advice What do you say to a buyer that knows what you paid?

[rentmynames]

How do you respond when the buyer says this about how much you paid:

inflated price- for $xxx domain which was sold a few months ago you were saying $xx,xxx.

The buyer cancelled the deal after she knew the price I paid ($xxx) for the domain 2 months ago.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I would politely tell them that costs are incurred in acquiring, holding and promoting domain names, only a minority of which sell, and for this reason resale prices need to be higher than acquisition prices, even when the time between the two is limited. I would then express the hope that they will change their mind, and say that you would be happy to do business with them if they do. If there are recent comparator sales that clearly establish the original price,I might repeat them.

I would leave it at that, be polite, short and as positive as possible. I would not change the price an iota. If there are other potential purchasers, I might be a little more aggressive in seeking them, too, just so that the original almost purchaser comes to regret losing the name!

PS @Kate has superbly expressed the role of domain name investors in her reply. I think it is an eloquently expressed and valuable case she makes that we should all keep in mind as we need to justify domain name investing "profit".

 

[alex067]

The buyer is an idiot and has no business sense. According to their logic, they shouldn't wear any clothes because you can buy it for cheap in a Chinese sweatshop.

I would just ignore them and wait for the next buyer.

 

[Joe Styler]

Hello XX,

Our Billing team has called the Escrow and GoDaddy, They have warned us for the cybersquatting by you and also informed that this domain was sold for $xxx USD 2months ago.

We are canceling the deal now.


WTH?

Have you contacted Godaddy about what she said they told her?

@Joe Styler

We would not say anyone is cyber squatting. That term has a lot connected to it. I don't think anyone here would say anything like that or encourage people to not buy your domain because you bought it for less than you want to sell it for. None of that makes any sense.

 

[mr-x]

Offer to sell the .net at her price.

 

[lock]

Tell them it was only $10- $35 (Depending on year) to register it new and you made the $xxx investment up to them to pay the $xx,xxx develop and make the $x,xxx,xxx return. If they got there sooner it would have been $10 so are they prepared to pay more than $10 for anything?
The guy before has his margin. You have the name and your going to get your margin based on the demand for the keyword or branded name. xx,xxx domains will always get offers perhaps just remove the price tag and let them all ask.

 

[RobertoG]

1.) Invent a time machine.

this is my standard response also.

 

[Sinh]

In my opinion, I will keep silent and do as below:

1- Renew domain for 5-10years
2- Private your domain
2- Increase price upto 3 times

P.S: I have experienced this case and finally the buyer had to email me back and bought the domain.

 

[sharjeep]

Honestly, you have no obligation to justify your price...so don't.
Remember, they came to you.
Just politely thank them for their consideration etc and wish them a nice day.

Then do as Sinh ^ advised but add a step:

4) Put it up on a large marketplace (Sedo/Afternic) with a BIN.

If they reconsider, they can hit the Buy button.

 

[MediaCode]

We would recommend not becoming fixated on this one prospective buyer. If your domain name is of good quality, other prospective buyers should appear over the coming year(s). It's simply a matter of having patience and waiting to sell it at the price for which you feel it's worth trading.

That said, another angle to consider is to take her focus off what you paid for it by pointing out to her that she is trying to buy the domain name from you to then go and make hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars off the domain name that you are only asking $XX,XXX for. That puts her in the awkward position of having to deny that she is going to make that much money using the domain name. If she does, then you can reply to her that you are not interested in selling your domain name to a buyer who is not going to put it to its 'highest and best use'. You'd rather wait for that buyer who values it the most and sees that the asking price of $XX,XXX is a pittance compared to how much money the buyer is going to make by putting the domain name to its highest and best use. She can then take it or leave it (see above).

 

[myfavorite]

I will politely thank her for the initial interest in buying the domain. Advice her to contact me again if she changes her mind.

Then will "rudely" increase the price because I know she will definitely be checking on the name from time to time.

 

[likeslikes]

I had this happen not long ago and the guy kept saying i was greedy. I pretty much told him it's irrelevant what I paid because I was willing to pay 6x + what I got it for and I believed that was the true value. Eventually he agreed to pay me about 11x what I had paid for it despite knowing what I paid, but it was a lot of back and fourth.

