Buying Domain Names

Yesterday I wrote a post with some advice on adding a deadline to a price quote when a potential buyer inquires about a domain name. I believe it’s also important for you to add a deadline on your offers for similar, but slightly different reasons.

When you make an offer on a domain name, it’s likely you want an answer quickly. My experience tells me that the more a domain owner thinks about it, the less likely the deal is going to happen. When you know the offer is really being considered, you might set a deadline to get the person to make a decision more quickly. If the owner needs to make a quicker decision knowing that your offer may disappear, it might move things in your favor. Further, by setting a deadline, you reinforce that this offer is most likely your best and final offer.

I send out inquiries all the time. More often than not, my offers aren’t accepted because the domain owner and I can’t come to terms. On occasion, several offers are accepted right around the same time, and I need to be sure I can pay for all of these purchases. The last thing I want is to have an offer from months or even years prior get accepted and not have the comfort to spend all that cash on several deals at once. Hence, setting an expiration date on your offer can be a wise move.

One thing to consider when setting a deadline on an offer is that you need to make sure your offer is actually being considered. You’ll look like a fool if you offer $500 for a LLL.com domain name and tell the owner he only has 24 hours to respond to your ridiculous offer.

If your offer is declined, you can always tell the person you’ll keep your offer open should you have the money in the future. This doesn’t obligate you to follow through with the purchase should the domain owner reconsider down the road. It’s also a friendly way to let the owner know to contact you in the future if circumstances change.

There are a number of domain names that I would love to own. I would even be willing to pay full retail value for some of these domain names. The problem is that the owners have no interest in selling them for whatever reason. Being persistent is one way to get your deal done.

I want to share a non-domain name related story that could easily be a story about buying a domain name. It’s about a “tiny car” collector named  Bruce Weiner and how he was able to purchase a rare  1955 Kroboth Allwetter-Roller. Here’s how he was able to get the deal done according to NBCNews.com:

“Weiner heard that a prized example of the car was owned by an older man in Bavaria. Weiner traveled to the man’s house every three months for three years, but the seller adamantly refused.

‘He chased me off the property every time,’ he said. ‘He either met me with a shot gun or German shepherds.’

Eventually, the owner died and Weiner befriended the man’s sister and brother, and convinced them to sell.”

Now I don’t recommend chasing people down to try and purchase a domain name. However, if you email them on occasion to remind them of your interest and willingness to pay a fair price, you might get lucky and be given an opportunity to purchase the domain name.

There are a couple of factors to consider. First, you need to be willing to pay a fair price. Many people would sell their domain name if given a good offer. Just because someone is blowing off your $2,000 offer on their 3 letter .com domain name doesn’t mean they don’t want to sell. Perhaps they know it’s worth more and your continued emails are annoying. Second, you should be friendly in your email and let the person know your interest won’t wane. Ask them to kindly be in touch if they want to sell.

I have done a few deals after being in contact with a domain owner multiple times over a period of time. People’s finances and/or lifestyles change, and their desire to sell a domain name may change as well. As a domain owner, I don’t mind someone’s persistence, as long as the offer is fair.

There are a number of top domain brokers that send out daily or sometimes weekly brokerage emails. While there are often good deals to be had, many of the names that are listed aren’t great deals for the buyer. Here’s how you may be able to score a great deal.

Go through your old emails and sort them by newsletter. Have a look at the oldest newsletters first and identify the domain names that would be of interest to you at the right price. Do a Whois search to see the current owner and do a Historical Whois search to see who owned the domain name when it was listed in the newsletter. If it’s the same owner, you know the domain name didn’t sell. You might also want to check to see if the domain name has been developed in the meantime.

Get in touch with the domain broker who emailed you to let him or her know about your interest in the domain name. Remind him when it was listed for sale and at what price. Let the broker know what you’re willing to pay for the domain name and ask that he or she be in touch with the domain owner to try and work out a deal.

From my experience, if someone tried to sell a domain name in the past but didn’t succeed, they might be more inclined to sell it in the future, even if it’s for less than their desired amount. Conversely, they may be in a better financial position now, so the offer might not be of interest at all.

You’re probably wondering why I recommend to go through the broker instead of reaching out on your own. First, it’s the nice thing to do. Second, the broker may know the domain owner and let you know their thoughts on your offer. Finally, the broker has a vested interest to get a deal done, so their pushing it might help close a deal.