advice Please stop disregarding enquiry emails without an offer

[Dave]

Following on from my recent struggles of obtaining an ideal name for a new company I want to form let me tell you domainers something.

Now, imagine if for every email I send out I was to make an offer, whether it is $xxx, $xxxx or $xx,xxx. Out of hundreds of emails imagine if 10 of those came back with "sure, let's do a deal". I would then be obliged to buy all 10 domains that I then actually can't afford. Woops.

That is why I can't always put an offer up front for every domain name. So please stop always disregarding emails that ask "how much", because the person could very well be really interested and willing to offer a fair price, like I am.

I am writing this here because I know the majority of domains I have enquired about recently are owned by domainers. Please stop disregarding me, I am serious even if I didn't make an offer.

 

[infmoney]

You have a point but at the same time you're the one contacting them. If someone contacts me I expect them to make the initial offer since I didn't actively search them out. What you could do is give each owner a time limit, (ex: offer stands for 48 hours)on which to either accept or counter.

 

[Dave]

You have a point but at the same time you're the one contacting them. If someone contacts me I expect them to make the initial offer since I didn't actively search them out. What you could do is give each owner a time limit, (ex: offer stands for 48 hours)on which to either accept or counter.

Even with a time limit there is still a risk of multiple acceptances though. This is why sometimes when I do offer I am also forced to send a lower amount than I would pay to just try and garner their attention, although as you'd expect that has had even worse results.

 

[hawkeye]

If someone contacts me I expect them to make the initial offer since I didn't actively search them out.

So what would be the point in making any offer if the domain holder has absolutely NO interest in selling the name. Just so they owner can be feel good about getting any offer? Based on your analogy if anyone was interested in anything, be it a car, a house, a boat, whatever, the first thing someone should do is make an offer for it no matter if it's available or not?? wtf. All one has to answer to that question is one of two words - Yes or No. Doesn't seem to hard to do. But for the egotistical ones, it may be.

 

[Dave]

So what would be the point in making any offer if the domain holder has absolutely NO interest in selling the name. Just so they owner can be feel good about getting any offer? Based on your analogy if anyone was interested in anything, be it a car, a house, a boat, whatever, the first thing someone should do is make an offer for it no matter if it's available or not?? wtf. All one has to answer to that question is one of two words - Yes or No. Doesn't seem to hard to do. But for the egotistical ones, it may be.

Exactly, well said. Especially regarding the car/house/boat statement.

It does feel a lot of domainers have too much pride in some domains and won't sell them unless it's $1,000,000 (for a name worth $xx,xxx). As a potential buyer, this is of course very frustrating.

 

[MapleDots]

Instead of asking how much you could always start the conversation by asking if the domain is still for sale. Then the domaner would respond back with a yes and possibly a price.

 

[Lox]

have too much pride in some domains

or afraid of udrp ...

 

[Dave]

Instead of asking how much you could always start the conversation by asking if the domain is still for sale. Then the domaner would respond back with a yes and possibly a price.

I have tried many combinations. "How much?", "Is x for sale?", "I am interested in buying x for a very fair price". Of course, not all the registrants are domainers, but it is still frustrating that out of say 500 emails for many brandable/catchy/memorable names, I only get back 5-10 responses, the majority of which are "No, please don't waste my time" type of emails.

Being the end user for a change, first time in a while, has really opened up my eyes on how not to treat other potential end users myself, although I knew that already but still a nice reminder.

 

[DaveX]

Hey Dave,

Check out this thread. I have the same feelings you do.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/why-choose-make-offer.1015807/

 

[korganian]

Following on from my recent struggles of obtaining an ideal name for a new company I want to form let me tell you domainers something.

Now, imagine if for every email I send out I was to make an offer, whether it is $xxx, $xxxx or $xx,xxx. Out of hundreds of emails imagine if 10 of those came back with "sure, let's do a deal". I would then be obliged to buy all 10 domains that I then actually can't afford. Woops.

That is why I can't always put an offer up front for every domain name. So please stop always disregarding emails that ask "how much", because the person could very well be really interested and willing to offer a fair price, like I am.

I am writing this here because I know the majority of domains I have enquired about recently are owned by domainers. Please stop disregarding me, I am serious even if I didn't make an offer.

Your assumption is incorrect. Most negotiation platforms do not have any recourse to non paying buyers. I just got an opening offer of nearly $9,000 a couple weeks ago. I accepted it and the buyer never even showed me the courtesy of replying back, let alone following through on making the payment.