 

[drewwash]

You never need to justify your price. The buyer either values the domain at the selling price or not.

I can see how a weak buyer would struggle with this though.

I typically address similar concerns by telling them that you were excited to get the domain for that amount. However, you value it at the amount you are selling for and will hold it rather than sell for less.

That very accurate and straightforward statement has helped address both their concerns and any "guilt" I may feel.

 

[Rich]

Here's a nice throwback post from our very own @mwzd
https://www.mwzd.com/blog/please-justify-your-asking-price/

 

[DanSanchez]

Triple the price, you may be dealing with a scummy domainer that is trying to front your inventory. Happens ALL the time.

 

[OmarVG]

How do you respond when the buyer says this about how much you paid:
The buyer cancelled the deal after she knew the price I paid ($xxx) for the domain 2 months ago.

Tell the buyer: Its your loss, Iam still the owner of the domain. You are a fake low Budget buyer! Please dont waste my Valuable Time with your nonsense ignorant response.

Once the buyer read the nasty come back, the buyer will feel Miserable, Poor, Sad, Angry and Unhappy! LOL

 

[SpotOnDomain]

Wow what a story and interesting replies.
I haven’t read through all so apologies if I’m repeating what others have said.

I think two things could be said to the buyer in a polite way;

1 - carry out research on domain investing. Point her to sites such as namebio which will show that domains have sold for 6/7 figures. Maybe it will provide understanding that domains are a huge market and may trigger her to buy some of her own and sell.

2 - my comparison would be to an antique (same thesis as @Kate) in the sense that if you find a rare or valuable item at an auction or eBay for example, you buy it to sell as a profit. Here in the UK I’ve seen antiques bought for £50 and sold for £20,000. In the news they’ve reported Chinese antiques found at markets for £100 and sold for 6/7 figures.

If the name you’re selling isn’t trademarked etc then I’m sure you’ll sell it.

Good luck and look forward to hearing a positive outcome!

Dan

 

[viniproject09]

Just evaluate the market price of the domain. If you bought at a very low price and selling at high price. Never share at what price you bought.

 

[werty]

And this is exactly why I don’t like people and namebio reporting reseller auction results... Have been saying it for years...

 

[shig]

Let it be. Depends who you are dealing with. You are probably not dealing with an end-user. I have paid 10x for a domain on this site knowing the original price they paid (but I was thinking from an end-user perspective and didn't want to regret not snatching it). I also know its a part of the game and you have to make profit to counter your losses. If they don't like the game, tell them to take their business elsewhere.

 

[myfavorite]

Even if they are a nonprofit organization they should understand there are business established for making profit.

 

[lock]

Tell them for ($xxx their allowed budget) you can buy them any name in that case based on availabilty. You also know what your seller paid but it didn't deter you.
eg name is $500 selling for $2500 = 500%
but new it was $10 and at $500 = 5000%
You paid the highest margin.

 

[BigTree]

This excellent example why Estibot more hurts than helps to sell domains.

Most people will not like pay (if they know how much you paid) many times more because it seems like overpaying, no good deal. It motivates them more to find other domain.

 

[lock]

In my opinion, I will keep silent and do as below:

1- Renew domain for 5-10years
2- Private your domain
2- Increase price upto 3 times

P.S: I have experienced this case and finally the buyer had to email me back and bought the domain.

Legendary that is the gutsiest move believing in it.

 

[lock]

This excellent example why Estibot more hurts than helps to sell domains.

Most people will not like pay (if they know how much you paid) many times because it seems like overpaying, no good deal. It motivates them more to find other domain.

I have seen domains fake sold to enhance estibot prices. ( A whole list of crap domains all worth over 1k on estibot every crap name on list) Estibot tends to display when known last sale price being accurate doesn't allow resale consideration. Nobody polices domain sales meaning many name sales we study are hogwash.

 

[larryscott2559]

How do you respond when the buyer says this about how much you paid:


The buyer cancelled the deal after she knew the price I paid ($xxx) for the domain 2 months ago.

You say..."Pay My Price or kick rocks". They obviously was interested in it. Thats the thing about owning a great domain name. It doesn't matter what you paid for it, its how valuable the domain is to you.