I don’t know the seller of Pepe.com and I don’t know what they paid for it…but I do know human nature. When you sell something to someone and they immediately turn it around for a huge profit, you kick yourself. You don’t really care that you didn’t have the contacts, the ability, or even the knowledge to get that resale price. You just know it wasn’t you. In this case they left $45,000 on the table. To make matters worse, your nose gets rubbed in it as the new sale is plastered around the domain world for all to see.
They cheer the new seller for his salesmanship and business skill while you move into the shadows as the guy that did the best he could. We all dream of selling those $50,000 plus domains and you think to yourself that the guy who posted on your blog “you wouldn’t know a million dollar name if it hit you on the head” may actually be right. This is a story that uses the example of Pepe but it’s something we can all relate to. Domaining and especially the forums, is built around the “I think I can get more” philosophy. As domainers we hope to do one thing. Sell a domain for its full value. Deep inside when you sell a domain you are hoping that you have done exactly that. Each time someone flips your domain you realize you didn’t, and it hurts a little bit.
If my Mom were here (she’s not dead just not here) she would say, “you should be proud of how much YOU got for the domain, don’t worry about what other people do” and something to the effect of “don’t look back”. She used this approach after I had a 3:45 marathon (was shooting for 3:10) , my worst marathon and one where I had to walk 10 miles. She told me that very few people even come close to that time….running. It’s the same exact feeling. A selfish feeling. Why did all those other people finish the race so well. I trained hard, I did everything right and still I had this result. A domain sale is no different
There are so many different variables when it comes to final sales price. One is contacts. You have to know people that will pay big money. Francois, Rick Latona, Rick Schwartz, they get the most money for their domains because of this. Another is timing. The right time at the right place is something you can’t control.
So to the person that sold Pepe, good job. $15,000 is a very fair price for that domain and you did well. Most likely you never could have gotten the 60K price and if you passed on the $15K the first go round you might not have even gotten that in the near future from someone else. So take that money, buy another domain and I’m sure the 45K is right around the corner. (do I sound like my Mom?)
A recall a couple of sayings appropriate to the first seller at $15k:
‘You won’t go broke if you’re always making a profit’ (no matter how small).
‘Always leave something in for the next guy’.
That’s a seriously good return on an $8.00 product, show me another commodity with that sort of return. The first profit is always the sweetest, Shane is right, take that profit and do the same again.
A lot of people have entered the domain “game” with the flipping mentality in mind. That’s not how money is made. Long term holders have the benefit of engaging in relationships that lead to larger sales. Each domain acquired must deliver a substantial ROI. For example, if Francois resold his $15k acquisition for $20k the ROI would have been minimal and from several perspectives unsatisfying.