question Outbound Options and Alternatives

[omardomaining]

Hello everyone,

I have a small number of domains in my tiny portfolio - a beginner / zero sales - which can be considered as GEOs. I even found a number of potential buyers for the domains who own domains in which I believe mine would be more superior.
The only thing is I tend to be more closer to passive selling than active selling. I do not feel comfortable about outbound selling, but I registered those 3 domains at the start of my domaining education and now realize that selling them would most probably require outbound emailing/marketing.

I believe they are decent domains in their niches with potential buyers available. I want to find a way to sell them so I could use the proceeds to then focus on the other domains and build up my portfolio.

I thought of sending the potential buyers I found from my free Gmail account but as I understand using free emails isn't recommended in outbound selling. I was thinking why should I get a paid email if I am only planning to use it for a handful of times.



What are my best options ?

Is there anyway the outbound emailing could be outsourced ? Does such a service even exist ? For example

 

[M.Y]

Hi,
A business email would be better if you wanted to do outbound long-term, but If it's only those 3 domains then just contact the businesses via your Gmail. It won't take you long to do either.

Regarding email service for your domains, try some domains brokers to see if they will promote.

 

[omardomaining]

Hi,
A business email would be better if you wanted to do outbound long-term, but If it's only those 3 domains then just contact the businesses via your Gmail. It won't take you long to do either.

Regarding email service for your domains, try some domains brokers to see if they will promote.

Thanks for your kind input.

But would brokers work for xxx figure GEO domains ? Where could I find such services ?

Regards,

 

[bmugford]

Thanks for your kind input.

But would brokers work for xxx figure GEO domains ? Where could I find such services ?

Regards,

No.

Legitimate brokers are not going to be bothered pitching $XXX GEO domains.

It is just not worth the time, for a potential portion of a $XXX sale.

Brad

 

[BetoWH7]

Hello everyone,

I have a small number of domains in my tiny portfolio - a beginner / zero sales - which can be considered as GEOs. I even found a number of potential buyers for the domains who own domains in which I believe mine would be more superior.
The only thing is I tend to be more closer to passive selling than active selling. I do not feel comfortable about outbound selling, but I registered those 3 domains at the start of my domaining education and now realize that selling them would most probably require outbound emailing/marketing.

I believe they are decent domains in their niches with potential buyers available. I want to find a way to sell them so I could use the proceeds to then focus on the other domains and build up my portfolio.

I thought of sending the potential buyers I found from my free Gmail account but as I understand using free emails isn't recommended in outbound selling. I was thinking why should I get a paid email if I am only planning to use it for a handful of times.



What are my best options ?

Is there anyway the outbound emailing could be outsourced ? Does such a service even exist ? For example

i understand how you feel about outbound selling and being shy, but you must understand that you are offering a good domain that will result in benefits for the buyer.
there are very good threads in this forum about outbound selling (sorry i dont have the links )
but as they have suggested me also.
be brief, short to the point, dont add links in the email as it might end in the spam folder.
offer value, and realize that at the end you are the one interested in selling, so go out there and try
also remember that you will have to send many emails and probably 1 or 2 will actually be interested

still good luck and i hope you sell fast
take care

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

I thought of sending the potential buyers I found from my free Gmail account but as I understand using free emails isn't recommended in outbound selling. I was thinking why should I get a paid email if I am only planning to use it for a handful of times.

Some businesses have contact forms, which can also be used to submit directly to their customer service department or technical support. While this may not likely be successful, this could be used in addition to emails.

Consider also taking privacy off the domains, so the businesses can check to see if you are the legitimate owner and contact you by a method of their choice, whether phone, mail, or email.

As a caveat, note that taking privacy off is not simple to do with some registrars, even if they say the have done so. If you do take if off, double check on lookup.icann.org, to make certain that it is actually off. Having potential buyers able to contact you directly may be a powerful tool.

 

[M.Y]

Thanks for your kind input.

But would brokers work for xxx figure GEO domains ? Where could I find such services ?

Regards,

It's highly unlikely to happen as Brad has explained.

Better to research and compile a list of potential suitors and contact them direct.

 

[Goku]

Outbound should be done manually. Keep in mind that your not spamming the end user. If there is any phone number available or if you can connect via LinkedIn then that would be more effective.

 

[twiki]

Some businesses have contact forms, which can also be used to submit directly to their customer service department or technical support. While this may not likely be successful, this could be used in addition to emails.

Consider also taking privacy off the domains, so the businesses can check to see if you are the legitimate owner and contact you by a method of their choice, whether phone, mail, or email.

As a caveat, note that taking privacy off is not simple to do with some registrars, even if they say the have done so. If you do take if off, double check on lookup.icann.org, to make certain that it is actually off. Having potential buyers able to contact you directly may be a powerful tool.

Well. If you take off domain privacy, brace first.

Brace for an incoming flood of spam phone calls, emails, SMS, Whatsapp messages etc with everyone trying to sell you some crap. Including pre-selling domains to you, that haven't even dropped yet.

