Domain Buying and Selling Do’s and Dont’s

Posted by bruce in Domains, How-Tos | 6 comments

Everyweek I make at least a couple Domain related transactions, whether it be purchasing a name on Namepros.com or selling a name through email or Sedo there is usually some negotiation that takes place. Rick Latona has a series of blog posts concerning general selling do’s and don’t which some people have a hard time accepting. People just do not like the truth sometimes, especially when it may be something new they are learing or even more so when it is something they no but just do not want to admit.

I came up with a list of more than 30 do’s and don’ts  for when dealing with domain transactions but limited my list to 5 and will post more in later blog posts, some of these are obvious but for a newbie coming in or for someone who is simply new to any transaction based business I hope these can help.

1) NEVER, I mean NEVER accept the first offer. Even if you think the number is fair understand that its a starting point. When making a counter offer NEVER counter with your lowest acceptance price. Example, recently I sold  a name on Sedo for $2,000.  The first offer was at $750, did I counter with $2,000, no, I countered with $3,000. If I would of countered with $2,000 they would of offered something lower. This increased my transaction value by hundreds of dollars.

2) When buying names make sure you have the money to buy, do NOT string out the seller for days, weeks, months coming up with the funds. If you cannot buy it do not make the offer. Its ok to say no if the seller comes back with something that does not meet your budget, but once you commit you better be ready. I had a transaction string out for 3 months last year due to this. I had already posted a name was sold then the person suddenly kept having excuses for the funds not showing up.  I still had the name but the hassle was not worth it. Never again. (One exception, if you work out payment plans ahead of time)

3)  Do NOT believe the traffic numbers on Godaddy auctions. Its been proven time and time again that these numbers are not accurate and can be driven up by unsavory characters buying traffic to push up prices. Do your research, if you cannot figure out where the traffic is coming from then do not take the chance. I have seen many a name that showed hundreds, if not thousands, of visitors per month that after doing a bit of research could not figure out any reason why the site could be getting that much traffic. There are plenty of how-tos available on how to check for backlinks, Alexa rank, etc for a name. Save yourself some money and use them.

4) OK, so a funny but very true one, people make jokes all the time about buying domains when drunk. Seriously, its funny but true, if you have a list of 100 domains in your cart at your register of choice and you know you had to many Gin and Tonics do not hit BUY:) I say this one almost in jest but I am sure I have a couple names I have dropped (cancelled…) due to this.

5) Be careful not to jump on every overly hyped extension to hit the market. I will admit freely that no one has a crystal ball and some may actually do well. But if you invest all your domaining dollars in .TV, .MOBI, .ME, .TEL (let me emphasize that last one .TEL) you will not do as well as focusing your dollars on .COM, .NET, or .ORG. I have made my mistakes in this area, learn from my mistakes here. That said, I have made some large domain purchases in one of those listed above and am a believer (.ME for full disclosure). That came after people (money guys, marketing guys) caught on to it and actually funded a project based on the branding and possibilities of it. Note that it was based on MONEY not emotion. Domaining is a business not a hobby.

I am sure people will have either strong agreements, disagreements, or comments. Feel free. There are dozens more that could be listed.