SkyDomains

No matter how  you look at it, in the end we are all salesmen. We sell domains, that is what we do or hope to do. One of the big  segment of our business worth mastering is the art of pricing our domains. Especially here in the US, consumers are not used to negotiating for items without an asking price. “Make an offer” sound like I do not really want to sell but if you blow me away, I just might. That is not encouraging to the potential buyer. Who ever posted “make an offer” on a home they want to sell.

As time wears on, I have started paying attention to this area of our business. We Americans generally do not negotiate or when we do we negotiate poorly. When serving  with the US Air Force in the middle east as  a contractor for Northrop Grumman, I noticed that the Gold shops that had the most business from Americans where those that had their prices clearly displayed. Americans find that comfortable. However in the middle east, Africa and most parts of the world, the norm is to negotiate prices up or down.

One of the few newsletters I subscribe to is Rick Latona’s. This guy amazes me with his prices. He seams to have reached a near mastery of this phenomenon. Rick seams to have a clear idea of what his domains are worth to a wholesaler and has no qualms asking for it. When you get Rick`s daily newsletter, It sometimes convicts you because here you are thinking you won`t take 10K for MyLongName.com but he is selling MyName.com or LongName.com for $5K (These are just metaphoric examples)

I think most domainers are afraid of selling short. That is if they put a $5K asking price on a name, someone who might have  paid $50K for the name may just snap it up. So they have just lost 45K they never owned to start with. On the other field of the spectrum is the notion that If you ask for $5K someone with $3K will not approach you and you might have even been willing to sell for $2k. On the middle ground are those who have a low minimum offer and when you respond, they now give you a response with the magic of zero’s to the right of a number.

I am also guilty on all three counts above, but that is one of the things I am working to change. I plan to have a realistic posted price for 80%  of my domains as soon as possible.

In conclusion, our society demands openness in pricing. “make an offer” might just not be mainstream and may be hurting our business.  If you do not currently subscribe to Rick’s newsletter, I recommend you do. His prices will often amaze you and sometimes shock you. (Note that at the time of making this post, I do not know the guy nor have I ever met him. However I do admire his no nonsense approach to handling his portfolio)