question Need Advice on Possible Domain Sale

[Lewstar]

NamePro Gurus,

I’m a relative newcomer to domaining despite all the stars, as l took a 12-year sabbatical shortly after signing up with NamePros to begin raising a family and thus finding a more-reliable source of income.

Anyway, l have a number of domain names listed on Afternic, but have not sold on there—and in fact, sold one domain name so far, for $220.

I just received an e-mail from Afternic requesting that l set a Floor Price and BIN price in 48 hours for one of my listed domain names: Whytman2020.com.

I have a hunch most of you don’t know why anyone would want to buy that domain name—unless you’re a Stephen Colbert Late Show fan. (By the way, Colbert just passed Kimmel and Fallon as the most-popular late-night TV show host.)

Colbert is quite involved in the upcoming 2020 presidential election, and he just recently introduced a segment on his show that involves a mythical candidate named Whytman, who is a schlub, to say the least—and thus humorous in his naivety.

When Whitman appears, the title of the segment is Whytman2020. The first time I saw the segment, I thought Whytman2020.com might be worth something, especially if Colbert was interested in running with the segment.

Getting to the bottom line, finally, what would you do in my case? I don’t want to lose a possible sale—yet if the Colbert people want the domain name, l would think they wouldn’t mind paying a decent price over the $6.99 I paid Dynadot to register the domain name.

Thus, I would appreciate expert opinions on what l should do—lowball myself or take a flyer on a possible lucrative sale. Any of your scintillating savvy would me much appreciated.

Thanking you in advance....

Lew

 

[Bob Hawkes]

OK I admit, I had never heard of Whytman (here in the Canadian wilds don't watch much TV ). So there is an election in 2020 down south? I must stay more in touch....

OK being serious... this is a really tough one. It seems likely that there will only be one or a very few who would want the domain name. I just did a search, and yes at first Google didn't even want that word, but when I insisted, it was all from Colbert in the results. I am presuming they did not TM the term, but did not check.

So you don't have much invested, so I would roll the dice and hope to get a nice turnaround on your $6. I would maybe suggest something memorable to them like $2020 which if it is the show is small change but indicate flexibility somehow in your response so in case it is a fan group, but nothing show directly related (which I regard as likely) then they might not be scared off entirely and counter.

One difficulty is if the use is light hearted they don't really need the .com, and all the others are sitting there for hand registration, like .org or .us or .info or countless new extensions that might be relevant. No I am not recommending you hand register a bunch. Just saying it weakens somewhat the ability to seal the deal.

Best wishes for success!

Bob

 

[Lewstar]

Great idea—the $2020. I was thinking along your lines, so to speak—though more like $4000 BIN and Floor, $2500.

Of course, the buyer couldn’t see the Floor Price.
I have a hunch it is the show, and any four-figure price would be a pittance.

But I think I’ll make a BIN of $2020–a bird in the hand, you know....

 

[hawkeye]

Political election domains have a short life span. Satire ones have an even shorter span, as the satire could end before the election or change to a fresher satire. Hoping it’s the show inquiring to get max roi can blow up if it’s not, or not worth it to them paying too much for a short self-life project. And an obscure domain as this probably won’t have many other inquiries. IMO $2020 is a cute price tag for it, but I’d be content if it sold for $1k. Do what you feel comfortable with, but be prepared to be disappointed if you out price it. GL.