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discuss "Please Sell It Back To Me" - Domain Name Inquiries And Offers

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Silentptnr

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I received an direct inbound offer and found it interesting so I thought I would share.

This morning I opened my email to find an offer for one of my domains, a four letter dot org. The inquiry came through the efty landing page.

What I found interesting was that the prospective buyer turns out to be a successful phd and easily found on google. What sort of bothered me was her approach. Here's what she said:

"I have had this domain name for almost 17 years but by mistake let it lapse a couple of months ago. Please sell it back to me!"

Problem is, I've owned it for years. She lied. So here was my reply...

"Thanks for your interest in G***.org. I have owned this domain for years. The domain was previously owned by Roger Raffee and Jim Hall, based in La Jolla, California for their company Global Electronic Music Marketplace. They still own the g***.com domain and wouldn't sell it even though they no longer operate.

I would consider selling the domain to you, but not for much less than $3900. If you are interested or would like to buy the domain or would like to offer a higher amount I would consider it."

I was nice about it but it irked me that she would just straight out lie. The world we live in I guess.

Have you had any?

(Please don't type the domain name in the thread.)
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
The unfortunate truth about this industry is that many end users hold the opinion that domain investors are domain squatters. i suspect this is why they've no qualms deploying morally questionable tactics to acquire a domain.

In their minds they're liberating the domain from an evil domain squatter. It's like the mindset that some people hold that scamming a scammer is more morally acceptable.

It's ignorance on their part, the industry is also somewhat culpable. I've always maintained the view that there's a serious lack of education in this industry, that's specifically targets end users.

I'm not talking about well written articles or soundbites here, I'm talking about real studies showing quantifiable data which illustrates how and why acquiring any given domain will improve their bottom line.

Back on topic...

Yes, it's astounding the number the students looking to acquire domain names for projects with no commercial value. What's even more surprising is that when you take the time to point out alternative options in other extensions, they never seem interested in those.
 
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The unfortunate truth about this industry is that many end users hold the opinion that domain investors are domain squatters. i suspect this is why they've no qualms deploying morally questionable tactics to acquire a domain.

In their minds they're liberating the domain from an evil domain squatter. It's like the mindset that some people hold that scamming a scammer is more morally acceptable.

It's ignorance on their part, the industry is also somewhat culpable. I've always maintained the view that there's a serious lack of education in this industry, that's specifically targets end users.

I'm not talking about well written articles or soundbites here, I'm talking about real studies showing quantifiable data which illustrates how and why acquiring any given domain will improve their bottom line.

Back on topic...

Yes, it's astounding the number the students looking to acquire domain names for projects with no commercial value. What's even more surprising is that when you take the time to point out alternative options in other extensions, they never seem interested in those.
Thanks for that. She currently has the .org.uk.

Come to think of it, maybe she was actually trying to buy back the .org.uk and got me by mistake. :)

Nope, just checked. The .org.uk didn't drop.
 
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- Could you sell this domain with a fair price ? Cause i'm working as a book keeper and don't have more money ( an Email from the Marketing staff of a company that has 3 offices in USA and India). (This was my 1st mistake in domain industry, i trusted him, and released my domain for only $850. If i had researched more, i would have charged at least 4k for it.)
- My son was just diagnosed a month ago as having disability and i beg your mercy. (Oh, and after sending, replying about 50 emails, i sold it for more than $3k5.)
- We are working as a high school project so we don't have enough money. (Okay, so you should have find another free domain to reg, i can wait for another buyer - i replied. And closing a deal for $5k)
- I may be interested in the domain, but 800 dollars is extortionate. If this is not flexible, we cannot do business. ( Then he warned that he could take my ownership for this domain name, i just replied " Go to fill UDRP if you want. Then i sold this domain for $6 k in Afternic.)
- My client said that he was not interested in this domain anymore. He thought that there was no reason to pay more for a domain, and he would go to GoDaddy and reg a domain for $10. - Receiving an email from an agency after 2 weeks of negotiating. So i replied " Okay, he made his best decision, but please let him know that if he want to buy this domain, we have to charge double next time". 3 months later " Hey George, my client wants to buy this domain again. Okay, double".
Some of short stories in my domain investing career.
 
