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Ask HN: Buying a Premium Domain

3 points by dimmke ↗ HN
I am curious to hear from people who have experience in buying a premium domain name or have worked in that industry.

Are there any good tips or ways to go about it? Just submitting your information to the contact form feels a bit like the rube's way of doing it.

The fact that the price often isn't listed makes me leery as well.

8 comments

[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 31.5 ms ] thread
metadat
What is your definition of a "premium domain"?

Do you mean something like a new .ai, or buying an already registered / squatted domain?

dimmke
Already registered/squatted
pacerier
(I think he meant) what budget?

Without a gauge I can't see anyone giving proper advice as techniques change with budget.

dimmke
That's the problem, is that I have no idea how much they're going to try to charge me. I might be willing to pay $1000 for a domain I really want but definitely not $20,000.

All it says is "Contact us" - but I feel like they use that to try to sniff out how much they think they can get for it. Idk. I'm wondering if there's a way to "know" what the rough range is before contacting a seller if that makes sense.

LinuxBender
I stay clear of squatters and move on. There is always a better name out there even if it may be hard to find.

Exception would be squatters sitting on something that is trademarked and is clearly a violation of said trademark. Unleash the lawyers.

bjourne
99.9% of the time it is not worth the bother. Squatters who sit on "premium" (very subjective term) are ime never willing to sell them for a reasonable price. If you make them a generous offer they reply that should add at least two zeros to the sum. Since renewing domains is so cheap they sit on them for years hoping to catch a dummy that will pay them what they think the domain is worth.
dimmke
This is my sense too. But I like the domain enough to at least try and see.
flippy_flops
If it’s listed on a marketplace, find their direct contact info and they’ll likely take a lower number since there are no fees.

If you’re emailing them, word your message to make it clear you’re not a bot. Persistence over time is often necessary.

One domain we actually wrote letters. The company didn’t even know they owned the domain. (They got it through an acquisition)

If their number is insanely high, see if they’ll consider a trade. That’s worked several times because they overvalue both domains.

Use some type of escrow service. We normally split the fees.