domain marketing

[charlie]

I know there are issues with directly approaching companies trying to sell them domains that contain copyright words but with generic domains is it as simple as approaching an appropriate company and saying "do you want it?"

I know it probably doesn't look great but can you play companies off against each other - so when/if you approach a company is it wise to say i have other interested parties who have offered x amount? Is it just unethical to mention the other companies involved?

do you guys who sell normall just send out a mail shot and see what you get back?

any info appreciated
thanks

 

[.co.uk]

I'm no-one to give advice... but today I sent NTL an email informing them that I've PremPlus.co.uk for sale.

It might be worth it for them!
(It get's 200 hits a month (approx) with no weblinks).

PremPlus isn't trademarked btw.

.co.uk
--------------

 

[danny]

Oh dear, not a very good move! You will almost definately be taken to DRS. Remember a name does NOT need to be trade-marked for a business to have rights over its use. I am almost certain that they will have their own legal and intellectual property department within the company who will conact you very shortly informing you of their intentions. Good luck.

 

[.co.uk]

Oops! :grin:

Well SKY would be the one's to claim PremPlus, not NTL.
Either way, I 'll save them some money/time on a DRS if they're nice about it! :razz:

 

[rob]

Oops! :grin:

Well SKY would be the one's to claim PremPlus, not NTL.
Either way, I 'll save them some money/time on a DRS if they're nice about it! :razz:

some people can be bloody minded on that and wont care about cost to prove a point.

 

[.co.uk]

some people can be bloody minded on that and wont care about cost to prove a point.

So I've been told.
(But I've sold one this week for £800 in a similar situation) :grin:

The risk is minimal on my part...just the registration fee.
If it came to a DRS I might not even argue it!

.co.uk
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[rob]

So I've been told.
(But I've sold one this week for £800 in a similar situation) :grin:

The risk is minimal on my part...just the registration fee.
If it came to a DRS I might not even argue it!

.co.uk
------------

yup thats the best way to approach it - think of it as a fiver gamble rather than losing a potential £xxx etc.

cheers + good luck!!
rob.

 

[charlie]

so back to original question

 

[eetc]

I too am interested in peoples opinions. I have kilt.co.uk which I am not sure could be claimed under any trademark. There are a bunch of on-line kilt shops all with more cumbersome names.

Chris

 

[keys]

Suppose a company provided an effective marketing service for domains, but to use the service you had to set a fixed price that you would accept, and if they found a willing buyer at that price you would have to sell, or pay the agreed commission (rather like an estate agent's agreement).

Would you use such a service?

 

[domaingenius]

Keys, I think pro active marketing of domains is often
better than sitting and waiting/hoping. Hard part is
fixing a price because its a very open to individual
opinions. Are you offering ?.

DG

 

[dominion]

Suppose a company provided an effective marketing service for domains, but to use the service you had to set a fixed price that you would accept, and if they found a willing buyer at that price you would have to sell, or pay the agreed commission (rather like an estate agent's agreement).

Would you use such a service?

By "effective marketing service" do you mean just a website that listed the domains, or a pro active service that tried to find, and offer, domains to possible buyers?

 

[charlie]

Suppose a company provided an effective marketing service for domains, but to use the service you had to set a fixed price that you would accept, and if they found a willing buyer at that price you would have to sell, or pay the agreed commission (rather like an estate agent's agreement).

Would you use such a service?

The problem is setting the price. It would seem that the speculation would allow you to judge the price, that is if you approach HSBC with a domain you know they could afford a little more than tree2mydoor even though a domain with the appropriate keywords would benefit each one effectively we know that HSBC signing up students to life long bank accounts is going to be financially a better investment than selling the odd tree.

Estate agents is a bad example as there are lots of comparative sales to base your price on. Domains are normally exchanged without publicity and there is very little exchange of knowledge - note some other forums! This would make you believe that sales are more luck, prices are not fixed or subject to measurable elements where as houses are.

and back to the banks - what HSBC might think is a rubbish domain may be snapped up instantly by Barclays - its seems that its a lot of right place right time plus a little amount of very hard work.

