How to negotiate: Case Study

[Infoproliferati]

Hello folks. A common question we have as domain investors is "how does one negotiate on price for a name?" In this space I'll post a series of exchanges I had with an inquirer for one of my names. The negotiations didn't end with a sale. I do post it on here to get input and perhaps to gain insight where I may have been lacking.

Of course, the domain and certain parts of the emails have been blanked out for the inquirer's and my privacy.

1. Hello Sir ----,

I am offering you 400$ for -----
Serious offer, fast escrow.com payment
In hope of a positive answer.
have a nice day
-----

2. Hello -----,

Thank you for making an offer. I'm afraid $400 is too low. An appraisal for the domain by Sedo values it at $7000. Can you make a better offer?

Best regards,
-----

3. Hello ------,

Here what i found for ----- : ----------
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]I can go up to 500$ + pay escrow fees, but i can no go higher.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]in Canada, "-------" is not a competitive word. Almost no adds. I can not offer better.[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif]Regards[/FONT]
[FONT=Arial, Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif] -------

4. [/FONT]Hi ------,

You make a good point. ------ is not a competitive word. However, I believe the domain has some viable potential to be built upon, at least on familiarity and given the multiple meanings of "------". May I ask, what do you plan to use the domain for?

Regards,
-------

5. Hi ----- ,
I plan to make a mfa on it.
So what is you final answer to my offer.
Have a nice day.
------

6. Hi ------,

------.com will do well for an mfa. I will be honest. I declined a $500 offer for the name about 7 months ago. Would you consider leasing the domain to own?
------

7. Hi ------,

No leasing for me.
Ok, i guess it means i l have to find another domain elsewhere ?
So bad.
Have a nice day.
Regards
-----

8. Hi ------,

Hope you had a great weekend. I do appreciate your interest in the domain but must apologize as I am not comfortable with a $500 offer.

Regards
------

9. Ok ------.
So bad for me. I could have been up to 600, but no more.
i must go on and find something else now.
Best regards
------

10. Hi -----,

If you prefer to look for something else, I completely understand.

Regards,
-------

11. Hello -------,

Thanks you for your time.
If you change your mind in the near future, let me know.
Best regards
-------

12. -----,

Thank you for your time likewise.
In the event that I change my mind l will let you know.
Best regards
----

Perspectives and input welcome.

*Worth mentioning is the inquirer didn't ask me for a price which I thought was rather interesting.

 

[A D]

The start of this is typical spam offers where people try to get really good names for just a few hundred bucks.

They are looking for suckers to jump at it.

Personally, I would have stated my range to cut down on a few of these emails back and forth.

The bottom line is if someone wants your domain, you are in control to set the price not them.

At the very worst, you have a $600 offer on a name that I would guess would be worth at least 2-3k.

-=DCG=-

 

[Infoproliferati]

Thanks Adam. I wondered why the inquirer didn't ask for a price.

 

[Gerry]

Thanks Adam. I wondered why the inquirer didn't ask for a price.

It sounds suspiciously and reads like an offer I got quite a while back from a female.

 

[Theo]

It sounds suspiciously and reads like an offer I got quite a while back from a female.

God, Patty was "brokering some names" to locals again?

 

[Infoproliferati]

It sounds suspiciously and reads like an offer I got quite a while back from a female.

Now was she looking to sucker you into accepting a lowball offer for a decent domain?

 

[cbk]

Hello Sir
In hope of a positive answer.
Red Flag


You make a good point. ------ is not a competitive word. However, I believe the domain has some viable potential to be built upon, at least on familiarity and given the multiple meanings of "------". May I ask, what do you plan to use the domain for?

No you didnt! First you just have two comparable offers for $500 what are you waiting for? If legit I would have made a deal. Dont be mislead by the suped up estibot Sedo appraisals. Who cares about what you think it can be built upon and it sure as heck better have more than SOME viable potential if I am going to pay more than that. He can buy a similar reg fee name that has some viable potential. Dont say that again or inquire what they want to do with the domain, once you get too personal it minimizes your selling power. Make the sale and move on....

 

[Infoproliferati]

No you didnt! First you just have two comparable offers for $500 what are you waiting for? If legit I would have made a deal. Dont be mislead by the suped up estibot Sedo appraisals. Who cares about what you think it can be built upon and it sure as heck better have more than SOME viable potential if I am going to pay more than that. He can buy a similar reg fee name that has some viable potential. Dont say that again or inquire what they want to do with the domain, once you get too personal it minimizes your selling power. Make the sale and move on....

True. Appraisals in this business can be very misleading sometimes. Yet appraisals can also be sources of invaluable insight. A few months ago the estibot appraisal was less than $500. Now it is 8X as much. While the monthly searches remained consistent, CPC exploded 800%+. BuyDomains has a 2 term keyword (generic word inclusive) listed at over $6000. I know the generic sounds a lot better and I get some traffic although very small.

I also did some research on the inquirer (gotta love linkedin). Discovered his employer, a major firm, is in the "mfa" business, which only constitutes a sub part of the company's core business . I considered the possibility that I could have agreed to a sale and he would have flipped for 5X or even a lot more to his employer.

 

[Gerry]

Now was she looking to sucker you into accepting a lowball offer for a decent domain?

Much of the verbiage is the same (seriously the same) but she did make an offer.

Was this person on the other end of the conversion a female (or at least using a female name)?

 

[Infoproliferati]

A man per the name given.

 

[Biggie]

without knowing the domain, what's to negotiate?

 

[Infoproliferati]

without knowing the domain, what's to negotiate?

Good point. I'm more interested in general strategy.

 

[thevirtual]

At least the buyer made an offer. In these email "negotiations" I am always stuck with a buyer who refuses to make an offer. They simply ask for a price, and then when the price is given they stop contact. I always mention that I can accept offers, but they stop contact. Now why would a well-to-do Real estate agent be scared away by a $1,000 price for the most ideal domain name, where they stop all contact, as if they were expecting me to provide a $300 price and get it lowered to $100. lol

 

[katherine]

Here what i found for ----- : ----------
I can go up to 500$ + pay escrow fees, but i can no go higher.
in Canada, "-------" is not a competitive word. Almost no adds. I can not offer better.
Regards

Sounds like a domainer: is familiar with escrow.com.

Thank you for making an offer. I'm afraid $400 is too low. An appraisal for the domain by Sedo values it at $7000. Can you make a better offer?

IMO this is a mistake:
You are suggesting you don't know the value of domains and rely on automated tools.
The potential buyer could counter with an estibot/nameboy appraisal that is equally worthless, but in line with his offering. Then you are caught at your own game.

At least he's a straight shooter and he avoids spending too much of your time and his.
I think he's just a serial bargain seeker.
I contact people out of the blue on a regular basis to buy names but the exchanges of E-mail seldom result in a sale.

You are expecting more, buy you don't mention a firm, minimum price you'd be willing to accept.
So I think it's pretty normal negotiations drag on, then break down.

 

[thevirtual]

At least the buyer made an offer. In these email "negotiations" I am always stuck with a buyer who refuses to make an offer. They simply ask for a price, and then when the price is given they stop contact. I always mention that I can accept offers, but they stop contact. Now why would a well-to-do Real estate agent be scared away by a $1,000 price for the most ideal domain name, where they stop all contact, as if they were expecting me to provide a $300 price and get it lowered to $100. lol

Even worse than I expected, after they wasted so much of my time, I finally got an offer from one of these people ($50). Truly unbelievable.