Does this approach sound okay for trying to buy a domain being used in a private blog network off an owner I don't know (but have contact details for)

[withgratitude]

Hey all,

I am interested in buying a domain name off a marketing company that is being used as a low quality PBN (private blog network site, used in SEO for boosting other sites). Was hoping I might be able to get some insight / advice from anyone who might have done / tried this before to see if this approach seems sound or if there’s a better way to go about it.

Here are the details / background:

• Business that owns the domain is in a middle of the road country in terms of living expenses. I have their website, email, direct phone, snail mail contacts from whois, looking at their site, googling them etc.
• Domain was bought in December 2017 for $12USD at dropped auction by look of it.
• They have a lot of domains that are being used as PBNs (big footprint actually).
• Domain has unique content of about 10 – 15 blog posts, all lowish quality, probably not much investment. I’m not interested in the content or site, just want to buy the domain name.
• They are only linking directly to two sites (with only one link pointing to each site). They look like they would be low paying clients based on the niche – they seem like buffer links as they’re using naked URLs as the anchors.
• Domain metrics: TF/CF 12, Referring domains 80ish, DA/PA 16/31
• Equivalent 2 word domains have all sold for less than $300USD in historical sales.
• An equivalent domain based on metrics if buying it from somewhere like TBSolutions (if it hadn’t been dropped) would be around $250 - $350ish

Approach I was thinking of based on a bunch of research:

1. Contact owner directly saying I’m interested in their domain and ask if they would consider selling it? Side note: Is sending from a personal or business account best?
2. If no response, try emailing again to check first message came through.
3. If no response again, maybe they want me to name a price – suggest 20-30% below bottom range that I hope to pay for it.
4. If still no response, try calling them, if no response, try snail mail.
5. If they come back with high offer, share research with them above in terms of comparable sales and domain value generally, counter offer, etc. until we hopefully find a mutually agreeable price.
6. If their price is too high,walk away and approach again a bit later (a month or so) or see if owner reconsiders.
7. When agreed on price, then set up account on escrow.com, fund it and process the sale.

Questions:

Anyone found / have any scripts that work well in terms of the proposal to buy so I don’t look like a time waster?
Should I mention anything about the research I’ve done up front just so it’s clear I have an idea of the domain’s worth and I don’t get a response like “sure you can buy it for $5,000”?
Should I lead with a price to try and anchor the sale to that and not get an unrealistic figure as above?

Thanks for reading and any ideas / advice in advance!

 

[Biggie]

Hi

I see a flaw in your assumption of value,
if it's based on previous sales of domain names with "similar" keywords.

as, even though you only want the domain,
the content, despite the quality level in your opinion...
may have more value to them, for whatever leads or archor that converts, to where they redirect or use that traffic for.
and all that, is connected to the domain name/

still, for 1. 2.
if and when you contact them about the domain, you can include an initial offer or ask for pricing.
though that in itself can increase price, if they had one in mind, prior to your inquiry.
but that too depends on other variables which are currently unknown to you.
like, whether they need to sell it or whether they have future plans for it.

for 5. 6. 7.
that's where the differences in "value perspective" will be revealed for both parties, should it go that far.
at that point, you can make a deal, try to negotiate if price is too high or walk.

as for what email addy to use, as a seller it doesn't matter when the buyer is serious.

imo...

 

[withgratitude]

Thanks a lot for the reply, I appreciate it! Definitely food for thought.

In terms of the domain value, there's no traffic / it's not ranking for anything, they're purely using it for the strength of previous links to the domain, so I'm hoping they will part with it, then just repurpose the content on another domain in the same way they're using it now.