Your Offer Might Spark an Interest in Selling

Elliot Silver
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Here’s something to keep in mind when making offers for domain names: your inquiry might make the domain owner  consider actively marketing the domain name for sale.

In the last couple of months, I have made many  purchase offers for domain names that were not on the market. On a few of these domain names, shortly after making my offers, the companies decided to seek out a domain broker to sell their domain names. The prices of these domain names were far above what I would pay, and as far as I know, none of these names I am thinking about  have sold via broker.

When buying domain names, my strong preference is to make a deal privately. This generally allows me to purchase a domain name covertly, without the price reported publicly and without outside involvement from someone who might use this data to their advantage. When a broker

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You Might Want to Accept the First Counter Offer

Elliot Silver
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One of the most exciting aspects of buying and selling domain names is the negotiation. You have a purchase or sale price in mind, the other party has their price in mind, and you go back and forth in the hopes of closing a deal. Based on my experience, sometimes it is better to accept the first counter offer and just close the deal than risk losing the deal by counter offering.

Let’s say I want to buy a domain name I think has a wholesale value of $20,000, so I kick things off with a reasonable offer of $10,000. Sure, the offer may be a bit low, but it isn’t a $100 offer that the seller probably sees every week, and it is strong enough to show the seller that I am serious. Being a reasonable domain owner, the seller counters at $15,000. The hard part is deciding whether to try and save some money by either sticking to my offer or improving it. Alternatively, I can simply say “deal,” and get it done.

I have regularly gone back to try and get a better deal. Domain investing is part speculation, and I think an investor makes his money on the buy-side. Sometimes the market is weak or a domain name isn’t as valuable as I might expect, so getting a good deal is important. There is a big risk to going back and countering the counter offer though.

A seller may begin to re-think things. He may realize he isn’t likely to get what he wants on the name and try to find another buyer for the domain name. This can drive up the price. The seller may simply say “no thanks” and take the domain name off the market.

When I counter offer, I am effectively

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Don’t Get Caught in the Legal Crossfire

Elliot Silver
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Despite the fact that it is 2016 and the laws regarding cybersquatting on well known brands are well established, some people still seem a bit too cavalier when it comes to owning infringing domain names. My guess is that some people either don’t know about the protections given to brands or they believe the risk/reward analysis is in their favor.

This morning, Andrew Hazen called attention to a lawsuit that was filed by fashion brand Christian Dior. According to the article in World IP Review, in addition to injunctive relief and the transfer of the infringing domain names, “It is also seeking an account of all profits made by the defendants in their unlawful acts, and statutory damages for wilful counterfeiting for each use of the Dior trademarks ($2 million per infringement, tripled) and $100,000 for each domain name.”

The company, like many other large brands, is

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I Like to Close Deals Quickly

Elliot Silver
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After coming to terms on a deal, I like to close as quickly as possible. I’ve experienced enough times where a buyer or seller changes his or her mind, and I know that the more quickly a deal closes, the better.

People outside of the domain business often have questions about the closing process, and I provide them with in-depth details about the transaction. I try to give as much information as possible, while making it clear that the process is not complicated or difficult. I don’t want the other party, who may be busy with other day-to-day tasks, to feel that the process is cumbersome or going to take too much time to complete.

I am very responsive to

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My Purchases Feel Better Than My Sales

Elliot Silver
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I almost always seem to feel more excited when I buy a domain name then when I sell a domain name. Don’t get me wrong, it is a very good feeling to lock down a profitable sale, but this feeling usually pales in comparison to reaching a purchase deal on a domain name I really like.

When I agree to sell a domain name, I often feel like I am leaving money on the table. Whether this is true or not is something that can only be known in time if the buyer resells the domain name, but it is a feeling I regularly have when I sell domain names. I understand the probability of selling a domain name, and I am regularly willing to sell a domain name if it makes financial sense for my company, even if the deal isn’t perfect. My philosophy is that if my margin is decent, I don’t mind leaving some meat on the bone for the next guy.

When I am buying a domain name and

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What Types of Domain Names Are You Buying?

Elliot Silver
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I am almost always looking to buy domain names in the aftermarket. I send offers and inquiries daily, and I participate in domain auctions on a variety of auction platforms on a daily basis.

Scott Rosenbaum suggested that I publish an article asking people to share what types of domain names they are buying these days, and I think that is a good idea. This will give me and other readers the opportunity to see what types of domain names other people are buying right now.

Here are four types of domain names I am always looking to buy:

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