question What would you do? Domain is likely for sale, but not listed for sale on any platform.

[tld4me]

This is an interesting situation. Domain of interest has Afternic nameservers but is not listed for sale via Afternic, or any other platform. Domain history through HosterStats and Wayback Machine shows the domain has bounced around directly to different selling platforms for years. Namebio does not show a sales history for this domain.

From previous years, through Wayback Machine, the price the domain has been listed at is high, but possibly acceptable. The domain currently doesn’t resolve to any type of sales link, just that it is registered and may be available.

My guess is, because GoDaddy/Afternic is horrible – the domain currently isn’t listed for sale because of some bug or under "Review” status.

Now here is the question: How would you approach this situation?

If I pay for GoDaddy, or some other registrar, to reach out to the owner, that’s a waste of money. If I pay a company, or attempt to reach out myself, the seller now knows there is interest and could jack up the price multiple times what it was previously listed for.

My current strategy is to keep waiting, and occasionally checking, to see if the domain ever gets listed for sale again. A tedious process. Clearly the domain isn’t, “Must have now!”, but I do want it.

Note to any sellers reading this: Check your GoDaddy/Afternic listings to make sure they are active!

 

[DomainNature]

This can be because the domain was removed from Afternic but the NS were not updated to point to other marketplace.
I have such domains.

 

[tld4me]

This can be because the domain was removed from Afternic but the NS were not updated to point to other marketplace.
I have such domains.

Interesting, then it becomes a hunt trying to find a mysterious marketplace where the domain might be listed. I've checked most of the big ones, no luck. Thanks for the reply.

 

[DomainNature]

Of course it can also be vice versa.

 

[DomainNature]

Can you DM me the domain? Maybe I m the lucky owner.

 

[cabotower]

a lot of us hold names that are for sale but for one reason or another are not listed. (possible tm infringement being one)

 

[tld4me]

Can you DM me the domain? Maybe I m the lucky owner.

Hah! No, but nice try!
Whoever owns it has it registered through GoDaddy, so they must like pain and punishment.

 

[tld4me]

a lot of us hold names that are for sale but for one reason or another are not listed. (possible tm infringement being one)

Thank you for this insight.
I feel like I'm revealing a 20 questions scenario.
Never trademarked and no pending trademark. Google search results are generic with no specific company, product, etc.

 

[enterscope]

I would just send an email to the whois contact.

 

[Gabriel360]

The assumption that a seller is just waiting to "jack up the price multiple times" at the first sign of interest is wrong.

No rational seller would ever do that.

Majority of sellers would just see that as a sign to renew the domain name if they were not going to do that already.

In fact, you are more likely to get a discount if you reach out directly compared to buying on GoDaddy since the selller would have the opportunity to use a sales platform with more favorable commission rates.

Here's what you should do:

1. Set your budget.

2. Don't pay GoDaddy or any broker to reach out to the seller.

3. Reach out to the seller directly through Whois contact details.

4. Best thing is NOT to include an offer in your first email. But if you decide to include an offer, make it reasonable.

Good luck!

 

[rebecca_tucker]

This is an interesting situation. Domain of interest has Afternic nameservers but is not listed for sale via Afternic, or any other platform. Domain history through HosterStats and Wayback Machine shows the domain has bounced around directly to different selling platforms for years. Namebio does not show a sales history for this domain.

From previous years, through Wayback Machine, the price the domain has been listed at is high, but possibly acceptable. The domain currently doesn’t resolve to any type of sales link, just that it is registered and may be available.

My guess is, because GoDaddy/Afternic is horrible – the domain currently isn’t listed for sale because of some bug or under "Review” status.

Now here is the question: How would you approach this situation?

If I pay for GoDaddy, or some other registrar, to reach out to the owner, that’s a waste of money. If I pay a company, or attempt to reach out myself, the seller now knows there is interest and could jack up the price multiple times what it was previously listed for.

My current strategy is to keep waiting, and occasionally checking, to see if the domain ever gets listed for sale again. A tedious process. Clearly the domain isn’t, “Must have now!”, but I do want it.

Note to any sellers reading this: Check your GoDaddy/Afternic listings to make sure they are active!

Great

 

[pb]

Whoever owns it has it registered through GoDaddy, so they must like pain and punishment.

Well, then you're in luck, because you can send a message through godaddy's whois:
https://www.godaddy.com/whois - type in the domain, then at the bottom find and click "Contact Domain Holder"

 

[pb]

4. Best thing is NOT to include an offer in your first email. But if you decide to include an offer, make it reasonable.

I disagree, many holders will just ignore any "price inquiries" whereas making a specific offer might prompt them to reply. I'm not saying it's best to include the offer, but I disagree that it's "best not to include an offer". I think there is no "best" approach, because domain owners come in all sizes and shapes.

