There are many ways to get domain name intelligence to help your business. The main way is to read sales reports from various marketplaces, auction houses brokers, and private sellers archived on NameBio and DNJournal. This information is readily available and doesn’t cost anything to obtain.
Talking to people and exchanging emails is another way to get information. People regularly share private details in private that they don’t want to have published and searchable. This type of information sharing is readily available, but it is only available to those who are acquaintances with each other and to those who are willing to share their intel.
Another great way to get private information that isn’t readily available is to make offers in private. This can lead to good information that wouldn’t be found elsewhere. I regularly make offers for domain names in private via email. While offers are regularly rejected, the rejection emails sometimes have data that is helpful to me without the sender knowing (or caring). For instance, in response to an inquiry about a one word .com domain name yesterday, the owner told me he rejected a $400,000 offer for the domain name last year. He didn’t know it, but his information is helpful because I own a couple of names I would consider comparables.
When a domain owner shares information with me, I occasionally probe for more info. I sometimes ask when the offer was made and if he knows who inquired. For one thing, an offer that was made 10 years ago is likely dated and no longer on the table. This can also help in my negotiation because I can remind the person that the offer is expired and likely wouldn’t be the same. People share extra details all the time, and it can be helpful in the negotiation but also helpful for my own information bank.
One issue with this type of data, as well as other deal information shared privately, is that the offers or deals are not provable. Someone might be bluffing as a means of informing of a number that they would consider a starting point. The offer may not even be a bonafide offer. Obviously, this information needs to be taken with a big grain of salt!
Raising funds for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute via my 2017 Pan-Mass Challenge ride.
When you make these private offers, do you do so openly with the offeree knowing who you are, or do you also keep your identity private?
Depends I suppose, but I most frequently don’t disguise my identity.
I picked up PrivateOffers.com the other day on the drop. ๐
Excellent advice! There’s lots of data out there people don’t think about crunching the numbers too. As you’ve pointed out, speaking to the source (Other domain investors) is one of those underutilized gems to crunch the numbers of. Like you said though, more research is always needed. Sadly, not all sales/rejection claims are valid and may be exaggerated a little, like that 1-foot fish that magically became a 15-footer when the fishing story is told later. ๐
One other tactic, for people who might not have a ton of connections, is simply to reach out via Whois on sold domain names and ask the price. Some former owners don’t care and are happy to share.