Mini rant: Pricing changes when trying to buy a name

[NLP]

Ok, I have to let off some steam. There's a name I inquired about that was listed on Sedo - it was set as "Make Offer," with a suggested price of $136. I would have bought it right then and there if it had been marked "Buy It Now," but it wasn't, so I reached out to the owner via email.

I asked whether he'd consider selling it outside of Sedo (which would save him the commission fees), or if he'd be willing to set it as "Buy It Now." Based on the price, I figured it was either a name he was looking to get rid of, or that he'd priced it low to get bids & hopefully move it to an auction.

It's a .DE name. And no, I'm not going to name it, because I don't want to give this guy's name any publicity.

I never heard from him, so I figured the email was sent to a spam folder, but today I got a reply, which basically said:

"Hi, NLP,

This is a premium domain. However, I can send you the following link: Sedo offer page."

The price had been raised to $1500 Buy It Now.

This is one of those situations where it gives me a headache to have to think as BOTH a buyer and a seller. Because from his perspective, I can see where he thinks "ooh, I've got interest" and probably wants to milk the name for all it's worth.

But on the flip side, he didn't have it priced at that level to begin with. And inflating the price of a name after you've received an offer on it can piss of the buyer.

If he'd priced it accurately to begin with, it would have made his assertion that it's a "premium name" seem a lot more honest. Instead, it makes it seem like it's a crappy name that he started calling premium after I emailed him about it.

Is it standard procedure to flip the script like this? I probably would have been better off going through Sedo, but I thought I was doing the guy a favor by being honest about my identity and giving him a chance to respond by email.

(edited to fix price: it was $136, not $163).

 

[Vito]

hmmm,

Quite a big difference between $165 and $1500.

I would write back and give him your final BIN offer, then if hes not ven close, just walk away.

Hes got your email address. He will get back to you if it is WAY overpriced.

Sure does seem a bit misleading though...$165 offer, lol

OR

Log into Sedo again, and offer him his Original "$165 suggested price" and maybe he will push it to auction???

Weird, but good luck to you with it.

 

[NLP]

Thanks the_dot_stop...

Actually, I went back, and DomainTools is still showing the old price. It was lower than I'd recalled - $136. (I couldn't remember if it was $163 or $165, or what).

That's ridiculous.

I should have gone through Sedo to begin with, and risked the whole auction thing. These days most names only end up with 1 bid anyway, so it probably would have been fine.

I need to calm down. I get pissed about things like this.

 

[Vito]

Thanks the_dot_stop...

Actually, I went back, and DomainTools is still showing the old price. It was lower than I'd recalled - $136. (I couldn't remember if it was $163 or $165, or what).

That's ridiculous.

I should have gone through Sedo to begin with, and risked the whole auction thing. These days most names only end up with 1 bid anyway, so it probably would have been fine.

I need to calm down. I get pissed about things like this.

I have done the same thing (contacted the owners thru email) and luckily, I have been able to make some purchases thru those emails.

It really sucks when it is privacy protected though.

I think the one thing that people are afraid of, is the person on the other end...(buyer and/or seller).

Will the buyer of the private purchase pull a PayPal dispute and request their money back?

Will the Seller NOT transfer the name to me, then take my $$$ and run?

That is where having a transparent identity, and a great reputation come into play as a major factor for a private sale/non-escrowed.

As for the changing the price mid-offer...Yeah, it would piss me off too! :lol:

Good Luck.

 

[LikuiD]

Wow, thats quite some price difference!
If I were you I would just answer him back with "good luck sellin it".

 

[tech4]

Just make the offer in Sedo or wherever it is listed.

Don't let the price scares you, the worse you can get is a rejection.

 

[johname]

The guy was trying out Sedo’s Price Suggestion tool and didnt like the price. But didnt bother to take the price away, instead used it to start up an offer/counter situtation. You wanted final buy it now price so he did what most people tell other domainers to do, put the price high in case its a fancy enduser. Next step is to see how bad he really wants to sell it. Goodluck

 

[NLP]

You wanted final buy it now price so he did what most people tell other domainers to do, put the price high in case its a fancy enduser.

Yes, I know that's a tactic some people use. But the thing is, I emailed him, and he googled me (because I saw hits on my personal website searching for "my name + domains"). I didn't use a yahoo or gmail account and didn't hide my identity, so it was probably pretty clear that I wasn't an end user, but another investor.

I can see how he might think "Ooh, an offer! Perhaps it's an end user, so I'd better raise the price." But that wasn't the case. I was straightforward with him, but he wasn't with me.

If he set it at a price that was too low and regretted it, he should have thought more about his initial price to begin with.

 

[gramma]

you're right - he was wrong - I hope he never sells the domain now :D

 

[domainsusi]

No offense but both parties are at fault here.

Seller got greedy when you contacted him privately.

Personally I would never trust a buyer who admittedly found my domain listed on Sedo or any other marketplace and then try to circumvent the listing agent.

 

[NLP]

No offense but both parties are at fault here.

Seller got greedy when you contacted him privately.

Personally I would never trust a buyer who admittedly found my domain listed on Sedo or any other marketplace and then try to circumvent the listing agent.

That's interesting. I actually like dealing with Sedo - I've had successful transactions there as both a buyer and seller.

I would have had no problem buying the name there, but at the same time, I've had good luck lately approaching people via email (once we've had a while to chat back and forth, so they can see that I'm credible and have my phone number, etc.)

Another reason I sometimes email people is to ask what other domains they have for sale. It's hard to tell when they don't have the rest of their Sedo portfolio linked in the listing.

I can understand where you're coming from, but again, I'm not hiding anything - I include my full contact details and am basically approaching them businessperson to businessperson.

 

[Name Trader]

I wouldn't get so p'd off. It's only business (as usual). The Buy It Now price is $1500. That is what you were trying to establish. Now you have to establish what is the lowest he will sell it for. If that's $1500, then so be it. I don't think there is anything wrong with how he had it listed originally. Nothing has changed. The original price was $136 make offer and BIN is $1500. Not everybody has the same level of sophistication when making their Sedo Listings. It sounds to me more like you were trying to get it for a low BIN.