That's why I don't do this.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

Well. If you take off domain privacy, brace first.

Brace for an incoming flood of spam phone calls, emails, SMS, Whatsapp messages etc with everyone trying to sell you some crap. Including pre-selling domains to you, that haven't even dropped yet.

That's why I don't do this.

That was my experience initially, but spam blocking appears to have improved substantially now over the years. Especailly this past year, at least in the U.S., the Feds have really helped to crack down on the spam. Google must be blacklisting more and more email servers. The mail spam has gone down tremendously.

Keep in mind that there have been numerous concerns raised in the forum about owners not receiving messages from interested buyers. If someone prefers to contact you directly, inquiring about one of your great domain names, wouldn't you like them to have that option?

 

[twiki]

That was my experience initially, but spam blocking appears to have improved substantially now over the years. Especailly this past year, at least in the U.S., the Feds have really helped to crack down on the spam. Google must be blacklisting more and more email servers. The mail spam has gone down tremendously.

Keep in mind that there have been numerous concerns raised in the forum about owners not receiving messages from interested buyers. If someone prefers to contact you directly, inquiring about one of your great domain names, wouldn't you like them to have that option?

If someone wants to contact you via Whois, they already can. There is a contact form in Whois.

Otherwise, if your registrar doesn't have that, use another registrar.

I've had Whois privacy off for a longer time (one year) and got no leads. This is because I make sure my domain is LISTED, has a BIN price, and my landers are working.

I've turned Whois privacy on ever since. Who wants, can contact me via the form already. Or ask the registrar (they do that).

Spam - you're underestimating new spammers with Gmail accounts etc. They've gone creative.

Also, there is another problem. I've been once almost been served with a lawsuit, well, due to the fact that they went through Whois and had no idea who's at the other end, we got both time to prepare legally AND kept them in the blind before our initial response, which came into our advantage.

One over another, I see this as a dumb idea. Sorry to be frank. But maybe helps with sales? Yeah, but comes at a cost. Not to mention making your personal details public and connected to the names you own.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

You are probably right, and you have vast experience to back you up.

This was one of the key questions for me, and an issue perhaps of personal preference. If you are outbounding, and someone wants to check to verify that you really are the registrant, can they really do so readily? "Privacy off" at the registrar interface may not actually mean that your privacy is off.

I've had Whois privacy off for a longer time (one year) and got no leads. This is because I make sure my domain is LISTED, has a BIN price, and my landers are working.

I thought I had privacy off at two registrars. I was surprised to learn that for both the whois information still wasn't showing up. After enlisting the help of ICANN in two cases, this was very briefly fixed. However, when I rechecked shortly after the cases were closed---privacy settings returned despite clearly having it check off in my settings
. After multiple phone calls and emails, I finally gave up and transferred virtually all of the domains elsewhere. That registrar has kindly provided true "privacy off" settings for those that want that.

At this point, the issue remains with a handful of domains left at the one registar. Telephone support was taking up to two hours to even be able to talk to someone about it.
They verified that both the lookup.icann.org and whois information wasn't showing up. They then clicked something again, said it was showing...and of course, still the problem recurred. Basically, it seems you have to transfer the domain elsewhere to really have the problem go away.

Do you know really whether your privacy was truly off that year that you didn't hear from anyone?

 

[BetoWH7]

If someone wants to contact you via Whois, they already can. There is a contact form in Whois.

Otherwise, if your registrar doesn't have that, use another registrar.

I've had Whois privacy off for a longer time (one year) and got no leads. This is because I make sure my domain is LISTED, has a BIN price, and my landers are working.

I've turned Whois privacy on ever since. Who wants, can contact me via the form already. Or ask the registrar (they do that).

Spam - you're underestimating new spammers with Gmail accounts etc. They've gone creative.

Also, there is another problem. I've been once almost been served with a lawsuit, well, due to the fact that they went through Whois and had no idea who's at the other end, we got both time to prepare legally AND kept them in the blind before our initial response, which came into our advantage.

One over another, I see this as a dumb idea. Sorry to be frank. But maybe helps with sales? Yeah, but comes at a cost. Not to mention making your personal details public and connected to the names you own.

i have to completely agree with @twiki here.
i do believe that being a little paranoid and protecting personal details as much as we can is a must.
and not only from bad people, but there are also a lot of jealous people out there.
Don't give them the opportunity to know more info than needed.
That's my opinion, it's better to think that everyone out there is a thief ( and hopefully be wrong! ) than be naive and think that everyone is nice.
protect your data and share info only as needed.

 

[twiki]

You are probably right, and you have vast experience to back you up.

This was one of the key questions for me, and an issue perhaps of personal preference. If you are outbounding, and someone wants to check to verify that you really are the registrant, can they really do so readily? "Privacy off" at the registrar interface may not actually mean that your privacy is off.



