Opinions

“Your email address says a lot about your taste in domains.”

So what else is new? I got an inquiry from a clueless guy from Australia that wanted to buy my one word .us domain name.

Of course this was an upgrade if you consider that domain name he is currently using. (See below.)

I replied with a $10,000 price tag and I got this reply:

That is honestly hilarious. Ok, Konstantinos – firstly the domain name is not *that* rare and valuable – and honestly, as if there aren’t thousands of other options out there I could choose for my design business for ten bucks.

So – in response – I am willing to pay no more than $100 (a ten time return on your initial investment I would say) including the escrow fee. And I’m only offering that because I’m a bit impressed with your chutzpah to actually ask for that ridiculous amount for a domain name. My offer is valid for 24 hours or else I’ll just go with one of the other domain names I’ve been considering. No hard feelings, no big problems for me at all.

I think you might be waiting many many years until you get an offer that good for this particular domain name.”

I bought the domain in 2011 in an auction so how is his $100 offer a ten time return is beyond me. Even if I had bought it $10 then I would have paid about $80 in renewals by now.  I guess he is not familiar with domain renewals.

The escrow.com fee for a $100 transaction would be $10. That is the standard fee. The concierge fee has a $100 minimum.

And I am charged another $20 for escrow.com to send me an international wire transfer. So I am at about $10 in the hole by now.

Also the transaction would cost me an extra $150 at least. (various bank fees, paying for my accountant and my of course time)

That is before factoring in my acquisition cost and of course a healthy profit. So I would rather let the domain burn than sell it for $100.

I have actually sold 2 .us domain this August for $4,500 and $5,000. And the one he wanted was better than those 2.

I told him to go ahead and choose a $10 domain for his business like he said he would and also told him this:

“Actually your email address says a lot about your taste in domains.”

His email address was on a 2-word hyphenated .com.au domain. And the second word was “terrible”! Maybe his taste is getting better (by going after my domain… haha) but he knows very little about the cost and usage of domains.

I have many times considered not replying to inquiries coming from so blatantly bad domain names and days like this prove my instinct is correct. What do you think?

Yes, I know. The buyer could be looking to upgrade. But there are a lot of decent looking domain names sitting out there unregistered. Not great, but at least professional looking.

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.

28 comments

  1. You own the domain, you define the price.

    If they cannot afford it, for whatever reason, or refuse to comprehend your valuation process, and instead respond in a manner that mocks your pricing, that’s when you PLONK them (delete + block.)

  2. People will always rationalize what they think it will cost. Though i do agree email is great way to see peoples both tastes and how much they case about presence. If they got aol, you know something is up.

  3. I have the best email address

    BullS@BullShitWebsites.com

    and the best domain and the best website in the world wide world!!

    Now don’t “BullS” with me!!!

  4. I would tell him he can have the name for $10k but that price is only for 24 hours , tell him it goes up after that to $12.5k

    He can always buy .xyz or .horse

  5. What were the two .us domain you sold this August for $4,500 and $5,000? 🙂

  6. I think his email was quite polite and reasonable for a non-domainer

    I tend to educate people showing them a link to what sold in the past
    mostly they get the message

    for a .us $10K is quite high actually

    I sold a .us for $8.5K at afternic
    and they told me it’s in the top 10 list

    cheers
    Frank

  7. Strange you mention the country? Quite sure there are a lot of wankers where you live as well.

  8. There is a fair bit of truth in that email. How often does a .us get 10k? Unfortunately most of our domains will never sell.

    • Where is the truth?
      Let’s just say than $10k sales are not often. So what? Are 7-figure .com sales often? Just because they are not, does that mean that someone with a 2-letter .com can’t ask for 7-figures?
      Where is the truth?
      Just because the domain might not sell at $10k and sell at $7.5k (that is my wiggle room) then it is immediately worth $100?
      Your comment is messed up.

      • What did you pay for the name? That is probably the most unbiased estimate of value. Obvious everyone wants more (eg 10x) but most buyers will just offer $50. Either you can get upset about it or accept it.

      • I don’t remember and I don’t care. What does this have to do with anything???
        I sold a $10 hand-reg for 6-figures.

        I was not upset with the “buyer”. I am upset with what you write because you are supposed to know better.

      • Maybe look it up? I’d bet it didn’t sell for much when you bought it.

      • Like I said. It is irrelevant.
        Let’s say I bought it for $10. How much should I sell, in your opinion, something I can sell for $7.5k. $100?

        I also bought a comic book for $2 30 years ago. It is now worth $200 so maybe I should sell for $20. Right?

      • .us names have not gone up in value.

        If it were me I’d try and get the highest price possible, but I would not complain when 9/10 people offer what I paid or less.

      • “.us names have not gone up in value.”

        Thank you for the info. What does this have to do with what I write?

    • And BTW I have personally sold a .us for $10k so I know what they sell for.

      • What are the two .us domains you sold in August for $4,500 and $5,000 ?
        And what is the .us you sold for $10,000 ???!!!
        You should be proud to divulge ANY .us domain you sold for those prices 🙂

      • Most buyers do not want publicity. Most direct sales (outside of domain marketplaces) are never reported.

  9. Maybe if you suspect the inquirer is someone who is going to lowball, then don’t quote a price and just ask for an offer. It could avoid having to read their sob story response to the price you want. If their offer is lowball just say sorry we’re too far apart. Who wants to bother selling a domain for $100 or less, especially if you’ve done a few renewals. Slowly people will be educated that good domains have value.

  10. I’m sure people purposely use obscure email addresses just to make you think it’s coming from a college student or someone trying to be showing a poor person but in actual it’s coming from a well reputed company who regularly buy domains for 5 and 6 figures for their clients. I’ve sold domains to such silly looking email ID buyers…

  11. I read this post and then the comments. Nowhere in the post did Konstantinos ask for advice, and yet here come a bunch of know it all types posing and preening to offer unsolicited and completely unhelpful advice. If you guys want to improve someone, start with yourselves. The way to success is not through envy and sabotage of the successful.

    Domainers can ask whatever they want for their names. While maintaining cash flow is certainly an issue, there is a greater risk of going out of business associated with letting domains go too cheaply than with valuing them too dearly, IMO.

  12. I sold a .us domain for $10k. There are also .us domains worth millions. The only reason we haven’t seen that since 2002 (yet) has nothing whatsoever to do with domain names themselves or their real value, including .com. It has everything to do with the bigger picture. I’ve never seen anyone in domaining show any interest in even any portion of the bigger picture except Michael Castello so far. Put that in your domainer pipe and vape it. 😉

    And on a related note, would love to know how 888 acquired Poker.us. I’d guess the “bigger picture” of the current status quo probably enabled them to get a pretty good deal for themselves overall.

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