Being a domain name owner and sometimes domain name seller, I often run into so many questions when being contacted about somebody wanting to purchase a domain name that I own.
Who’s the buyer?
Why may they be interested in purchasing?
Can I replace the domain if I sell?
How much do I have invested?
Does the domain have age? Search traffic? SERP’s? etc.
So the other day I was contacted about the domain name TotalSwitch.com that I own. One of the interesting things is, I purchased the domain name in 2008. In January of 2010, somebody purchased the .net, .org, .info and .biz domain names matching the TotalSwitch keyword.
No big deal because I own the king already.
So when I was contacted last week by an interested party, I was expecting it to be the person who purchased the other TLD’s earlier this year, looking to secure the .com to go with the other TLD’s they purchased. Nope! After doing some research on the buyer, the person who contacted me is from the UK (based on the IP address from the contact) and the person who owns the other TLD’s of TotalSwitch is from NL (from whois records).
One question, why would they purchase all the other TLD’s and not contact the .com owner to see if they could purchase it? I have no clue why they wouldn’t and one would expect that they would. They haven’t.
If you are really interested in a domain name, do you really think the person is going to sell for $50? Clearly Andrew from LegalMarketingExpertsUK.com thought so with the $50 offer sent for TotalSwitch.com but a starting point is always needed. It is a good way to piss off the owner for one sending what most would consider peanuts, likely not get a reply at all or severely hurt your chances of purchasing the domain name? Likely.
Domain names are one of a kind, so your first impression contacting the only owner to purchase it, needs to be thought out.
Before you simply type in an offer, I think it is wise to consider the amount you are sending. Domain names are one of a kind and if you really want to purchase it, prove it with a solid offer! Are the other TLD’s owned by the same person or is there a potentially another interested party in the domain you are interested in?
Does it "make sense" to purchase 4 TLD’s of a specific term and NOT own the .com? I would say no because no matter what you do, you will lose some traffic to the .com domain name.
I run into a lot of unanswered questions when people contact me to purchase a domain name but if the money is right, I would likely sell and the answers to the questions I come up with really wouldn’t matter.
BullS
No you did not own the “King”- the king is dot co according to some people…ha ha
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“No big deal because I own the king already”.
Leonard Britt
I’ll agree the first offer might could be negotiated higher but is likely a good indication of how much they are willing to pay. Yes, I don’t understand why someone would register all the other extensions of a non .com domain. If a company didn’t want to pay for the .COM but the .Net was available, OK, but ???
Jamie Zoch
@Leonard,
To tell you the truth, I have seen many “$100 type” offers turn in to lower four figure sales. It is one of the reasons I always suggest to reply to all offers, but many of the times the interested party doesn’t have a pot to piss in and the $10 offer is all they could afford. Most of those people are the dreamers who have a hand out all the time.
Todd
@Jamie,
I don’t get it. I think you should have taken the $50 offer, or maybe try to bump them to $100-$200.
Estibot values TotalSwitch.com at $0, zip, nada. I don’t see TotalSwitch.com being worth more than the reg fee ($7), so I’m shocked that you think this domain is worth more than $50.
It sounds to me like the buyer isn’t the delusional one in this scenario (IMHO).
Jamie Zoch
@Todd,
First, I would never advise to solely base a valuation of a domain name on a computer algorithm like Estibot or even a paid domain name appraisal. Secondly, I have a specific use for the domain name so I could careless if I sell it now or ever.