I tried to buy the ArtificialIntelligence.com domain name multiple times over the last 10 years. The emails I sent to the registrant went unanswered, and I didn’t make much of an effort to follow up on them since then.

This afternoon, I received email responses to my inquiries / offers. The email provided a bit of background information about the ownership of the domain name, which I will not publicly share. In addition, the email announced that the domain name is now for sale. The asking price is $9.9 million USD.

In 2022, my wife and I decided our kids were ready for some big mountain skiing and we planned a trip to the Rocky Mountains. Prior to leaving, I spent some time researching new skis and narrowed it down to three pairs. I ended up picking the least expensive option. The ideal pair – the Volkl Kendo 88s were about $200 more expensive and I didn’t want to spend the additional money to buy them.

Since buying my skis, I’ve checked in on the Kendo 88 from time to time. Volkl has continued to improve them the last two years, and I had some regret about my decision. My current setup is fine, but I think I would have been better off with the other skis.

I don’t love asking prospective buyers to make an offer to buy a domain name, particularly on higher value assets. Not only does it encourage time wasting lowball offers, it also implies that the seller is open to considering any offer, and people tend to make unrealistically low opening offers fearing a realistic offer will lead to a very high counteroffer. It can be a frustrating waste of time for all involved.

That being said, I don’t like to have “buy now” pricing for my highest value domain names. The higher end of the domain name market is dynamic, and my pricing can also vary based on my own business performance. A domain name can be priced at $175k one day and $150k or $250k the next day, depending on different factors.