During the last couple of years, I’ve sold quite a few domain names to “end user” buyers. From my perspective, an end user buyer is a person or company in the field or industry related to the domain name you are selling, and the buyer of the domain name will use the name as a part of their business.

Generally speaking, an end user buyer is more likely to pay a higher price than someone in the domain industry who wants to re-sell or monetize the domain name. An end user buyer will know exactly how much it costs to acquire a customer and know what it will take to compete in the field with a website on the domain name. They also know the value of the “goodwill” in the domain name for their company’s positioning in the field. They can therefore justify spending more for the name because they know how much it will impact their bottom line.

The problem when trying to sell to end users is that many do not realize how valuable an exact match domain name can be. Some of them have a limited online presence and others simply own a domain name that matches their business name. Many companies don’t do online advertising campaigns, and some would have no idea how to value an online lead. Yes, it’s easy to say that they could buy your name for less than it would cost for a lifetime of Adwords expenses, but converting that into sales is difficult.

With that being said, many end user contacts will give you an insultingly low offer, while others will not make an offer but will be rude to you in their replies. No matter how negative the reply is, don’t get into a “pissing contest” with the other person. They can do much more damage than it’s worth, and to have a few minutes of feeling like a champ with a witty reply, you could set yourself up for problems (like them emailing other prospects to tell them that you’re an a-hole!).

Since April, I received a $50 offer on a name that I privately sold for over $20,000, was told that I am “crazy” for asking six figures for a name I privately  sold for close to my asking price, and I was cursed at on the phone for asking for $50,000 for another name that I sold a short time later. I also received countless sarcastic “good luck” type of emails that I simply replied “thanks” in response to when others may have offered the witty, “thanks, but I don’t need good luck,” which of course, can lead to a testy exchange.

In many cases, I could have gone back to these people and gloated when I closed these sales, but that does me no good either. With the crappy economy, people will likely be jealous of your success and you could become a target of their ire.

No matter what type of negative reply you receive from an  uninterested  end user buyer, do not engage in an email exchange with them that turns nasty. Once you confirm they aren’t interested in your name, move on (unless they  genuinely  have questions about domain names).

You have a lot more to lose than they have, especially if they choose to be particularly prickly towards you.

If you’ve been in the domain industry long enough, you’ve probably had someone back out of a deal. Whether it’s a buyer rescinding an offer or a seller deciding not to sell you a domain name, it’s frustrating when a deal you’ve consummated doesn’t come to fruition.

Based on some personal experience, I want to share some advice regarding closing deals, specifically when you shouldn’t close a deal.

One of the worst (if not the worst) time to close a deal is on a Friday afternoon or evening. After a long week, some people aren’t thinking clearly and the decisions they make during that time are ones they come to regret. Since payment can’t be made until the following Monday, they have over 48 hours to contemplate backing out. With this extra time, there’s added risk they will re-evaluate the deal over the weekend and back out.

Another bad time, although it’s less  controllable, is after business hours. When someone sleeps on a potential deal, they may reconsider the deal and cancel the transaction in the morning.

If I am thinking about an offer or mulling over a purchase, I always try to make the decision in the middle of the day and usually in the middle of the week, too. The buyer can initiate a wire transfer that day, and if I am buying, I can set up a wire before the close of business. If Escrow.com acknowledges my payment (or the buyer’s payment) before the end of the day, the deal can be done ASAP.

When closing transactions, I almost always use a sales agreement an attorney crafted for me. If the buyer or seller has agreed to a deal and it’s in writing, I have the option to litigate if the counter party backs of the deal. If I can help it though, I try to get my deals completed as soon as possible.