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?

 

[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

 

[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.

 

[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...

 

[Jeeps]

...

And that's the problem - no sure-fire formulae for success exists.

...

See also: Just turned down a 7 figure offer via Larry Fischer's DirectNavigation.com blog & juxtapose with OP's situation (see comments).

I'm thinking you should sell, then frame and hang the ROI % for motivation and smiles

 

[greggb]

This is the biggest offer I ever got.

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

What would you do?

Take the frigging money. Use it to buy many more domain names and have many more dilemmas like this one.

 

[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!!!

 

[frank-germany]

learn about the inquiring company as much as you can
and find why they need the domain name
and how badly they need it

if they have easy other choices
you'd better sell

if they have no other chance ..

 

[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.

 

[Domain Lead Finder]

I would accept immediately because I am a coward

 

[Simon Cornell]

Of course, it is tempting to just accept the offer, but considering that pretty much nobody's first offer is their final offer, surely they would be willing to pay more. I think the key is letting them know that you want to sell and that the offer is definitely in the ballpark, but that you feel the domain is worth, say, 20% more.
As much as some have suggested this might scare them off, as others have pointed out, if you immediately accept the offer, they could think they have offered you too much.
At the end of the day though, you know all the facts, so just go with your own gut feeling.
I hope it works out, good luck!

 

[Edward Smeu]

Doing anything else than what @WebInvestments or @discobull mentioned is just pure gambling with a 6 figures amount. Just try to find out if this offer is final without saying no, keep the offer binding. And if it is, just take a couple of days 'to think' and do the deal, simple as that.
Good luck and let us know the details afterwards.

 

[hookbox]

Always counter. If you accept their first number they may think they are overpaying and may end up lowering it. If a company's first offer is a six figure offer then they aren't going to walk away from the deal. They are showing they are serious and really want the name.

 

[Omar Negron]

Take it. =)

You earned it!

 

[Kachi]

This is the biggest offer I ever got.

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

What would you do?

Hmmm..they didn't hide their identity? The big guns usually go through a proxy. Why wait?

 

[5dots]

If it's a big Company, I assume that they know their market.
Plus you feel that their offer is appropriate. Take it!

BTW, Nowadays most professionals know all kinds of negotiation techniques. So unless you are serious about the message, don't use them. Nobody likes the feeling of being played.

Curious how this ends.

 

[Shimmy]

I would just take it, if their first offer is that high I would think they were thinking they really didn't want to negotiate and wanted to just give a great offer.

 

[frank-germany]

how do you think a 1.2 Million Dollar deal ist done?

 

[Shimmy]

1.2 Million Dollar deal is done when the domain is worth that much. The OP said the offer is "more than fair"

 

[frank-germany]

who wants to be fair?

 

[imadoer]

If it was me and the offer seemed more then fair at 6 figures i would close it. ASAP

but just my opinion

 

[wwwweb]

Most likely a really good 3L.com, not many companies open with 6 figure offers, not even for good one word .com's

 

[Shimmy]

I wouldn't assume anything. The one guy got a $100,000 initial offer for "autism.rocks" Anything is possible.

 

[5dots]

Seems our thread starter is partying hard already.

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

I would say something like... You offer is below the market value of the domain so is that your first and final offer? I will add also relevant sales closely related to your domain in terms of niche, lenght etc.

In that, you dont reject the offer or counter it outright instead ,you educate the buyer and have the possibility of them increasing their offer. You also clearly mention that a deal is possible.

They will certainly get back to you towith the same offer or slightly increasing it.

Good luck and congrats
Now, where is the buyer who can offer me such thing for my diamond domaijs lol