Hi all,
Iโve been reading this thread (although I didnโt read each and every post), but as I see many people have questions, Iโve decided to take a few minutes to share my experience and I hope it will help some of you. Iโve been buying domains and reselling to end-users for a while. Actually, I do this for living, and I can say Iโve been quite successful. I usually by the names on aftermarket and sell them for 10x to 50x the price I paid. Sometimes I hand regg and sell them for at least 10x. Iโve just completed a $x,xxx sale for a domain that I paid $10 last December. Last month, I sold a name for $xx,xxx that I had paid $xxx a few weeks earlier.
Ok, how is it possible? First, Iโve been on the other side, I was an end user, I was in big corporations, so I know how the decision process works, I know how to pitch my sale, and who to talk to. But Iโve been working very hard too, and this is the most important, you have to work hard to sell to end users, since itโs you that are approaching them. Itโs much more easier when an end user contacts you first. But this is not the case. So you have to be very professionnal and you need to have some negotiation skills too (donโt worry if you donโt, you can develop it).
So Iโm listing below some tips and advices that come to my mind in these few minutes Iโm taking to write this. They are not in order of most important or less important, as I said, itโ just some ideas that come to my mind and I put them down quickly. Itโs not exhaustive, there are many other tips that I could share, but maybe later. Maybe some of them have already been posted here, but itโs always good to re-read good advice. And of course, Iโm always learning, every day, so this is what I think based on my experiences that Iโve had up to date.
- Never use a free email account (gmail, yahoo, etc). Get a nice domain like DomainMedia.com or whatever, and use it as you business email. Be sure the domain you are using for your email resolves to a real website. You can be sure that the end user will check your site based on your email. You donโt need to have a real company and you donโt need to have a lot of pages on your site talking about your business. If you do, itโs better, but make sure to have at least a nice page, with a nice logo (you can buy one for $10 here on the forum), and your email, phone number and address. If you want to look like youโve been in this business for sometime, buy a domain here that was registered a few years ago. Some endusers are smater than you think, specially those in charge of domain acquisition in big companies, and they will check the Whois for your website. So if you regged the domain last month, donโt pretend you are an established domain selling business.
- By the way, perceived size does matter, especially if you want to sell to big corporations. But even when selling to SMB it is important to present your self as an established business, and not as Joe Blow in his basemement trying to get some quick cash. Iโve been selling to some Fortune 500 companies and I know they will not do business with you if you are not a credible person or company. Get a toll-free number. I like RingCentral.com. You can have a 1800 number, with IVR, for about $120/year (includes fax). It is worth the investment. When someone calls you, they get the option to choose the extension they want to reach. You can give your extension and choose to forward these calls to your cellphone. Plus, when it is a call that has been transfered from your 1800 number, you can choose to get the call or forward to your voicemail, therefore if you are at home with your kid crying in your arms, you just forward to your voicemail and it looks like if you were not at the office. You can call back later ยซ Sorry, I was in a meeting when you called me ยป. BTW, you get your message by email, which is great. Also, donโt use your home address. A PO Box is not perfect, but it is better. If you can afford, use a virtual office, there are many in in the major cities around the world. Looking big gives you more power to negotiate too.
- Donโt think you will make $xx,xxx sales very easily. If you have a domain that an end user is interested in, and you contact him to offer to buy, the math he will do is the following : Ok, this guy is asking $5X, if I fill a complaint with WIPO it will cost me $X (I have a proof that he has no legitimate interest in the domain, he is offering me to buy it, I have chances to win), so I will go to WIPO. But, if it costs $1,500 to $4,000 to go to WIPO, and the domain is ยซ touchy ยป (letโs say the end user owns other extensions of the domain for exemple), you can offer it at mid to high $xxx, and he will probably buy it. Important : Stay away from trade-marks. I know some companies that even if you offer them the domain at $100, and itโs a TM, they will take legal action, and you will loose you domain and and waste a lot of energy.
- You should always buy domains at the lowest possible price (big news here?). Unless you are really sure you will sell it (itโs rarely the case), you should not invest what you are not ready to loose. If I buy a domain for $100, and I canโt convince and end user to buy, I will loose $100, and even if I resell it at cost, I will be loosing, because I spent my time for nothing.
- I always put in the subject ยซ Domain.com is for sale ยป. Short and clear. In 90% of my emails I always include price too. Itโs your domain, you know how much itโs worth (if you donโt, choose another business), but the important is to know how much itโs worth from the end userโs point of view. So donโt be afraid to include the asking price. Sometimes they will try to negotiate, thatโs ok, and thatโs why you should always ask for more than what you really want. If nobody answers, you can resend the email later saying that you have received a few offers and that you are dropping the price โ and include the new price. Iโve made many sales after the second email with the lower price.
- Donโt think .com is king. I think Iโve never sold a .com. Simply because I couldnโt buy them at a price that was acceptable for me to take the risk to not resell it or to include an acceptable profit margin. All my sales have been .net, .org, .info and some ccTLDs too. If you can communicate in more than one language, you have a big advantage. The endusers market in France, Germany and Spain is very receptive, and they prefer to deal in their own language.
- How to get paid? In many cases, I ask for a wire transfer, and once I get the funds, I transfer the domain. I send an invoice of course. Paypal is fine for small transactions, but never use it for big transactions, and never offer a big company to pay you this way. First, they will not. They prefer wire transfer or cheque. It is ok to accept a check from a big business. But it may take a few weeks, and itโs normal. If the buyer doesnโt want to pay you before you transfer the name, suggest Escrow if he wants to pay the fees, since itโs he that is asking for another method of payment.
- Never look like if you needed to sell the domain (even if you do). If the buyer is asking too much, wants to lower the price, etc, tell him you are going to sell it to someone else and goodbye. But always be polite and professionnal.
Well, I have things to do, I will stop here now. Good luck everyone!!!
