domain Interested end-user - eCoop.co.uk

[Dmainer]

Hello. I purchased couple weeks ago domain name eCoop.co.uk and today I started to send e-mails for possible cooperative companies in UK. One of them (East Of England Cooperative) is interested to purchase this name. I first explained to them that their name gets only couple of hundreds searches in Google per month. Then I compared my domain name to that because my domain name got searches over 5,000 per month. I said that you got over 20 times bigger changes to get traffic to your site with eCoop.co.uk and they said that we can start to negotiate for the price.

I have one question, i don't know at all what could be good starting price for this name, so i'm asking little bit for that.

Thanks, D.

 

[biggie]

searches don't equal traffic, so you're misleading the potential by stating such.

and

you should have price in mind, before soliciting

Good Luck!


imo....

 

[Dmainer]

Yeah I know they doesn't equal traffic, but it's easier to get traffic with name www.eCoop.co.uk than www.eastofengland.coop.

I can't be wrong with this.

 

[cdboard]

nice to see a .COOP being used!

 

[Dmainer]

I found couple .COOP extension when I was searching Google.

 

[Brands.International]

Hello. I purchased couple weeks ago domain name eCoop.co.uk and today I started to send e-mails for possible cooperative companies in UK. One of them (East Of England Cooperative) is interested to purchase this name. I first explained to them that their name gets only couple of hundreds searches in Google per month. Then I compared my domain name to that because my domain name got searches over 5,000 per month. I said that you got over 20 times bigger changes to get traffic to your site with eCoop.co.uk and they said that we can start to negotiate for the price.

I have one question, i don't know at all what could be good starting price for this name, so i'm asking little bit for that.

Thanks, D.

They have huge yearly turnover in hundreds of millions. They can benefit greatly from your domain. They opted for .coop, but having cool .co.uk name can be better for them, as they are pure UK business. I do not think traffic will be big issue for them, I guess it is sound of the domain name they like. My intuitions : start with 30k. They current name is really not so good, with eCoop.co.uk, they will have much better name, and I guess they can easily afford it.

 

[Dmainer]

Thanks for your advice! I think that 30K is bit too much for them but if you do not try you can't sell anything eCoop.co.uk is good name in my opinion and I registered it because I knew that there are good possible end-users.

 

[Dmainer]

I checked NameBio and I was pretty surprised that co.uk domains has sold for pretty high prices.

 

[Dmainer]

Energycooperative.co.uk was sold for 1,600$

 

[Tank]

Thanks for your advice! I think that 30K is bit too much for them but if you do not try you can't sell anything eCoop.co.uk is good name in my opinion and I registered it because I knew that there are good possible end-users.

I have to wonder how you decided that 30k would be too much? It may or may not be but with the stats below (taken from their site) i believe if they are interested in the name and are ready and willing to "Start Negotiations" you would want to start high. Im not sure im ready to spit out a price for you that is your call but I wouldnt want to lowball them, as they said they want to "Negotiate"
"" we’ve grown to become one of the largest, totally independent businesses in the region, with over 200 stores, 5,000 employees and a turnover of £350m a year.""

 

[Dmainer]

Well, think this point little bit here and I'm going to start negotiations for 30 K. Hopefully I can make good sale for this. Or should I raise the starting amount little bit?

 

[Dmainer]

I get list for all of the Energy Cooperative companies at UK and now I have contacted to all of them. Let's see are there anyone else interested for this name.

 

[Tank]

Well, think this point little bit here and I'm going to start negotiations for 30 K. Hopefully I can make good sale for this. Or should I raise the starting amount little bit?

to me 30k is a lot for this name, my only point was they are interested, try not to start too low to negotiate..

 

[Dmainer]

Ok, thanks for the tips. Let's see, waiting for next email from them.

 

[lei]

This domain name is indeed much better than their current name.
Your selling price is not about the value of the domain itself.

Two questions maybe asked:
1. Do they really want your domain name for their business?
2. How much can they afford?

I agree with lolwarior
30K is a good starting point.

If they can't get a better name than yours, 30K is even too low.
Check their revenue per year, the cost of this name goes to their expense for a company.
30K maybe just pocket money for a company's annual expense.

Literally speaking, the value of your domain name equals to the present value of their future advertising cost saved by switching to your domain name.

 

[Kate]

There are not many names that sell for 30K, even in .com, even in .co.uk.
And remember that you contacted them. Until they were happily using their current domain. They are not in a begging position.

The fact that they went with a lousy .coop makes me think they don't take domain names too seriously and it's a handreg for sure. What makes you think they will easily give you £££££ for your domain ? It doesn't happen too often in the real world.

