question Would you counter a 6 figures offer from a big company?

[italiandragon]

This is the biggest offer I ever got.

But the buyer is a Company, quite big in their Country.

What would you do?

 

[discobull]

The problem with saying no is that you risk never hearing from these people again. The problem with saying yes too quickly is that they might then wonder if they might not have been able to get it for less. When you get an offer that you're willing to accept your goal should be to a) feel them out to see if they can go higher, b) not put the current offer at risk and c) not give them a reason to second guess their current offer.

The most effective way I've found for accomplishing these things is to respond with "That's less than I think I can get for this domain, but I'll think about it. What's your time frame for doing this?"

This encourages him to return a higher offer without you actually saying no to the offer he's already made. That means you still have the option to say yes. Additionally, by responding to his offer with some resistance you reduce the likelihood of buyer's remorse. Lastly, the question about time frame engages him in a discussion and gets him to start on the path towards making a commitment on the deal.

You'll likely get an answer along the lines of "I'm ready to do this right away" if they're serious, or something vague if they're not. If it's the former, then your answer should be "Ok, I'll discuss this with my partner and get back to you by ___. In the meantime, if you think you can increase your offer then that would help make our decision easier. "

Again, you're encouraging a higher offer without saying no and you're also reducing the likelihood of buyer's remorse by hesitating to accept the offer. Next, whether they come back with a higher offer or tell you that the present offer is the best they can do, you accept after whatever period of time you said it would take to speak to your partner.

This approach works really well for me. Hopefully you can find something useful here for you as well. Good luck with it.

 

[italiandragon]

I bet your wife says take it.

That's why I am divorced

 

[S-B]

True. I certainly think it is more than fair.

If it's far above the value of the name just take it. No sense in possibly losing the deal of a lifetime.

 

[80-20]

Everybody in this thread is right.
And that's the problem - no sure-fire formulae for success exists.

From my recent experience, six months ago:
1. Received an offer for a two-word hand reg. via GDaddy broker, for $800
2. Countered at $14k.
3. They countered at $2k.
4. I countered with $10k as a final offer, and told the broker that the offer is valid for 3 days; after that it's $14k.
5. On the second day after, it sold at $10k.

Could it go the other way, and end up in nothing? Sure, it could.
Have I been lucky? Yes, but I tried to help my luck by studying whatever I could find about the buyer's identity. No, I didn't know who they were, but there were parties with exactly the same domain name in different extensions, who could be seriously interested.

Finally, what I believe helped to make the sale was me saying: "This domain name has been earmarked by us to become a lead generation site for (the niche described by the domain name.)
Nobody wants to have a competitor with an exact match domain...

 

[Acroplex]

Six figures starts at 100,000 (or 100.000 since you're in Italy) and ends at 999,999 (999.999) so there's plenty of negotiation potential.

You can only sell this domain once, so max out your ROI. Good luck.

 

[WebInvestments]

This is the biggest offer I ever got.

But the buyer is a Company, quite big in their Country.

What would you do?

Congrats on receiving the mega offer and hope you close the deal successfully.

Other than that, to proceed with your situation, like others have said, put greed behind you but don't run for it as well. Negotiate and negotiate wisely, considering all the facts you can gather and think of.

I remember reading a post from a fellow domainer here about a domainer who got a legitimate $250K offer for one of his two-word brandable domain. He didn't took it seriously and told the company that he wouldn't sell it for this amount. Although the company had mentioned that $250K was their first and final offer. That domainer never accepted it and the domain was never sold. After a year, the same domainer contacted the company who made the offer, to ask them if they still wanted the domain, but the company has rebranded their product for which they wanted the domain and that guys loses $250K.

So, the points one can learn from this are:

1. Be realistic while pricing domains (i.e.don't be greedy)
2. If you receive high value offer for a brandable type domain, then go for it.
3. Learn to negotiate professionally

In my opinion, to proceed with the negotiation, do not just ask them to raise their offer. You can start by asking them about how they plan to use the domain and whether they want any assistance in getting the domain transferred once both parties agree on the deal, guide them about the transaction process and in the same email, ask them if their current offer is final,. If they show any flexibility, then grab the opportunity and close the deal.

 

[gilescoley]

show us the name

Why?

Now thats a good way to lose a sale, its easy for the buyer to google the name and read this thread

Never mention the name anywhere until the sale is completed...its the safest way

 

[NPer]

From my experience, if you accept the first offer, the buyer will more than likely back out.
I've had this in the past so many times-which is why I try not to do it in one shot.

Members here who say that they have accepted generous first offers with success; not once, but on several occasions are certainly lying. What are the odds of that happening each time?

Even on platforms, accept the first offer, and the buyer doesn't end up paying.
Via E-mail, the very same thing.

I've had an inquiry several months ago from a buyer, and he asked for a price-which I sent to him. He then made a counter-offer (his first one), which was in the same range, but obviously lower. I accepted-and as I dreadfully expected, he was apparently no longer interested in the domain. I say apparently-because he did send another email from a different email adress (similar ip)- which I have ignored.