 

[BYYP]

Maybe it was sold. Some buyers don't care about ns or whois contact even.

 

[tld4me]

@Gabriel360 and @pb, thank you both for your strategy advice.

I have very little experience with domain negotiation. However, while different goods were being sold, I've had instances with sellers on eBay where I've asked a question to help me better identify an item they have for sale. (Requesting a better picture of a part of a product, or serial number, or model number, etc.) This has, on a not insignificant number of times, prompted the seller to raise the price of the item, then answer my question with the info/picture I requested. Once, even the seller also thanking me for tipping them off to the real value of the item they were selling! This is certainly not the norm, but I do study some items with great effort before contacting sellers now.

People are very different.

@BYYP - that is an interesting take: A buyer purchasing the domain then doing nothing with it and not updating the nameservers. This could be. A private sale with a domain push to an existing GoDaddy account, so not visible on something like Namebio and not extending the domain registration an additional year.

 

[tld4me]

Well, I tried reaching out twice (different days) via GoDaddy's whois "contact domain holder" option. You can only supply an e-mail address and then GoDaddy sends an e-mail to the owner.

Seems like some sellers consider this e-mail from GoDaddy to be spam, according to this older post: https://www.namepros.com/threads/is-direct-contact-via-godaddy-often-spam.1289039/

Would be nice if GoDaddy would allow the sender to include a message with the e-mail and not just a return e-mail address....

Oh well. I guess "wait and keep checking" continues.

 

[Zavian]

This is the most stupid post I've ever seen. If you ask a broker to help you buy a domain, their responsibility is to get you the best possible price on the domain you're buying. Sure, it might be higher than the listed price, but it may also be lower. If you are using a broker that isn't able to negotiate properly, you will end up paying significantly higher.

 

[tld4me]

This is the most stupid post I've ever seen. If you ask a broker to help you buy a domain, their responsibility is to get you the best possible price on the domain you're buying. Sure, it might be higher than the listed price, but it may also be lower. If you are using a broker that isn't able to negotiate properly, you will end up paying significantly higher.

I'm not understanding what you are trying to say in your rude comment.

There is no listed price, the domain isn't listed for sale. It just has many characteristics (ex: history, nameservers) of a domain that would typically be for sale. If there was a reasonably listed price, as there was a few years ago, I'd just buy it.

Are you suggesting I should hire a broker? If so, why would I pay a broker to do what I have already done?
(attempt to make contact with the current owner)

You mention hiring a broker may get a domain for a higher price, or a lower price, and if the broker is bad - a much higher price.... If I hired a broker through a registrar company right now, I would have no selection of who the broker is - it would just be a random person assigned. Currently, I suspect that would be throwing money away.

Since it is a GoDaddy registered domain, maybe a broker hired from GoDaddy would have some back channel for contacting an owner that is different from what I have already tried. If that is the case, why wouldn't you just mention that information rather than insulting me?

 

[Zavian]

I'm not understanding what you are trying to say in your rude comment.

OK so I will take each point in turn.

There is no listed price, the domain isn't listed for sale. It just has many characteristics (ex: history, nameservers) of a domain that would typically be for sale. If there was a reasonably listed price, as there was a few years ago, I'd just buy it.

I was actually responding to part of your original post...

From previous years, through Wayback Machine, the price the domain has been listed at is high, but possibly acceptable. The domain currently doesn’t resolve to any type of sales link, just that it is registered and may be available.

Are you suggesting I should hire a broker? If so, why would I pay a broker to do what I have already done?
(attempt to make contact with the current owner)

Not all broker's charge upfront fees - some only charge upon a successful sale taking place.

You mention hiring a broker may get a domain for a higher price, or a lower price, and if the broker is bad - a much higher price.... If I hired a broker through a registrar company right now, I would have no selection of who the broker is - it would just be a random person assigned. Currently, I suspect that would be throwing money away.

Lol? There are loads of brokerage companies out there. For example, if you went to Grit Brokerage, you could very well ask for @Brian Harbin to manage the brokerage transaction. I'm not exactly sure what you mean by this?

Since it is a GoDaddy registered domain, maybe a broker hired from GoDaddy would have some back channel for contacting an owner that is different from what I have already tried. If that is the case, why wouldn't you just mention that information rather than insulting me?

You asked how people would approach this situation, and I have provided you with an answer.