Ok so when you say no buying potential I assume its nothing special, maybe just a catchy name, I think you should ask him how much he's willing to sell so that you can find his position. You dont want to end up offering more than what he originally wanted.

I'd start with $50 and see what he counters.

I wouldn't use a service to try to buy a domain.

If a domain is a .com, is short, no dashes or numbers and made up of words, I usually value them at $1 per monthly unique visitors per Compete.com or Quantcast estimates of unique traffic.

Otherwise, there is really no way at all to put a value on a domain name these days. If it isn't listed with Quantcast or Compete, I say it isn't worth anything more than standard registration costs.

I agree with michael_nguyen. Ask them how much they want for it. If you are willing to pay that amount then pay it. If not, make a counter-offer.

It is well worth offering $50, and then settling on a mutually agreed figure. If the domain is not being used it is likely to be part of a portfolio of domains the buyer has purchased for use at a later date so it is likely the price agreed may be much more than $50. Hope it goes well

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I've found that you run into all types when it comes to selling domains. A couple of weeks ago I received an email from out of the blue asking me if I wanted to sell a .com domain that I've had for several years.

I responded off the cuff my saying If I sold it it would be via auction with a $650.00 buy it now price. The guy immediately offered $650.00. I immediately accepted and he immediately disappeared!

Considering how fast the guy jumped at the $650.00 price and not knowing he was going to disappear I had it appraised for cusiosity sake. It appraised @ $3,000.00. After four days of not hearing from him I emailed the results of the appraisal along with a price increase to 3K and a mild scolding about how it isn't nice to make offers and disappear. I never heard a word from him. Like I said -- it takes all kinds.

Lots of people won't casually sell domains, especially .coms even though they don't plan to use them because in the long term they are like gold.

If you're going to contact somebody out of the blue about buying their domain, you should be offering a price up front. If they're not already thinking about selling it, they're not going to be able to give you a real price.

If it's coming up for renewal in January, why not just wait to see if they renew? If they do, then contact them. If not, just buy it.

I agree with Michael as well! Ask first how much he would like it to sell. From there you can negotiate.

You might start by just asking if they are interested in selling it. An initial offer (especially of such a low amount) may just get you rejected before the negotiations can begin.

Everyone seems to be in the same boat here. You should see how much money they want for the domain and work it out with him. Or you can see if he's not going to renew it in January and just wait to pick it up then.

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I would just ask if he's willing to sell it.

If he is and doesn't care about it, just offer him $20. Don't give him any ideas that it could be worth something.

If it really isn't worth anything but he doesn't want to sell, then get the same domain, but with stop words in them.

I'd start with $20 or so. You really need to gauge how he feels about the domain though. You could get lucky with $20.

Perhaps I'm wrong (it wouldn't be the first time) but I don't think you're going to find very many people that have forgot they have a domain and then, after being reminded and woke up, would they be willing to sell it for $20.

I've been paying renewals on most of the domains that I have for three to nine years. If someone sent me a $20.00 offer I wouldn't feel they were a serious prospect and probably wouldn't answer their offer. Following is what I would consider to be a viable approach:

Hello:

While searching for a domain name I noticed that you own xxxxxx.com. It also appears that you are not using xxxxxx.com. Would you be interested in entertaining a reasonable offer for the domain?

In checking xxxxxx.com appears to be getting X amount of traffic (or no traffic). Based on traffic, keyword density and my personal preference I'm willing to offer (X-Dollars) for xxxxxx.com.

"If you have any questions comments or concerns feel free to contact me via this email address or contact me via telephone @ xxx-xxx-xxxx. As I am in a hurry to find a domain my offer is only good for three days.

Sincerely,


Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxx
Address
Tel Nr

Okay Kevin...
Knowing that, I'd sit on this puppy until expiration time because you can probably pick it up for the renewal fee. The chances of anyone else wanting it are slim (though Kevin Marshall is probably a fairly common name).

Still, you never know what someone's motivation might be. Who knows, maybe the guy is like me and waits until the last minute to renew domains and pay bills (I like to hold on to my money as long as possible for the really great interest rates the banks are offering these days :p).

If you do decide to go for it sooner I wouldn't tell the guy your name because once you've done that you've shown him you have more than just a casual interest in the domain. Good luck to you whatever you may decide!