Ask for Their Selling Price

I regularly receive domain name inquiries from people who make an offer that is significantly lower than what it is worth, even on the wholesale market. When I share my asking price, some of these people are surprised or even upset that the price is significantly higher than they would expect.  I want to share a way to turn the tables in a way, and perhaps you can give them a bit of a better understanding about the value of the domain name to you and your company.

When you are in a situation like this, try to see if that person owns any domain names. DomainIQ and Whoisology both offer tools that allow you to search for the person’s name and/or email address. Use these tools or even use Google  to find a domain name that is owned by the person who inquired. It would be even better if you can find a domain name that is developed or slightly developed.

When you find one of their domain names, ask the person what they would take to sell their domain name. My bet is their price will be  high or they will say it is not for sale. When they give a high number back, or if try to explain how the domain name is valuable to their business because it makes them money, you can explain that the same thing goes for your domain name. When I am discussing an “expensive” domain name with someone who inquired, I like to let them know that PPC links generate passive revenue for my business that is greater than the cost to renew it annually, and this revenue is helpful to my company just as their domain name’s revenue is helpful to their bottom line.

I have done this a few times in response to protests about my pricing, and it seems to work. People frequently do not look at a parked domain name as anything more than an “unused” domain name. When you explain that it is actually being used for more than just a for sale landing page, it can give them some needed perspective.  This doesn’t often result in a sale, but it can help prevent a tumultuous negotiation and perhaps give the other person a better idea of why a domain name has additional value.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
  1. Great idea Elliot! I’ve been encountering many of these types lately and, frankly, I’m tired of trying to explain the value of “expensive” domains to them. Can’t wait to try this.

  2. I have tried it several times and either I get no response or some says my domain is more valuable than what you have 😀

    Very few people have the ability to accept the reality of this business (from endusers point of view).

  3. Been there, done that, funny how their attitude, and story changes, oh it is for development blah blah, It can be used for a stock ticker symbol etc…

    Going into 2016 you will be getting a record number of low ball offers, to be honest, I don’t even bother replying to India based offers anymore, every morning such a waste of time.

  4. Hi,
    Recently i email to a person my domain name is for sale. He reply how much and i say
    my domain price mid $xxxx but after that they did not respond me.How can i counter them any advice………….

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