discuss Mock Negotiation - Let's negotiate here week #3

[abstractdomainer]

Hi All,

As we are concluding the second negotiation here :
https://www.namepros.com/threads/mock-negotiation-lets-negotiate-here-week-2.1250841/

we have decided to bring to you another MOCK NEGOTIATION this week:

We know how tricky negotiations can be. It is a part and parcel of the domain name business. Even if we get the price for the domain name, that we were expecting, we feel like we left money on the table. And it happens time and again. So why not practice negotiation here:

Step 1: Members share the name which they would be willing to offer for sale
Step 2: I will be the buyer, the member whose domain is chosen becomes the seller
Step 3: We appoint 1 member who doesn't belong to either party. Let's call him referee
Step 4: Both buyer and seller share their minimum and maximum prices which they are willing to accept/offer respectively for the domain name
Step 5: We negotiate here on the thread with proper emails/texts. Everyone can view how you and I respond.
Step 6: Buyer and seller can re-adjust their offer - buyer can increase the maximum that they are willing to offer, and seller can decrease the minimum that they are willing to take
Step 7: Either a deal is made or not
Step 8: The appointed representative (referee) will share the buyer and seller minimum maximum
Step 9: We draw conclusions from the negotiation and the learnings

Please share your names so that we can pick one and start the process. The negotiation should last 1 week or less. Let's do this. The shortlist will be done tomorrow if we have ample entries.

 

[Keith DeBoer]

I've seen emails and private copies of many domain negotiations over the years. What I've noticed is that all negotiations end in the middle. That's why sellers anchor high and buyers anchor low - they want that middle ground to be in their favor.

This negotiation went the same way as almost all others I've seen.

Price was $5k and opening offer was $750
The mid point between those two is $2875
Deal closed at $3k

So, in my opinion, neither party "won" the negotiation. They just met in the middle.

Here's the breakdown of the negotiation:

Seller Buyer Diff
5000 750 4250
4500 2000 2500
4000 2000 2000
3800 2500 1300
3800 2800 1000
3000 3000 0

Seller did a good job of coming down in small and decreasing amounts - at first - but then caved at the end and reduced by $800. Is this wrong? Not necessarily. Maybe the seller needed rent money or had no plans to renew this domain etc. But. It was very inconsistent and could give the impression that the seller is desperate and may make the buyer think they are overpaying and walk away. I've seen it happen.

Now......... The art of negotiation goes way, way beyond the numbers. Great negotiators are able to subtly guide the other party through their emotional intelligence skills rather than the predictable back and forth of numbers and the inevitable meet in the middle outcome.

In 2016, I interviewed the author of Never Split the Difference for my NamePros blog. You might find some pointers there about developing your skills and also on his YouTube vids about email negotiations.

Good luck!!

 

[JimJammy]

Comments and tips from me.

About me: Full time domainer. My domains point to a landing page with a BIN button or contact me button. 95%+ of my domains have a BIN button. I use Afternic (ns5 and ns6) for domains for $2-$10K region and I have domains on brandable marketplaces (mainly in the $2k region). Anything else has a private landing page with a contact form.

Note, this is my experience
1. I have never had a conversation like this as a buyer or seller.
2. Domains priced below $5k, the deal is usually done within minutes, a few hours at most.
3. Be available, answer immediately. Buyers make snap decisions, you want them to press that BIN button straight away, you do not want them wandering off 'doing research' and potentially finding a better name or a really cheap alternative. You've heard of buyers remorse... it's too late after they've pressed the button. Your sole purpose should be to get them to hit that button as fast as possible.
4. Most people starting a website can afford a few thousand, you can sweeten a deal by offering installments.
5. You should never drop below 20% of your original asking price.
6. You should only drop the price once. If you drop it twice, the buyer will continue to push your limits and you'll drop it again and again until you end up having sellers remorse.

Tips about this conversation (and week 2):
A. Why ask what the domain was going to be used for? Don't do that. It suggests to the buyer that you are going to price the domain based on what you think they can pay. If you are a buyer and get asked that question, make out you are a mom and pop site .
B. As a seller, don't be afraid to say I'm sorry your offer is not enough instead of quoting a figure.
C. As a seller, don't be afraid to 'walk away' from a conversation. You can lower your BIN on your page and ignore the buyer. Around 25% of my sales are to buyers that had contacted me and I later ignored.
D. As a buyer, don't be afraid to say I'm sorry I can't afford that, if you decide to drop the price in the future, please come back to me. Most sellers will come back to you within a month.
E. It is pointless 'selling the domain' to a potential buyer if they contacted you first (telling them you'll add in services or there are xxx number of searches for that phrase etc). They have already contacted you, they want the domain.
F. Remember you want them to hit that BIN button.... don't say $x,xxx is the lowest I can go, instead say I have lowered the price on the domain to $x,xxx which will stand for the next 24 hours. Increase the price again if they don't hit that BIN!

You should change the domain name in the this thread to C@mp£rC@r£ or something similar so the domain name is not picked up by search engines when potential buyers are doing research.

Well done and good luck!

@Keith DeBoer, fancy helping out here with your comments and tagging someone else too?

 

[mr-x]

Hi,

I provide camper repair, maintenance and other services through my company. This name looks like one of the options which we can go for.
I think $5000 is too high a price for the domain name. I can offer $750 for the domain name which seems to be a fair price.

Camper Care is memorable, easy to say, invokes a feeling of empathy and perfectly describes a range of services for campers and motorhomes that can still be trademarked!

Camper and motorhome sales are up nearly 140% for the last two years. Industry projections say growth will continue through 2027.

