What causes domainers to

[julian]

go cold turkey on a sale?

Had this a few times this year. Both parties are interested in a sale, you make a reasonable opening offer with plenty of room for negotiation and then sale seems to die a death - as if the owner suddenly realised they've got something really special and precious.

I can only put this problem down to some sort of Sigmund Freud theory of psychosexual development, like the turning point in a child’s “anal phase” where the moment at which they are taught to use the bathroom, and forced to relinquish their poo to the parents - and so when they are faced with the prospect of giving that domain up they feel they are losing part of themselves in the same way.

What's interesting is I have monitored the domains I've made offers on and within a year most have appeared on sedo auction without a bid, DL or AD and sold for less or only slightly more than my original offer. I do tend to go off the boil very quickly and move on to something else to suit the needs if there's too much fannying about. Or perhaps they just don't like me

 

[bb99]

It may be something as simple as mentioning the deal to another domainer in conversation and the other domainer comes back saying they're giving it away / too cheap / etc.

Everyone's got their own perspective and because there's no Glass's guide type thing for domains it's easy to get carried away when someone else tells you something you like to hear...

 

[julian]

In that case if they get a £500 offer in and domainers mates says no it too cheap why not come back with £1000? or a price they really want, then the buyer can take it or leave it (that's what I do). I'm curious about what causes the 'no response' syndrome - why have a domain up for sale?

It may be something as simple as mentioning the deal to another domainer in conversation and the other domainer comes back saying they're giving it away / too cheap / etc.

Everyone's got their own perspective and because there's no Glass's guide type thing for domains it's easy to get carried away when someone else tells you something you like to hear...

 

[Edwin]

Could be as simple as a run of a few other sales (or even one "good one") dramatically altering their immediate need to close a deal.

 

[bb99]

In that case if they get a £500 offer in and domainers mates says no it too cheap why not come back with £1000? or a price they really want, then the buyer can take it or leave it (that's what I do). I'm curious about what causes the 'no response' syndrome - why have a domain up for sale?

For some, ignoring the buyer is a negotiation strategy designed to make them come back with larger numbers. Often it doesn't pay off but when it does, by definition, it pays big!

 

[Murray]

Do you include stories about childrens toilet habbits in your offer?

There-in may lie the problem

 

[Skinner]

I would say your opening offer is too small to consider pushing and too low for them to discount to. Of course their expectations are probably directly linked to reddies in their pocket. If you don't need the money, why not hold out?

Lets apply to real life, you want to buy a new car, the car is expected by the vendor to sell at £120,000. You tell the vendor you're looking to spend £30,000, he knows he can't push you to 4x, and he can't reduce it so much.

However you say £100k or so, he see's room for him to drop his price and you to raise yours and make a deal. The issue is, you don't know what the seller is expecting, which is a negotiation tactic meaning you have to make a good offer and the loop continues.

 

[Edwin]

One other consideration: if the other party recognises that you're a "domainer" then their expectations will instantly be muted accordingly. Having sold names to many hundreds of "real" end users, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of "domainers" who have been willing to pay the same sort of prices to secure a name - and I'm talking high 3- to low-4 figures here, not massive amounts.

So there may be an element of that - the other party didn't feel it was worth the time/hassle to negotiate vigorously since they expected you ultimately wouldn't be willing to go as high as what they felt was the "market price", or indeed come close.

(I suspect that the "correct" answer - if there is one - is probably a combination of many of the factors raised in this thread, rather than one particular thing)

 

[boxfish]

you make a reasonable opening offer with plenty of room for negotiation

When you say 'plenty of room for negotiation' do you mean it's nowhere near what they are asking?

 

[Retired_Member38]

Yes, sale provisionally agreed on a major finance domain name. The price was about a quarter million £. They then changed their mind and the sale collapsed. They've done nothing with the domain since.

On a good day it'd be worth £80k now I think. They've made a complete arse of selling or developing it. And no, it wasn't Dr Dolittle and that domain.

 

[woopwoop]

@monkey as soon as I started reading I thought it was the doc, haha.

I've had 2 people come to me with offers of £500 for different domains. I tried getting £1k. They either held out or went quiet. Within 7 days I realized 500 was a fair price and emailed them I'd accept. One buyer said they'd send the payment Monday... The other , just silence... Long story short, I haven't heard anything from either of them. Been a couple of months... Really weird, I think something bad must have happened to the one who made the offer, not sure why no reply. I basically accepted both their offers within a week (after failed negotiating!)... And the names were perfect for their businesses.

So weird stuff on both ends of making and receiving offers.