At the same time, I have successfully closed deals where I accepted the first-offer, with little issues. These make up a tiny fraction of these kind of inquiries though.

In general first-offers/counter-offers, one should not accept as they typically do not materialise. The buyer wonders if he could have offered less, and whether he "over-offered'!

The issue then comes where the offer is so good, bla bla bla. A sane person would accept, however, what are the chances of it actually turning into sale? So maybe it's not such a sane thing to do.

If it was via email, ask the person to confirm their offer, after which you will take the offer into consideration-that's it.

 

[S-B]

And if that's what you decide to do, please don't sign a non-disclosure so we can share in the excitement!

Hah.

I'd sign anything for 6-figures.

 

[korganian]

If that amount of money would change your life, and you lose the potential sale by being greedy, then you will always kick yourself for not taking their generous offer. I know this from experience.

 

[Magicpig2]

If I wanted to close the deal at six figures, I'd ask something along the lines of:

'We're able to accept your offer on condition that you pay Escrow fees, ($x,xxx)'

By doing so, you're able to give the impression you're not giving in so easily, yet making it appear to the buyer that you've not just rolled over and accepted their first offer without some concession.

 

[iAchilles]

Does anyone else get the feeling this is just a bogus thread to feed some dudes fantasy that he has such an offer so he can vicariously make out like he's RW or fs and hear from domain insiders to feed his perverse ego?

Imho this is all make believe virtual reality.

Genuine or not, I honestly couldn't care less because it resulted in some excellent advice by a handful of posters. Silver lining ftw.

 

[frank-germany]

show us the name

no don't do that !

 

[Mahogany]

Too many variables and unknowns to answer your question brother... 6 figures would change my life right now... But I dont know what you have in it and all the other unknown details withheld...

Use the force!

Side note:
I bet your wife says take it.

 

[main]

I always counter even if I think the offer is fair so the buyer doesn't get buyer's remorse by thinking they offered too much. But I've never gotten a 6 figure offer. All I can say is... good luck! I hope you can close it.

 

[DNGear]

If the buyer happens to see this thread, offer drops to 5 figures..
Please keep quiet..and take it.

 

[FusionSpy]

I'd probably take it (it all depends on the domain name as well ...), but if you counter, counter hard and not for 10-20% cause the risk/reward is not worth the extra hassle of it.

 

[gilescoley]

I would counter a bit higher..I never accept the first offer

watch the scam though...are you 100% sure its a big company...not many will start off with a 6-figure offer unless its a real premium (which it could be but I we dont know)

 

[deez007]

I think it's all relative mate. I mean think about it this way..... let say u get 6 figures NOW but if you wait like 6 months or so you can get 25% more for the domain BUT you risk losing out on this current deal. Is an extra 25% worth the risk? Also, that 6 fixures NOW, if you invest it properly could grow alot more than 25% in 6 months. Basically what I am saying is that in my opinion.....money in hand right now is worth more than potentially more money later on. Money in hand now can be re-invested and can grow.... money that MIGHT come through in the future, doesn't exist yet. It may never come though. I would prefer to have $10 000 in my hand now than $12 500 in 6 months.

 

[Myname IS]

Depends on the name and if you feel the offer is fair.

 

[RegFee]

If it's far above the value of the name just take it. No sense in possibly losing the deal of a lifetime.

And if that's what you decide to do, please don't sign a non-disclosure so we can share in the excitement!

 

[johname]

Assuming you are happy with the offer, you don't want to be too happy and eager to accept it.

Don't lose the sale if it makes your year or decade.

Obviously if the domain was Sex.com you dont even answer their email lol So money amount is all about the domain. Good Luck

 

[frank-germany]

This is the biggest offer I ever got.

But the buyer is a Company, quite big in their Country.

What would you do?

first step:
don't do anything

second step:
wait a little longer

third step:
read this book:
http://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Power-Negotiating-Anniversary-Edition/dp/1601631391

or if you need the money
get a contract and use escrow.com

good luck

 

[Perceptron]

A personal experience:

I recently had an Inquiry from a Well-funded Silicon Valley Star-up for a Category Killer Technical EMD .com within the energy storage (Tesla Type Co.) sector. A perfect match for their concept/niche. It was a Direct mail from one of the co-founders!

After reading Michael Cygers recent eBook on his $12+ profit on one domain sale, I tried applying a similar Negotiation Technique. In my reply I mentioned about my IP as an Aero & Astro Designer to set up a project on that Domain, with a summary on what I was going to do with it! But I was still open for considerable offer as I am working on a different project too as per my LinkedIn.

It's been two weeks and no reply.

Now I am kicking myself for overplaying it!

Moral of the story:

Don't OVERPLAY! It worked for you! Mate you already have a SIX FIGURE offer, PLEASE DONT LET IT GO!!!

 

[nvdomains]

Brother...please stop listening to anyone. Just sell it even if you leave something on the table.

This is the best offer you ever received...Just sell it..stop listening to some greedy advice.