Purchasing Domain For Business Ideas, Already Registered

[totally]

Hi Everyone,

I've never purchased a domain from anyone other than the registrar directly. I was interested in a certain 4 letter domain name (LLLL.com) and so recently I have done some research about what they are worth. Values seem to vary dramatically from $50 to like $1 million.

I'm looking at an acronym. All 4 letters are consonants, no vowels, it's not a word. It takes the form XYXZ where the first and third letter are the same and the other 2 are unique. It's not like a recognizable anything I don't think. For fun I typed it into my address bar since I know it's taken. And low and behold I get a message that this domain is for sale! Seller only wants like $40,000 for it.... Looks like it was registered in the UK by Get On The Web Limited.

So my question is - Do sellers price domain names over the moon and expect to negotiate massively? Or does the seller actually think they are going to get $40,000 for it? Because it sure as hell won't be from me.

Thanks for your expertise.

 

[gilescoley]

Those sellers are usually the dreamers of our industry. They put up a ridiculous price and then wait a few year and it never sells. It eventually drops and someone else grabs it.

Google it and see if there are any potential buyers for the name, always get a list of end-users before buying a name or you end up registering a name with no buyers and it will end up costing you renewals and then expiring.

 

[Recons.Com]

Hi Everyone,

I've never purchased a domain from anyone other than the registrar directly. I was interested in a certain 4 letter domain name (LLLL.com) and so recently I have done some research about what they are worth. Values seem to vary dramatically from $50 to like $1 million.

I'm looking at an acronym. All 4 letters are consonants, no vowels, it's not a word. It takes the form XYXZ where the first and third letter are the same and the other 2 are unique. It's not like a recognizable anything I don't think. For fun I typed it into my address bar since I know it's taken. And low and behold I get a message that this domain is for sale! Seller only wants like $40,000 for it.... Looks like it was registered in the UK by Get On The Web Limited.

So my question is - Do sellers price domain names over the moon and expect to negotiate massively? Or does the seller actually think they are going to get $40,000 for it? Because it sure as hell won't be from me.

Thanks for your expertise.

XYXZ is not how you describe it. What matters is C(onsonant) and V(owel) in the mix, not so much the repeat, although repeat could add a little, but not necessarily. So, your XYXZ could well be the coveted CVCV, for example, that includes names like LOLA, Mena, Dera etc. And those can easily sell for mid xx,xxx to low xxx,xxx. On the other end of the spectrum, you might be describing a domain like ZQZU that is near worthless.

So, to conclude, great LLLLs have one or few of this characteristics:

- are of coveted pattern, like CVCV (the best), VCVC (some great ones), VCCV, CVVC etc.
- Have mostly premium letters, especially where they matter most
- have some meaning either as acronym (SWOT) or brandable version of a positive word (Lyft, Tuth etc.) or even shrinked word like FSHN, LVRG, MGMT

 

[totally]

Thanks for the responses. @Recons.Com, I did say 'All 4 letters are consonants, no vowels, it's not a word.'

What letters are considered premium letters?

Is it worth filling out the seller's form and offering something orders of magnitude less than they are asking? Or should I just watch what happens with it?

 

[Recons.Com]

Thanks for the responses. @Recons.Com, I did say 'All 4 letters are consonants, no vowels, it's not a word.'

What letters are considered premium letters?

Is it worth filling out the seller's form and offering something orders of magnitude less than they are asking? Or should I just watch what happens with it?

Sorry, must have missed then.

There is a notion of Western Premium that does have vowels, namely A,E,I,O. For consonants, exclude q,w,z,y,j,x,v

And there is a notion of Chinese Premium, that is all consonants ONLY, except V. But there you have to be careful. There was a short lived fad in 2015 when they were selling wholesale for $3000 each. Now they can go even below $200 wholesale, as in reality even in China most don't have specific business application.

You can PM me with the actual name and I can help you with the valuation for the name.

 

[totally]

Interesting about the western vs chinese, thanks. I will shoot you a pm with it. I'm just a guy, so if it's worth too much for me, I will come up with a different name, it's just like my first choice - you know?

 

[carob]

Is it worth filling out the seller's form and offering something orders of magnitude less than they are asking?

Depends who the seller/platform is, and whether anyone else would be interested in the domain.

Some platforms spam you relentlessly if you contact them, and they will certainly try to find out more about you to see how deep your pockets are.

Also contact, especially an offer, convinces them that there is interest in the domain so then they won't drop it. Drop here means "fail to renew" so the domain becomes available to others - on a known date, so people compete to grab the good stuff just as it appears.

It is not uncommon for domain owners to get enquiries from impoverished students who somehow need that very domain for a coursework project at close to zero price...

 

[Lord Antares]

Just make him an offer you're comfortable with. Worst thing that could happen is he could say no.

If he counters very high, counter just slightly more than your original offer. Then he will know that you can't move much and it will be either deal or no deal.

Don't offer your highest possible amount at first.

 

[WatchDogue]

Also, the seller's hold time on the domain may influence how readily they may wish to negotiate a price to sell the name.

If you the first person in a few years to inquire about the name and the seller has held the name for years without a serious offer you might be in a good bargaining position.

You won't know about previous offers (if there were any other offers ) but check Whois and see if you figure out how long the name likely has been held by the seller.

Agree with the strategy of making a second ( counter ) offer just a bit higher than a rejected first offer
as it tells the seller you are budget / dollar conscious and unlikely a " deep pocket ".

Can always go up, if necessary.

 

[redfoxdomains]

My POV on this topic - you'll never know if you don't ask. Regardless of what anyone tells you; a Domain's value is determined by the price the buyer is willing to pay.

If the seller is "attached" to the domain, has multiple people interested, or if he is currently monetizing it and receiving cash flow from it are factors that will impact the sellers wiliness to accept the offer.

Make the offer and see where it takes you. It's a negotiation - just like Real Estate.