I’ve never been a fan of pricing the domain names I plan to sell. Usually when I publicly list domain names I am selling on forums, aftermarket sites, or my blog, the price is lower than it would be for an end user sale. Domain investors typically won’t pay as much as an end user, but for the most part, domain investors won’t back out of a deal and will pay promptly. For my business model, I prefer quicker sales even if I don’t maximize profit.
Moving on to the point of this post is that when I list domain names for sale with prices, I sometimes forget about the sale listings or neglect to monitor them after time has passed. As a result, the “sale” price remains online and available for all to see for weeks, months, and even years, assuming the thread isn’t deleted. The same goes for listings on Sedo and Afternic – I usually set them up and forget all about them until someone inquires.
When an end user inquires about a domain name, there’s a good chance they will search Google for that particular domain name, since many aren’t really familiar with the Whois database. If an old sales thread is indexed in Google, they may see it for a far better price than would typically be commanded from an end user who emails me directly.
I am conflicted on whether having public sales prices is good or bad. I am also conflicted on whether end users should pay more for domain names than I’d sell them to other domain investors. There are good arguments for both sides.
The bottom line for me is that I want to make the most money for my domain assets. By having the sale price listed, especially from months or years prior, it may result in a lower sales price. You should always make certain to edit or delete old sales threads and postings to ensure that you don’t sell a domain name for less than the optimal price.
Always edit your finished sales threads in domain forums to take out the information!
You usually can’t delete the thread entirely, and places like dnforum require the domain in the title which can’t be deleted, but at least you can delete the posts.
People will still see that you had the domain listed for sale, but nothing else.
I experience the same thing, sometimes you are willing to sell domains in a forum for less than normal, but usually it is just temporary and the price would be higher for an unsolicited enquiry.
@ jrb
Also good to ask sellers to edit the sales thread when you purchase a domain name, too.
Good post Elliot and completely agreed.