In almost all of my domain deals – both on the buy and sell side, a negotiation has produced a better sales price for a domain name. When I am buying a domain name, I will almost never pay full price, and on the sell side, I almost never sell a domain name for my asking price. This is important to keep in mind when pricing your domain names.

When I am pitching a domain name for sale, I know that a buyer is going to want a price or term concession to close a deal. I hardly ever close a deal for my exact asking price, and that is okay (unless it’s priced to move on my blog or other domain venue where the price is more geared to resellers and is therefore more firm).

Going in to a negotiation with an end user buyer, I know the buyer is going to try to get a better price, and I price the names accordingly. Generally speaking, I will ask about 10% higher than I think the name will sell for, knowing that most buyers will offer less, and I hope to meet somewhere between the offer and my asking price. While I may not get the exact price I originally set, if I get close to it, I will be happy.

Similar to home sales, where the buyer has an ideal price and an acceptable price, I tend to price my domain names with this in mind when selling to end users. If the price is too high, the name is not going to produce an offer because buyers think you’re unreasonable. Price it too low and you’ll leave money on the table. Price it right, and you’ll sell it.

You’ve probably heard that huge companies like Microsoft and Google buy domain names using intermediaries at companies like Mark Monitor and Corporation Service Company. They do this to get a better price and to stay stealthy with their acquisitions. Although most domain investors don’t have the budget to make ultra expensive domain acquisitions, I do think it can be beneficial to use a buyer’s broker to acquire a domain name, and several companies offer this type of service at reasonable costs.

Here are five reasons a domain investor might wish to hire a buyer’s broker:

1) Stay Stealthy – If a domain owner knows you are a domain investor, you might not even get the courtesy of a reply to open a discussion.

2) Depersonalize Negotiations – Many things can be said during the course of a serious negotiation, and it can be frustrating. With a buyer’s broker, you don’t have to take things personally.

3) Eliminate Negotiations – If you tell your buyer’s broker a price, it’s that company’s job to negotiate to get you that price. If you don’t like negotiations, let a broker handle them for you and you won’t have to worry about negotiating.

4) Seamlessly Close Deals – Many companies will handle just about all aspects of the transaction. You don’t have to worry about transfer or payment issues. It can be frustrating to deal with people who don’t have much knowledge about how to sell or transfer a domain name.

5) Get a Second Opinion – A buyer’s broker likely knows the market value and can let you know whether your offer is reasonable and/or has a good chance of being accepted. Recently, I’ve been using a buyer’s brokers to try and negotiate great prices on domain name acquisitions. If I can improve my buy rate just a bit, it’s worth the added cost. It certainly saves time and effort telling someone the names you want and the prices you’ll pay to get them.

Have you used a buyer’s broker service before, and if so, what are your experiences?