domain Price request on afternic for Nom//en//tis//.com

[Themistocles]

Hello namepros-Community,

I could really use your knowledge for this one. I usually deal in the German speaking markets (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) with .de, .at and .ch. I have a few .com's though. Nom//en//tis//.com is one of them. I registered the name in 2010, because I liked the sound and I intended to use it for myself for a domaining site - nomen is name in latin and mens means mind in latin.

I listed the name on afternic a few years ago. I set the minimum price for all domains there to 1,000 USD. Today I got a message from a broker of afternic with the request to set a floor and BIN price for the domain. The buyer is apparently already willing to invest the 1,000 USD for the name.

My research showed me, that there is a canadian company named Nom//en//tis, that uses the domain Nom//en//tis//.ca. Other than that I do not think there are other established companies that use that name. I personally regret not listing the name on platforms like brandbucket, because it is not a generic term, but clearly meant as a brandable name. Do you like it for that purpose?

What would you advise me? 1,000 USD seems nice, but I already paid 200 USD in registration fees and I do not want to give away one of my few seemingly good .com's too cheaply. Also, I am really confused by the concept of floor and BIN price.

Thanks for any input.

 

[astrade]

I would set the floor to $1800 and the BIN (Buy it now) for $3000 and let the afternic brokers do their job. They are decent at it. Like the name.

Mask the name with spaces or // so that comapny won't find it in google. Something like "n o m e n t i s .com" or "Nomen//tis//.com"

 

[Themistocles]

Thanks for you helpful comment, astrade.

I masked the name. Good point.

Since the broker knows the floor price, could he not just tell the buyer that price and close the deal? I get the concept of a broker, but I always think as an inhouse broker it is a bit conflicted. On one hand I expect of a broker to get the best price and deal for me as a customer. On the other hand the broker is supposed to ensure a safe deal for afternic for the provision.

 

[astrade]

Thanks for you helpful comment, astrade.

I masked the name. Good point.

Since the broker knows the floor price, could he not just tell the buyer that price and close the deal? I get the concept of a broker, but I always think as an inhouse broker it is a bit conflicted. On one hand I expect of a broker to get the best price and deal for me as a customer. On the other hand the broker is supposed to ensure a safe deal for afternic for the provision.

I've been on the buying side plenty of times, sometimes it even gets annoying on how they defend the seller's interests

 

[GoDaddy]

Also, I am really confused by the concept of floor and BIN price.

Hi @Themistocles,
Congrats on the interest in your domain name! A price request email is sent when a potential buyer has shown interest in your domain name, often through the Afternic's Request Price lander.

At Afternic, the floor price indicates the lowest price you would be automatically willing to sell your domain name for. The BIN price is the immediate buy now price for the domain name that allows an interested party to purchase straight away.

The floor price and BIN price are important to a broker who is negotiating with a buyer on your behalf. It provides the broker with a price range to work within.

We hope that helps! If you have any more questions, our FAQs may help: https://www.afternic.com/domain-help#selling

 

[Themistocles]

Any more opinions regarding pricing? Is it generally better to keep floor price and BIN price close together? Or could I set the floor to say 2k and the BIN to 10k? What impact has that decision on the negotiations?

 

[Bannen]

Few ways you could go with this. First - lot of domain speculators send price requests like crazy through Afternic when there is no BIN set on a domain.

My feeling, upon seeing your name, is that this isn't a domain speculator. Since the .ca is the only other extension taken, and the Canadian company seems to be the only entity using that word (aside from what looks like a Nigerian company that may have had some connection to the name back in 2012), it quite likely is the Canadian company. Not for certain, but most likely.

Various business sites give you details; one of them says this company has 6 - 10 employees, and annual revenue of $1m - $5million.

So if it's them, I notice their website on the .ca domain is under maintenance. They have had a site on that .ca domain since 2004; however, Wayback Machine shows it was never really developed. Just a single-page lander with a few words about the company. For more than 15 years it has just had the same under maintenance message. Which doesn't bode well for this being a large, active, profitable company.

Maybe they now have bigger plans, more traction, and wish to start with a more 'international' reach, including perhaps building out a proper site using the .com version?

Mixed signals. Don't know if it is this Canadian company, don't know if it is an investor, or another unknown company or person. You can go two ways: set the BIN and floor price as requested; or you can tell the broker that you prefer to have the buyer make their best offer and you do not wish to set a BIN at this time. I have used both strategies.

Have the broker point out to the buyer that the 'minimum offer' is usually just a starting point that domain sellers set, to 'weed out the tire kickers' and begin a negotiation. Usually the BIN is considerably more than the minimum offer price.

If you choose to have the broker pass along that you're not setting a BIN and are open to the seller's best offer, this lets you know how serious the buyer is. If they don't bother to make an offer, it's a tire kicker or investor who wants your lowest price, etc. If it's a serious buyer they will stay engaged with the broker.

If you want to set a BIN: why shoot low? The only other extension regged for this is the .ca, and even that site is showing concerning evidence of not being a successful company. So I wouldn't go nuts on price, you know, don't be insane and say $100K.

But to see if it's a serious buyer, I'd recommend setting the BIN at 12K and the floor at 2.5K. The broker will see those numbers, and will get a feel for the buyer and how much budget they seem to have. Though the broker keeps you 'blind', the broker can see who the buyer is and should be able to tell if they're a large company or wealthy entity, etc. A lot of things come into play, I'm simplifying this, but a good broker will be able to get a feel for all parties and where the 'sweet spot' is, the number that would make you the seller happy, and which the buyer can afford and would actually pay.

Good luck. Hope it turns out to be a legit buyer and that they have a motivated interest in the domain and have good funding to back the purchase

 

[Themistocles]

I really have to thank you for your detailed and insightful reply, Bannen.

I also do think it is the company. However, it escaped me to check business sites for how big the company actually is. Very useful tip, will definitely keep that in mind.

Funnily enough I set my floor and BIN before your response pretty close to your recommendation. I did 4k floor and 8k BIN.

Since this is my first experience with the afternic broker service, I am curious how it will turn out. I would be very happy, if they could get the sale done for me. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge.