A question for experienced Domainers

12 replies
Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

I have for a number of reasons, decided to scale my IM activities down and begin a new business model which does not have anything to do with domains or websites.

I have listed two of my domains for sale with Sedo, but when doing so, their software suggests I set a "Buy Now" price (suggested by them) as apposed to "Make an offer" ... they claim sales are 3 times more successful using this approach...

My question is, is this the best approach in your experience? .. I have no issue with the price they suggest (although it does seem a bit high), but because I have no experience in this department, I wonder if this is truly the best way or if it is just a ploy. I am not out to make mega bucks from the sale, but would like to see a return of sorts, rather than just letting the domains die.

Your thoughts....??
#domainers #experienced #question
  • Profile picture of the author Clintin
    Originally Posted by Graham Maddison View Post

    Thanks in advance for taking the time to respond.

    I have for a number of reasons, decided to scale my IM activities down and begin a new business model which does not have anything to do with domains or websites.

    I have listed two of my domains for sale with Sedo, but when doing so, their software suggests I set a "Buy Now" price (suggested by them) as apposed to "Make an offer" ... they claim sales are 3 times more successful using this approach...
    Make Offer is good at times because it gives you different offers from different people but most of the times those offers are from people that don't want to actually purchase or low ball offers.

    On the other hand the Buy Now is straight to the point and the price you have will be the amount you get so you don't have to worry about getting offers from people who aren't really looking to purchase.

    Originally Posted by Graham Maddison View Post

    My question is, is this the best approach in your experience?
    I've used both Make Offer and Buy Now and it's hard to say which one to use because some domains of mine that I really don't care about I would add Make Offer option.

    Originally Posted by Graham Maddison View Post

    .. I have no issue with the price they suggest (although it does seem a bit high), but because I have no experience in this department, I wonder if this is truly the best way or if it is just a ploy. I am not out to make mega bucks from the sale, but would like to see a return of sorts, rather than just letting the domains die.

    Your thoughts....??
    Domains can be tricky and I try to stay away from valuation as much as possible, I usually just promote the domain that is for sale and get buyers instead of valuation. In your case you may want to use the "Buy Now" option and if possible use Sedo Homepage Showcase, Apply for Top Domain Listing or Premium listing.

    If the price seems too high that they are suggesting then lower it to what you feel comfortable at or add Make Offer to the listing if you don't know how to price it.

    Sedo using a valuation to guess the price of the domain for you which isn't correct because you can't really value domains, especially with automatic software.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tom Addams
    If the domains are good, selling is usually a simple process.

    Locations like Sedo, Godaddy Auctions, DNForum, NamePros, etc, etc, should be a backup measure. In other words: most assuredly not your first port of call.

    You're best bet is to compile a list of potential contacts and contact them directly, asking for them to "make an offer."

    Tom
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      Originally Posted by Get Rich Methods View Post

      You're best bet is to compile a list of potential contacts and contact them directly, asking for them to "make an offer."
      This ... very much this!

      What you're likely to get for domains is almost always going to depend on your efforts at identifying, contacting and negotiating with people to whom the domain-name potentially has "additional value" because the nature of their own businesses, and to have comparatively little to do with where you list them for sale.

      ("newbiemanuals.com" ought to be worth something? ).

      Good luck!

      .
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  • Profile picture of the author tyronne78
    I'm not in the domain business but I hear that Empire Flippers is a great place to sell your site:

    Sell Your Site - Empire Flippers
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    • Profile picture of the author TryBPO
      Originally Posted by tyronne78 View Post

      I'm not in the domain business but I hear that Empire Flippers is a great place to sell your site:

      Sell Your Site - Empire Flippers
      Thanks for the mention! Unfortunately, we only do established, profitable websites, not domains.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Using a "Buy Now" price on your Sedo listing dramatically increases your chance to sell, assuming it's priced at fair market value.

    Using "Make Offer" on your listing will dramatically decrease your chance of selling at Sedo or other listing platform. Most potential buyers have no idea what a reasonable offer would be, so they take the path of least resistance and browse the "Buy Now" listings.

    That being said, if you have a domain of higher-than-most value, you'd be foolish to list with a Buy Now price. High quality domains draw the attention of serious buyers, and they are usually prepared to make a serious offer if it is a domain that suits their needs.

    I concur with GRM that your best chance at selling a good domain is to do a little research and contact potential buyers directly. Ask them to make an offer. No matter what happens, never mention a price until they do. Negotiate up from there - nobody offers their top bid up front.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Originally Posted by Gene Pimentel View Post

      No matter what happens, never mention a price until they do. Negotiate up from there - nobody offers their top bid up front.

      Sage advice. When negotiating a sale, I've always remembered this wisdom:

      "The first one to mention a price loses!"

      The best to all of you,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Jeff Burritt
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    Yes, I have sold domains both with using the 'make offer' and 'buy it now' options. I found the 'buy it now' option worked faster. Just my experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Graham Maddison
    Guys, thank you so much for the useful and interesting replies. It is very much appreciated.

    Looks like a bit of research is called for .. maybe I can make a decent return if I can find someone who's niche fits the domains. For now however, I will stick with the Buy Now option and see where we go .... Thanks a million for your input.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Originally Posted by Graham Maddison View Post

      . . . maybe I can make a decent return if I can find someone who's niche fits the domains.

      Graham,

      One way to do this is to Google your site's top 2 or 3 most relevant keyword phrases. Note the results that come back and contact all the site owners who are found on the first few pages of the search results (SERPs). These are the site owners who have the most to gain from your sale - people who are already doing well in the same business.

      Good luck,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Excitemental
    I find domain name sell better with a buy it now price otherwise you will tend to get low ball offers.. You want to make sure you list your name fro sale on all the relevant sites.. sedo, afternic, godaddy etc.

    If they are keyword names you are best of trying to compile a list of contacts and get in touch with them that's the way to maximize on your return.

    If they are brandable domain names then send me a pm as i am always in the market for some
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  • Profile picture of the author S1YMY
    Many of the bigger Auction houses do very little with the promotion of domain names for sale - they simply list them and hope visitors come for them.

    Lower tier auction sites will look up similar names in whois and mail them with info on the domain.

    Really lower tier auction sites often send volumes of prospective 'spam' mails to similar sounding domains (i get many to abuse@ sales@ info@ etc)

    If you want to get the top price for a domain then you really only get that from interested buyers and those will be people with a similar product or domain that yours fits into. Target them yourself using Google and WhoIs and you will have a much greater chance at making a good value sale.

    I have used both methods to buy domains too, but find using the bigger sites is only of use when i have no idea what name i want, so just browsing for ideas.
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