Don’t Give Up a Deal Over Pennies

It’s always important to get a great deal when trying to buy a domain name to flip, but if you like a name at a rough price range enough to consider buying it, don’t fret over a few percentage points. From experience, I hesitated on a deal that I now regret not making.

I recently tried to buy a domain name for several hundred dollars, and the negotiation came down to the owner wanting $100 more than I wanted to pay.   With escrow fees, it would have been less than a couple hundred dollars more, but I thought (and still think) the name is worth between $2-3,000 on a quick flip. I ended up walking away from the deal because I thought the seller would figure that having my cash would be better than keeping the domain name he hasn’t sold in 8+ years of ownership.

It’s needless to say, but I checked the Whois today (several weeks later) and the domain name has changed hands. Perhaps someone else saw that the price was lowered or maybe the owner became motivated to sell it. Whatever the case is, I am sure I couldn’t buy the name today without greatly overpaying. It’s my loss, but an important lesson for people who are privately buying domain names.

If you see value in a domain name, get the best price you can, but don’t fret over a couple of percentage points. If the domain name is worth what you think it’s worth, and you are fairly close to buying it but just can’t hammer out the exact deal you want, think about what happens if the owner sells it to someone else. If you’d regret it, you should probably jump on the name.

Domain names are one of a kind, unique assets. When they are sold to a developer, end user, or unmotivated seller, you will lose your chance to get a deal. If your gut says to buy it, don’t hesitate to pull the trigger, even if the deal isn’t perfect.