If the domain owner had already gone through the process of evaluating the domain's worth, they would have it set to "Buy it Now" instead of "make an offer". It takes time and effort to evaluate a domain's worth to set a definite resale price. We get lots of time wasters contacting us. I have had countless people who refuse to make an offer when they contacted me. Then I spent 30 minutes to an hour of my precious time evaluating the domain and deciding how much I would take for it. I give them a price, only to have the idiots reply back that they would not pay more than $200 for it. That is such a gross lack of respect for our time and that is the reason why many seasoned domain investors insist that you at least make the effort to make an offer when you contact us.

If you want to reduce the selection process period when you have several domains that could all work for your needs, I suggest you inform each domain seller than you are looking at several domains and want feedback if their domain could be aquired within your budget of _______. There is no way that you could ever be held liable to buy domains based on that inquiry, but you are giving the domain owners your budget so that they know you are a serious buyer and they are very likely to reply back to you with either a yes, no, or try to give you some insight about why their domain is worth you stretching your budget to acquire it.

I just received an offer last night of $4,000 for a domain that I had set with a $5,000 "Buy it Now" price. The buyer said that was their maximum offer and they gave me 48 hours to accept or they would purchase a different domain instead of mine. That is the best strategy to use to acquire an ideal domain for your business on a budget and within a limited time frame.

 

[infmoney]

So what would be the point in making any offer if the domain holder has absolutely NO interest in selling the name. Just so they owner can be feel good about getting any offer? Based on your analogy if anyone was interested in anything, be it a car, a house, a boat, whatever, the first thing someone should do is make an offer for it no matter if it's available or not?? wtf. All one has to answer to that question is one of two words - Yes or No. Doesn't seem to hard to do. But for the egotistical ones, it may be.

You're assuming too much, I don't know where your frustration comes from but I was giving my opion buddy. Calm down.... Do people here like to argue? If someone contacts you with interest in buying your domain they should make an offer, even if it isn't for sale, what's the owner going to do? At the end of the day everything usually has a price.

 

[garptrader]

Most of our domains are listed at Godaddy.com with buy it now prices - hundreds with prices under $800. For high-end domains there might be some willingness to come off a BIN price but within limits. Most end users don't value the time and investment involved in acquiring and maintaining a quality portfolio. The skills and experience I obtained in my profession outside domaining are valued by the company which utilizes my services at a premium. The same applies to someone with years of experience in the domain industry.

 

[hawkeye]

You're assuming too much, I don't know where your frustration comes from but I was giving my opion buddy. Calm down.... Do people here like to argue? If someone contacts you with interest in buying your domain they should make an offer, even if it isn't for sale, what's the owner going to do? At the end of the day everything usually has a price.

Who said any thing about being frustrated. Like you, I was giving my opinion. Touchy little clown aren't you? Oh, and 'opinion' is the correct way to spell it.

 

[tiawalling]

If I were you, I would make up my mind on which domain name I would like to name my company ,and then try to contact the owner by email, broker or whatever it takes .
It may be more expensive but will get the job done.

 

[Kuffy]

Just say you have a budget in excess of $500 ( say ). Without a firm offer, there can be no acceptance, and therefore no contract.

 

[1Darko]

Simple advice: Don't make an offer at all if you're not willing to buy the domain. It's just a waste of time for both parties!

 

[WeSell-Domains]

Exactly, well said. Especially regarding the car/house/boat statement.

Not exactly. I have a car/house/boat and I do NOT get 10 emails a week asking me how much. I don't even get 10 emails a year. But I do get 10 emails a week asking how much for a domain. So not a good comparison.

 

[Dave]

Just say you have a budget in excess of $500 ( say ). Without a firm offer, there can be no acceptance, and therefore no contract.

I do this sometimes too, but still have to be careful of the number as at a glance some will still absorb that info as "$xxx budget" and completely miss the 'excess' part.

 

[platey]

You have a point but at the same time you're the one contacting them. If someone contacts me I expect them to make the initial offer since I didn't actively search them out. What you could do is give each owner a time limit, (ex: offer stands for 48 hours)on which to either accept or counter.

Some domain investors have started to do that which could be the way forward so at least that way they can make multiple offers on different domains they are interested in buying within a pre determined time frame

 

[platey]

I don't tend to have that problem for a couple of reasons eg some domains I buy purely to collect because I like them and Secondly no one makes me offers on the ones that may be for sale lol