How do you buy a decent domain at a good price?

[daj]

Is there an art to buying a domain at a good price? I feel like the only way I can buy a decent domain is if it happens to drop or expire because many domain owners want ridiculous prices for their domains it seems.

Lately I've been trying to find decent .net/.org keyword domains to buy for $500-$2000, yet these doman owners and brokers(NoktaDomains.com / FabulousDomains.com /etc.) are coming back to me with outrageous prices for their domains.

I saw that a .net recently sold for $1,000 for a decent keyword, and I saw the .org was for sale, so I pitched off an email to buy the domain for the price of $800, and was sent back a price of $19,000 for the domain. After telling them what the .net sold for recently, and other similar domains sold for, they never responded back or attempted to counter-offer me.

Are most domain owners and broker companies like this, holding out for some ridiculous large offer that will never happen? or is it just my luck that I keep choosing domains that sellers want ridiculous amounts of money for? And these domains that I'm going after only get 10k-30k exact match searches a month on google. It's not like their 100k+ exact search keyword domains or something.

Does anyone have any tips on buying a decent domain at a good price?

 

[mhdoc]

In the real estate world with which I have a lot of experience the situation is much the same. The rule is "Don't try to buy from unmotivated sellers." Seasoned investors look for the deal first and when they have it nailed down, with weasel clauses so they can back out, they look around to see if they can find a way to profit from it.

The domain world is a little different, but I think some of the same techniques hold.

One investor I knew had the rule "Use what you have, to get what you need, to get what you want." In the case of domains that suggests shopping for serious bargains on good domains that you can sell/trade at retail for the one(s) you really want.

Lots of work I know, but the best approach I can think of.

 

[Kate]

Have a look at the expired auctions at Namejet, Godaddy too.

For example, I recently acquired at NJ:
nameforfree (for domain registration services)
squaremeters.com (for a real estate website)

Just to give you an example, these are not the best but there was no competition, no bidding war. I think these names are brandable. IMO it's $69 well spent. And there are good buys in the $$$ range too, that have resale potential.

Another option is to try Sedo, some names have a fixed price.
I think the prelease auctions are where good names can be had for good prices.

 

[Sparhawke]

How exactly do you get the expired domains at Namejet Kate?

Are they exactly like Godaddy closeouts where you pay a heftier $69 but you are guaranteed to get it? (So long as the original owner doesn't come back to claim it)

I just can't find them lol

I have gone to Namejet.com / Browse domains / advanced search ...should I be looking at pending delete because there are bidders on these?

 

[akcampbell]

My 5 tips would be;

1) Buy from somebody who has alot of something good but don't try to buy the best of what they have.
2) Look for a mismatch. For example, the best .com I have is a British English keyword I bought from a Russian buyer after seeing it go through a US auction without reaching the reserve price.
3) Look where people who don't understand the value of what they have would go to sell it.
4) Do your homework. Somebody may counteroffer high but if you go back with the right response, maybe a historical sale price for a very similar domain, they may come down significantly on price.
5) Be realistic. Something worth having is usually going to cost you. There are some people who will only ever pay 20% less the lowest priced seller will ever quote. They end up buying rubbish that can never be resold.

 

[Kate]

How exactly do you get the expired domains at Namejet Kate?

Usually the best domains are the prerelease domains (expired but not dropped). Those are domains registered at Netsol or Enom or other namejet partners. There are some nice aged domains. Often there is competition, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for a resale

 

[ThreeD]

Are most domain owners and broker companies like this, holding out for some ridiculous large offer that will never happen?

Sadly, a lot of people in the domain industry today, especially wannabe "big-shot" domainers and beginners don't have a clue when it comes to realistic domain valuation.

 

[twomoon]

I'm not an expert but from my point of view (reseler's) to buy a decent/good name you need to:

1. Check and analyse expired (pre-realized) lists
2. Check and analyse dropping lists
3. Check and analyse sales threads on the forums.

There are really many good deals there. Really many.

Me personally, I never had success in buying names by direct e-mails to owners. No matter if it were domainers or "normal" people - almost always prices were crazy high

 

[Name Trader]

Me too. I think because eMailing owners isn't a Reseller activity. Everyone expects it to be an end-user sending the email. Better to stick with the pre-released and drop lists.

 

[aditd]

Have a look at the expired auctions at Namejet, Godaddy too.

I also bought domains from Godaddy ( auction part ). I spend 5$ fee / year and around + 5$ per new domain bought.
Also I've notice that there were good domains under 2000$ ( your max budget ) even on .com extensions.

 

[alien51]

I think in the non-domaining world, the circumstances are almost the same.

For example, I have seen in the news where a celebrity was trying to sell his mansion for $80 million. No takers. After a year, went down to $50M. Still no takers. The price kept coming down until it's up for sale for just $12 million after 4 years on the selling block. Had you inquired about the price the first time, you'd probably say $50 million to be ridiculous.

It's the same with domains. However, domains are cheaper to maintain unlike real estate properties. At 7 dollars a pop at Godaddy, some guy can probably keep a ridiculously-priced domain in the cobwebs for years and not be pressured to sell.

I think you can just be lucky if the domain you want is owned by a flipper or managed by a broker agent who understands pricing. Otherwise, you can just tell the seller to keep your email on hand just in case he can't find a buyer in the future and he becomes ready to negotiate a price with you.... if you're still interested by that time though.