Unlike real estate or most other assets, premium domains do not have a set price. The same domain owner that wants 50k today for a name will take 7k tomorrow and want 250k next year.
Often times when someone wants a premium domain, they contact the domain owner from an email address that does not link back to them. Usually a brand new email address or an address rarely used. The hope is that if the domain holder sees nothing for that email, their pricing will be better since the real email address would have linked to a person or company that might have a lot of resources.
For professional premium domain name holders getting an email from a email with no history is a major celebration. It tells them someone is trying to hide who they are and they will reply with the highest possible asking price.
Contacting premium domain owners with those type of email addresses is common advice you can find on the web. Like most advice on the topic of acquiring premium domains, it’s bad.
Expert domain brokers use special methods in an attempt to get the lowest possible price for their client. These are not always the same method. Stealth domain acquisition experts will research the owner, their portfolio, if they are part of active domain groups, their sales history and a lot more before jumping into action. These things only take a day or two because the size of the community is small and the data tools are very effective.
We see domains all the time that sold for 6-7 figures that we know could’ve sold for way less if the buyer knew what they are doing.
We believe in fairness on both sides. However, if buyers are not careful, they might overpay a lot for a name they want.
The next mistake is working with a broker that announces to the seller that they are a broker. If you really want to pay max price, you hire a broker like this. Most brokers do this and the only time you do this is when you reached a point that a seller is not responding.
Obviously if a buyer is not realistic, no broker will be able to help them. Premium domains can be the most powerful weapon when someone wants to launch a successful project. There is a reason any good domain demands a high price. The companies that learned the hard way, the VC’s that learned the hard way, will never again listen to the advice of what we call clowns, that urge people to go with names that destroy great ideas.
The reality is, if you want to maximum benefits you will need to buy a dot com premium name that can help your idea. The good news is that with the right broker and with the fact that many premium holders will agree to payment plans, you can at least attempt to acquire the best name for you at a fair price and terms.
If you already made contact with a premium domain owner and got nowhere, make sure to share that information with the new broker. If you don’t share this information, the seller will pickup on the buyers desperation. Some domain holders are long term investors, they wait 10-20 years for a buyer. Inquiries are rare so if suddenly multiple brokers contact them, they know something is up. Brokers with experience know how to deal with this issue using techniques that can benefit the potential buyer significantly. For obvious reasons, we cannot share those techniques publicly.
Posh Domains charges no upfront fees to help secure a domain. In most cases, we will have the seller pay the commission and not the buyer. The only time we ask the buyer to pay is if the seller refuses to cover the fees. Usually sellers agree or at least agree to a split.
To sum things up: The domain name you choose will be a main part of your business and obviously marketing. You need to see it that way or you will force yourself into domains that can really hurt your idea. Do what successful companies do, many of them learned the hard way. Using brokers to help secure a name is not uncommon and if you tell a broker your true maximum price, even if it is well below the domain owners asking, brokers can reason and talk with domain owners and possibly help.
If you need some help with premium domains, you can always message us.
“A Goal Is A Dream With A Deadline” – Napoleon Hill.