Listing Domain Names for Sale on Brand Marketplaces

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In the past few years, a number of brand marketplaces have opened to help business operators find brand names. While these platforms are ostensibly selling brand names, in reality, they are also helping domain investors sell their domain names. Three of the most well known (to me) brand marketplaces to sell domain names include SquadHelp, Brand Bucket, and Brandpa.

When someone is looking to start a brand or rebrand their business, there is a good chance they will do various Google searches related to brand name creation. I would imagine there are more people looking at brand-related keywords than domain name search keywords. I would imagine that more business owners are looking to find a perfect brand name and then hope to find the most suitable domain name that matches. SquadHelp founder Darpan Munjal touched on this in a tweet on Sunday:

I was a Domain Name Hog

I am sure you’ve heard the phrase (or one like it), “pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered” as a warning to not be greedy. Well, unfortunately, I want to share how I got greedy and lost what could have been a profitable and substantial deal as a result.

I recently received an unsolicited mid five figure offer to buy a domain name I had acquired within a year for under $150. The offer started in the low five figure range, and after a couple of emails, the buyer made a mid five figure offer. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have accepted the offer, but having just closed a very large sale, I countered with a higher price. I figured the buyer would either accept the higher price or stand firm with the offer, and I could accept that if the buyer would not budge.

MakeAPlan.com Sold by GoDaddy, Used in Presidential Campaign

This morning, Presidential candidate Joe Biden tweeted out a link to MakeAPlan.com, and President Barack Obama also mentioned the domain name in a tweet:

It is not uncommon to see a descriptive, call to action domain name used in a political campaign. MakeAPlan.com is not necessarily political in nature, but I can see how it would be an effective political call to action domain name.

The Domain Name is Subject to Re-Pricing

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Oftentimes, I price a domain name on Afternic and/or DAN at the time I acquire the domain name, and I don’t go back to modify it on a regular basis. This applies to the majority of my replaceable inventory I buy on a regular basis, as I tend to re-price my higher value domain names as often as warranted.

The only time I typically look at my pricing for inventory-quality domain names is when I receive an inquiry or an offer. When an offer or inquiry is made, I will have a look at the price I have set to contemplate accepting the offer, counter offering the prospect, or rejecting the offer.

Why I Want to Know Who the Buyer Is

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Ammar Kubba shared a back and forth he had with a prospective buyer for a domain name who apparently did not identify himself or use an email address that made it clear who he was. I have gone through many negotiations where I made a significant effort to learn more about the prospective buyer before locking in a deal to sell a domain name. There are a number of reasons for why I want to know who a buyer is before closing a deal.

Squadhelp Shortlist is a Nice Feature

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I was looking at Squadhelp yesterday, and I noticed a feature I think is smart. The platform lets prospective buyers add domain names to their shortlist. The number of times a domain name has been shortlisted is shown on the listing, and domain names that have been recently shortlisted more than once have a special message shown “STRONG BUYER INTEREST” along with the number of recent times the name was added to a short list: