I beat the system

[matt_bodis]

Have you ever wanted some low-value domain, but it was in the hands of BuyDomains.com, and they wanted a ridiculous price for it? Well, I just recently bought a domain from them for half their asking price.

The domain in mind was a unique 5-letter .com, which I liked but had no meaning and no real value. BuyDomains had this domain listed on Sedo.

My initial offer was $100, they countered with $2,260. So I countered with $250, they countered with $2,240. I noticed this really wasn't going anywhere for the price I wanted. I countered again with $500, this time I put the "final offer" comment. They countered once again with $2,220. I waited 4 days. I said to myself, okay, last offer: $750 "FINAL OFFER" comment. Once again, they counter with $2,200.

I say FUHGE ABOU IT (in a Brooklyn accent). I let the bid thread hang there for 3 weeks without deleting it.

I come back after 3 weeks. I notice that their minimum price is now $1000. Now I think to myself that they'll probably want more than 2.2k this time around. I go in there, pissed off, I put a bid of $1,100 FINAL OFFER. The timing was perfect, they knew if they'd counter with something like 2.2k this time around, it was all over for them.

They accepted it.


There's a lesson for everyone that wants some ordinary domain that is in BuyDomains ownership. Make a few $xxx bids. Let it hang for 3 weeks, come back and bid your max with the final offer comment. They'll most likely accept it.

 

[owntype]

that is not a low-value domain man but congrats and enjoy it

 

[gazzip]

Congrats Matt - could this be a new domain for you parking project perhaps ?

It appears Buydomains do seem willing to sell names in the 2,000 region, as shown by the many sales being listed on dnjournal over the past couple of months.

Great negotiating to get them down to that though :hehe:


.

 

[sf2010]

nice negotiation! sometimes you just gotta say whatthe**** and see what happens!

 

[cache]

so do you think you got a good deal?

 

[matt_bodis]

Congrats Matt - could this be a new domain for you parking project perhaps ?

I guess I will have to say, yes. The domain is catchy and quite brandable, along the lines of Google, Yahoo, Amazon, etc. I have told some buddies about it. The first time they heard it, they said it was okay. After a few days, they said they can't stop getting the name out of their head, and they really started to like it! So it will definetely be distinguishable.

And that's basically the entire strategy here. It's nice to own a more expensive domain like "Parked.com", but it does nothing for brandability. 20% of the visitors will go to Park.com or Parking.com by accident. I wanted something that would really stand out from the crowd.

The deal for the domain I think was fair. It was definetely still an end-user price @ 1.1k that's for sure. But I am just saying, if you really want a domain from BuyDomains and they want 2.2k or so...even if you are willing to give that much, give it 2-3 weeks then come back in the 1k range...see what happens. Don't rush anything. :tu:

 

[accent]

They certainly are not playing the negotiation game by the conventional rules with their $20 increments vs your much larger moves. When I do such things the prospective buyer usually either pays or stomps off. A 1% move means no negotiation to most people.

But the information that a supposedly astute company is negotiating that way is very interesting. As is the info that eventually they caved.

 

[End User King]

Great info buddy. I know alot of staff from the sales department there. Now if I can just sell my five letter DrOld com (hinthint).

 

[Damion]

I presume you don't want to share the domain just yet Matt?
I'm curious as hell

 

[lilgee]

Congrats to you man, dats pretty kool of what u did lol. Domain is high Value though.

 

[Albert]

Congrats, mind sharing what five letter .com it is

 

[nRnF]

You are lucky, as it seems their sedo knowledge is a bit poor.
As seller they should have submitted the domain to auction right after your last offer, and this would have given them quite a good cahance to raise the price by bringing in competition bids.
This latest sedo feature is GREAT for sellers, and bad for buyers, luck that GD didnt realize this so far

RULE:
As seller never accept a bid at Sedo allthough you would like to.
Insted sumit the domain to a 4 day auction.
You are on the safe side, as the min. bid is a confirmed buyer agreement.
So you only can win

 

[Damion]

This latest sedo feature is not so GREAT for sellers, and better *remove* bad *remove* for buyers, luck that GD didnt realize this so far

RULE:
As seller never accept a bid at Sedo allthough you would like to.
Insted sumit the domain to a 4 day auction.
You are not on the safe side, as the min. bid is a confirmed buyer agreement and the reserve at the same time.
So you only can win or lose big time

So much better now

 

[cityforums.com]

Congrats Matt - could this be a new domain for you parking project perhaps ?

It appears Buydomains do seem willing to sell names in the 2,000 region, as shown by the many sales being listed on dnjournal over the past couple of months.

Great negotiating to get them down to that though :hehe:


.

They will sell in the $1,000.00 range too after asking

for 2 times or almost 3 times that. I bought 2 recently.

 

[nRnF]

Damion, seems you also did not get the new sedo sistem idea

 

[nmr86]

great have fun with the domain

 

[Damion]

Damion, seems you also did not get the new sedo sistem idea

Oh i get it, but i think it's very limited as of now. It's a given that domains with low asking prices will get more chance to receive a bid.
When a bid is received you have the option to push it into auction.

When you push a domain into auction the latest bid is simultaneously your reserve price.

So you can either negotiate further in the traditional counter-offer system to try to obtain a better reserve if you can negotiate a higher bid then the first bid.

So if you set an asking price that is lower then your reserve that you have in mind and push the domain into auction you may put yourself in a position for underselling your domain.

Also remember that the auction period is counted from the moment you have received your first bid. So if you are already three days in negotiations to try to reach your reserve you have in mind you already have three days less exposure.

Also there is of course no certainty there will be actively bid on? So in the end you will have to let your domain go for the latest bid received or worse the price for which you have received the first bid. Either way this IS or CAN be much lower then the actual reserve you would have wanted the domain to be listed for. Listed with a reserve that is your minimum price expectation.

Also everyone wants to place low asking prices for their domains so they have more chances to be able to push a domain into auction (It's a given that if you list your domains with a asking price you will receive more attention then a make offer listing) and with current implementation you are at risk to undersell your domain. Underselling as in lower then the minimum expectations of the seller.

I agree you may also have chances to get a good price for your domain and perhaps even better then the minimum price you had in mind but the opposite is also possible.

As of now Sedo's auction is like a two edged sword.

It can either make you or break you.
Nice option hey?

 

[geek]

lol i also like to use the word "final offer" as well.

 

[gazzip]

RULE:
As seller never accept a bid at Sedo allthough you would like to.
Insted sumit the domain to a 4 day auction.
You are on the safe side, as the min. bid is a confirmed buyer agreement.
So you only can win

Thats assuming you don't upset the buyer by submitting it to auction - I'm sure many confirmed buyer agreements have previously not been followed through with for one reason or another.

I agree with Damion - basically, it still needs alot of work.

Whats the name Matt ? :blink:


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[RJ]

Good for you Matt. I'm never going to make another offer to BuyDomains again though.

They had a name listed for $2500. I offered $1000. (It was an adult related name, and this was during their adult clearance sale.) Well, they promptly raised the price to $7500. Grumbling, I offered the original $2500. They come back and say they won't sell for less than $5k.

And similar things have happened to several other NP'rs. I've bought from them a few times, but I still think they're a bunch of no good snakes when it comes to their negotiations. :td: