discuss Not knowing who my buyer is

[abstractdomainer]

Whenever I need to make a choice for a domain name, it makes me worried if I do not know who my buyer for the domain name is. Does this happen with you as well?

Let me explain..

So let us take the case of Symphony.com - Now this is a general term and there might be some companies who may have a brandable value for this domain name. Symphony could be a music company or general finance or any other business for that matter. You know that the name is good, is one-word, brandable and brands can benefit from the name.

But in this case, do you know who your buyer would be? Till when would you have to hold the domain name for the right price? I think you do not know this. You are banking on the name more than the prospects who could benefit from the name.

And that brings me to the question:

Do you believe in betting more on the name than on the prospects who might end up buying that name?

Because, at times, you may not know who your buyer is going to be! Just that whoever they are, is going to benefit from the name. How do you make a decision in such a case?

 

[bmugford]

You sure ask a lot of theoretical questions about sales.

In this scenario, Symphony.com is an amazing single word .COM.

I would not really care who the buyer was. I would price the domain high enough that I would be happy with the sale price, regardless of the buyer. Outside that I would be happy to pay $10/year to renew it forever until the right buyer did come along.

Brad

 

[biggie]

Hi

don't see anyone buying a domain, just to sell to one specific entity, because if they are not interested or can't afford it, then what.

if anything, you want names that appeal to widest audience possible.

most domainers buy based on the domain only, but they also see the potential of it's resale value because of the applications it can be used for.

"category domains" like 4 letter/number or less, premium or high quality one and two word domains are pretty much guaranteed to resell or get offers to purchase, at some point in time.

so owners of such names are not focused who will buy, but more so on how much roi, they can garner.

with newbies like you entering the game, there are always new buyers for names that we bought.... before you found out about domaining.

therefore, there will be plenty of prospects, and all we have to do is wait for the right one.


imo...

 

[johnn]

Do you need to know if they are male or female also?
You are wasting people time by asking too many nonsense questions.
May be you want to go to back to the appraisal section and post your prediction there.

 

[bmugford]

There is kind of a misconception that big companies are idiots when in comes to buying domains, and will just put out large amounts of money for any domain.

Also, it is not like a large company is just going to email you from [email protected].
They normally do a good job protecting their identity.

I price domains based on my perceived value. If a buyer wants to pay it cool, if a buyer doesn't want to pay it that is fine also. Either way I am fine if I get my price, regardless of the buyer.

Brad

 

[Revisiting]

You (and the rest of us) are working on the balance of probabilities - Some are more certain then others. Don't overweigh yourself with complex scenarios that may or may not be relevant. Understand the domain(s) you hold and let the buyers worry about outcomes after a sale. I have never taken any interest in where and with who my domain sales end up with. Don't lead yourself down the never ending road of post sale reflection. Obviously if they end up on TV/Radio just have a smile to yourself.

By all means conduct a few hours of due diligence but that should be more about the domain than the potential buyer. You've got no idea how many options they have on the table

 

[winst]

If you own a piece of land, your buyer might be a large developer who might want to build an office building, a restauranteur who wanted to build a new steakhouse, or another investor who just wanted to own your location. You don't have to know who the buyer is specifically, but you do need to think clearly why someone wanted that location.

It all depends on your strategy, but remember a domain name is just part of the "branding" for organizations. Don't take the word so literally. Take your "Symphony" for example, did you know it was a name for a software platform by IBM? It was also the name of an open source PHP framework, and the name of a chat software company.

After I sold a restaurant related name, I used the money to invest in more restaurant related names because I know there is a market. But investing in general does require a leap of faith at the beginning, only time will tell if you are on the right track or not.

 

[Revisiting]

We are always in a Speculative market - the more you know (mostly built on personal sales history and negotiations) tells you everything that's wonderful and what you need to know

Given the number of newbies that I don't think have a clue (Business relationship/relativity) I think I'm ready to step back in

 

[biggie]

Don't overweigh yourself with complex scenarios that may or may not be relevant.

Don't lead yourself down the never ending road of post sale reflection.

Hi

Those quotes above by @Revisiting, describe exactly the pattern of questions that the OP and other newbies seem to dwell on the most.

a lot irrelevant bull and wondering who buyer is,
instead of just trying to get the amount you want for the domain.

imo...

 

[boker]

Hi

Those quotes above by @Revisiting, describe exactly the pattern of questions that the OP and other newbies seem to dwell on the most.

a lot irrelevant bull and wondering who buyer is,
instead of just trying to get the amount you want for the domain.

imo...

