Previous owner wants his domain back

[Raider]

I won a Snapnames backorder about a month ago, that never went to auction, I actually forgot I had it until the previous owner contacted me and asked if I would sell it back to him, I agreed and quoted him $2500, the domain in question begins with a state name and ends with lasercenter dot com.

Previous owner offered $400 initially then sent a certified offer through network solutions for $500, he has since registered other TLD's. The site was active for over 5 years and they missed the renewal, I'm wondering whether or not I'm asking too much for it, I know they want it back really bad, 11 emails and counting.

 

[RazorNF]

Have you parked it yet? What kinda of traffic/revenue are you seeing from it so far?

I think they'll come around if they want it bad enough. If they're in the laser eye surgery business, I'm sure $2500 is nothing to them, escpecially if they've sunk a lot of money in marketing with this url over the past 5 years...

 

[GoPC]

A retail customer isn't going to see any value in parking... this is an emotional sale. It's worth MORE than parking on two levels... ONE - If it's the previous owners retail portal, what does he sell and what does it sell for? How many does he sell and what is the domain worth based on THAT? TWO - That number is most probably LARGER than traffic value. (as I am guessint that $2500 price tag isn't at all based on traffic)

End-users have zero base line on which to value a domain except in terms of the dollars it might generate for them. And even then, they may not have a complete understanding.

It seems that YOU KNOW that $2500 is to much for this guy, or you wouldn't be asking. The REAL QUESTION is would you rather stand empty handed with a $2500 price tag or stand there with a few hundred bucks in your hands?

Find a balance between lossing the deal and making someone happy and live there with no remorse.

It's up to you... if it were me, I'd offer it back to him at $600 and be happy with it.

GoPC

 

[gdurni]

Nice grab. Keep your price, they will come around.

 

[Domagon]

Reply back and explain $2500 is the bottom line - don't dance around the number ... be firm.

From what you've written, I get the feeling it's not the price, but rather they don't understand domain name transactions and may be afraid of getting ripped off / strung out; they don't want to pour $2500 into a blackhole or get a reply back saying the price is now more, etc.

I'd suggest pointing them to Escrow.com - it's very simple and setup in a way that anyone who has ever bought / sold property can understand.

On a related note, yes Moniker is a bit more secure in that they also hold the asset, but most escrow problems happen center around the financial aspect not the asset itself ... so again, I'd recommend escrow.com, since they are more likely afraid of being ripped off / strung out than anything.

$2500 is nothing for a laser eye surgery place - not saying they're happy to pay $2500, but it's nominal in the whole scope of things ...

If they choose to go UDRP, etc it's likely going to cost them a lot more than that in legal fees, time, hassle, etc verses $2500 to be once and done with the matter; big companies will often challenge, since they have legal departments and/or can get favorable rates on various legal actions ... but that's likely not what you're dealing with here - sounds like a relatively small business.

Rambling on, but anyways, stick with a firm number like $2500 and make the payment part as easy as possible for them, thus I recommend escrow.com or maybe moniker.com

Good luck with it and keep us updated.

Ron

 

[BidNo]

I'd cut him a break in this circumstance; sell it back at $1,200 (i.e. half-price). You can feel good about what you have done (and domainers have enough black eyes).

 

[ColdGin]

It happen to me also....I regged a name that expired from an investment firm...they call me and ask me to give them back...I also asked for money...and they dissapear...

I still have the domain...

 

[RazorNF]

I guess your dilemma is whether to be "nice" or not...
(the high ad bids for "laser eye" are quite appealing though...)

 

[Rockefeller]

No, dont cut him a break. Its his fault for not renewing the domain. Any registrar that you register through will send you countless emails reminding you to renew it and then a final email saying that you have 30 days to register it. His loss, your gain. Stick it to him/them. $2,500 is a reasonable amount.

 

[Togoodhlth]

Had this happen several times.
I make a decision on a cse by case basis.
I have had some idiots demand the name back and my price is very high.
I had a day trader training seminar domain which the owner called and was a decent guy. He had a sob story but it seemed legit.
He offered me $500 and free 3 day seminar in Florida ($2500 value). I took it but havent gone to the seminar as I dont day trade.

Either way I would park it and see what it earns. Also if they see it parked they may think that A) you developed and put money into the name or B) you dont really plan on selling which either way it makes your price look better.

Cutting the ex owner some slack is good karma. Doing good things is never bad.

 

[Rockefeller]

karma.

When faced with the decision to pick karma or cash I always go with the latter of the two. It's the name of the game. :fencing:

 

[VirtualT]

When faced with the decision to pick karma or cash I always go with the latter of the two. It's the name of the game. :fencing:

what goes around comes around

 

[Rockefeller]

what goes around comes around

Very unlikely in the domain business, especially when dealing with an end user.

 

[VirtualT]

Very unlikely in the domain business, especially when dealing with an end user.

ahhh, but almost a certain in the karma business :hippie:

 

[Toker]

what goes around comes around

Sometimes it takes 500 years to come back around tho..
Personally I'd tell him I've had other offers for it but I'd take a
Thousand for it from him since he already had it..
He must have been sampling his pain killers tho to miss
at least 4 notices from NetSol..
:couch2:

 

[Rockefeller]

ahhh, but almost a certain in the karma business :hippie:

...and in case you haven't noticed...we're not in the "karma business." lol

 

[VirtualT]

...and in case you haven't noticed...we're not in the "karma business." lol

Reputation and goodwill goes along way in being successful in small business

 

[Rockefeller]

Reputation and goodwill goes along way in being successful in small business

Very true.

 

[Domagon]

Speaking of "karma business" ... being the domainer I am, I checked out karmabusiness.com and see it's taken ... it redirects to PureBusiness.com, which has a link to BuyDomains - so that's where much of the domain karma (domainkarma.com is taken) goes - so much for karma in the domain biz LOL!

Getting back to the topic at hand ... perhaps RaiderGirl could trade them the domain for some laser eye surgery.

Ron

 

[Raider]

Thanks for the replies, To clear things up, this is a Laser Skin domain and not optical, and I'm in no need of Laser surgery, so no bartering. The hits I'm getting is about 20 uniques a day, which is nothing, it was registered at Network Solutions, and still is.

I feel for the guy but at the same time I'm reminded of what doctors and hospitals charge, they never cut me a break, not that I'm getting back at them, I just feel they can afford it. I really dont need the cash, but I would naturally like to unload it...If he bumps up the offer closer to my figure, I may just take it, I'll let you know before I do.....Thanks!

Reply back and explain $2500 is the bottom line - don't dance around the number ... be firm.

Ron,

I've been firm since day 1, no dancing here.