Percentage of low ball offers that result in a sale

[infosec3]

In your experience, what percentage of low ball offers result in a sale? In my case it is lower that 10%. Have in mind that I am talking about real low ball offers, so if you are expecting $1000 for a name and someone offers you $700, I do not see that as a low ball offer.

This question emgerges due to the fact that I have received a few low ball offers through GoDaddy this week ($10 or $25) for names in the $650-$1000. Still negotiating...

Your opinions are appreciated.

 

[SpareDomains]

Don't have an exact percentage as I'd have to compile 11-12 years worth of saved emails/marketplace offers but I know it's low. Best jump for me in that time frame was a $50 initial offer that I turned into $7500 on a 2-3 year old hand reg. So occasionally you'll get someone with a serious budget that starts super low to test the waters but not going to be an everyday occurrence. Main reason I prefer having inquiries come direct instead of anonymous offer systems as being able to google name, email, phone, ip address etc... helps to know who you're dealing with.

 

[DavidH]

In your experience, what percentage of low ball offers result in a sale? In my case it is lower that 10%. Have in mind that I am talking about real low ball offers, so if you are expecting $1000 for a name and someone offers you $700, I do not see that as a low ball offer.

This question emgerges due to the fact that I have received a few low ball offers through GoDaddy this week ($10 or $25) for names in the $650-$1000. Still negotiating...

Your opinions are appreciated.

Very low, but I always try to be polite to such offers as you never know where they could potentially lead - the best result I had was a $500 initial offer that turned into a $13,000 sale!

 

[NameOmnia]

Not very high I suppose, mainly because many of the low balls come from other domainers who try/hope to pay a domain some pennies to resell it for more.
Domain industry is like every other. There is the domainer who registers the name or buys it very cheap then there is, most of the times, a never ending chain of " middle men ". That is where the business breaks.
There can't be too many middle men; at a certain point the end user is the only way out for you to make a profit.
I hope I made my point.

Very low, but I always try to be polite to such offers as you never know where they could potentially lead - the best result I had was a $500 initial offer that turned into a $13,000 sale!

Thanks. I will have to keep this in mind...

 

[S-B]

I've had 3 lowball offers on GD. 1 of which resulted in an $x,xxx sale. I must admit... I don't get many offers for my hand registrations.

 

[Name Trader]

I limit the lowball offers by having a minimum bid at $999. But in reality, the low-ballers now start at $999. I think I eliminate between 90-95% of all low-ball offers with this strategy. OK. There are probably some of my domains not worth $999. I live with that. And am in the process of evaluating which domains I could reduce the minimum offer to $499. But this is a huge project. IMHO, all I'll get is more low-ball offers. It won't increase significantly my number of sales.

 

[JanuaryBabe]

I believe the buyers just want to make you are motivated sell for a reasonable price.

 

[kemjika11]

Yes, the vast majority of low ball offers should and do result in no sales. why? IMO its because a really low ball offer is a sign of unseriousness by the buyer. Why would a domainer sell a $500-$1000 range name for $120 when he/she has already invested maybe $100 into the name? Its pointless and unless the buyer has low or no funds, then such low ball offers are usually DOA. We domainers just try to negotiate with low ball offers to see if the buyer is pretending to have no money. I dont see any sense as a domainer in selling any of my names to end users for $150 or less. i mean whats the point? In domaining, we have to know when to say no and a low ball offer that doesnt budge is an easy no from me. Low ball offers just confirm to the seller(domainer)that the domain he/she is holding is retaining value which is good. Punish low balling cheapos by rejecting their rubbish offers. case closed!

Just my 2 cents..

 

[verbster]

I think there are two main considerations for low-ball offers that affect the percentage of sales.
1. Domainers that offer $100 and less in hopes of finding a real bargain. These hardly ever negotiate to anywhere near an asking price sale.
2. The method of contact plays a big role. A non-domainer that researches whois and contacts the seller directly has a good chance of closing much higher than the initial offer; but I've found the highest number of conversions have come from buyers who responded to "Inquire about this domain" type of links on parked pages.