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Ask HN: Good initial offer for 4-letter .com nonsense domain?

5 points by yaliceme ↗ HN
There was a thread on HN recently about strategies for buying a domain name. Here's an excerpt from the first comment of a blog post on a subject( http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/04/finding-and-buying-a-domain-name.html#comment-193649096):

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Here's how you get their attention and get the ball rolling...

Rule #1: You must start out by making an offer in your initial email.

Rule #2: This offer must be high enough to get their attention and make them at least THINK.

NOTE: Rule #2's amount will depend on how great the domain is.

The two magic price points I have found that work the best (they depend on how valuable the domain is) is either $1,000 or $2,500.

If it's a great domain then $5K-$10K is usually the starting point. These amounts are enough to get anyone's attention. I've bought many $100K+ value domains for $15K-$20K by starting with a $5K or $7K offer.

By starting with at least something that gets their attention they will take you seriously. This is the first step or you have no chance to make a deal.

In most cases for decent 2 words domains, the $1K to $2.5K opener works best.

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^ This is by someone who had a lot of experience buying and selling domain names, talking about the initial e-mail you send to the domain holder. I have a domain name in mind that I'd like to buy; it's a four-letter nonsense word, but easy to pronounce and spell (2 soft consonants, 2 vowels, not nec in that order). My question: is this a "great domain" for which $5k - $10k should be the starting point, or is it more akin to one of those "decent 2 word domains" for which you could start with $1k to $2.5k?

4 comments

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relaunched
I think you are taking the post too literally. In my experience, make an offer. You could get a response in a day or a week, or even longer. But, make an offer. You can always raise it later, even if they don't respond to the first.

I've used some of the domain negotiating services, though only for private domains. You can always make a direct offer to the private registration companies, if you don't want to go the negotiator route.

In my experience, you just have to start the process w/ a serious offer. You have a pretty good starting point w/ Brad Feld's blog, so a 1-2k offer is as good a place as any to start.

On the flip side, start with the highest number that if someone offered to sell you the domain at that price, you'd buy it as a no brainer. Best of luck.

yaliceme
Thanks for the advice. I may be taking the post too literally, it's true. What I'm really interested in is the conventional wisdom surrounding the desirability of various domain characteristics, so I have an idea of expectations before going in. (e.g. is a CVCV.com nonsense word considered more valuable than a .com with two dictionary words, and by how much?)

Really, though, circumstances will dictate what I offer and when. I'm in no position right now to offer 5k-10k for a domain, so if the $1k offer gets me nowhere, for now I will just use my backup domain of [dictionary verb]CVCV.com, which is available.

anujkk
I think $1,000 initial offer is good if the domain is good enough and is not being used by the owner. If the seller is serious about selling the domain he will take your offer seriously and may quote his price if he feels he should get more. You can always offer more later.

I own a six-letter .com domain - guzloo.com. It is easy to pronounce, spell and remember and will suit for fun or gaming sites. If someone comes up with a $1000 initial offer I would think about selling it because I don't intend to use it in any of my projects in foreseeable future.