Always Good to Reconnect with a Domain Owner

Whether you are a buyer or a seller (or both), it makes sense to check back in regarding a domain name.

At the beginning of the year, I was working with a few people who had significant interest in domain names owned by my company. Unfortunately, due to their budgetary limitations, we were unable to work out a deal. I thought it might be a good time to reconnect now that a couple of months have passed.

My pricing position hasn’t really changed, but perhaps theirs has. Maybe they have a tax refund coming or they needed a gentle reminder about the domain name. They may have shifted focus to their business, figuring that they can reach out about the domain name at a later point in time. I am someone who is happy to work with a buyer to get a favorable deal done, and I am hopeful that reconnecting a short time later will give a negotiation a shot in the arm.

If you are a domain buyer, it can’t hurt to reconnect with a domain owner either. Someone may have a large tax bill, or their year may have started off slowly. Perhaps you can increase your offer just a bit to show good faith. The seller may see the effort and do the same. Worse case scenario is that you’ve wasted a few minutes of your time. Best case scenario is that you are able to work out a deal.

Buyers and sellers often feel reluctance to reconnect with a counter party because of the previous failed negotiation. I don’t know why this is the case, but I presume people feel that they couldn’t get a deal done in the past, so they move on to something else.

If you wait too long, the opportunity may be gone. If you reconnect too quickly, nothing may have changed. I think waiting a couple or a few months, depending on the situation, is a good time to wait before reconnecting. Obviously, there should be a good chance of getting a deal done before reconnecting. The guy who offered $100 for your $100,000 domain name is likely not a good prospect. The person looking for $20,000 on a name you’d buy for $10,000 is someone that is ripe for a ping.