In the same time, not wondering who the buyer is, could make you loose lots of money in some particular cases. Let's take 'hatred' for example, it could have sold for 10k or 250k just weeks apart and what made a difference for cashing big, was knowing the buyer. It takes guts, information and lots of luck, but in some cases, it can make a difference.

 

[King]

I don't really care, as long as I am getting paid.

 

[Revisiting]

There's always a big element of 'Discovery' but if it's not apparent Don't create maybe scenarios - 95% of domainers seem to live on that maybe/could be scenario

It's a wicked self-destructing road

 

[MapleDots]

Whenever I get a pricing inquiry I always respond by sending them to my form.
I tell them all inquiries start by filling out the form.

There is one tiny little legal tidbit on the form which probably is not legally binding but at least you will gain some insight into who the client is.

If you want to see a sample of the form you can see it here

 

[biggie]

In the same time, not wondering who the buyer is, could make you loose lots of money in some particular cases. Let's take 'hatred' for example, it could have sold for 10k or 250k just weeks apart and what made a difference for cashing big, was knowing the buyer. It takes guts, information and lots of luck, but in some cases, it can make a difference.

Hi

there is big difference is knowing who buyer "might be", after you get an inquiry or offer.
than before you buy it.....and knowing who the buyer "will be".

those who acquired domains in late 90's early 2000, certainly didn't know who the buyers of their names would be....
and many are still holding such names, waiting for right buyer.....
and when or if, they decide to sell, it won't be because of who the buyer is, but whether they can pay asking price for the name in question.

imo...

 

[KTC]

I don't really care, as long as I am getting paid.

The only answer you need.

 

[unmark]

The only angle I see it might be important to know who the buyer was and what else the company does or owns, if knowing that info could add to the deal more of your domains and sell them as well.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Whenever I need to make a choice for a domain name, it makes me worried if I do not know who my buyer for the domain name is. Does this happen with you as well?

Let me explain..

So let us take the case of Symphony.com - Now this is a general term and there might be some companies who may have a brandable value for this domain name. Symphony could be a music company or general finance or any other business for that matter. You know that the name is good, is one-word, brandable and brands can benefit from the name.

But in this case, do you know who your buyer would be? Till when would you have to hold the domain name for the right price? I think you do not know this. You are banking on the name more than the prospects who could benefit from the name.

And that brings me to the question:

Do you believe in betting more on the name than on the prospects who might end up buying that name?

Because, at times, you may not know who your buyer is going to be! Just that whoever they are, is going to benefit from the name. How do you make a decision in such a case?

AD....i wish we knew a little more about you, but i guess you have good reason for the anonymity. You pose an interesting question imo. I recently went through a process buying hundreds of real estate domains where in most cases I know my buyer will be a realtor, and for those GEO domains like ManhattanRealty(.)xxx, I know my buyer will be a realtor in Manhattan. Which one? I'm not sure, but that's my target audience.

Moving on...your question prompted me to experiment with a domain idea for GreenEnrichment(.)xxx. First, GD values it at $1,425, but when looking at the comparable's I happen to notice GreenExchange.com that GD values at $8,000. It turns out that Green Exchange if you check out their website has been around since 2006 and they're operated/managed/owned by Baum Realty Group from Chicago who happens to be one of the largest "green development" companies in America.

Baum Realty has 35 key executive employees to include the principal David Baum, so if you were to ask who may be the purchaser of the domain GreenEnrichment.xxx it may very well be someone in that group? Either that or someone in that group may like the name well enough they may help broker it for me.

Note too that GD identifies "enrichment" as a keyword and it values it at $2,096.

Anyway AD....your post got me to thinking outside the box, and that's the way money is made. Thanks

 

[abstractdomainer]

You sure ask a lot of theoretical questions about sales.

In this scenario, Symphony.com is an amazing single word .COM.

I would not really care who the buyer was. I would price the domain high enough that I would be happy with the sale price, regardless of the buyer. Outside that I would be happy to pay $10/year to renew it forever until the right buyer did come along.

Brad

SO in one line, you are saying you would trust the domain name knowing that there could be a number of buyers out there!

Hi

don't see anyone buying a domain, just to sell to one specific entity, because if they are not interested or can't afford it, then what.

if anything, you want names that appeal to widest audience possible.

most domainers buy based on the domain only, but they also see the potential of it's resale value because of the applications it can be used for.

