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An unsuccessful domain name negotiation

A few months ago I got an email from someone who was interested in buying a domain name I own. It's the kind of domain name that has no value at all in terms of search traffic but from a possible brand perspective, it is perfect for the the right thing.

I get lots of email inquiries about domain names and almost 100% of them are not even worth responding to. For some reason I thought there was something about this inquiry that was legit so I sent back my standard reply which is basically, please make me an offer and if I think we can work something out, I'll get back to you.

He did and he offered 8k which is way more than most offers I get and I know an offer of 8k means a number much higher in most cases. I also googled the persons name and lo and behold, he was the ceo of a company, a well known company and he had just sold that company to a new company and they were looking to re brand the site. The domain name they were interested in was absolutely perfect for the type of thing they did.They also have a lot of money.

The domain name name was also the perfect domain name for me if I ever decided to get back into the recruiting business or something related to that. I have a way of valuating domain names and in most cases, the potential buyer understands completely my reasoning though in some cases, most cases actually the number is too high and I am ok with it because based on my history in the domain name industry, I am way ahead based on how I buy and sell.

We ended up having a few long conversations on the phone and I gave them a number that would be acceptable to me and to make a long story short, they went with their 2nd choice because it was cheaper - a lot cheaper than what I had told them I wanted. I scratched my head a little and thought 1. I know they have the money to pay my asking price, 2. I know they recognized it was by far the best name available for what they do and 3. I'm always happy when I don't sell a name because I don't like selling them though I know business means buying and selling.

So what does this have to do with recruiting? I am sure something but this is not a recruiting post, it's a story post. However, I guess if you want to sell a domain name, it will only happen if you have a buyer who will pay your price and if in fact you want to sell, the value you have stuck on that domain name may be completely irrelevant because there may be no one to pay it, even the guy who wants that name.

Before you enter a negotiation for something like a domain name, know in advance if you really want to sell it or not. In this case, I was happy not selling it but I would have been happy selling it as well.

Sorry for the bad grammar and spelling. I typed this fast.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on January 28, 2010 at 11:44am

This is an interesting subject. There's a saying that hogs get slaughtered; pigs get to come back to the trough. I understand you were ina difficult negotiation space - tempted to accept the (good) offer but knowing that's not always the best thing to do (accept a first offer).

I don't know that I would have handled it any other way than you did. Anyone else have thoughts? How do you know when you can afford to gamble?

Permalink Reply by Slouch on January 28, 2010 at 11:52am

The offer they made was no where near what I would consider a good offer or something I would have accepted. The price they paid for their 2nd choice was also a number I would not consider.

Maureen Sharib said:

This is an interesting subject. There's a saying that hogs get slaughtered; pigs get to come back to the trough. I understand you were ina difficult negotiation space - tempted to accept the (good) offer but knowing that's not always the best thing to do (accept a first offer).

I don't know that I would have handled it any other way than you did. Anyone else have thoughts? How do you know when you can afford to gamble?

Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on January 28, 2010 at 1:18pm

Oh. Okay I took your remark to mean $8k was more than what you would have expected. My mistake.

Permalink Reply by Slouch on January 28, 2010 at 1:46pm

I think they would have bought it at 30k.

Maureen Sharib said:

Oh. Okay I took your remark to mean $8k was more than what you would have expected. My mistake.

Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on January 28, 2010 at 1:51pm

Did you think that going out to them w/ another offer?
The reason I ask is this negotiation process thing fascinates me. There's a new show on TV called "American Picker." It's about two guys who go around the country and buys stuff at junkyards, houses etc that they then resell at many more imes than they paid. On the first show I saw (I think it was the first show) one of them said: "Don't ever be the first to name a price." He says this because it puts you at a disadvantage - you might offer more than the seller was anticipating. I have always instinctively felt this but I think this is much harder advice to follow when you're the seller - it's kinda' recumbent on the seller to name a price - don't you think? I guess it's good work when you can get it - to get the other side to make you an offer w/out you having stated a starting point but in my experience hard to do. There's an art to it I suppose and I suspect you have it mastered. Wanna share it w/ us?

Permalink Reply by Slouch on January 28, 2010 at 1:54pm

we talked quite a bit afterwords and the person who contacted me thought it was foolish they did not see it his way. It's off the table now and it's ok. It's the type of name in my opinion you could build quite a recruiting/research business from. I'm more than happy it's still mine.

Maureen Sharib said:

Did you think that going out to them w/ another offer?

Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on January 28, 2010 at 2:05pm

Did you see my add-on questons?

Permalink Reply by Slouch on January 28, 2010 at 2:12pm

I never like naming a price. maybe its the right way to do it but you know, from my recruiting days, I always instructed candidates in my interview preps that when the company asks them what kind of money they are looking for, they should always diffuse that question with this is what I currently earn and my motivation for being here today is not about money and if I am right for you and you are right for me, we will I'm sure come up with a number that suits us both best. So back to selling domain names, my advice is that if someone approaches you about a name, it's best to get them to tell you what the offer is and then you either say yes or no, it needs to be more like x in this range. Big sales are so far and few between that the urge to rush and make a deal is not necessary unless you are the buyer and you get a price you know is right and if you try to negotiate they may change their mind. I hope this makes sense. kinda rambling. My new favorite show on tv maureen is pawnstars. Great show

Maureen Sharib said:

Did you see my add-on questons?

Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on January 28, 2010 at 2:18pm

If you like PawnStars you'll like American Picker.
I like PawnStars too - the three generational thing is a riot. U JUST KNOW the old man is gonna hit the grandson upside the head someday.

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