Received Inquiry: advice?

[kenfeyl]

A couple years ago I picked up an expired name on TDNAM -- call it X.com. The name has made regfee in annual DomainSponsor income, but nothing more. In the last few months a site named Xblog.com has become quite popular. I just got the following inquiry about X.com:

Ken:

I am dropping you a note to see if you have any plans for the X.com website. Please drop me a note and let me know if you are planning to renew it or?

[Personal comment here related to my Whois address listing, how he grew up nearby, etc.]

His name here
Business name here
Business Development

Phone number here
Skype phone here
AIM name here
Alternate e-mail here

How should I respond to this? My domaining experience is very limited. I have sold a few domains before and parked many more, but that's it. Obviously I don't have any real plans for X.com, other than to sit on it until I get an offer.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Ken

 

[Sull]

Sounds to me like he is interested in the name, but wants it on the cheap ("let me know if you are planning to renew it").

If it were me I'd say something to the effect of "I have some plans for development but would be willing to consider an offer if the price were right..." or something like that.

Just my two cents.

 

[Ross]

A couple years ago I picked up an expired name on TDNAM -- call it X.com. The name has made regfee in annual DomainSponsor income, but nothing more. In the last few months a site named Xblog.com has become quite popular. I just got the following inquiry about X.com:



How should I respond to this? My domaining experience is very limited. I have sold a few domains before and parked many more, but that's it. Obviously I don't have any real plans for X.com, other than to sit on it until I get an offer.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Ken

Sounds legit, but be weary of scams.

What sully said was very good advice especially if you care for the domain.

 

[Spade]

I wrote this last year, a bit in depth, but I think its a good read:

http://www.namepros.com/domain-name...-response.html?highlight=art+inquiry+response

 

[xXDanteXx]

best way to tackle this kind of enquiry would be to reply with something like this.

Hello Mr. X

Thank you for your inquiry regarding the domain name X.com, Yes I would be renewing this name since I have development plans for it pertaining to the industry X, but since the project has been stalled, I would be considering to sell this domain for a substantial offer.

If you would like to purchase this domain please reply with your best offer (in USD) and we can continue the negotiations from there.

Have a nice day

Best Regards,
Your Name


Hope that helps, Cheers!

 

[Giode]

The best reply is a short one. I would just reply by saying, "Thank you. Yes, I plan to renew. Have a Good one.". Don't say anything more. Don't say you would consider selling. By doing this you actually maintain the power, and make him want it more (if he is really interested). Let him do the work.

I think too many people talk their way out of sales by saying too much. It cheapens the dialog.

 

[kenfeyl]

The best reply is a short one. I would just reply by saying, "Thank you. Yes, I plan to renew. Have a Good one.". Don't say anything more. Don't say you would consider selling. By doing this you actually maintain the power, and make him want it more (if he is really interested). Let him do the work.

I think too many people talk their way out of sales by saying too much. It cheapens the dialog.

Heya,

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I decided to take the approach of the message quoted above. I wrote:

XXX,

Thanks for your note. Yes, I plan to renew.

Ken

I wrote that, and he has already written back.

Would ypou be interested in selling it?

His name here
His phone number here

Your advice worked pretty well last time... if you can, give me some pointers on what to say next.

 

[DotWeekly]

Do you know if this is a "company"?

It depends on the situation. If they REALLY want it, they could pay way more then normal. Like the iReport.com sale and so on... They branded it already without the domain and so on. Then they had to have it.

Pick a price that would make you happy and fire it to them. Other then that, it's hard to say exactly, without knowing the real domain.

 

[Spade]

Heya,

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I decided to take the approach of the message quoted above. I wrote:



I wrote that, and he has already written back.



Your advice worked pretty well last time... if you can, give me some pointers on what to say next.

In this case I would let him know you have some future development plans, If he'd like to make an offer, you would be happy to consider it.

 

[kenfeyl]

My Response

Thanks to everyone for the advice. Following Spade's advice, here's my response to him:

Originally I planned to develop it but the project is now indefinitely stalled. If you'd like to make an offer, I would be happy to consider it.

Ken

Once I figure out how, I'll add rep for you guys. P.S. I would really love to reveal the name (although trust me, you'd prolly say it's regfee), but seeing as this guy is savvy enough to Whois me, I think it's too much of a risk that he'd stumble upon this thread. If and when he does end up buying it, I'll reveal all.

