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Some words you don’t want to hear from domain buyers

These are some of the words or phrases that you don’t want to hear from a potential buyer of your domain name.

This goes beyond the usual cheapskate pretending to be a student, people making ridiculous offers or the threatening idiot that thinks he deserves to have a domain more than the current owner.

These people are usually not rude but don’t seem to really need the domain name. At least not immediately.

Of course there are also some inquiries from people having the wrong domain name looking for their lost mobile phone or asking about a credit card charge or trying to book a room or download movies or something. They clearly have the wrong website so I either tell them that or ignore them. When I get too many of these inquiries I simply put the domain as “not for sale” and avoid the constant headaches.

These are some of the words or phrases in an inquiry to which I am not sure how to respond to:

  • curious/wondering
  • reasonable price
  • You are not using the domain. How much would you let it go for?

Here are a couple of inquiries I had yesterday:

  1. “I was wondering what your plans were for ********.com, if you’re willing to let it go what are you looking for.”
  2. “Are you planning on doing anything with this? I can’t offer much but if you’re not using it then let me know what you’d let it go for.”

I am not sure how to respond to inquiries like these.

One choice owners have is to simply respond with a quote and be done with it. You may get a “no thanks”, “wow, I was not expecting such a high price” or even a “F*ck off”.

A different choice is trying to figure out what the intentions of the buyer are. Usually in this situation the “buyer” is playing around with a new project in his/her mind that has no set budget. Usually there is not even a well-formed idea. Domain owners can try and educate the buyer but I have not find that to be working. People have a rough idea embedded on their minds on how much domains should cost and it is very hard to change their mind.

So lately and more often than not, I reply to these kind of inquiries with a simple “not for sale”. This way I avoid most of the drama.

Sold.Domains

About Konstantinos Zournas

I studied Computer Engineering and Computer Science in London, UK and I am now living in Athens, Greece. I went online in 1995, started coding in 1996 and began buying domain names and creating websites in 2000. I started the OnlineDomain.com blog in 2012.

10 comments

  1. lots of losers out there wanting domain names.

  2. I used to not respond to lowball offers ($1-$10) but test-driving a new approach. Hope to post the results soon. 😀

  3. My response is always on lowballers

    Hey Bro/Hey Sis

    I need the money for beer and for my drug addictions ..Opioid, so please send me the damn money!!

  4. Hello Konstantinos,
    Yes its a little like the fox and Hair. We have something to share with all. We don’t communicate, in a Domain transaction until an incoming telephone call Inquires (( PERIOD )) .
    In other words we know our Interested Market has emerged, with real interest.
    JAS
    Gratefully, Jeff Schneider (Contact Group) (Metal Tiger) Former (Rockefeller IBEC Marketing Intelligence Analyst/Strategist) (Licensed CBOE Commodity Hedge Strategist)
    (Domain Master )http://www.UseBiz.com

  5. I removed the “make offer” completely from my contact forms. Most inbound offers are short of insulting, and I am not interested in offers. I know what the domain is worth, and I think it’s ethical and transparent to be upfront and to state your price.
    I always quote a price, and go from there.

    Some will disagree with my pricing, some will be insulting, some will just remain clueless about the value of a domain name and what it can do for them and their business.
    One thing is for sure, .com names and my pricing will only GO UP over time!

  6. “I am not sure how to respond to inquiries like these.”

    Just assume the worst re trying to fool you.

  7. Why not reply simply with this?

    “If you’d like to make an offer, I’ll give it some thought.”

    That gives the measure of the person pretty quickly – seriousness, experience with domain, budget, honesty. There’s a big difference between someone who responds with $500 versus $50 versus no response at all.

  8. This goes both ways. There are also words and phrases you don’t want to hear from domain resellers either. 🙂 lol

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