Like getting the job you want - you have to keep pestering - they wont come to you as there are plenty of alternatives (i don’t practice what i preach )

so perhaps thats a NO keys ......but if the company had a proven record of top dollar sales then perhaps is good idea. Developing this would require human intervention in order to judge the domain against the potential buyer - seems a lot of hard work to me?

 

[eetc]

I can see where you are going... I had not thought of this. Yes, I would.
(oops, I missed the last three posts, but I'll leave my comment)

Chris

 

[Edwin]

At the right price (commission level), credibility level (professional business-like approach and a past history of successful end-user level domain sales) and with certain ground rules in place (e.g. no public promotion of the domains on forums/websites - too easy, I could have done that myself in 10 minutes and saved myself a commission - and no mass/bulk/untargeted email promotion) I believe that the service you're describing could indeed be of interest.

All the above elements would have to come together right, though.

Basically, if you can find genuine buyers that I realistically couldn't have found through any of the obvious channels on my own then you're adding value to the process.

 

[keys]

There is not much point in setting up yet another website listing loads of domains for sale - many such sites already exist and achieve very little/nothing.

Proactive marketing of domains is tough, and no one is going to try and sell third party domains without fixed goal posts.

We have to understand the difference between CMV (current market value) and PMV (potential market value). A sales agent has to work on CMV.

My estate agent analogy was referring to the conditions of sale. If agent finds a willing and able buyer at the price the seller has agreed, then the sale must go ahead, or the seller pays the commision.

The cost of a domain is normally a few pounds for the registration, plus some business overheads. Any amount over and above that is a return on investment (profit).

If you believe that a large corporation will buy thedomain.co.uk (and that they will pay big bucks) then set your price accordingly - but understand that a sale is less likely.

The unusual aspect of domains is that they can be hard to value. If you are going to sell you have to agree a definite price, otherwise a sale is impossible.

 

[charlie]

I think also the problem will be that "is the market ready"?

From what i can tell the perception of domain names and online marketing strategies especially through us "cyber squatters" (apologies but because of the media that’s how we're still seen) still has a long way to go before it is a mature market with a stable buying / price levels, hence the current random values.
I may be talking rubbish, educate me if i am but isn’t that why we have a lot of silent players? There are a lot of people registering domains and just sitting on them waiting for the market to develop until a point where they think they can get a better return on their investment?
So to proactively go out and sell at this stage seems more than just selling, your going to have to find very open minded businesses with money and educate them on the whole internet / SEO / domain theories?

if anyone want to practice on me, i could do with the input !

 

[rob]

I think also the problem will be that "is the market ready"?

It could be argued will it ever be ready?

As we are still at a very early age of the internet and its usage, will we be using domain names in ten or twenty years time? Is the speculation now nearing the peak of values?

The difference in sales could be due to there being three types of domain owners in .co.uk ; the catcher , domain speculator, and idiots.

The catcher would be happy to sell a name for £xxxx as they have only paid £5 reg fee.

The domain speculator will pick up names for varying amounts and look to sell to end users.

Idiots will just purchase / register tosh and want £50k for it. ie. supa-loans4u.me.uk

Mixed roles may occur, however with varying aims it could explain the difference in prices seen.

Just some ramblings...

 

[domaingenius]

I guess too that you would need some kind of security for the commissions as otherwise what happens when you tell the buyer you are selling ADomain.co.uk and he then goes direct to the domain and contacts the owner without your intervention ?. There are lots of potential problems.

DG

 

[keys]

The difference in sales could be due to there being three types of domain owners in .co.uk ; the catcher , domain speculator, and idiots.

I would agree. The catchers and domain speculators use their ability and judgment to make a profit and move on.

The idiots (perhaps a harsh description) are wandering in the wilderness, guided by occasional reports of high value sales. For them an offer is never high enough because there is always a possibility that someone else will pay more.

Frequently on Sedo you will find high-priced domains which are free because the registrants eventually decided that they were not even worth a renewal cost.

A common weakness with investors is to take a profit when the market seems strong. No sale means no profit.

Going back to the marketing question, I would suggest that any seller should make their own efforts to sell domains before using an agent. In most cases it is easy enough to identify and contact potential buyers. If there is a flicker of interest the next question will be WHAT IS THE ASKING PRICE?