I used to get annoyed when I received a lowball offer to buy one of my higher value domain names. It’s 2020, and I would expect that if someone is smart enough to know they want to buy one of my one word .com domain names, they will know enough to understand that each has substantial value, and a $100 offer isn’t going to cut it now – and probably wouldn’t have even made sense 25 years ago either.
Instead of giving a snarky reply to prospects or simply of ignoring them, I take a bit of a different tactic these days. I offer a suggestion that might help them as they continue to try and find a domain name in their budget. Here’s an example of a recent reply:
“Sorry, but with a budget of $100, you should look for a domain name that is not already registered by someone.”
i used to like telling people that they would need to go back in time to buy my domain name with their budget. I think it’s a humorous way to let someone know their budget is ridiculous today. Aside from amusing myself, I don’t really think that reply was fruitful. At best it got a chuckle from someone and at worst, it made someone upset that I was making them out to be a fool (perhaps deservedly so).
Today’s reply is a bit softer, and I think it’s more appropriate given the current levels of anxiety and angst people are feeling.
Or: “Well, I can’t lose money, as I make my living buying and selling domain names” (important to put “buying” in the reply in this case) then continue according to the value: “I” (or we as you prefer) “would be looking to sell this in the range of five figures” (or 4, or 6 or whatever) Then, maybe suggest looking for a lower priced name with “you can often get a name with a hyphen, or a .net for much lower” They know that is substandard, and if they don’t, you are helping them along. I used to get snotty, but not anymore.
One name I sold recently (for $xxx ) was from an offer that started with “Will you take 50 bucks? That should give you a good return on the 2 bucks you probably spent on it” Really! My BP went up a bit, I’m sure, but I paused and calculated my response and closed it out, fully paid and transferred in 3 days. He had just bought the .ca for regfee.
In fact, here is the message through my Efty lander:
Message
Hello
Seeing as I just paid $10 for b———-.ca, and this is going to be a one page website with a contact form, I think $50 is a pretty high offer, but for the $2 you probably paid for the domain, that is still a decent profit margin on your original investment.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you
——————————–
My Response:
Hey B____,
Sounds like you are just starting out. To help out If you like, I can set up the landing page now to accept payments of $XX over the next XX months which will help you with your cashflow. You would own it after that, and I can change the nameservers to your choice immediately so you can use it right away.
Do let me know as I’ve started reaching out to other “B—” and “s———” prospects today, and there is only one we have for sale.
Thanks for the inquiry!
—————————————
Happy to sell it for what I sold it for, and this way, it let him know if I was going to take payments, I wasn’t likely to just sell outright for so low.
I like that reply Elliott. I never understood why some people ridicule others, especially on a topic that not many ‘outsiders’ know about.
Exactly how I feel. Domain investors already get a bad rap from outsiders, so no sense in responding like a jerk.
This is exactly right Elliot. Ever wonder why when domainers complain about items either at ICANN or other venues , people disregard them and say they are just extortionists and unsavory people.
Those smart ass comments have repercussions. You never know that person who is asking about a domain , could be a US Senators kid, or someone who may be making a decision about domainers in the future.
As I’ve said in the past, there is a difference between honest lowballing and dishonest lowballing. There is no sin in honest lowballing. Honest lowballing is simply when you try to buy low without resorting to lying and other immoral tactics. Dishonest lowballing is predatory and immoral, and includes lying. People who are sociopaths and psychopaths are fine with the latter, no doubt some of the most highly regarded people and even some of “your” (the general “your,” not just yours Elliot) in domaining in fact. So to illustrate in simplistic terms:
1. Domain is easily worth $1 million or more:
a. Honest lowballing: “Would you take $1000 for Example.com (or ExampleExample.com)?”
• You never know – maybe they will, or if not that you might still get a great deal anyway.
I paid a lot less for my one short domain that is worth $500 million to $1 billion+ for instance, many years ago when that was still possible.
b. Dishonest (predatory) lowballing: “I honestly believe that domain is really only worth $10k (no, liar, you honestly believe it’s worth $1m and more), but since you’re asking $200k would you consider $20k instead? What’s that you say? Don’t you realize the market for that is extremely speculative and likely to decline (but you’re lying and really believe the exact opposite, etc.).”
There is nothing wrong with honest lowballing, and people who won’t even respond to a price they consider lowballing out of pride, vanity or “principle” can often be making a mistake because the truth may well be that the suitor may be perfectly willing to pay an “acceptable” price once they see that honest lowballing fails. After all, how would Rick Schwartz or Elliot or anyone else who buys low and sells high ever get anything if honest lowballing were something to condemn. Okay Okay, I know you may often pay something that’s at least better than “lowablling,” Elliot, but you get the idea. Isn’t that pure hypocrisy if one practices it oneself but refuses to ever even respond to it?
With dishonest predatory lowballing, however, one needs to stop doing it and also read this: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation+22%3A15&version=NASB.
Oops, the “your” in paragraph 1 above was supposed to be followed by “friends.”
PS – for the record, technically I did not do any kind of lowballing for the one I alluded to above many years ago. It was simply possible to buy low then period.
I get many inquiries about wanting to know how much and I always quote $$$$$ OBO and they come back with another reply and I told them F OFF
Those fake buyers know the value of the domains and they already know who you are….
Do you get happiness or satisfaction from firing off an “F OFF” email to someone you don’t know?
I would imagine he does, because indulging in BS is in his handle 🙂
Haha lol
LOL – yes once they start playing after a reality and truth check that’s a whole different ballgame.
We all receive ridiculous low ball offers but today I received a new kind of inquiry first time in 20 years of domaining, as follows:
There was an offer of $500 on a BigCity+News.com domain with this message: I want to know why you want to sell?
I told him I am in the business of selling domain names, that’s why 🙂
“Not in the ballpark…I searched some well-known marketplaces for domains within your price range, perhaps consider them as affordable alternatives. Here is the list:”
…List 3-5 ridiculous domains, preferably at the top of their price range.
Finish eloquently, “I hope that helps.”
That takes too much time, and I don’t really think it serves any purpose. I would rather use the humour reply I was using a few years ago than suggest clearly inferior domain names at the buyer’s budget.
I love every minute of this funky domain business…so stress reliever.
My nirvana hobby.
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun
La la la la
Sing it…
You could always just send them here to be educated:
https://www.howmuchisadomainnameworth.com/
99.99999% of the Inquirers unless they live in a cave already know the value of the domains and they already know who the owners are.. they are just low balling to piss you off.
There’s one type that really don’t know the value of domains and they might be serious about the $100 offer no matter how good the domain is.