Domain Acquisition Tip

Here’s a tip for you when you’re in the process of buying domain names, no matter if you’re buying to re-sell, park, or develop. Don’t use an email address that alludes to the fact that you’re a domain name buyer.

This might seem like a rather obvious tip, but I use one, and it’s backfired on me more than once. In fact, this is a reply to a domain inquiry I received just a couple of days ago: “What would you use it for? I see you handle domains by your email address.”

So why do I continue to use it? I believe a domain name is valued based on what someone will pay and the price at which someone is willing to sell it. Simple enough equation.

If Donald Trump wants to buy my apartment, I might increase the price I would consider fair knowing the buyer, but if he wouldn’t budge, it’s my call whether to sell it or not. If the price is reasonable and I can do something better with that money (like buy a better home), I would probably sell it rather than hang on to it and hope for more.

I believe my offers are generally reasonable, and revealing my hand just a bit shows that I am  knowledgeable  about  domain  names and their values.

I also figure that when I make an offer, anyone can search for my name on Google, and they’ll find this blog right at the top. It will be fairly easy to find out I buy and monetize domain names for a living.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

32 COMMENTS

  1. I could see both sides of the argument…

    If you allude that you are a domain buyer, you can possibly better argue a lower offer “This is my business and I’ve got to make a profit… cash now or you can keep waiting around”.

    On the other hand, I’ve been found out to be a domainer and the seller was not comfortable with my offer (despite it being reasonable). They began contacting the aftermarket services and getting appraisals and dragging things out.

  2. Its good and bad. If he knows u r a domainer then u can say, hey dude, this is my profession, I know what this thing is worth and I’m not giving you a penny more than it’s worth. Ever hear the phrase that you don’t tell your doctor how to do their job? So don’t tell a domainer how much a domain is worth.

    On the other hand, if it’s just some non domainer guy who doesn’t know what they are sitting on than they may realize, hey I had no idea this thing I had was worth $10k and now a professional is telling me he’d pay that for it and he obviously expects to profit from it somehow. Maybe I just won’t sell at all and try to better realize the value for my own profits or sell it for a price that is high enough that I’d prefer selling it than attempting to pull the value out of it myself.

    It’s a case by case basis and the approach should be evaluated each time before making an offer. It I’m making an offer to another domainer then I always disclose that I am one too so there is no bs (hopefully)

  3. HEY! Ga Man,

    What do you know about buying and selling …

    I see you have been hiding SHAMED (alias) out from being
    The Big Cheese after Months of being a fool for .Co

    Now that Juan HIMSELF has dissed .Co in the present tense,
    all you can do it seems is hang about and Spam and pretend
    that your a Domainer with that child like domain Porifolio
    YOUR DOMAINS Are A JOKE! Dog shit Worthless ….

    (But that didn’t stop you from insulting Jamie (at his blog over there saying that the Domains were crap and worth only $2500 total (from someone who has never sold a domain) and he shouldn’t quick his day job)

    And here you are giving advice after only being on a Domain blog
    for 3 months and a Village IDIOTS portfolio .

    When i am in Nebraska i will be sure to look you up!

  4. Dude was nuts!

    Was he a drunk or really crazy , maybe both

    delusions of granduer was def involved ….

    I am still laughing at his Portofolio Domain Choice’s

    they did show evidence of being challenged for sure!

    He was spaming everyone that had a path trying to

    redirect to this B/Scope site …

    BUT that seemed beyond him?

  5. @ Elliot

    I thnk it was also re-seller comm angles for Juan’s extension
    that were involved also, if it picks up again THE THING will be
    back. LOL

  6. i’d probably sell this domain for $xx just to get rid of it… oh cool an interested buyer… but wait. it’s Elliot. the hell with it i’m asking for $x,xxx!! :))

  7. When I inquire about my names I use my real information, which can easily be tracked to see I deal in domains.

    I would much rather deal with straight shooters myself than people who try to hide their identity.

    Brad

  8. Maybe, but in the aftermarket it may be better if the seller knows you are a domainer if he is one too. He might think that we all just swap pigeon shit for liquidity. He might think his domain is crap even if you know better. He might be sick of paying reg fees every year. If he thinks you are an end user he might be hoping for a big payday and price accordingly.

    TL/DR It could work both ways 🙂

  9. The content of the mail is more important than the address as long as it gets through and is read.

    My last deal I did through a crappy gmail account that didn’t have my real name attached. I felt bad because I always think you should use your real name and contact out of courtesy. I cleared it up and we did do the deal but it was an awkward moment when I said – err , by the way that’s not me.

    If you approach someone to buy a domain its obvious you’re a domain buyer.

  10. When you get an inquiry from a random person that you can’t google and that you can’t learn a little bit about , I’d imagine your just as leery to name a price or do a deal with that person. You think “hmmm this might just be Elliot Silver or Donald Trump” so the result is the same. If you send me an inquiry bluffing me and create another persona and I perceive that persona as a nobody or time-waster than your going to get the boot too.

  11. Us domainers can still smell you out a mile away. Other domains what domains for pennies – its clear as day and I will never sell to another domainer for that reason. End users only.

  12. @ Mike

    There are plenty of domain owners that would rather take $25,000 from me today instead of waiting forever to maybe get $50,000 from an end user buyer.

    How many end user sales have you made?

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