As domainers, we get those all the time: emails about buying a domain for an insignificant amount of money. That’s called lowballing and there’s already a certificate for it. The fun begins with the reason that comes with a lowball offer. Some claim that it’s for their child and they want a personal domain. Others state they are students themselves and thus on a shoe-string budget. Whatever, dudes. The disclaimer “it’s not for business use” is the red light that should set off your alarms about the exact opposite: a business pretending to be Joe Blow in order to “steal” a domain for less than a happy meal. Today’s lame attempt to lowball a domain comes from a person with a phone number in Washington DC. After leaving a message, he proceeded with placing a $60 offer at Sedo. What was the message? According to our guy, he owns the car tag that contains the domain (sans the .com) for over 20 years and wants to use it for his email and to upload some pictures. That’s right. At an era when people try to avoid being tracked on a busy interstate where road rage often occurs, our guy not only uses a descriptive car tag but wants to create a website for it. The real fun part: after locating him from his phone number it turns out that our guy owns a business with 300+ domains in its portfolio and more than 20 under his personal email. Moral of the story: don’t be a lowball douche because domainers are smart.
“…he proceeded with placing a $60 offer at Sedo.”
And if your domain isn’t parked at Sedo with a Fixed Price, the offer to you is really $10
after Sedo’s $50 minimum commission.
lowballing has been around since the beginning of time. Its bullshit but it exists. The best you can do is not reply. Everyone has a BS sad story. Anytime I sell things on ebay – I get the same thing. Its for my kid, im poor, im too stupid to come up with a better excuse so let me get it for pennies, etc etc
Tric – I’m against fixed pricing but you are correct. Somehow, making a call AND placing an anonymous lowball offer, all while avoiding email seems to be a cunning plot to pay peanuts.
Chris – Sad stories say so much LOL
That why people BS…it is human nature- that BS gene is what we are today.
The more BS cells you have, the more successful you are.
Just curious…for the names that deserve it, why not just set $500 or higher as the minimum? That’s stops those $60 bids dead in its tracks.
Since setting my entire portfolio with higher minimums, the bids are way fewer, but it’s like Christmas morning when an offer email pops up from Sedo/Afternic because I know the buyer is somewhat serious. Especially if it’s for a domain I set a fixed price on (…meaning I was absolutely comfortable with the price and it’s a done deal, no second guessing).
For what it’s worth.
I have no clue what the domain is, but I’ll offer $70 🙂
BullS – Domainer DNA must really be faulted then 😀
SL – Good point. An open-ended range (no min, no max) invites a more relaxed negotiation, as long as the person who places the offer is willing to negotiate, versus lowball.
Jeff – Too late, the guy already offered $75 with a “please justify your asking price” message 😀
I get those types of emails all the time too – well not all the time, but often enough. I woke up about 5 years ago when I sold a domain for $200 and free makeup samples – it’s now a HUGE HUGE newsletter and blog for a popular lady’s magazine. Finding an end user is still the best way to make big money (as I’m sure you all know). I wish I could find an end user for my 2003 thunderbird I’m trying to sell lol ..
Out of curiosity, not mentioning the domain itself, what would you consider a “decent” offer for the same? I think most of us have been on both sides of a low-ball offer…
Tom – The person who made the offer turned down my quote of $2,500 – a price that weighs in the age, marketability and number of Google results for the keyword.
Nancy – We can’t predict what one does with the domain after we sell it, but we might as well not sell it cheaply if our research and gut feeling says otherwise 😉
Let me do you a favor, and take this domain that is causing all this trouble off your hands for $79.99
You will thank me later,