closed got an offer for southbaysingles.com

[mogtnomr]

I was offered $500 for this domain, which to me (as a newbie) seems like a good offer. However I'd feel stupid not asking for more since I didnt have a price set and he just offered the $500 to start.

After a little bit of sleuthing around, I see that this guy is from San Jose and works for pocketmail.com (hotmail like service) as a systems administrator. At first I thought he was just using a generic pocketmail.com email address to maybe hide his real organization, but this guy really does work for them, so I dont know if he wants to buy this domain on behalf of pocketmail, or himself. All I know is that he used his corporate pocketmail email address. I guess I'm just trying to assess how deep his pockets are.

Note that this domain is NOT taken in any other tld either..

So what do you pro's out there think, what would you do? If he offered $500 cold like that, I'm assuming that its a good indication he's willing to go higher? Do you think I can get $700 out of him then? I'm thinking of asking for $1000, and expecting to meet somewhere in between. Is that in the right ballpark?

MANY THANKS for your input!
Rob

PS. I'm praying this guy isnt a member here !!

 

[Nameable]

Originally posted by mogtnomr
So what do you pro's out there think, what would you do? If he offered $500 cold like that, I'm assuming that its a good indication he's willing to go higher? Do you think I can get $700 out of him then? I'm thinking of asking for $1000, and expecting to meet somewhere in between. Is that in the right ballpark?

I'm a noob on this board, but I've been at it for 4 years. When someone comes in with a mid-$xxx offer like that they are ALWAYS willing to pay more. They believe the domain is valuable and are hoping you will bite.

Bust out your used car salesperson persona and negotiate - tell them about how you were planning to develop it, the friend-finder market is hot these days, you could make $xxxx per month with it, it's already getting a ton of traffic, etc. DON'T LIE - they will find out and you could lose the sale, or at least lose all credibility - but give a fair opinion on the value of the domain.

Are there other bay area singles sites you can compare it to?

I'd go back with 5-7x their bid and aim for $2k on that specific name, you may have to take less if you are desperate to unload it or if don't feel like waiting for the next buyer to come down the pike.

I'm sure others here will be happy to give contradictory advice, but GOOD LUCK in any case. :cheeky:

 

[Sharpy]

I'm assuming you hand registered this name? Why did you reg the name?
Did his email come from your site or the whois email addy or other?

Anyway, the name has little "resseller" value and a small enduser market. This is a good offer. Are you a gambler? I would counter but with caution. If your counter offer is too high, and you get a "no thanks" reply, any future negotiations are in the buyers favour. It really is a game, don't sweat it, enjoy it.

 

[mogtnomr]

yes, i did hand reg this domain a while back, for later deveopment, but didnt get around to it. I'll report back what I decide to do and how well it goes. Thanks to both of you for your input!

Rob

 

[chatcher]

I'd take the offer unless you want to keep it and develop it. He may be willing to pay more, but he may have offerred what he was willing to pay.

I am a little cynical about "local" domain names. Most of the value of domain names is in their global reach. This name mainly has value for those doing business in the local area (or areas if there are more than one that use the same name). Not that it has no value, but it will always be limited by the size of the potential audience.

 

[Phantom]

I would just tell him you had $1500 in mind. Maybe say you already turned down an offer of $600 for the name.

 

[cyphix]

While local names are limited value, end-users are also limited to what names are available to them that would suit that area.

For example.... someone wanting to get a good domain to sell cars could use many a domain.

Someone looking to sell cars locally is limited to what good names are available to them for this purpose. So good local names might be more valuable to them.

On the other hand, remember they also are dealing with a smaller market & hence may not want to break the bank on a domain since it's not likely to be viewed by many people.. most likely only by the locals.

People who come with offers are generally always will pay more than their offer..... think about it.... if you were offering somebody something for a domain... would you offer your max first or try something lower first to see how you go?

Btw, where do you get all your offers from? lol This is your second thread about end-user offers in the last week! :cheeky:

Congrats!

 

[GT Web]

I say take $500....

 

[wvspecialkvw]

Go back at them for a grand...if they have money they will come back at $750

 

[chatcher]

Originally posted by Phantom
I would just tell him you had $1500 in mind. Maybe say you already turned down an offer of $600 for the name.

If you are willing to be dishonest, there are lots of better ways to make a lot more money. I realize that making up a fictional offer seems harmless enough, and a lot of people wouldn't think twice about using it as a negotiating tool, but I really believe sticking to the truth comes through in negotiations and pays off in the long run (call it karma, or clear conscience, or whatever). Don't get me wrong, I'm not a model of perfection and have told my share of lies in the past. But I try hard to be honest, especially when there is no good reason to do otherwise.

 

[cyphix]

Originally posted by chatcher


If you are willing to be dishonest, there are lots of better ways to make a lot more money. I realize that making up a fictional offer seems harmless enough, and a lot of people wouldn't think twice about using it as a negotiating tool, but I really believe sticking to the truth comes through in negotiations and pays off in the long run (call it karma, or clear conscience, or whatever). Don't get me wrong, I'm not a model of perfection and have told my share of lies in the past. But I try hard to be honest, especially when there is no good reason to do otherwise.

Gotta agree here!

 

[Phantom]

Originally posted by cyphix


Gotta agree here!

Well, each to their own. Personally, Ive never needed to rely on the assertion of a false offer, but as a tool to qualify a buyer into your purchase price range, its certainly a good tactic. If your minimum you would accept is $600.....then you are simply indicating that you wouldnt sell below that.

