Need your opinion - Inbound inquiry from fortune 500 company

[Joshh71390]

Hello, so I got an email from Neilson Group today - Inquiring about one of my keyword domains. I mean they basicly control anything you watch on tv, and this seems like a domain which will be a category killer.

Only issue was I was in class and asked for an offer. The man responded a few times and then but a very low xxx range. Do I take the money and run, or do I send somthing crazy back? They made i think 6billion profit last year, am I going to lose the sale if I try to counter?

Or maybe I should speak to a broker?

What do you guys think?

 

[offersity]

The way I see it, if someone comes to you with $xxx offer, he more likely than not will be willing to pay in the $x,xxx, or even $xx,xxx (not always the case I know).

Obviously there are more variables/factors to every transaction, but generally, a seller with experience, enough cash and patience, is more likely to be handsomely rewarded.

As everyone said, a sale is a sale and op did make profit, so congrats to op!

 

[DU]

Lots of companies try to buy domains by having employees use personal emails.

Fortune 500 companies will not use personal email to do company business.
Fortune 500 companies do not like their employees using their company email for personal business.
Fortune 500 companies may use 3rd parties / unknown entities to negotiate on their behalf.

Knowing Nielsen quite well - they would not spend a lot of money on a domain as their entire purpose and value is built purely around their brand.
If this was a real play they would already own stream music, stream movies, and many other stream names. Streaming has been terrible for NMR from a business standpoint. There's no reason EDM would stand out. They don't even build out or redirect tvratings.com etc.

The fact that op spells it Neilson the whole time doesn't make this clear to me that he even was talking to the company. If it was a work title you could very easily figure out the person's role in the company (engineer vs marketing vs legal). That should have been the first step, imho.

That all said - a $50 bump?

I received an email from a VP of Tesla Motors in the past. He contacted me via his business email but he's just trying to buy the domain name for his own use, not for Tesla Motors Inc. We finally completed that deal.

I doubt a VP of Tesla follows the same rules as a regular employee from a regular corporation And, well done, virtual back slap ???

At first sight, the domain looks as a not worth even the registration fee. However, doing some search I find that EDM is used for Electric Dance Music on Google. So your name is Stream EDM. I even find some results with EDM in the same paragraph with Nielsen:

EDM Music & Dance Songs Chart | Billboard
www.billboard.com/charts/dance-electronic-songs
Billboard
This week's most popular dance/electronic songs, based on radio airplay audience impressions as measured by Nielsen Music, sales data as compiled by ...
‎Zedd · ‎Calvin Harris · ‎Martin Garrix

This is the danger of over-reliance on Google, imho. You could probably find Nielsen commenting on anything related to media... they are a Media Research company. You could think that they would be interested in LoveSponge.com if you don't understand or over-depend the pure results Google presents you with.

The name itself is not that great the focus of the stream is on the wrong end.. and the ed ends the first word. StreamedM is awkward, imho.

I think if the OP made a profit and is happy then everyone should be happy for them and leave it at that. I personally doubt that the price would be the XX,XXX that everyone assumes a company will pay just because they have money (and they don't have budgets?!).

My only advice is sound advice.

DON'T EVER GO BACK AND SEE WHAT THE SITE ENDED UP AS (unless you can handle disappointment)

 

[tomcarl]

A couple of tips, if I may...

1. Same reason you may not want to post the exact domain being inquired about without masking it, next time don't mention the exact company name of the inquirer in a post like this on NP without masking it in some way. They're brand-monitoring and can easily forward this post to whoever would be in charge of making this type of acquisition.

2. In my personal opinion, A million/billion-dollar company should always have at least $xxxx at disposal for a domain name, even if they're going to use it as a "throw-away", short-term, marketing campaign domain. I doubt they're paying their webmasters $250 dollars to develop the domain so why should you accept $250 for the domain itself? Also, take a look at the domain and ask yourself how much time/resources would it take to develop this domain out? If it's a streaming service, they're obviously not going to get it off of the ground with peanuts. Price it accordingly.

3. It's more understandable for company with money to only be willing to spend or offer low-mid $xxx (and mean it) if you're making outbound inquiries because it's likely only a trophy domain to them, but an inbound inquiry means they have a specific plan for it so $xxx should never be accepted without a 4 figure counter.

4. Lowball $xxx offers from these companies can be a negotiation tactic to keep your counter-offer more grounded, while if they were to make an initial $x,xxx offer, it can leave them open to you countering at $xx,xxx or more which is what they don't want and probably won't spend if it's only a small project.

5. This is valuable experience gained and a lesson learned so you should not feel bad about it in an way, you've just made $250 bucks on a name you likely paid $10 for. Now re-invest, buy 10-15 domains from GD Closeouts and turn this one domain sale opportunity you had in your account into 10-15 opportunities for a sale in your account. Grow your portfolio. It's a numbers game.

Remember, At the end of the day, should this sale not even close or the buyer backs out (if it was actually just for him and he was a dreamer), you'll probably be feeling bad about not getting $250! But don't accept that price in the future.