"category domains" like 4 letter/number or less, premium or high quality one and two word domains are pretty much guaranteed to resell or get offers to purchase, at some point in time.

so owners of such names are not focused who will buy, but more so on how much roi, they can garner.

with newbies like you entering the game, there are always new buyers for names that we bought.... before you found out about domaining.

therefore, there will be plenty of prospects, and all we have to do is wait for the right one.


imo...

Valuable info. Everyone was a newbie before they became an expert. There will always be newbies in any business. If new people ain't entering, you are in the wrong business and possibly you might have to leave too!

You (and the rest of us) are working on the balance of probabilities - Some are more certain then others. Don't overweigh yourself with complex scenarios that may or may not be relevant. Understand the domain(s) you hold and let the buyers worry about outcomes after a sale. I have never taken any interest in where and with who my domain sales end up with. Don't lead yourself down the never ending road of post sale reflection. Obviously if they end up on TV/Radio just have a smile to yourself.

By all means conduct a few hours of due diligence but that should be more about the domain than the potential buyer. You've got no idea how many options they have on the table

And hence the question, when you do the research, do you look at the potential buyers? Or do you simply look at the domain name and think that someone will end up buying.

 

[abstractdomainer]

Whenever I get a pricing inquiry I always respond by sending them to my form.
I tell them all inquiries start by filling out the form.

There is one tiny little legal tidbit on the form which probably is not legally binding but at least you will gain some insight into who the client is.

If you want to see a sample of the form you can see it here

Don't you think its a long exercise and can discourage a lot of buyers?

 

[bmugford]

SO in one line, you are saying you would trust the domain name knowing that there could be a number of buyers out there!

A domain like Symphony.com is worth a lot of money because it is a single word .COM with an almost endless pool of potential buyers. It doesn't take a domain genius to realize that.

The larger the pool of (realistic) potential buyers, the more valuable the domain likely is.

Brad

 

[Samer]

A domain like Symphony.com is worth a lot of money because it is a single word .COM with an almost endless pool of potential buyers. It doesn't take a domain genius to realize that.

The larger the pool of (realistic) potential buyers, the more valuable the domain likely is.

Brad

Especially when you try to sell-non .Com

If inbound potential prospect must be out mind

hahaha

 

[bmugford]

Especially when you try to sell-non .Com

If inbound potential prospect must be out mind

hahaha

I sell non .COM all the time. In the last 7-10 days I have sold -

(5) .COM
(2) .ORG
(1) .NET
(1) .US

However, the non .COM are amazing keywords or brands. The lower quality of the extension, the higher quality the term needs to be.

There are some buyers who will buy a term in a secondary extension that they could never afford in .COM.

Brad

 

[karmaco]

I see far too much dwelling on who is the buyer. The identity of the buyer has nothing to do with your bottom line. People who play that game have alot of failed negotiations.

Same people have large chunk of their portfolio on SH or BB or Afternic or DAN (majorly underpriced in some cases) and are ok to part with a name at low XXXX there. When you get a sold email you are happy and don’t wonder if it went too cheap most of the time. Or geez what if Google bought my name? Who cares. They bought at the price given.

When purchasing a name you should of course take into consideration potential buyers current or future possibilities.

But if your entire portfolio is based on end users, estibot, data points, age, emd, etc you are missing the unpredictable human element. Liking or not liking a name, rebranding, other close options to this name, etc. Don’t get bogged down on the what ifs. Humans are buying these names not machines. And humans are always unpredictable.

The name should be something you believe in enough to hold onto for more than one renewal cycle. The pricing, while more difficult is not rocket science and should be your main focus. That you have priced it according to its worth not according to a perceived id of a buyer.

 

[bmugford]

The name should be something you believe in enough to hold onto for more than one renewal cycle.

I think this is a key point. The more marginal domains you buy and own, the harder it is when making decisions on renewals.

For the last several years I have only been purchasing domains that I am confident in and willing to renew long term.

I realize some people have a churn and burn business model, but that is not my business model.
If you want to make end users sales consistently, there is no substitute for time.

Brad

 

[FolioTeam]

I think you should be more concerned about the use case of a domain than who the exact buyer will be.

Getting a great domain with multiple use cases, spanning several niches is ideal compared to a domain that might be restricted in its use.

Compare Air.com and Food.com. Both are great names. But one has more versatility than the other.