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- Could you sell this domain with a fair price ? Cause i'm working as a book keeper and don't have more money ( an Email from the Marketing staff of a company that has 3 offices in USA and India). (This was my 1st mistake in domain industry, i trusted him, and released my domain for only $850. If i had researched more, i would have charged at least 4k for it.)
- My son was just diagnosed a month ago as having disability and i beg your mercy. (Oh, and after sending, replying about 50 emails, i sold it for more than $3k5.)
- We are working as a high school project so we don't have enough money. (Okay, so you should have find another free domain to reg, i can wait for another buyer - i replied. And closing a deal for $5k)
- I may be interested in the domain, but 800 dollars is extortionate. If this is not flexible, we cannot do business. ( Then he warned that he could take my ownership for this domain name, i just replied " Go to fill UDRP if you want. Then i sold this domain for $6 k in Afternic.)
- My client said that he was not interested in this domain anymore. He thought that there was no reason to pay more for a domain, and he would go to GoDaddy and reg a domain for $10. - Receiving an email from an agency after 2 weeks of negotiating. So i replied " Okay, he made his best decision, but please let him know that if he want to buy this domain, we have to charge double next time". 3 months later " Hey George, my client wants to buy this domain again. Okay, double".
Some of short stories in my domain investing career.
lol...people making up those types of stories are crazy.
 
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Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A big tragedy.

But this particular hurricane, according to my inbox, had unusual side effect. Too many inquiries referring to how they need a domain name for cheap because they lost everything in hurricane, and similar things. Unreal.

My son was just diagnosed a month ago as having disability and i beg your mercy.

We are working as a high school project so we don't have enough money.

Such inquirers recently started to include tracking pixels into email bodies. Was an emailed opened, read, and from what IP? So "common" for genuine endusers...
 
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Hurricane Katrina in 2005. A big tragedy.

But this particular hurricane, according to my inbox, had unusual side effect. Too many inquiries referring to how they need a domain name for cheap because they lost everything in hurricane, and similar things. Unreal.
I would have reduced my price if the buyers had told me the truth.
 
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I would have reduced my price if the buyers had told me the truth.
Exactly. I would have considered less too if the person had been honest. Maybe could have worked out a deal. I try to price domains sensibly. Still doesn't seem to stop people from making up stories.
 
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Exactly. I would have considered less too if the person had been honest. Maybe could have worked out a deal. I try to price domains sensibly. Still doesn't seem to stop people from making up stories.
That's the reason why i asked have you earned $40k in domaining this year.
Just ignore those scamming emails, or emails with low prices.
If you want to make at least 100k a year, spend your time to hunt and bid on Auctions.
It just waste time to reply or care about those poor and tricky buyers.
Now i receive many emails each day, some with fair prices and some not. ( A guy in Netherlands sent an email to buy my domain for only $100 - i didn't reply. Yesterday, he increased to $300. I still not reply. )
 
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This is a weird as an inquiry can get. Wait until she respond to your counter offer, let's know what she's gonna come up with
 
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Well let's not forget that we do sometimes Increase our asking price based on the buyer
There are times when I’ve received anonymous price requests for domains that would, in a vacuum, perhaps be worth 2000-3000, and then upon doing my research reasoned that the inquirer must be a specific buyer, such as a large corporation. In such cases I’ve gone ahead and tripled the asking price.

But there’s more to my rationale for upping the price than that the domain “must” be intended for a certain company. In order to justify in my mind the higher asking price I’ve also had to determine that probably no other domain would work for this buyer.

In one such situation I even increased the price all the way to low to mid five figures; more than tripled what the domain might be worth.

I’ve now done this more than several times and in all but one instance (on a mid four figure price I quoted) it has worked out well for me.

So my increasing the price is not entirely based on the buyer but on additionally determining that the domain name must be intended for a specific use by the buyer - a specific need that might not be able to be filled as well by any other domain. My research in each of these cases has unearthed that specific need.

Otherwise - you’re just following the inane logic of trying to charge the guy who is wearing a Rolex more than the other guy. Even if your buyer was wealthy why would you think he’d pay more than market unless he really needed the domain and no other would suit his purpose? You were missing the key part to the puzzle here - fitness for a particular purpose - i.e. - need. You had no idea what for or if this buyer (and by buyer I mean - the corporation you thought was the buyer) needed your domain.

It's a good thread. When I receive a Price Request such as say from Afternic, or an inquiry on a domain, or any offer, I don't respond right away if I am in a hurry to go someplace, and don't have time to do the complete research (Google the name, check comparable closed sales, check similar domains that are for sale). I go wherever I am going, and ponder the domain and price for a while, and only after I've had time to do the complete research do I respond.

