Why I Don’t Generally Share Domain Sales

You’ve probably noticed that I hardly ever post about domain sales. I frequently write about domain names that I bought as well as domain names that I am looking to sell, and there are a number of reasons. Someone asked me if I would be willing to write a post and share some of my recent sales, and I wanted to let you know why I tend to keep that information private.

Here are several reasons why I don’t usually report sales, and why I almost never report sale prices:

Selling Point for End Users

If you have a great domain name for sale, you probably don’t need selling points to convince a buyer that the domain name is a worthwhile investment or purchase. However, the greatest obstacle I face is convincing a buyer it’s worth what I think it’s worth in order to close a deal.

I want to share a selling point that you can use if you face this same challenge with one of your domain names: the domain name can be resold, perhaps for a profit.

I like to remind the buyer, especially a buyer that is planning to use the domain name to replace his current website or in addition to his website, that he can re-sell the domain name in the future. Buying a domain name is not like spending money on SEM or paying for newspaper advertising or something that has a limited shelf life and is gone once the money is spent. For all intents and purposes, a great domain name should retain its value and will likely increase in value over time.

There are many reasons why people exit businesses, and when the buyer decides to exit his business, he can sell the domain name to someone else, and it will probably be at a greater price if he added goodwill to the domain name by developing it. Even if the buyer didn’t put the domain name to good use, if it’s a great domain name, it can be sold to another company or even a competitor. Heck, the domain name might be worth more than the actual value of the company’s goodwill and brand!

When you are in the process of selling a domain name and are negotiating a price, you should remind the buyer that he or she is making an investment that may actually grow in value.

Video: How to Find the Names of Decision Makers

When I am looking to sell a domain name, finding a decision maker to discuss a potential deal is critical. Last October, I shared some tips to find the decision maker, and Ramahn was kind enough to share a video that offered additional insight into finding the names of decision makers. The video below was created by Jill Konrath, a best selling author and expert at sales strategy.

I could have a great domain name and be willing to sell it for a fair price, but if I am unable to get in touch with the person responsible for buying domain names, a deal might be impossible. There may be a variety of obstacles in your way to finding the person who makes domain name acquisitions for a company, but if you use some of the strategies

Porn Stars Without Makeup Going Viral – Matching Domain Name is Cheap

There’s a series of photographs called “Porn Stars Without Makeup” making their rounds on the Internet today. I’ve seen it several times on various sites – from Barstool Sports to the New York Post. In case you haven’t see it, the series is a bunch of photographs of pornstars without makeup compared to photos of them with makeup.

I am not exactly sure why it’s become such a hot topic, but there are many searches for it as well as mentions on Twitter, so there’s clearly interest.

As of right now, the matching domain name, PornStarsWithoutMakeup.com is listed for sale on Go Daddy with a purchase price of just $280. The domain name is privately registered, and it has a creation date of December 2011, so it’s probably a series that existed before but caught fire very recently. The domain name is currently parked at InternetTraffic.com, although it doesn’t have a traditional “for sale” link on the top of the landing page.

I haven’t bought adult names in a while, but a $280 investment seems pretty cheap for a hot topic keyword domain name. I don’t know the owner of the domain name, but my guess is that it’s not going to be available for long if you want to take a chance and grab it.

Domain Sales Tip: “Negotiable” is a Bad Keyword

When I am in the process of discussing the purchase of a domain name, the best thing a domain owner can say to me is “the price is negotiable.” Without fail, this means I will completely ignore the price he’s given and make my own offer. For domain sales, this (and similar language) is really bad for negotiating.

As a domain seller, if you give a potential buyer a price for your domain name but say the price is “negotiable” or that you will consider an offer, I think that not only are you throwing away your price, but you are opening the door for a much lower offer. Any shrewd business person will detect weakness with those types of terms and you are going to potentially lose money. If they had been willing to pay your $5,000 price, but you then say it’s negotiable, that means you are not firm on your price and you will most likely get less.

Another term I find to be weak is “asking” price. To me, an asking price means

BuyDomains Selling Sequester.com

Much was made about the fiscal cliff last year, and luckily (I guess) the US never fell over. Mike Berkens wrote about how FiscalCliff.com was a great hand registration, and the domain owner even received an offer close to $40,000 for it. Judging by the Whois, it looks like a deal was never consummated.

Fast forward several months, and the US is facing a sequester. The short story is that the sequester would cut quite a bit of governmental spending, and it would impact everything from education to food inspections. If you live in the US, you can’t avoid watching something on tv or online about the sequester.

Interestingly, Sequester.com is being offered for sale by BuyDomains  (not an affiliate link), and the domain name is