“I was wondering if you were interested in selling your domain. I see that you are not doing anything with it and I had a project that I wanted to use the name for. I don’t have a lot of money, I’m just a student, so if you have it at a reasonable price I’d be interested”
You’ve probably received this same email dozens of time. My guess is that 10% of the people on the other end are telling the truth. The rest are just trying to get a better price. I figure if they are going to lie, I’m going to lie right back. I don’t have to lie and have no reason to but its much more fun. Its my domain and I can name whatever price I want but I figure I might as well have a little fun at the expense of the buyer. Here are a few of my responses to some emails
“I see you’re not doing anything with this domain”
Response: Actually this is my business email. No I don’t have a website on the domain but that’s not what I use it for. I do most of my business through the email that uses this domain and would have to have a solid offer to even consider the transition to a new email
“Before I buy the dot net I wanted to check the price of your domain”
Response: Thank you in advance for reminding me that I forgot to register the dot net OR Thank you in advance for the free traffic you will be giving my dot com. It is a proven fact that there will be “leakage” from your dot net to the dot com. I get plenty of type ins as it is but always appreciate more free traffic.
“I don’t have deep pockets”
Response: That’s OK because the money you’ll need to buy this domain wouldn’t fit in your pockets anyway. This is more of a bank account type name
“If you would kindly send me your best price”
Response: I’d have to go with Katie Price. I really don’t know a lot of Prices but she’s a pretty nice looking girl so I’d have to go with her as my favorite Price. I did like Joe Price when he pitched for the Reds so he would be my second best pick.
“‘I’m would like to buy this domain for my girlfriend to start a blog”
It’s amazing how many boyfriends are buying domains for their girlfriend. I’ve had two alone in the last year.
Response: “You’re a nicer boyfriend than I am spending all that money on your girlfriend. It’s also ironic that the domain is owned by my wife who wants to sell it to buy herself a new car because I won’t buy her one”
I’ve actually given these responses to some of my clients. I DO realize that selling domains is serious business but I figure I might as have a little fun while doing it if I feel that the buyers aren’t serious either. If they are…well… they’ll get past my antics if they want to buy them.
This just in… Shane has appalling taste in women.
😉
Haha that’s funny. I do see lots of these. One thing that made me laugh is I actually reached out to a domainer to buy a domain for my wife to start a blog on.
I doubt they believed it but who knows. Never got a response..hah
i have gotten several this year saying they want the domain to “start a blog for my kid.”
I want to buy the domain to show off my dog “Fluffy”.
I actually got one of those.
Negotiating is one of the fun parts of this business, for many reasons as you point out!
LOL great stuff..You get all the boyfriends wanting to buy a domain for their girlfriends, I get all the “college students” Last time I got a college student I told them to study hard as they would need to get a good job to pay for the domain they were after.
Very creative responses. I try and keep most of ours on the serious side as you never know if someone will comeback with a better offer, but I am always tempted to throw their bs back in their face.
Thanks for sharing these
I had one of the student ones surface a few years later for the same domain. When I pointed out his previous email saying he was a poor student and what had changed he assured me he was now an “alumni”. Still didn’t offer any money though 🙁
I just point out that regardless of their motivation my staff still have to eat.
To the student BS. . . just reply back “This guy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zuckerberg was a poor college student at one point and just think if I’d sold him that domain for cheap.” . .. .sorry I’m not going out like that.
As I acquire more and more names that get more and more interest, I am really starting to appreciate the wisdom of the Rick Schwartz “fuck off” method.
I do own some domains I’d gladly sell for $1000, $2000, $3000 but I just don’t have time to engage in running debates with idiots about why the one-word .com registered in 1996 that gets three inquires a month is really only worth $500 and I’m insane to not sell it for that.
A recent paraphrased exchange with a ‘domainer’ who inquired about one of my few .net names (one who apparently reads and has posted on this very blog per what I googled about him)
Him: Blah blah blah, domain name
Me: I’ll hear offers
Him: Please let me know your best price so I know if I can afford it or not
Me: I’ll save you the time. You can’t afford it.
Him: YOU JERK! YOU RUDE JERK!!! YOU COWARD! blah blah yadda yadda blah…
It gets old…
I get a lot of these and the first thing I do is google the name of the person..often = no hits because it’s totally made up or a very generic one like Mike Jones. I have noticed that many of these time wasters tend to be non-U.S. folk with a poor grasp of economics.