Even if I have time to do the full research, if the research creates some uncertainty as to exactly what the domain might be worth, still I might wait and ponder on the domain for a little time, or seek a second opinion from one of my trusted domain seller colleagues.
But that's not to say that Lowering the price based on the buyer is acceptable policy. In fact, I was tricked once by a buyer who got a discount by claiming that he was purchasing the domain to donate to his church, then later I saw a fully for profit site on the URL, although it was technically associated with the Church it turned out not to be nonprofit. I wrote to the Church itself complaining, and the research I did showed that this particular buyer had already been investigated in my city for channelling supposed non profit funds into his own pocket. When I found out all this I was going to sue the guy to get the domain back, mostly on principle because I didn't like the fact that a person would use religion falsely to get a discount, but in the end, he got away with it because too little money was at stake and I never did anything about it other than smear his name in the mud a little with his church.
 
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Update: She has read my email. :)
( I track that )
 
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I have a fairly standard reply....

The most important part of any offer are the zeros in front of the dot.

:xf.wink:
 
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I told one guy, "Tell you what, why don't you sell me your business assets for $100?". He laughed and said, "Touche". He was just kicking the tires I suppose.
 
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how did you arrive at $3900 price for a 4 letter.org?
did you....
pulled it out of thin air?
it earned some revenue, so price was indicative?
you've had offers in past, in that range?
or what?

imo….
 
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how did you arrive at $3900 price for a 4 letter.org?
did you....
pulled it out of thin air?
it earned some revenue, so price was indicative?
you've had offers in past, in that range?
or what?

imo….
It is bin priced at $10k. $3900 was me offering a discount.

Edit: Believe it or not, I was just eating a popsicle and typed wrong with one hand. :)
 
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Please do keep us posted @Silentptnr . It seems bizarre as surely any smart person would know that the name had not changed hands recently?
maybe she was actually trying to buy back the .org.uk and got me by mistake.
Is there any chance it was the co.uk that she had meant, as it seems for sale too (if I am guessing the word correctly).

While this, and other stories shared, are disconcerting, it should not blind us to the fact that some stories of mistakenly dropped domain names are indeed true. And also that some do indeed have circumstances that would justify a discount.

Bob
 
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Please do keep us posted @Silentptnr . It seems bizarre as surely any smart person would know that the name had not changed hands recently?

Is there any chance it was the co.uk that she had meant, as it seems for sale too (if I am guessing the word correctly).

While this, and other stories shared, are disconcerting, it should not blind us to the fact that some stories of mistakenly dropped domain names are indeed true. And also that some do indeed have circumstances that would justify a discount.

Bob
Here's the final update:

Hello.

I am sorry, my web designer got mixed up – I had ****.org.uk, not ****.org!

Kindest regards,
********


I replied:

I suspected that. Very nice to have met you.

All the best,
David

Edit: My final, final email to her tomorrow will be something like...

"Perhaps fate brought us together and my domain ****.org would be an upgrade that could dramatically increase your growth.

Seeing what you do makes me want to help.

Let's talk if you have time. We might make something amazing happen.

Sincerely,"


:)
 
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I think that the tone of your emails was just about perfect, @Silentptnr . Thanks for taking us along in this journey, and I think that we learned from what you shared. To me the message that I take is while always be cautious of what you are told, at the same time always be polite in professional in every conversation, period. Thanks again.

Bob
 
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Question is, which domain investor scooped it up on the drop? She did offer money to buy it back from the beginning.
 
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Question is, which domain investor scooped it up on the drop? She did offer money to buy it back from the beginning.

Personally I'm more curious why you did not pursue it a bit more aggressively by educating her about the advantages of the .org over the .org.uk

I think you gave her a good deal on the domain and with a little more persuasion you may have been able to sway her into the .org.

Not saying she would buy it for sure but it seems to me that the education part is missing to bring this situation to a proper conclusion. By proper I mean from a ales point of view, I think you handled the situation marvelously except there could have been a bit of a stronger sales pitch.
 
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Personally I'm more curious why you did not pursue it a bit more aggressively by educating her about the advantages of the .org over the .org.uk

I think you gave her a good deal on the domain and with a little more persuasion you may have been able to sway her into the .org.

Not saying she would buy it for sure but it seems to me that the education part is missing to bring this situation to a proper conclusion. By proper I mean from a ales point of view, I think you handled the situation marvelously except there could have been a bit of a stronger sales pitch.
It ain't over. :)
 
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Buying the .org would be the easiest way to leverage technology and expand her audience to a global level.
 
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