Who should throw out the first number when purchasing a name?

[Bob]

This subject really gets on my nerves.

WHO SHOULD GIVE THE FIRST NUMBER WHEN ENTERING A DOMAIN NAME TRANSACTION: THE BUYER OR SELLER?

I have expressed my opinion many times before in various threads, but would like opinions from everybody else. It irritates me when a seller tries to sell a name, and you ask "how much" and then reply with "make an offer".

I usually reply to them with "$10". Their response is usually "I want $xxxx for it." Well why the heck didn't you say that in the first place?

Here is what I ask in your response:

1) Answer the question
2) State WHY you have your opinion. I do not care what side of the fence you are one, just looking for your reasoning.

My opinion is two fold.

1) If you are a seller and state a name is for sale, then you as the seller should start things. Afterall, it IS your name and you must have some sort of expectation.

2) The exception to #1 comes you get an unsolicited inquiry to a domain name. Even then, you can argue the seller should go first, but if somebody approaches you and the name is not for sale, then the buyer should go first, because you were not offering it for sale.


I am very interested in hearing other people's opinions on this.

-Bob

[Duke]

1) The Seller should state what he wants first.

2) If he doesn't know what he wants for HIS name, how am I supposed to know??

Think about everything else you shop for. What would you do if you walked in a store and no prices were marked. When you asked the price the storekeeper says "you tell me how much you will pay"! What would you do? I would walk out. They may do business that way in Tijuana, but outside of the third world I don't think people care to do business that way. I don't deal with sellers who do that and I would imagine a lot of others don't either.

[RMF]

I think it depends on the domain. On more valuable names, I think the potential buyer should make an offer, then you can negotiate on that if its in your selling range.

RMF

[doubledee999]

I think if a name is for sale, the seller should throw out a number., most people know that there is always some kind of negotiation that is going to go on., But If the name is for sale the seller should know what he/she wants and state it. If the potential buyer calls on you for a name that is not advertised as "for sale" then the buyer should start with the negotiations.

If I am selling a name I will state how much I want and then go from there. There is nothing worse than playing the you say first game with the buyer or seller.

If I am buying a name I try not to even deal with any seller that will not say his/her price, or even a ballpark figure to work with., I would much rather have the seller state the price and then say yes or no. Makes things much easier.

[Togoodhlth]

When someone contacts me and it is unsolicited I feel them out a bit before quoting a price. For instance i just got an email with regard to a pretty crappy Dn which I am going to use. I reg'd the name right when it dropped and evidently this person really wanted the name. He/she stated that the price would have to be "very reasonable". I emailed back mentioning that I was going to be using the DN and apologized for the "for sale" which i forgot to remove upon registering. I then asked what would be a "very reasonable" price as I would consider selling it.

I typically use this method for unsolicited price requests on names I don't have publicly listed for sale. If I have the name listed somewhere I will reply with my "reach" amount then negotiate from there.

Now, when I'm buying I always request an asking price.
I guess that is a little hypocritical.

[adoptabledomains]

When selling names, I prefer to get them to make an offer first, but don't insist on it. It may be more than I even was expecting, if it's the PERFECT name for them. If they want me to quote a price, I'll consider what I think is the highest I could reasonably sell the name for to the customer who it would be best for. I may be willing sometimes to sell a name for $100, but if it's worth $500 to someone, I'll certainly accept it. Some big companies think nothing of spending 3-4 figures for a name as they then control it forever globally as long as they pay the minimal reg fee. To companies that pay thousands for a single 1 year yellow page listing year after year, this is a long term bargain. I never ask outrageous prices in the hundreds of thousands, since it may be years before you find a willing buyer if ever.

If I didn't have the name for sale, I make them make an offer, but tell them up front I'm not really interested in selling, but for the right price, just about everything is for sale. After all, they initiated the sale. I've had several potential buyers use this with me, saying my name is only one of several they're considering and they are shopping for price. If I believe them, I may settle for less, If the name is unique, I'll call their bluff and hold out for my price.

If I'm buying, I like to throw out the first price if none is set, as it sets the tone for the sale and lets them know I DO have a clue as to the domain market, or the ability to find another similar/alternate name for a better price. I always offer them a good profit of 3 to 10 or more times the reg fee. If it isn't worth $30-100, I probably don't want or need it. If they expected 6 figures, I can wise them up on reality and let them know that a 300% return on investment is nothing to sneeze at, and they may not get another offer, ever. I can also ask them who and how many potential users may be willing, able, and likelly to pay that amount. If they insist it's worth unreasonable amounts I'll not waste any more time. If reality sets in, I can double or triple the orginal offer and they feel like they won the negotiation by getting me higher, and I get a price I can live with.

The best transaction is when both sides feel successful in the negotiation ending somewhere in between the offer and the asking price.