With record breaking growth, there is a time sensitive opportunity to build a national brand providing extended warranty service, supplemental insurance, roadside assistance, pre-sale inspection, storage and repair.

All that for less than the cost of the average ad campaign. Are you the right buyer?

 

[mr-x]

camper care com

 

[abstractdomainer]

All,

Keep more entries coming.
Look at our last negotiation here - https://www.namepros.com/threads/mock-negotiation-lets-negotiate-here-week-2.1250841/

@kartikahuja made me pay 20% over my maximum budget by beautifully asking the right questions. It was a beautiful experience and I thoroughly enjoyed negotiating with him. Maybe you should try negotiating here as well. I am going to negotiate this one. For the next one, I will let 2 members negotiate while I moderate the discussion.

Let us hone our negotiation skills.

 

[mr-x]

@mr-x Are you ready?

Let's go!

 

[abstractdomainer]

Fantastic.. Let's start. Here is my first email:
Hi @mr-x

What is the price for CamperCare.com?

 

[abstractdomainer]

If we can agree on $3000, I can transfer the domain to you within on hour of verified payment.

It's a deal! Let's close it at $3,000

 

[abstractdomainer]

I'm $1K short of my goal.

Let @Future Sensors share what our initial messages were to him.

The floor is now open for comments - learnings and lessons, what could have been done better, where we did well etc.
@Future Sensors We eagerly wait for your comments.

@JimJammy Helped me through the endeavor. I am grateful to him for following this and sharing his inputs during the negotiation. Pls share your learnings from the negotiations.

 

[mr-x]

Let @Future Sensors share what our initial messages were to him.

The floor is now open for comments - learnings and lessons, what could have been done better, where we did well etc.
@Future Sensors We eagerly wait for your comments.

@JimJammy Helped me through the endeavor. I am grateful to him for following this and sharing his inputs during the negotiation. Pls share your learnings from the negotiations.

Congrats @abstractdomainer. I should have stood my ground. Thank-you!

 

[mr-x]

Comments and tips from me. ..

Thank you for the good advice. Negotiation is my weak link, most of my domains sell at the buy now price.

@Keith DeBoer, fancy helping out here with your comments and tagging someone else too?

 

[JimJammy]

Thank you for the good advice. Negotiation is my weak link, most of my domains sell at the buy now price.

You both did well, lots of people reading this thread will learn something because you could be bothered to put yourself out there

 

[abstractdomainer]

camper care com

Okay shortlisting this - CamperCare.com
@wepupil Would you like to volunteer?

 

[abstractdomainer]

@mr-x Are you ready?

 

[mr-x]

@mr-x Are you ready?

Maybe @Future Sensors will agree to referee if @wepupil can't?

 

[abstractdomainer]

Maybe @Future Sensors will agree to referee if @wepupil can't?

My details have been shared with @Future Sensors if he is willing to negotiate.
Once he confirms, you can also share your side of the deal and then we negotiate.

@Future Sensors You just have to observe and once the negotiation completes, you can share the same here

 

[abstractdomainer]

My details have been shared with @Future Sensors if he is willing to negotiate.
Once he confirms, you can also share your side of the deal and then we negotiate.

@Future Sensors You just have to observe and once the negotiation completes, you can share the same here

@wepupil If you are up too, we can have 2 referees for this negotiation.

 

[abstractdomainer]

@mr-x As soon as you share your details with @Future Sensors, we can begin negotiating.

 

[mr-x]

Ready.

 

[mr-x]

Fantastic.. Let's start. Here is my first email:
Hi @mr-x

What is the price for CamperCare.com?

We are expecting $5000 for CamperCare.com. Can I ask how you plan to use campercare.com?

 

[abstractdomainer]

We are expecting $5000 for CamperCare.com. Can I ask how you plan to use campercare.com?

Hi,

I provide camper repair, maintenance and other services through my company. This name looks like one of the options which we can go for.
I think $5000 is too high a price for the domain name. I can offer $750 for the domain name which seems to be a fair price.

 

[abstractdomainer]

Camper Care is memorable, easy to say, invokes a feeling of empathy and perfectly describes a range of services for campers and motorhomes that can still be trademarked!

Camper and motorhome sales are up nearly 140% for the last two years. Industry projections say growth will continue through 2027.

With record breaking growth, there is a time sensitive opportunity to build a national brand providing extended warranty service, supplemental insurance, roadside assistance, pre-sale inspection, storage and repair.

All that for less than the cost of the average ad campaign. Are you the right buyer?

Thanks for the details Mr-X.
I do understand where you are coming from. While I see potential opportunity in this industry, I think the domain is priced on the higher side and I have a limited budget.
If you can come down, we can meet somewhere in the middle. $5,000 is too out of my budget.

 

[mr-x]

Thanks for the details Mr-X.
I do understand where you are coming from. While I see potential opportunity in this industry, I think the domain is priced on the higher side and I have a limited budget.
If you can come down, we can meet somewhere in the middle. $5,000 is too out of my budget.

I'll accept $4,500. If that is a problem I can take $2500 up front and you can pay the balance off over the next 10 months, while using the domain.

I'll create an account for you at Enom, you will have full control of the domain but will be unable to transfer until the balance is paid.

Let's get it done.

 

[abstractdomainer]

I'll accept $4,500. If that is a problem I can take $2500 up front and you can pay the balance off over the next 10 months, while using the domain.

I'll create an account for you at Enom, you will have full control of the domain but will be unable to transfer until the balance is paid.

Let's get it done.

Thanks for the consideration. I can do $2000 for this domain name but going above that would be extremely difficult. If you agree, we can start the transfer right away.