There are multiple platforms and brokerages that represent buyers seeking to acquire domain names. Two of those with the widest profile due to their partnerships or market position are GoDaddy and Domain Agents. Both of these platforms offer broker services in exchange for a fee plus a commission on a successful deal.
I have seen quite a few few posts, comments, and articles discussing experiences using these two platforms. One thing that has caught my attention is the blame placed on their brokers when offers aren’t accepted or responses to offers aren’t given. Yes, this can be frustrating as a buyer, but no, the broker is not at fault.
In many cases, prospective buyers use these platforms in particular if a domain owner can’t easily be reached. Perhaps a domain name doesn’t resolve anywhere and the Whois information is private. While a seasoned domain investor may be able to track down the registrant with some ease, most people can not. As a result, they’re willing to pay GoDaddy or Domain Agents $20 – $70 to submit an offer on their behalf.
Oftentimes, the offer submitted is nowhere in line with the value of the domain name or what an owner would consider accepting. While I do my best to courteously reply to all offers, a lot of people aren’t going to waste their time engaging with someone who doesn’t have an idea about the value of a domain name.
People then get frustrated with the broker, and that’s not entirely fair. Yes, the broker could educate the prospective buyer, but even that may not be helpful. I have some sentimentally valuable names I wouldn’t sell, so even broker-guidance wouldn’t help someone buy one of these names from me.
Realistically, a domain name buyer should do some research about domain names beyond a free domain name appraisal. There is considerable nuance to domain name valuation, and a great deal of it goes beyond market metrics. Instead of complaining about a broker’s failure, buyers should increase their offer or find a different domain name to buy.
From my experience with some brokers ,they are not all sincere .I don’t trust them,they know what they have to do and that is why they get commission. A broker who contacts me and tell me their client budget is $1k and I refused but same client comes from behind and offers double that (Who do you trust? )This was an experience with grit brokerage .
I also had an experience where a broker told me a buyer offered $5k,which I told him to accept and next thing was silence .Broker left the deal and went on vacation,only to return and tell me that he was off (Afternic broker).Deal went cold as buyer stopped replying .
Sometimes it is not the price or buyers fault but the brokers because you don’t see the correspondence between them and buyer. I can bet that if we asked to see all the correspondence, we would have handled some deals better.
To all the great and sincere brokers out there ,I commend your efforts .To the others who broker just to sell even at minimal since they don’t have the guts to negotiate a bigger offer,probably they shouldn’t call themselves brokers.
The brokers I’ve engaged have been stellar. But keep in mind these brokers are motivated to get a deal done as they make bank via commissions not salaries.
I’ve had similar experiences with some brokers from the referenced company above who make salaries. Some have neglected to tell me about offers that landed just below the BIN price — offers I would have accepted if i had been informed. At this company there are super brokers but also brokers who seem to do the bare minimum to keep their jobs.
On the one hand – you are unhappy about the broker not notifying you of offers just below the BIN price.
On the other hand – other sellers would be unhappy about having their time wasted with offers below their asking price.
So whatever the broker does they can potentially lose depending on the seller.
Seller wants high, buyer wants low, broker can be stuck in the middle being blamed by either or both sides. Can’t please all people all of the time.
To fix all this just have the registrar give the option to not have a broker work on behalf and send offer direct to owner. So when you see the $69 or $199 fee for the consumer to fill out it would show a contact form and then that lead would be redirected to owner. Problem Solved!
If they don’t like the brokers handling it or the outcome then they have no one to blame. Let them handle it themselves. Very easy to fix in system, but this will never happen as registrars don’t make much on a domain name only being registered.
A smart idea would be to remove the fee and watch the leads increase by 50% or more. Anytime you make it hard or barrier to inquire about anything you lose the sale. I mean do realtors charge you when you want to goto an open house? Most likely you would tell the to FO. 🙂
Brokers are just the middlemen/women
If they don’t get the big % commission, then they are just twiddling their thumbs