Going the Extra Mile Pays Off

Elliot Silver
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Sometimes the best names you are able to buy are the ones that are the hardest to buy. If you go the extra mile to track an owner down, it can pay off very nicely.

A few months ago, I tried to buy a great descriptive domain name.  I emailed the registrant whose email address was his name @ the domain name, and it bounced. I called the phone number of the Whois, and I learned the registrant had sold off his company but retained the domain name.

I thought I hit a dead end when more research led me to a disconnected phone number, and I couldn’t find any good references for the domain owner in Google.

Further research enabled me to find out the guy’s nickname, which is the name he went by, despite having a different first name listed in the Whois. Even more research led me to a long lost comment he once posted on a website asking the author to get in touch, leaving a personal email address and phone number.

I called the number and left a voicemail and followed up with an email inquiring about the domain name. No response. I called back a month later, and again, I received no response.

Last week, around 2.5 months after reaching out, I received an email from the guy, thanking me for getting in touch with him.  He informed me that he is now semi-retired and moved out of the country but would consider selling his domain name. After a few more days and a couple of emails, we were able to strike a deal.

Persistence pays off. Most people would stop after a couple of attempts. Knowing what the name is, I can assure you that many people probably did stop because I got a reasonable price for the domain name. Ordinarily, I would be a bit leery of something like this, worrying that someone hacked his email account. However, his mentioning my voice message was reassuring.

The domain name I am buying is not important for this post, and I will probably end up flipping it in private. The lesson is very important and something you should consider the next time your email bounces or the phone is disconnected.

Domain Pricing Tip

Elliot Silver
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I bought a new pair of skis a couple of weeks ago, and my wife is in the process of listing my older pair on Craigslist. In creating the listing, she initially wrote, “Asking $65 or best offer,” and I suggested that she not post a price like this. I’ve seen other people sell the same used skis for $100, and $65 is the price I’d like in order to sell them quickly.

From my perspective, whenever I see something like “asking price” or “or best offer,” I know that the seller’s price is flexible, and whatever number he listed is just a guideline. In negotiations, having terms like can show a weak hand, and you’ll almost certainly get less than you really want.

When I am selling a domain name, I try not to use terms asking price, best offer, make offer…etc. which will likely be taken by potential buyers as an opportunity to offer a lower price. I recommend that you list your domain names for sale with a firm (but reasonable) price, and you’ll be in a better position to make the most for your domain names.

Domain Acquisition Tip

Elliot Silver
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32

Here’s a tip for you when you’re in the process of buying domain names, no matter if you’re buying to re-sell, park, or develop. Don’t use an email address that alludes to the fact that you’re a domain name buyer.

This might seem like a rather obvious tip, but I use one, and it’s backfired on me more than once. In fact, this is a reply to a domain inquiry I received just a couple of days ago: “What would you use it for? I see you handle domains by your email address.”

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The Art of Shaving Lets ArtOfShaving.com Expire: Domain Going to Auction

Elliot Silver
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ArtOfShaving.comSince I work from home, I can easily go two or three days without shaving. My wife doesn’t exactly love it when I’ve got too much scruff, but there’s less incentive to shave, although I love a good shave.

The Art of Shaving is a high end shaving store that offers expensive shaving tools and great, professional shaves. When I’ve needed a good shave for a special event, I’ve gone to The Art of Shaving.

Because the company is called The Art of Shaving, it uses TheArtOfShaving.com for its website. This domain name was registered back in 1999. The company also smartly owns (well, owned) ArtOfShaving.com, and Compete stats show that the domain name receives somewhere around 2,000 visits a month, all of which were forwarded to the company website.

Unfortunately for the company, someone dropped the ball, and ArtOfShaving.com expired on February 11, 2011 and it doesn’t appear to have been renewed yet. The primary beneficiary of this is Network Solutions, which appears to be monetizing the domain name with PPC links.

Hopefully The Art of Shaving will renew its domain name in time.

Sign Up for Your Competitors’ Newsletter

Elliot Silver
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I’ve read a number of websites that recommend you use Google and Yahoo to see where your competitors receive inbound links, allowing you to go after similar links for SEO purposes. This is smart and can help you keep up with (or beat) your competition in SERPs.

Something else you should always do is sign up for your competitor’s email newsletter if they offer one. If your competitor launches a new service or product, you will know immediately what it is and the price point. You can learn about your competitor’s special offers to make sure your pricing is in line with theirs.

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Set Achievable Goals for Yourself

Elliot Silver
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If you are a part-time domain investor, earning $50,000 a year from domain names may seem like a very lofty goal. $50,000 is a lot of money, and it can help with many expenses. $50,000 is a brand new car. $50,000 is a downpayment on a home in many places. $50,000 is a year at a private college. You get the point.

In my opinion, if you want to earn a significant amount of money from domain names in a year, you should set smaller landmark goals along the way to help you stay on track with your primary goal.

I’m not sure if this is a Rick Schwartz paraphrased quote or if he borrowed it from elsewhere, but I am going to use it here. You shouldn’t worry about making $1,000,000. You should focus on making $1.00 a million times.

$50,000 may seem like a lot of money to earn in a year, but when you break it down, that’s about $1,000 a week. If you work 5 days a week, that’s about $200 a day. This $200 a day in profitable revenue is still a big number for many, but it’s much more manageable to look at it that way. IMO, there are tens of thousands of unregistered domain names that can be purchased and flipped for well over $250/each.

If you set achievable landmark goals along the way, you can earn a considerable amount of money a year from your domain investments, even if you do it part-time.

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