I don't know how cooperatives work, but in corporations the decision-making process is such that large purchases may have to go through board approval. Not everyone understands the value proposition of a good domain name. Extracting a high-value sale from a corporation is no small feat. Their financial means have little to do with how much they will spend. The domain has to fit with their vision and strategy. But we all know domains are seldom treated like the strategic assets that they are.
If they are really willing to spend 30K and above, then they have more options.

You say 30K, but they might say their budget is £300. When you're starting so high you can only a. close negotiations or b. decrease your asking price dramatically and start losing credibility. If you shoot too high, you'll miss the target.

 

[slader23]

There are not many names that sell for 30K, even in .com, even in .co.uk.
And remember that you contacted them. Until they were happily using their current domain. They are not in a begging position.

The fact that they went with a lousy .coop makes me think they don't take domain names too seriously and it's a handreg for sure. What makes you think they will easily give you £££££ for your domain ? It doesn't happen too often in the real world.

I don't know how cooperatives work, but in corporations the decision-making process is such that large purchases may have to go through board approval. Not everyone understands the value proposition of a good domain name. Extracting a high-value sale from a corporation is no small feat. Their financial means have little to do with how much they will spend. The domain has to fit with their vision and strategy. But we all know domains are seldom treated like the strategic assets that they are.
If they are really willing to spend 30K and above, then they have more options.

You say 30K, but they might say their budget is £300. When you're starting so high you can only a. close negotiations or b. decrease your asking price dramatically and start losing credibility. If you shoot too high, you'll miss the target.

A company with over 350 million pounds in turnover would not be trying to negotiate a brand defining domain at 300 pounds. Not only is that illogical its also a slap in the face to the person selling the name. "The domain has to fit with their vision and strategy" I agree with this statement completely, however, the statement only makes the initial 30K option more valid. The company in question is called East Of England Cooperative, and the OP has the shortest and most logical name available for this company other than EEC.co.uk, which is owned by Environmental Equipment Coorporation. They could also go with EEcoop but that honestly doesn't look nice and isn't as memorable as ECOOP.co.uk. Lei hit the nail on the head by saying that value of the domain name equals to the PV of their future advertising cost saved by East of England Cooperative switching to your domain name. I'm sure large purchases need board approval for most companies but I doubt a company making over 350 million pounds in yearly revenue would need board approval for anything less than 1 million.In this sense a 30k opening offer is a decent start and something in the x,xxx range would be largely undercutting the subjective value of the domain to this company. Considering the size of the company I would compare this to something like DeutscheBank.co.uk switching to DB.co.uk, although DB is much larger its a similar type of move. With that said imho 30k might be too low but I'm not experienced enough to back up that claim.

Good luck!

 

[slader23]

x

 

[Kate]

A company with over 350 million pounds in turnover would not be trying to negotiate a brand defining domain at 300 pounds. Not only is that illogical its also a slap in the face to the person selling the name.

Sadly, this is the world we live in. Lowball offers are the norm. End users don't value domain names like they should. They are almost treated like disposable items, rather than brands.

To me there is no question that buying the name will give them a boost in terms of credibility and brand affirmation. The problem is that such factors are hard to value.
So from their POV it's just a domain name like any other, it will work exactly the same. They need a very compelling reason for spending 30K. No company spends that kind of money lightly.

I myself wouldn't spend that money, even if I were running a cash cow company.
You'd have to convince me I will make up the investment in the long run. Now it's a different game isn't it ?
How do you go about justifying your asking price ? Buyers need hard facts and figures to back up your sales pitch. Even if the other party is convinced the name is worth it, he/she has to convince the other decision makers.
Obviously the name will look better on business cards and is better for advertising too, but we don't know about their current branding/advertising needs/spending. If you can prove they are going to save tens of thousands per year, you're on the right track. Now, can you ?

PS: their current domain name has been created in 2005. So it has withstood the test of time for them. Yes it's a lousy .coop but they don't seem to mind.
In fact the perfect domain for them would be eastofengland.org.uk, but it's been registered since 1997... perhaps that's why they settled on an alt extension.

I wouldn't compare the name to DB.co.uk. There are plenty of companies that could use a short acronym like DB. Not to mention it's an IT word. Ecoop on the other hand is more limiting. At least there is more than one potential end user. But like the name suggest it's aimed at cooperatives primarily. The purpose is not very broad.

 

[lei]

The company is indeed big.
They have a quality website.
They have social accounts:FB, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn.
The social accounts are an effort of advertisement.
The only thing sucks is their domain name.
If I were the CEO, I would strive to get your eCoop.co.uk
I can't think of any better names except eCoop.com
You name a price, I'll pay if I can afford. I'll keep negotiating if I can't afford.
But if the CEO is an old guy , doesn't have internet on mind, you wait for the next CEO...