advice I received an offer for a domain hack - what is your advice?

[dorje]

I have the domain name LLL.xx, where LLL random CVC letters and xx is a ccTLD of a big European country.
I received an offer of 400€
I found out that the offer came from the CEO of a small telecommunication company based in Northern Europe.
The company's current domain name is LLLxx.io, so my full domain name(including the extension) is exactly its brand name.

The company has 47 employees according to Linkedin and offices in two countries. Its services are B2B.

I do not have any experience regarding the prices of domain hacks.
What do you think would be a fair price for a domain name like this one ?

Thanks for your help

 

[Clover]

Would be nice to know a little more info, including the domain name, and revenue of the company.

I can tell you now, I'm sure 400 is a steal for them, I'd ad ATLEAST 2000 to that price tag, 47 people and in 2 different countries, they should be able to easily afford that, easily... Plus, it's probably a growing company...

Good luck with sales, you lucky duckling.

 

[dorje]

Would be nice to know a little more info, including the domain name, and revenue of the company.

I can tell you now, I'm sure 400 is a steal for them, I'd ad ATLEAST 2000 to that price tag, 47 people and in 2 different countries, they should be able to easily afford that, easily... Plus, it's probably a growing company...

Good luck with sales, you lucky duckling.

Sorry, but I do not want to reveal the name yet.
I was looking for the company's revenue, but I couldn't find the information. I had to pay a subscription to get it.
I agree with you, and I think that I can get $2000 for sure, but I hope for more. I was thinking of counter-offering $9000 and then seeing their reaction.

 

[Clover]

Sorry, but I do not want to reveal the name yet.
I was looking for the company's revenue, but I couldn't find the information. I had to pay a subscription to get it.
I agree with you, and I think that I can get $2000 for sure, but I hope for more. I was thinking of counter-offering $9000 and then seeing their reaction.

I meant 2400, but yes, a $9,000 counter offer is reasonable, hopefully you'll have a broker that can push the importance of the ownership is, as you said yourself, your domain IS their EXACT brand name, with that being said, I would stand pretty firm with whatever counter offer you decide, don't get impatient and settle too low.

 

[dorje]

I meant 2400, but yes, a $9,000 counter offer is reasonable, hopefully you'll have a broker that can push the importance of the ownership is, as you said yourself, your domain IS their EXACT brand name, with that being said, I would stand pretty firm with whatever counter offer you decide, don't get impatient and settle too low.

Thanks again for your advice.

 

[dorje]

I meant 2400, but yes, a $9,000 counter offer is reasonable, hopefully you'll have a broker that can push the importance of the ownership is, as you said yourself, your domain IS their EXACT brand name, with that being said, I would stand pretty firm with whatever counter offer you decide, don't get impatient and settle too low.

So, I countered with, 9000€ and his reply was:
''€9000 is too much for us, unfortunately. But I will discuss this with my partners to see if we can have some room for negotiations'

Then he came again later, and he said 'Hi again, we've discussed this, but we have decided that we are not interested'.

So, I thanked them, I informed them that the domain will always be available for them, and then I raised the minimum offer to 2000€.

Let's see if they come again in the future.

 

[Clover]

So, I countered with, 9000€ and his reply was:
''€9000 is too much for us, unfortunately. But I will discuss this with my partners to see if we can have some room for negotiations'

Then he came again later, and he said 'Hi again, we've discussed this, but we have decided that we are not interested'.

So, I thanked them, I informed them that the domain will always be available for them, and then I raised the minimum offer to 2000€.

Let's see if they come again in the future.

Sounds like a bluff, maybe 9k is too much for them right now, but to completely not be interested to negotiate? Seems strange.

Sometimes people respond to stuff like that by listing the domain for auction, but I'm not sure who else would be very interested in a LLL.xx domain.

 

[dorje]

Sounds like a bluff, maybe 9k is too much for them right now, but to completely not be interested to negotiate? Seems strange.

Sometimes people respond to stuff like that by listing the domain for auction, but I'm not sure who else would be very interested in a LLL.xx domain.

I think auction wouldn't work for this name, because there are no available other buyers at the moment.
I think is a bluff too...we will seee how it goes

 

[wayne wooldridge]

I'm not exactly sure what difference it makes that it's a domain hack. It's their exact company name. That is worth more than any hack imo.

Without knowing exactly what the domain is, it's hard to say for certain but I think it's likely that that is your most valuable potential buyer.

 

[TheBaldOne]

@dorje - You are now in the hardest part of the domaining business, the requirement for patience, and here is hoping you have it in abundance.

I am assuming the 5L .com of the company name is gone, if not then why have you not registered it. LOL

If the company has 47 employees then their monthly wage bill will undoubtedly be at least $50k, and could probably treble that safely. Taking this into account then the 9k is next to nothing to them, but the domain to them is THEIR IDENTITY. (They are lucky I would have slaped a $50k price tag to them, I might not have got the sale ....... but it would come in the end.)

Did they contact you directly via email or through a sales site like Sedo, GoDaddy, etc? If they contacted you directly that means they already have your email to contact you, if not then I would suggest sending them an email from your own email saying that if ever they change their mind they can contact you directly on that email address and of course that the quoted 9k is not a set price forever as obviously things increase in value including domain names.

One last thing, even if they were to get the .com version of their name they will still want your domain.

Here is hoping you have the patience and of course wishing you all the best.

 

[karmaco]

I think auction wouldn't work for this name, because there are no available other buyers at the moment.
I think is a bluff too...we will seee how it goes

With the kind of response I would immediately raise the bin a little and only leave a buy it in place. Its a psychological game like many sales. At least you didn’t cave. I suspect they will be back.

 

[dorje]

@dorje - You are now in the hardest part of the domaining business, the requirement for patience, and here is hoping you have it in abundance.

I am assuming the 5L .com of the company name is gone, if not then why have you not registered it. LOL

If the company has 47 employees then their monthly wage bill will undoubtedly be at least $50k, and could probably treble that safely. Taking this into account then the 9k is next to nothing to them, but the domain to them is THEIR IDENTITY. (They are lucky I would have slaped a $50k price tag to them, I might not have got the sale ....... but it would come in the end.)

Did they contact you directly via email or through a sales site like Sedo, GoDaddy, etc? If they contacted you directly that means they already have your email to contact you, if not then I would suggest sending them an email from your own email saying that if ever they change their mind they can contact you directly on that email address and of course that the quoted 9k is not a set price forever as obviously things increase in value including domain names.

One last thing, even if they were to get the .com version of their name they will still want your domain.

Here is hoping you have the patience and of course wishing you all the best.

thank you for your reply and advice.

You assume correctly that the 5L.com is not available...it has been registered since 1999 but has no website so far.
The company is based in a rich European country (Country's average wage is $3100) and most of the employees are IT, so probably they have wages above the average.... this makes it at least $150k per month.
So definitely $9k is not much for them.

They contacted me through my DAN page, and we did the communication through DAN, but I found the CEO's details at LinkedIn.
I haven't contacted him yet, but I am thinking of following your advice and contacting him.

The best thing is that I have a lot of patience.
Thanks again

 

[dorje]

With the kind of response I would immediately raise the bin a little and only leave a buy it in place. Its a psychological game like many sales. At least you didn’t cave. I suspect they will be back.

I agree with you that negotiations are a psychological game! And I have the feeling that they will be back.
I have set only a BIN price at the moment.... Let's see how it goes!

 

[Hashim]

I agree with you that negotiations are a psychological game! And I have the feeling that they will be back.
I have set only a BIN price at the moment.... Let's see how it goes!

How did you get on with this? Did they ever respond?

 

[Regima]

12 years ago, I sold a .com domain, of a very common dictionary word that everyone in the English speaking world knows but in another language, to a restaurant with the same name in the USA, for $5500. They would not have had more than 15 or so employees. $9000 now for a much larger company should be no problem.
The problem is with the attitude of the man at the top of the company, not the price or the value of having your business name as your domain name.

I would not worry about them saying no now, as they know the domain is available and if they want it, they know what to do to get it. As another member said, the domain name game is a long waiting game and often, its a very, very long wait for some domains (decades).

You should also recognise that this company could change their name, close down, expand, have some management change, etc., and also, that another company with the name/initials/acronym of your domain come into existence in the future, almost all of which brings opportunities to you and to you alone.
Three letter domains could be applicable to a lot of companies so I would not settle for thinking only this company now is your only likely buyer.
Not at all.

So yes, hold the name and just wait. Wait and wait some more......
You might need to revise the price upwards too at some point, but personally, I would not show any price and just have make offer as the option on GD or anywhere else for your name.

 

[Ayesharain]

Here’s a quick breakdown

1. Negotiation: A $9,000 counteroffer is a strong move. The domain name's direct connection to their brand strengthens your position. Be patient and firm; don’t settle too low.
2. Backlinks: Create 20 unique, authentic pieces of content that include the word "Explore." Focus on value, and avoid spammy posts. Share personal insights or guest posts, and aim for natural integration of your domain name.

 

[OnlineProxy]

Since your domain is an exact match for the company’s brand name,€400 is way too low. They’re using a .io right now, but your local domain feels more trustworthy and relevant.Try countering with around €12,000 to see how serious they are. Take your time,point out why the domain is valuable and negotiate with confidence.You really shouldn’t sell it for anything less than €3,000