Need Advise Thanks ... I was offered over $20K for my domain

[maurixius]

Hi all

I appreciate any advise in regards to my situation. I approached a company who has the exact domain name as mine; except with a different extension. They offered me 20K for it; knowing that I declined 1K offer less than 7 years ago. I would say they are fairly funded and open for negotiation.

So my question is if they offered 20K; what should my counter be?


Note:
I can't disclose the domain name at the moment as long as the deal is up in the air, but I will disclose it here if the buyer has no objections


Thanks,

 

[Silentptnr]

Interesting that they just threw out a figure of 20k without negotiation, up from 1k. Without knowing the domain, I would say take it immediately. Unless the domain is a single dictionary word .com, or a 3 letter .com, the price is probably very good.

 

[Kate]

Pointless thread, there is zero useful data.
Answer: how much do you want.

 

[xynames]

The best would be to engage them further, without discussing the price immediately, if you know how to do that. That is the best, and most skilled negotiation, and always gauges interest before commitment to price. Depending on where they are (time zone/ language barriers, etc.), with the proper response, you could be on the phone with the decision maker and closing that deal for the best possible price, if you know what you are doing.

If phone isn't your thing or somehow not an option, still - engaging them properly via email, works.

Engage - don't just throw numbers out.


When someone comes in my office to hire me, or is referred to me, I don't immediately talk price, why should you?

 

[EZPZYO]

Hi all

I appreciate any advise in regards to my situation. I approached a company who has the exact domain name as mine; except with a different extension. They offered me 20K for it; knowing that I declined 1K offer less than 7 years ago. I would say they are fairly funded and open for negotiation.

So my question is if they offered 20K; what should my counter be?


Note:
I can't disclose the domain name at the moment as long as the deal is up in the air, but I will disclose it here if the buyer has no objections


Thanks,

Welcome to the 99 Club!​

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[mr-x]

What a great problem to have. Congratulations.

 

[garptrader]

Thoughts to consider:

1) How many other end users are there for this domain? If this buyer balks at your counter offer, can you reasonably offer it to a number of other potential end users?

2) Do Namebio or DNPric.es show a history of five figure sales for this type of domain?

3) Why might this company be willing to pay your counter price?

4) How would you feel if they walked away from your counter offer? Are you in a position to lose a $20k offer and it is no big deal? Do you regularly make five figure sales of other domains or have a liquid net worth of $500k+,such that another $20k is immaterial?

5) Can you gauge this company's ad spend on Google etc and how this domain would help reduce advertising cost, boost revenues, etc?

6) If this company is publicly traded, what do its financial look like? Annual sales, profits, operating cash flow

 

[slimjim270]

I agree with @maxtorz

The sale process is not a volley ball match - tossing prices back and forth.

You should be qualifying the prospect, not prematurely tossing price grenades.

1) For each individual you connect with, you should focus on a sound Qualifying Process. Early in the process find out if this is a "decision by committee" situation and what their personal role is in the buying process? (in other words, has a budget been approved and are they a DM - Decision Maker). Everyone in a corp likes to think they are important and will tell you they are super big, but do they have sign off authority supported with a budget?

2) NATM - Need / Authority / Timeframe / Money. This is the basics of a corporate sale.

3) Have you identified their need? Them simply tossing offers is not need, that is entertainment. I am saying DO THEY HAVE A NEED? And why do they need it now. What is the hot button for why the need it? I didn't say want. Needs and wants - 2 different emotions. Keep in mind, people buy emotionally and justify intellectually.

4) Qualify the candidate to see if they have the authority to make the purchase? Title is not authority. Signing and spending authority is what I suggest to clarify.

5) What is their time frame for closing the deal? And with that, why the urgency today? For example, I have seen time and again where managers will spend their remaining budget in December. Why? Because many times next year's budget is based on a %increase of last years and managers will spend quick before losing the funds post-December. This is only one example of why they have a "need", but what is theirs?

6) And the most important issue - do they have the money or budget allocated? It's all talk until it's time for them to cut a check. A great way to smell this out is to ask "Is this a capital expense or an operating expense"? If you don't know the difference between a capital budget and an operating budget (and why it's important) you should get someone to help you negotiate this deal, because I guarantee a manager spending $20,000+ will know the difference!! AND IT IS IMPORTANT. Most import, by asking the capital vs operating expense question, you tip toe into the real qualifying topic (are they big hat / little ranch or do they actually have money or budget funds to spend). And if it's a capital expense, you better get ready for the "oh now I have to go to the CFO to get his/her sign off" response.

Keep in mind - and too is CRITICAL - for corporate entities they typically have spending limit guidelines in place that are established by either the Board/CEO/President/CFO (or maybe Controller). What I mean by this is most managers are authorized to spend $500 for example without CFO (or Controller) approval, most VP's are setup with a $5,000 pre-approved spending limit, most C-level individuals with a $10K-$25K spending limit... any amount beyond that typically goes to a CFO / CEO / BOARD review and sign off before the funds are approved for payment. If you didn't know that, then you'll find out at the 11th hour that your deal could be 60 days before getting payment (if approved at all).

You may "think" you have a deal at $20K, but do you KNOW if the person you are dancing with actually has the authorization (or budget) to get the check cut from the Finance Dept?

You mentioned you are dealing with a large company. Post here the N.A.T.M. information that your contact provided and I'm sure that will help us.... to help you.

I hope the landscape overview is helpful...

-Jim

ps: I am hopeful you close the deal, just want you to win the battle knowing where some of the land mines might be. And avoiding some common pitfalls.

