Purchasing a registered domain.

[jbk]

I would like to purchase a domain name which is unused but already registered and is listed for sale on sedo.com for a figure of $2,250. The registrar is listed as; 'Enom, Inc', registrant organisation is 'buydomans.com'. Incidentally when i go onto enom.com the price of the domain increases to $2,600. Estibot gives the domain $200 valuation, I might be willing to pay a bit more than that, but not too much more than that and the domain certainly isn't worth near the asking IMO.

a) I don't particularly trust that clicking the 'buy now/submit offer' button on sedo and worry it'll end up with them punting out even more inflated figures.
b) Sedo are an intermediary thus the price I have to pay will include their fees and would be nice to go direct to avoid that middleman cost. However direct owners details are hidden on a Whois.
c) The asking prices is well overinflated 'just in case' someone came along with daftly deep pockets regardless, I would like to secure this domain, but at a 'fair' price, which to me isn't too far north of the Estibot figure.

Can any of your knowledgable folks advise me as to how best I can go about this potential purchase to get as direct as possible and as good a price as is possible. I'm of course happy to allow the owner to realise some fair margin, but without getting silly.

Thanks

 

[Casey L]

You could look up the WhoIs email contact of the domain owner and try contacting them that way, or you could simply submit an offer to them and they will most likely contact you in return.

 

[jbk]

As above, unfortunately owners details are hidden on whois search.

 

[hawkeye]

If it's regged to BuyDomains, you'll have to go deal with them to get it. They 'may' come down a little, but not much. But if you think you'll get it for $200 or so because Estibot says that's the value, you better get more up on domain values and the uselessness of Estibot.

 

[Nerevar]

• Sedo charges the seller 15% commission (minimum $60), but at the same time provides free Escrow service (guaranteeing the safety of the transaction). I think dealing through Sedo is not a bad idea, it is a very reliable marketplace. If you are looking for an even cheaper, but equally safe marketplace, perhaps see if the domain is listed at Flippa (10% commission for the seller, no minimum).
• If there is a "buy now" button, the price will not be changed when you hit it. On the other hand, if you hit the "submit offer" button, the seller can counter-offer with any price that he prefers, even higher than the original "buy now" price.
• The price at Enom is higher either because the seller listed it at a higher price there, or because they charge VAT on sales. I think GoDaddy marketplace charges VAT too.
• Estibot is totally useless as a valuation tool.
• For a domain that will be used by a business, a price of $2,500 is not something extraordinary. Of course, it is hard for me to speak without knowing the domain, but you can see last week's domain sales e.g. here: http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm

 

[jbk]

Ha ha ha, received Hawkeye, is Estibot fantasy robotic valuation then?

So no way around aside from just dealing with buydomains? So Enom lists it at $2,600, Buydomains at $2,270 and Sedo at $2,270. It's 13letter .com domain consisting of two generic words with a pretty niche appeal.

 

[jbk]

Excellent hawkeye and nerevar, thanks for your words of wisdom.

 

[biggie]

i have some names listed at sedo that are also registered at enom, with Buy It Now pricing and some listed with the same price you quoted.

so, perhaps it's one of my domains and if so, i can ensure you that if you click the buy it now button, and pay asap, that it will be a very quick transaction.

 

[nvdomains]

Forget it. I don't think Buy Domains may sell the domain at your price range unless you up your offer to reasonable level.

 

[jbk]

Silly question i think, but i'm still going to ask it!

Should i be worried about the number of searches that i do on a domain on broker platforms (Sedo, flippa, godaddy etc etc) for fear of these searches being logged thus firming up brokers valuations?

 

[hawkeye]

Silly question i think, but i'm still going to ask it!

Should i be worried about the number of searches that i do on a domain on broker platforms (Sedo, flippa, godaddy etc etc) for fear of these searches being logged thus firming up brokers valuations?

No.

 

[biggie]

Silly question i think, but i'm still going to ask it!

Should i be worried about the number of searches that i do on a domain on broker platforms (Sedo, flippa, godaddy etc etc) for fear of these searches being logged thus firming up brokers valuations?

if a lot of people starting driving by your house all of a sudden, wouldn't you take notice?

 

[jbk]

Ha ha ha, I would, I might start selling them things as they peered in the drive!!

I guess my question is do they track the search volumes?

 

[RWD]

Bottom line is, you either pay for the owners asking price or you negotiate a better price. Or, you find another domain. But, buying a domain for $200-$300 when listed at $2250 is not realistic but crazier things do happen I guess. IMO

 

[Nerevar]

Silly question i think, but i'm still going to ask it!
Should i be worried about the number of searches that i do on a domain on broker platforms (Sedo, flippa, godaddy etc etc) for fear of these searches being logged thus firming up brokers valuations?

I doubt there will be brokers involved, and there is no need to worry about "valuations". The owner of the domain will notice your activity of course. But if you make an offer, the owner will surely know that you are interested anyway.

 

[frank-germany]

1) why do you badly want a domain that is worth only $300 to you?
If its worth more then that go and pay it
or you better look for a domain thats looks like a steal to you.

2) sedo inlcudes not only fees but VAT as well
so if seller lives in germany my net price would be minus 19%
and I could resell it to you at a 10% discount still having a 9% profit
-if you don't do business / live in germany-
-inquiries wellcome-

3) sedo fees are paid by seller
but you won't probably get a discount based on that
as sellers tend to not calculate the fees / taxes
and will be just fascinated by the end sales price
which of course is the published pice tag
that will now start to spoil the statistics.

4) by the way statistics are not accurate in term of charts
as sedo sometimes publishes immediately and sometimes
days / weeks delayed
and if I buy a domain at sedo today the sale may finish only after weeks
then a delayed sales price published will really make no sense in a chart
in terms of timing