G'luck

 

[kemjika11]

OP likely undersold by at least 2-9X sales price. If they really want the name they'll wait AND buy it for your accepted cheaper price after sellers tough bargain for higher price doesn't work. This Domainer actually did the reverse of what domaomers do. Most domaoners see or smell wealthy inquirer and raise them prices! This guy got a brand name inquirer and went easy on him(price wise).that's a bit interesting IMO. But its a great reminder why going low to high xxxx over long term wins all day everyday. Don't ascribe poverty or lack of funds b4 u actually know that for a fact.good domains r worth good price so why go softon pricewhen u know ur selling a good name? This buyer really won. Let that not be lost on anyone

 

[DU]

This buyer really won. Let that not be lost on anyone

I would say that anyone who would have spent $2500 (taking your x9 multiple) on this name would have severely lost so it goes both ways.

It's all opinion and there is no right one except for the buyer's.

The difference is that you're speculating on what-ifs and the OP is dealing with actuals. Let that not be lost either.

 

[mrliu]

WAITING

 

[maxtorz]

So he already agreed to take $250??
WOW.No fortune 500 company will reach out to a domain owner and have their budget maxed out at $250.

Here's my approach to such inquiry and this can pay off BIG:

1.Reply short of being offended to their $XXX offer, but BE professional don't burn your bridge;
2.If they ask, how much do you want for the name, reverse the question and reply "what's your budget?"
3.I would also ask how and when they can complete the transaction if you end up striking a deal?
By asking a bunch of questions without talking money first, you "qualify" them.

After you qualify your potential buyer, then ask for 20k for example or more depending on the intel you gather.
If they reply saying it's a crazy number, or counter from $250 to $1000(hypothetically) just say that You would love to do business with them BUT you don't have too; thank them for their time and remind them your offer is valid 7 days.
2 things can happen next: 1)They won't reply or 2)They will increase the offer

SIDE NOTE:
At all times remember that YOU are the owner of the domain and YOU are in control of the negotiation, NOT them. Once you loose control of the negotiation, you will end up with well $250 in this case instead of $20,000-$30.000 sale.

 

[pablohc86]

second my opinion you made a nice sale as the profit have a great ROI.
Maybe you could have asked something more as they are a big company but I agree with nothing over 1500/2000$ as i do not see so many other buyer for that name.
at least try to counter with 2000$ and see they reply.
If they want it also for a low price i'm sure they don't run away for a 2k counter but it would be possible if you had ask 20000+

 

[james haw]

What if the buyers maximum budget for this domain was $250?

 

[Kate]

What if the buyers maximum budget for this domain was $250?

That could mean he was not the right buyer. Sometimes you have to say no, unless you have reason to think there won't be another potential buyer ever again. The first offer received is often the last too...

Just because they are a Fortune 500 company, doesn't mean they are prepared to pay huge sums.
Just because they are a Fortune 500 company, doesn't mean they understand the value of domain names any better than other end users.

Still, $250 is pocket change. IMO the OP must have left money on the table. He could have asked for more just to make his time worthwhile. That doesn't mean he's taking advantage of a well-funded company. A consultant usually earns more than $250 in one single day. The average amount of invoices processed by that company must be significantly higher than $250.
So he quoted 2K but accepted 250. The other party must be thinking he was desperate to sell and the bluff has paid off nicely. As an added bonus, the employee will perhaps be congratulated by his boss on his negotiation skills, having secured the domain name for a 1/20th of the allocated budget...

 

[DU]

That could mean he was not the right buyer. Sometimes you have to say no, unless you have reason to think there won't be another potential buyer ever again. The first offer received is often the last too...

I'm going with the bold in this case. There are similar/comparable better names available that fit the same niche, imho.

Still, $250 is pocket change. IMO the OP must have left money on the table. He could have asked for more just to make his time worthwhile.

Which is it? Must have left money on the table or th first offer received is often the last? Or are we hedging our bets.

Remember that $250 is not pocket change for everyone.

If you drive a Porsche as your daily driver, yes.
If you're in high-school working full time as a student, maybe.
If you are on minimum wage then it's a week's worth of work in many states.
If you are in another county, that might be one month's worth of work.

We shouldn't presume that all people are created equal living in first world luxury.

As an added bonus, the employee will perhaps be congratulated by his boss on his negotiation skills, having secured the domain name for a 1/20th of the allocated budget...

You don't understand how the US works. Chances of this are close to 0% imho. If it was an employee the id and function of that employee would have been easy to find out

 

[forge]

cancel that

This thread sure is being "milked". So what gives with the initial scenario?

 

[jamesau]

This is worth a read for anybody in a similar situation in future: https://www.namepros.com/blog/the-story-of-my-first-five-figure-sale-from-a-69-purchase.925278

 

[GoKaizen]

Companies do have employees use personal emails. To make sure they are not screwing you around, demand they use a "business email."

Most companies are not smart enough to use a domain broker... unfortunately.