 

[frank-germany]

I had an offer of $5000 for a domain once. Got greedy and countered with $8,000 and then they deleted their email and disappeared. Do I regret it? Yea.

Food for thought.

Greed laughs at you when you listen to it.

I received an offer of 300 euro lately and countered 1500 euro
reply was "not interested anymore"

anyother guy offered 500 USD after my outbound mail where I offered the domain for 1400 USD
I countered 1100 USD
he said "thank you no"
I said ok $500 USD ok
he said "no interest no more"

shit happens
learn to accept it

but "always!" ask for more .
Nearly everybody will pay at least twice as much as their initial offer

 

[VOR]

Take the 20K.
Now subtract what you paid for it from 20K and consider yourself lucky.

 

[xynames]

Congrats. It depends on a variety of factors including whether the name has any independent value, and also the strength and assets of this company. Time is also a factor and if indeed they have contacted you before and this back and forth has been going on for years, that means they really want it.

On the other hand, a 20x increase in offer from 1k to 20k may be the extent of what they are willing to do.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

I had a first offer of $5000 rigjt out the gate for a domain once. Got greedy and countered with $8,000 and then they deleted their email and disappeared. Do I regret it? Yea.

Food for thought.

Greed laughs at you when you listen to it.

Although it is a 7 year old domain .

 

[Smiles76]

Worst case scenario say you are looking for $50K, but you will meet them in the middle at $25K.

Nope, worst case scenario is they could just walk and he gets nothing. Never assume that your domain is the only one an end-user is considering. People change their minds all the time.

 

[1Darko]

I have learned that whatever the offer is always counter!

 

[maxtorz]

lets say the $20k they offered is a needle in a haystack

You are not giving us enough data, and you are most likely negotiating against experts.
Not sure why you can't share the domain name??

If I was you and I have a 20k offer on a table for a .com name, I would do some massive research on things like: similar domain name sales, what niche/category/industry your names fall into(loans?realestate?app names? tech?etc), project the market/industry growth 5,10 years into the future and a ton of other stuff)
By doing ALL this and putting it all in a spreadsheet you are prepared to negotiate and BUILD VALUE not negotiate PRICE.
Even if you want and are happy with 20k I would reply something like this and I will explain why:
"Thank you for your generous offer, I want to take a few days to ponder this and I will revert back when I make my decision. Hey let me ask you this:
1.If we do strike a deal when are you able to complete this purchase and proceed with Escrow.com?
2.Other then yourself who else needs to be involved?

Thank you"

I would wait for a reply and see what kind of answers I get.
If I negotiate a 5 figure sale I want to always take a day or two to do my research before I make a decision.
If you accept the offer right away it can scare the buyer and it actually diminishes their confidence and value of your name. They might also be using time/stalling against You to negotiate a lower price IF you agree right away to their offer!!!
My first question is important because I want to know when I can actually close the deal. (I don't want to negotiate, come to an agreement and then they might reply "we will talk this in our board meeting next month and get back to you") You just lost control of that deal!
My second question is important because I want to make sure I am negotiating with a decision maker and if someone else needs to join the conversation I want to handle it now! ; not get something like ohh let me talk it over with my CMO and I will get back to you latter etc.
So I always want to know when I can close the deal and if I am talking to a decision maker!Then I proceed with the negociation.

Here's a scenario and how I missed 100s of deals over years doing outbound domain sales:
I asked $1000 for a domain;
Buyer offered $500;
I countered $800.
They said no.
Then I was like pissed and like wtf! I emailed back and said $500 is okay let's do it.
Then the buyer loses interest, won't reply and won't honor their $500 offer.
Can you guys relate?

 

[mr-x]

No-one wants to leave money on the table. Research similar sales.

 

[wwwweb]

Nope, worst case scenario is they could just walk and he gets nothing. Never assume that your domain is the only one an end-user is considering. People change their minds all the time.

Totally agree, we have all heard that no longer interested, but I always try to counter, you just never know, if they been watching it for 7 years, they likely they mean business.

Many times they make a big offer then flip the script due to the partner not being in agreement, so many games, Smiles76 makes a good point.

 

[xynames]

If he is going to just counteroffer, and not engage, he has to make a flat confident offer not say "I am looking for 50 but I will meet you at 25." - saying all that would be almost the same as simply countering at 25.

If the facts are as he describes, countering too high might lose the deal for a while, but they should be back at some point, although it might be a while.

 

[Mister Funsky]

A 'bird in the hand' as they say. Not too hard to find a LLL.com at that price...without more info on the name I would take the money (they pay escrow fees of course).

 

[xynames]

What's funny is that there must be people reading this thread now, salivating thinking they will go out and register a dot com for an existing foreign business and scoop up twenty easy K...not taking into consideration that this dot com here probably predated the business's existence, that it was seven years from the first offer to the $20K offer, that for whatever reason this particular business needed to expand its dot com / US presence, and might be a dot com with intrinsic value.

 

[maurixius]

After 2 long months of negotiation adex.net has been sold. I was told not to discuss the purchase price.

 

[Bullock]

whether the name has any independent value, and also the strength and assets of this company.

It is crucial, who may be interested in your domain name otherwise???

And, other companies/businesses could legitimately use it???

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

The trick is how to counter but still leave it open to come back and take the $20k after a month of letting them and you sweat it out

 

[Jasonn]

chances are you will blow it. 20k is probably them not wanting to negotiate so they offer the most they are willing right away. of course it depends on the domain but if its some random hand reg don't expect miracles.

 

[namezest]

You really need to give more info pm someone the info so they can give their views properly. That's just mho..