Need help with a potential sale through SEDO

[gametube101]

Dear Friends,

I need some help in estimating a potential sale through SEDO. I was in business a while a long time ago and stopped it for some time now.

Last year I bought a .CO domain name on a whim and sitting on it at the moment. It is parked at the register and not linked to SEDO in anyway. It has whois guard.

Couple of days ago someone from SEDO contacted me saying there is a client who is interested in buying the domain and asked me if I am interested to sell and if I had a price in mind.

I asked him to make an offer. I have the following questions?

1. Why did the client not contact me directly? By contacting me through Sedo, should I consider that this client is serious?
2. it is a name not with much keywords or metrics so it must be a potential name for a new business or an existing company on .com
3. Since there is a Sedo agent involved, I take it needs to be at least not in hundreds. Am I correct in this assumption?

I would love to have some cash but I am not in a hurry. While I do not want to sell the name for peanuts, I do not want to miss the chance to sell the name either.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[creataweb]

He's hiding his identity, or not smart enough to find you directly.

 

[xynames]

You’re overthinking it. Decide what the domain is worth / what you might be willing to take for it, and respond. Get the ball rolling.

As far as “brokers don’t get involved with low ball offers” - poppycock! Brokers will get involved with anyone interested in a domain and will try to get them up of course past the initial offer, but will also pass along in the end whatever offer they can get out of the buyer. Your receiving a 500 offer proves this.

 

[gametube101]

So got a reply today.

So far:

1. Contacted by Sedo brokerage
2. After couple of emails, Sedo offered 500$
3. I countered my starting point to be 2250$ (Last Friday)
4. Today (Aug 6th) Sedo came back saying the following:
The agent was able to get the client upto $1k. He also said he will see if he can improve upon that and left it at it.

So I am going to sit tight and wait for him to come back to me again. Once it above 1500, I am ready to close the deal.

For those interested/

 

[WatchDogue]

Personally I have had overall decent experiences with name sales on Sedo, although without the use of an agent.

If I was approached by a Sedo agent in similar circumstances to yours, I would believe the validity of the inquiry, remembering it is an inquiry and not a binding offer.

I would decide what I want dollar-wise for the name.

I would have tossed back a reasonable BN type price + maybe 20% for a negotiated counter-offer.

Pie in the sky price
vs
Bird in the Hand price;

IMO based on my sales opportunities lost I try to stay reasonable, Bird in the Hand approach, in pricing.

And I would believe the appearance of an Agent on behalf of the buyer suggests the buyer wants to conceal their identity and also is perhaps unaware of a fair market price and " how to negotiate " and navigate a clean, binding domain name purchase.

 

[alcy]

so did u check the com

 

[biggie]

perhaps the potential used sedo to contact you, so that if... you come to an agreement,
then sedo can handle the transfer/transaction, for them

it's a convenience for the buyer

and the ball is in your court now

imo.....

 

[gametube101]

Okay I investigated a bit on the Domain Brokerage service at Sedo.

sedo. com /brokerage/acquisition.php?language=us

It seems the following are the steps:

1. Application stage: a. The client submits a brokerage application form indicating the domain and the maximum price they are willing to pay (It does not say if it this is binding, but I believe it is implied)
b. No upfront fee but there is a potential fee of 69USD if the application is accepted

2. Review: a. Application with high probability of success will be accepted
b. Brokerage fee charged at this point

3. Negotiations: a. The broker will contact the domain owner and negotiate
4. Domain transfer with 15% commission paid by the client


So clearly, this inquiry is in negotiations stage with a 69$ brokerage fee already charged to the client. Client must have already stated their maximum investment for this name and Sedo broker thinks he can achieve that.

So, it is in Sedo's interest to reveal the maximum to me to speed up the process. I will wait. Note that this name is NOT on sedo's market place.

I also think that by paying 69USD, the client has shown a considerable desire for this name. Also the maximum limit should be at least more than 1K otherwise Sedo's brokerage will be doing all the leg work for peanuts on the sale.

What do you all think? Please note that your advice is greatly appreciated as I would love to receive some cash and at the same time want to maximize the returns on this name.

Thanks,

 

[BaileyUK]

This type of contact is part of Sedos normal day-to-day operations, so I wouldn't necessarily read too much into the contact coming from them to gauge your pricing strategy. Try to treat it as any email contact, the other thing to bare in mind the upfront $69 dollars the client pays is small fry and time/cost saving if they want to prevent the to-and-throwing of negotiating themselves.

I've had several of these Sedo contacts (unlisted domains) over the years , One or two had a max of $500 or so on the table. to them the $69 is just a tax deductible business expense,.. I've had one go to an accepted $2,000. You'll find out the clients max if your response is way over

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I would also say don't necessarily read too much into it. It might mean want to conceal identity, but more likely simply a corporate type who has dealt with Sedo in the past, and prefers that rather than deal with an individual domain investor.

Now Sedo seldom are involved when the price is too low, so I think you are right that at least a somewhat reasonable offer is probable. It is true that the average price of a Sedo handled transaction is $5920 in .com in YTD, although also true that the range is from $100 to $500,000! In the .co extension, surprising to me, the average price YTD in Sedo sale was $6994,with range from $200 to $6994.

I would try to independently of who is asking try to decide on two prices, what you would feel super elated but feel might sell at to the right owner, and the price you would be happy enough selling at even if you wanted a bit more. Best of luck with it.

 

[gametube101]

Great, I've been looking-out for your update.