I thought I had privacy off at two registrars. I was surprised to learn that for both the whois information still wasn't showing up. After enlisting the help of ICANN in two cases, this was very briefly fixed. However, when I rechecked shortly after the cases were closed---privacy settings returned despite clearly having it check off in my settings
. After multiple phone calls and emails, I finally gave up and transferred virtually all of the domains elsewhere. That registrar has kindly provided true "privacy off" settings for those that want that.

At this point, the issue remains with a handful of domains left at the one registar. Telephone support was taking up to two hours to even be able to talk to someone about it.
They verified that both the lookup.icann.org and whois information wasn't showing up. They then clicked something again, said it was showing...and of course, still the problem recurred. Basically, it seems you have to transfer the domain elsewhere to really have the problem go away.

Do you know really whether your privacy was truly off that year that you didn't hear from anyone?

Yes, privacy was off indeed.

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

i have to completely agree with @twiki here.
i do believe that being a little paranoid and protecting personal details as much as we can is a must.
and not only from bad people, but there are also a lot of jealous people out there.
Don't give them the opportunity to know more info than needed.

Absolutely, I prefer that. But let me explain why this matters.

When an Orthodox Jewish therapist wished to have a domain for her practice, she contacted me directly. The interaction was delightful. She got the domain.

A Canadian breast surgeon treating cancer patients suddenly learned that the local newspaper was about to publish a story where they misquoted her web domain. she contacted me directly with an urgent need to at least redirect my domain to hers. She did charitable works, like baking cookies for fund raising for her cancer patients. She got the domain.

There are no doubt plenty of ill-intentioned characters out there, but it's good also to be able to interact with the more noble ones.

Let me explain why I have great concerns about privacy off. To my surprise, several years ago, I learned that there had been 11 alleged "negotiations" by domain brokers. This was a section on this registrar's site that I had not been aware of.

Out of the 11 domain broker cases, I was only aware of and directly involved with one. I was unaware of the other 10. For 7 potential buyers, they may have been informed that negotiations had failed, when instead the truth was that I never even knew they were interested in the domains. They did not get the domains.

There were three that were apparently successfully negotiated without my knowledge. The domains had disappeared from my account. There was a button stating to push it to get paid. Well, I tried clicking on the button to receive the funds, but it didn't work. When I called customer service, they indicated that the cases had been closed. So, alleged negotiations were successful, but I don't get paid?

That, my fellow Namepros members, is part of the reason that I really prefer to have the option of direct contact with potential buyers.

 

[BetoWH7]

Absolutely, I prefer that. But let me explain why this matters.

When an Orthodox Jewish therapist wished to have a domain for her practice, she contacted me directly. The interaction was delightful. She got the domain.

A Canadian breast surgeon treating cancer patients suddenly learned that the local newspaper was about to publish a story where they misquoted her web domain. she contacted me directly with an urgent need to at least redirect my domain to hers. She did charitable works, like baking cookies for fund raising for her cancer patients. She got the domain.

There are no doubt plenty of ill-intentioned characters out there, but it's good also to be able to interact with the more noble ones.

Let me explain why I have great concerns about privacy off. To my surprise, several years ago, I learned that there had been 11 alleged "negotiations" by domain brokers. This was a section on this registrar's site that I had not been aware of.

Out of the 11 domain broker cases, I was only aware of and directly involved with one. I was unaware of the other 10. For 7 potential buyers, they may have been informed that negotiations had failed, when instead the truth was that I never even knew they were interested in the domains. They did not get the domains.

For the three that apparently were successful, there was a button stating to push it to get paid. Well, I tried clicking on the button to receive the funds, but that didn't work. When I called customer service, they indicated that the cases had been closed. So, alleged negotiations were successful, but I didn't get paid?

That, my fellow Namepros members, is part of the reason that I really prefer to have the option of direct contact with potential buyers.

i am happy that you were able to help people that actually had good and kind intentions at heart.
i realize that the feeling of helping them is priceless, and i am happy that you did.
still, from my perspective ( maybe because in my country you sadly learn to be more paranoid ), i believe you must keep privacy at all costs.
take care and greetings from Mexico

 

[LoveCatchyDomains]

i am happy that you were able to help people that actually had good and kind intentions at heart.
i realize that the feeling of helping them is priceless, and i am happy that you did.
still, from my perspective ( maybe because in my country you sadly learn to be more paranoid ), i believe you must keep privacy at all costs.
take care and greetings from Mexico

Sometimes I've wondered if "domain cartels" would become an issue in this industry!

Yes, do that with which YOU feel comfortable. My experiences really changed my approach. Others have very different perspectives. Perhaps they trust that they will hear directly when someone does not want to interact through a third party. Or they figure it's not worth the trouble or the risk to have any direct interactions. If that works for them, great!

With your initial contacts, it may be fine for your outbound recipients not to be able to verify who you are. If they are really interested in the domain, they will likely proceed anyhow. The question is, though, how many potential buyers do you lose initially if you don't have a way they can be reassured up front that you are for real?