advice Lead in Afternic stalled - What to do now?

[TheFreedomChaser]

Hi there,
I was excited to see a lead come through for a hand-reg domain I have listed on Afternic. The BIN price I had listed was just under $2,000, with no floor price entered.
The potential buyer (aka lead) put in an initial bid of $500. The updated notes in the system show that the Afternic broker tried to contact the buyer several times via email and phone, but received no response from the buyer, so they have closed the lead out.
To be honest, I'd be happy to settle somewhere in the middle of the offer price and listed price. Given that Afternic don't seem to be able to help me any further, what are your recommendations on a pricing strategy to try and lure this buyer back? Or should I take the lack of response as a sign the buyer isn't serious.... would love to hear your thoughts.

 

[Pazu]

Hi there,
I was excited to see a lead come through for a hand-reg domain I have listed on Afternic. The BIN price I had listed was just under $2,000, with no floor price entered.
The potential buyer (aka lead) put in an initial bid of $500. The updated notes in the system show that the Afternic broker tried to contact the buyer several times via email and phone, but received no response from the buyer, so they have closed the lead out.
To be honest, I'd be happy to settle somewhere in the middle of the offer price and listed price. Given that Afternic don't seem to be able to help me any further, what are your recommendations on a pricing strategy to try and lure this buyer back? Or should I take the lack of response as a sign the buyer isn't serious.... would love to hear your thoughts.

You can communicate that with the broker and maybe they can leave a message but sounds like the prospect has dropped communication. You can change the price on the lander to $888 -$950 with a visible $500 min offer. Or just tell the broker you accept the offer and maybe the person will pay for it.

 

[bmugford]

There is not much you can do. It sounds like it wasn't meant to be.

Brad

 

[karmaco]

Most of us get non stop “stalled” negotiations it’s normal.

These are tire kickers and other domainers fishing. Was just a lowballer not willing to buy even at $500.


Reduce starting offers if willing to sell that low. Good Luck.

 

[AEProgram]

lead center

 

[skshogun]

There is literally nothing you can do.

 

[AEProgram]

There is literally nothing you can do.

in the dan days he would communicate directly, probably faster which is the most important part of domain sales. He also would be able to send a message to the lead months or years later if he wanted to offer it at a better price. AN took domainers, forced the 15% reduction choice, and now we are waking up and if nothing changes, most big portfolio domainers will just park elsewhere.

 

[phaethon]

Most of us get non stop “stalled” negotiations it’s normal.

These are tire kickers and other domainers fishing. Was just a lowballer not willing to buy even at $500.


Reduce starting offers if willing to sell that low. Good Luck.

The lead center end user / x group is a rather weird one.. Those leads are coming through the lander or probably a after a call, email or live chat.. It's common sense someone interested in a name will search for the name on GD and see the price. GD could provide a bit more info what the lead center end users actually want, if they are genuine end users. Some of them will be domainers. Do they know the price of the domain and try to get discount? They usually never ask for a discount or make an offer and simply ghost 95% of times..
Definitely more effort and tech needed from GD to weed out time wasters and deliver quality leads.
In terms of results, the lead center is truly a black hole..

 

[winst]

Best case example: I've had multiple offers at Afternic, but I stuck with my BIN price, and eventually (after 10 years)s, a company offered me mid 5 figures.

Worst case example: the buyer was not serious and either did not have the money or changed his/her mind.

Just move on.

To give you an insight from a buyer's perspective: I was advising a startup CEO, and a broker kept spamming us about an exact match domain name. Because we spent all our money on development, marketing, and salaries, we did not have the budget. While the price was reasonable, our application has never gained enough traction to justify paying the price.

The domain owner misread us and started playing games. He raised the price, then pretended it was sold, and after that, came back and tried to offer the domain name using a different agent with an astronomical price.

 

[TheFreedomChaser]

Thanks for all the advice. It makes me question the point of having a broker there at all to be honest. Since they have closed out the Lead, I have asked them if they can provide contact details so I can pursue it myself, just for interest's sake.

I have also taken onboard some of the thinking around tweaking the minimum bid across my entire portfolio. As you've pointed out, there's no use attracting tyre kickers with a minimum bid that is nowhere near my final price. It also makes me wonder....what actually is the point of a floor price. If I was to set the Minimum Price to, say, $999 and the Final Price to $2999 with no floor price, what happens when a potential buyers makes an offer of $1500. I'm assuming the Broker will then present the offer to me via the Lead Center, which can take time to discuss, and thus lose some of the momentum on the sale?

 

[Kyle Tully]

It also makes me wonder....what actually is the point of a floor price.

The floor price is the minimum the broker is authorised to sell the name for.

So in your example if you set a floor at $2k and the broker got the 1500 offer up to 2000 he could sell the name without ever having contacted you.

 

[winst]

... if they can provide contact details so I can pursue it myself, just for interest's sake.

No. A broker will never provide you with contact information.

Buyers use a broker because they don't want the seller to know they might be a big company with deep pockets.
The broker also doesn't want you to transact with the buyer directly and miss out on the commission.

 

[Smooth]

For names under 5k, avoid using Afternic 'Price Request' or 'Make offer' options.

If your priority is to go with Afternic landing page, just use the BIN page.

If your priority is to be flexible, use NamePros or other landers where you get the buyer details and can deal with the buyer directly.

 

[alcy]

put it down as lesson learned and in future if u need cash never again fail to accept 500 on handreg name

 

[GoDaddy]

Hi there,
I was excited to see a lead come through for a hand-reg domain I have listed on Afternic. The BIN price I had listed was just under $2,000, with no floor price entered.
The potential buyer (aka lead) put in an initial bid of $500. The updated notes in the system show that the Afternic broker tried to contact the buyer several times via email and phone, but received no response from the buyer, so they have closed the lead out.
To be honest, I'd be happy to settle somewhere in the middle of the offer price and listed price. Given that Afternic don't seem to be able to help me any further, what are your recommendations on a pricing strategy to try and lure this buyer back? Or should I take the lack of response as a sign the buyer isn't serious.... would love to hear your thoughts.

Hi @TheFreedomChaser
The Afternic broker team will carry on following up with the potential buyer over time. One of their core philosophies is that leads are never "closed-lost," something that has been instilled in that team following our acquisition of Uniregistry.

By following up consistently, they keep the door open for deals to materialize down the line. You'll see the team follow up with your potential buyer.

In future, you may consider entering a floor price. The floor price is the lowest price that you would accept for the domain name, and helps the broker understand your expectations.

You can also leave a message with your broker in the lead center to discuss your lead.

 

[Jannes]

The Afternic broker team will carry on following up with the potential buyer over time. One of their core philosophies is that leads are never "closed-lost," something that has been instilled in that team following our acquisition of Uniregistry.

can't argue with that

 

[enterscope]

While new leads are exciting, I try not to get caught up in the status of negotiations. If you have a portfolio of 100+ domains of above-average quality, then chances are there's interest on some of your names at any given time.

You never know when a buyer is going to pull the trigger, or when a new end-user will find your name.

If someone truly wants something, they will acquire it if it's within reason. Even if a deal falls through with a $500 offer, you know your domain is at least worth that. The value is there even before it materializes into money, so patience is key.