Originally posted by TimTim
thank you. you brought up various good points.
we did / do realize that $450 offered by, say, a minimum wager or $450 offered by a millionaire, is in both cases the same amount of money, and that for this particular domain the $450 would indeed be good money. but what we have a problem with, in a way, is that she states that all she can afford on this domain is her $450, while we for sure now know she is a multi millionaire, so it is very likely she can, and would be willing to, spend more. her claim is probably just a standard "smart" practice, from a business point of view, just like her emailing us (well, my brother) from a generic hotmail address instead of from one of her businesses addresses, but it is also not being truthful.
But still, you should not take into account who the person is. It does not matter if the are poor or whether they are a millionaire.
I get those kinds of comments all the time "This is the most I can pay" or "I will have to live on peanut butter and jelly for a month" or whatever. Beleive me, I get them all the time, and it is not my problem (not to sound harsh
)
I keep everything business. No pesonal feelings or circumstances. When negotiating, I present facts. It makes it a lot harder for them to talk you down when you use facts and they are trying to play on your feelings and circumstances. . .
I saw this situation unfold:
A seller would have taken $100 for a name. He was contacted by a potential buyer. The buyer offered $400. The seller KNEW that the buyer had money. The seller then countered with $1000. I asked the seller his logic. The seller said that he knew the buyer had money and could afford it. I pointed out that just 2 days previous the he was willing to take $100 and why not take the $400 as it was 4 times his original asking price
. That fact did not matter. The buyer walked away from the $1000 counter offer. The seller lost a sale of a domain name where an offer was given that was 4x his original asking price, but because he knew the background of the person involved, he tried to get more. After the buyer walked away, the seller was kicking himself and said "I should have taken the $400." I just shook my head in disbelief.
Remember though that there are some people out there who will give their best offer the first time around. When I negotiate, I am **usually** like this (but not always). Your buyer might be one of these people.
You can certainly approach the negotiations in any way you want. Your buyer may be willing to pay more but $450 might be her highest offer too. Are you willing to call the possible bluff and lose a $450 sale over it?
Only you can answer that given the amount you have invested in the name.
Good luck.
Please keep posting with what you decide and how it unfolds. I am very curious and would like to watch this
-Bob