 

[William9]

I would like to chime in on two issues raised in the appraisal of southbaysingles.com by quoting what was already said that I agree with related to: 1). Negotiating techniques and 2). Whether to accept the first offer (that I consider fair) or instead counter-offer?

With respect to negotiating techniques, I 100% agree with what chatter indicated “…sticking to the truth comes through in negotiations and pays off in the long run…”. As Phantom indicated, one could “simply indicate that you wouldn’t sell below $…”. That is because you could still later change your mind and not be dishonest.

With respect to accepting the $500 offer, I agree with what Sharpy said, that “…the name has little resseller value” . I believe that the potential buyer is knowledgeable and has plenty of places to run eg. SinglesinSouthBay.com, etc. It is the kind of domain that personally, I would not expect more than one unsolicited offer every 7 years or so! But, you should also consider what chypix indicated, that “People who come with offers are generally always will pay more than their offer [first unsolicited offer]”.

Considering all the above, I would counter-offer with honest thoughts: Thank you for your offer… blah …I not trying to get more $ for the domain or seeking another offer. I would have simply counter-offered asking $1,000 and then tried negotiating. Instead, I am letting you know that I was not thinking of selling the domain for less than $700. Once again, thank you very much for your offer.

If accepted, I would consider that you hit a $700 home-run. If not accepted, you really did not say that you did not accept the $500, so you could later say that you changed your mind and would not have turned the buyer off. Of course, the technique is unchanged if your style is to mention $2,000, and then say …for less than $1,000.

Good luck,

 

[WebCat]

Take the money and run! There will always be another domain, there may not be another offer.

WebCat :wink:

 

[mogtnomr]

Excellent advice from all of you, basically every one here has very valid points.

I told the guy that I was planning on developing this domain but hadnt had the time to get to it (which is the truth), and that $2500 would convince me to sell it right now, but that I also would consider other offers.
I couldnt help but think that he was willing to go alot higher since he started off with a $500 offer.... But that was 3 days ago now..... I'm starting to feel I scared him off!

Maybe Webcat's last words "There will always be another domain, there may not be another offer." will end up haunting me. Those were excellent words of advice!

So I guess now I need to decide how long to wait before I email him back and beg for his $500 offer.

In retrospect, I believe I should have asked for $800-$1000 and seen if I could have gotten $600 or $700, and he'd have probably been more likely to respond right away. Better to hit the easy RBI single than to swing for the grandslam and whiff, especially on a marginal domain name...

The regionality of the domain is definitely its weak point. The "south bay" area, as far as I know, is basically the beach town areas between Los Angeles south to Long Beach, and does have a large young single popuplation, but not large enough to justify any huge asking prices for the domain.

Anyways, I will post what happens.

Thanks again for your fabulous words of wisdom.

Rob

 

[chatcher]

You never know what's in the mind of the other guy. He may have struggled for weeks before finally making you that offer. He may not be comfortable haggling, and might have offerred his top dollar right off the bat. Or if he is a semi-competent negotiator, he may have assumed from your counter-offer that you wouldn't take less than half that amount. Or he may have made offers on more than one domain name, not really caring which one he gets. Or he may still want the name, but wants to let you sweat for a while!

It's much different dealing with resellers than with "the public". Resellers aren't (or shouldn't be) easily offended, expect to haggle, and usually counter-offer if the price is too high. You can't assume any of that will be true of the stranger who shows up wanting to buy your domain.

I got a little experience selling cameras at camera shows. It is amazing how little most people know about haggling. I've had people pick up a camera and say "I'll take this one" followed by "Is this your lowest price?" Hmmm, that doesn't give me much incentive to come down. I think my price might be firm. Yeah - that's it - it's firm!

For me, a domain is priced right when I don't really care whether or not it sells. In other words, I'd be equally happy with the cash or with the domain. If I get an offer, and I like the offer a lot better than I like the domain, I don't fool around trying to squeeze more out of the deal. But if it's a close call, I may try to earn a little more by haggling. When you succesfully negotiate the sale price higher than what you know you would have sold for, you feel like you really "made" the extra money. A lot of people haggle more for that "high" than for the money itself.

Haggling is not risk free. You have to be willing to lose the sale. If you aren't, you may end up kicking yourself later.

 

[mogtnomr]

SOLD... finally.

Many thanks to all of you for your excellent opinions. Everyone that posted here had valid and great points to consider when selling a domain name & negotiating, etc...

I said I'd post the results of my negotiation lessons, so here's the run-down on what happened:

I received an offer for $500.

Replied saying I was somewhat reluctant to sell the domain for $500 because I was planning on developing this domain, but hadnt had a chance to do it yet (the truth). I said that $2500 would convince me to sell it

A little over a week went by without hearing a response. I broke down and emailed him saying that I discussed the domain with my partner and we decided that finding the time to develop the domain wasnt realistically in our near future, and therefore, we are more open to selling the domain then than I had previously indicated.

He responded saying he'd paypal me every penny in his paypal account ($660) if I was willing to sell it for that much. I figured that
it sounded like a pretty final offer (and what I thought was a respectable offer for the domain). So I accepted.

So anyways, I hope that any newbie gets a chance to read this entire thread, because there are many great points made here.

Once again, thanks to all.

Rob

 

[chatcher]

So, you made nearly $500 on your domain name investment, plus you earned an additional $160 (less Paypal fees) by negotiating.

Assuming the buyer was not planning to make a counter-offer to your $2500 offer, I'd say you made a brilliant save!