My guess, and I do generally like dealing with Sedo is that money is possibly already there. (it's a negotiating response) it's looking like they want you at nearer $1k

1K is exactly what they came back with. You were on spot. But the broker kept his side of door open stating he will try for more without me even asking. So I am going to just wait 2 days at least.

Thanks,

 

[gametube101]

Thank you all, this is much useful information. For me to decide a fair price, there are no metrics much except the .com being on the same name ( a bio technology company) and my name could be used for fitness industry.

If I decide a number based on what I think, it could be way off what the client maybe interested to pay.

If someone engages a sedo agent, are they paying sedo any initial fee? What I am asking is that can anybody engage an agent just like that or have to have substantial interest?

For now, I will leave it for few days with the agent to make an offer as I am not sure what I want.

Thanks,

 

[alcy]

Just ask the broker what price range is the potential client working within.......This way you can gauge a price point and work accordingly, which means you don't commit yourself to a certain price?

brokers don't really work like this.

they want you to give them a bin price and your floor price and they make the deal from there.

 

[BaileyUK]

Even without knowing the domain, your counter feels intuitively right to me. (given your description) Don't forget Sedo are still working for the client. If that is close to the clients max - then they will probably counter at around $800, they are looking for fast closure as well but expect to work for their money. If they immediately accept your counter, then there was probably 3 or 4,000 on the table.

you'll get to know the max if your at double or more.

it's all in this lovely game of domaining
the nice thing about a unsolicited approach from Sedo, is their game is about negotiating Not the game of bluffing, that wouldn't do their reputation any long-term good

 

[gametube101]

Final update. Name transferred successfully and money received.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[gametube101]

I get that. So what should I infer from that information?

Thanks,

 

[gametube101]

Thank you. Appreciate your insight. For me, if it is not couple of thousand at least, not worth my time. I let many domains drop however this domain is not on the drop list anyway.

Thanks,

 

[BaileyUK]

Thank you. Appreciate your insight. For me, if it is not couple of thousand at least, not worth my time. I let many domains drop however this domain is not on the drop list anyway.

Thanks,

Let Sedo know that is your minimum, they deal with this stuff all day long, so your not going to get one of those "WHAT ?" responses

 

[frank-germany]

there is no problem with a broker contacting you
the buyer is hiding

sedo brokers won't work for low ball offers

ask for $10K or more

 

[BaileyUK]

sorry but, I disagree with franks post above. if a client is up to paying that sort of amount It's usually worth them handling it themselves, through an anonymous email address.

All sorts of offers go through Sedo brokers. it is just as likely to be low-ball. Do your own valuation and go from there. Sedo sending potentially only two or three emails for $69 (no deal) is well within their day to day stuff. I agree, their top brokers wont get involved below xx,xxx.

I seem to recall (from received requests) the email offers are identified by a named broker on the contact email, It's irrelevant though, unless you want to look-up the correspondent

 

[gametube101]

sorry but, I disagree with franks post above. if a client is up to paying that sort of amount It's usually worth them handling it themselves, through an anonymous email address.

All sorts of offers go through Sedo brokers. it is just as likely to be low-ball. Do your own valuation and go from there. Sedo sending potentially only two or three emails for $69 (no deal) is well within their day to day stuff. I agree, their top brokers wont get involved below xx,xxx.

I seem to recall (from received requests) the email offers are identified by a named broker on the contact email, It's irrelevant though, unless you want to look-up the correspondent

My own valuation of the domain is difficult as it is not a keyword domain although there is a keyword present, it is partial. So it is perceived value to the client that matters.

The email from Sedo has a broker name and I investigated anonymously to find out that the broker is with Sedo for 12 years with growing responsibilities.

I am going to wait at least until next week for the broker to come back with an offer.

I will update the thread as i hear back.

Thanks again for all the insight.

 

[BaileyUK]

And thank you for giving this update. I'm pretty sure Sedo don't play mind games when their hoping for a straight forward reasonable sale. As you say demand for the name may be limited and you've clearly identified its potential strengths and weaknesses. In my experience your better off stating a asking price in response to a Sedo request, otherwise they tend to come back with a low-ball offer. even when whats on the table may be more, On top of that, there's a small advantage to them letting you stew, if you haven't stated a price.
Put a couple of hours in and arrive at an asking price is my advice. At least you'll bring things to a quicker conclusion that way. Lets not forget as you say it's a .CO without probable demand

 

[frank-germany]

sorry but, I disagree with franks post above. if a client is up to paying that sort of amount It's usually worth them handling it themselves, through an anonymous email address.

All sorts of offers go through Sedo brokers. it is just as likely to be low-ball. Do your own valuation and go from there. Sedo sending potentially only two or three emails for $69 (no deal) is well within their day to day stuff. I agree, their top brokers wont get involved below xx,xxx.

I seem to recall (from received requests) the email offers are identified by a named broker on the contact email, It's irrelevant though, unless you want to look-up the correspondent

a broker won't work for a low ball offers

 

[BaileyUK]

a broker won't work for a low ball offers

Sedos general brokerage team will work to clients instructions providing they consider offer to be reasonable and a transaction achievable . (for obvious reasons this mostly applies to non-listed/no-price advertised domains) I can only go, and therefore post from my own experience. Maybe you haven't been contacted by their day-to-day team. I can assure you the brokerage team final offers are not always above mid $xxx. This particularly applies to domains outside of dot com

 

[NickB]

Just ask the broker what price range is the potential client working within.......This way you can gauge a price point and work accordingly, which means you don't commit yourself to a certain price?