News flash, peoples:

Ken:

Thanks for your reply. [Company name here] bought Xblog.com but we really
like X.com better. We can't pay a lot as we are a pretty small company.
Did you have a rough number in mind?

Let me know!

Now the fun begins... can you give me some direction here? Is this the point at which I have to say a number? I know it's hard to proceed without me giving the name. It's LLLLNN.com where the phrase "LLLL NN" refers to a concept in sport boating. It happened to benefit from LLLLNNblog.com becoming a popular site.

I should mention that I've had the name up on TDNAM for $100 for some time, along with 50-some other names (for $100 each) that are just barely making regfee on DomainSponsor.

 

[Sull]

If it were me I would respond back with a number that you are most comfortable with. If he wants it bad enough, he'll pay. If not, he won't. Regardless, though, the more the blog grows in popularity the more willing he may become in the near future. My advice would be to hold the domain close and not let it go for anything less than what you think it's worth.

 

[Ross]

Honestly sounds like another domainer to me or atleast someone that knows what they are doing. If you wouldnt mind sending a me a pm with more info on the domain i would be glad to help you out more.

 

[copper]

Now the fun begins... can you give me some direction here? Is this the point at which I have to say a number? I know it's hard to proceed without me giving the name. It's LLLLNN.com where the phrase "LLLL NN" refers to a concept in sport boating. It happened to benefit from LLLLNNblog.com becoming a popular site.

I should mention that I've had the name up on TDNAM for $100 for some time, along with 50-some other names (for $100 each) that are just barely making regfee on DomainSponsor.

Have him/her send her offer first.

 

[TheBulldog]

It's very difficult to say without knowing the name.

My guess is it is someone fishing for a cheap price. You have asked for an offer, but they are throwing it back to you. They stated that they can't pay a lot, but you have no way of knowing what "a lot" means to them. It could be $10, it could mean $10,000.

Depending on the popularity of the blog, they could pay more then you expect.

Again, without knowing domain details, it is hard to say.

Toss them a figure you would be willing to sell for. Don't be overly greedy, just say "This was my dev plan, I expected to net x amount for the site per month, so this is x amount times number of months."

 

[kenfeyl]

Offer Accepted

Hi bulldog, thanks so much for your help. And thanks to all the others too. I replied asking $150 and here's what they wrote back:

Ken:

We will take it for $150.00. How would you like to be paid?

Just call or e-mail me and we will be happy to make payment arrangements
(PayPal?)

Please confirm receipt of this message.

Now I was looking for some guidance on what to do next... should I take payment via Paypal, or should I ask them to use my TDNAM link?

Thanks again for all the help you guys provided. I clearly came in below what they would've paid, but your help gave me the confidence to get any money at all for it.

Ken

 

[tricolorro]

I should mention that I've had the name up on TDNAM for $100 for some time, ...

Hi,

Make sure you immediately delete the $100 sales price from your TDNAM listing.

Patrick

 

[kenfeyl]

Thanks, Patrick. Already did it. I may be a n00b, but even I thought of that!

 

[Jake]

Ask for his preference.

For $150, paypal should be fine, but ask if he would like to use escrow.com.
Tell him it is a more secure way of buying/ selling a name.

If he wants to use it, make him pay :p

Jake

PS: Congrats on the sale!

 

[tricolorro]

Thanks, Patrick. Already did it. I may be a n00b, but even I thought of that!

Hi,

No offense meant!

Please realize that you didn't make mention that you deleted it from TDNAM.

If you do the deal via TDNAM, it will cost you 5% and you will not get paid for about 31 days even if you transfer the domain immediately.

Since the amount is small ($150), I would use PayPal and tell the Buyer that $150 is net and he has to add the PayPal fees.

You can use the free calculator at PPCalc.com to find the amount to add.

There is the risk the buyer could seek a chargeback if you use PayPal
but based on what you've posted I think the risk is small.

Patrick

 

[verbster]

Under the circumstances, you need not worry about lack of payment...the guy is already stumbling over himself to buy it....his dream name for only $150...Done deal!

Isn't domaining great? Look how easy it was to make someone a happy camper.