyer is REALLY that interested, they too wouldn't want to lose out for the sake of $200.

Would they?

they would

 

[lock]

I do it all the time but i have bumped a hundred into 2k also. Sure it may be the only bite you will ever get but you tried. It is all down to careful wording in the negotitation.

 

[Max1000]

In sales its good to give a reason for your price / revised price / wanting them to increase their offer. They do want to be shmoozed, just a little.

An example (pretty similar to a real one I've used) -

'Thanks for that offer - its not quite what I was looking for but to be fair, its close. Equally I appreciate you've increased your offer - so thank you.

I've got another customer who I've worked with before who've indicated they could go to xxxx, but they haven't yet firmed up as they're discussing it at Board Level. Could we split the difference between your last offer and their indicative?

They'll understand if it's gone and I'll have to try to find them a good alternative, but I could do the deal now with yourselves at yyyy?'

This way you still have the option and a reason to accept their lower offer if they come back saying they can't / won't increase; but equally, they have a reason to make that final jump....

 

[Arpit131]

Thank you for sharing @Arpit131. I agree, sometimes a fast nickel is better than a slow dime.

Exactly.

Thanks for sharing.

If this deal was successful, where would you complete the payment?
Would it be escrow or Paypal?

It' a small amount but you don't know the buyer/worked with them before

In these kind of deals, the buyer pays you first. And then you may transfer the name. In small sales, this is usually followed.