Saturday Update: Kentucky Derby Special

Today is the Kentucky Derby, the annual horse race watched by millions. I am going to be attending my first Kentucky Derby party in a few hours, with none other than David Castello and apparently a few other geodomainers. I’m not a horse racing fan, so I may have to stop off at the OTB (off track betting) place down the street and put some money on a horse.

Anyhow, here are a few updates:

  • Uncle Mo, the favorite to win the Kentucky Derby, is not running today due to an injury. Want to learn more about Uncle Mo or buy some Uncle Mo gear? He has a website – UncleMo.com.
  • Here’s one tip to help with your SEO. Try to get one back link to your website a day, and try to add one new article every day or two. If writing is tough for you, use a site like Textbroker. Backlinks may not be easy to get, but it’s easier if you have compelling content on your site, and fresh articles can help with that.
  • Great post by Shane Cultra today about turning $69 into $80,000. Check it out when you have a few minutes.
  • I don’t know about you, but every time I think about the Monte / Oversee situation, it really upsets me. I use to think that any time I had any issue at Moniker, I could send Monte an instant message, email, or make a call, and the issue would be resolved. Bari is great, but things aren’t the same.
  • You know what I find strange? When someone offers $1,500 for a 3 letter .com domain name via Sedo. Does someone really think a person would list their name at Sedo and not have a clue about domain valuations. Sure, the rare cheap 3 letter .com sale happens, but it’s usually made when a buyer approaches an uninformed seller and gets a great deal, but it doesn’t happen on a domain aftermarket platform. Those types of offers are just irritating and get canceled immediately. No point in negotiating with a lowballer.
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

7 COMMENTS

  1. Great post by Shane indeed! Yes, I agree with you about the Monte/Oversee dispute: they all looked like they were part of a family that worked together, but unfortunately things change!

    Have a great time with David at the Kentucky Derby party 😉

  2. Protip: Sedo does have a minimum offer setting.

    What’s even more obnoxious than lowballers are sellers who don’t use that option on their better domains, yet kvetch when a prospective buyer naturally and expectedly puts in a minimum threshold offer.

    What is the buyers incentive to make a “higher” offer when a minimum price wasn’t set? Because they hate money and want to pay more?

  3. “You know what I find strange? When someone offers $1,500 for a 3 letter .com domain name via Sedo. Does someone really think a person would list their name at Sedo and not have a clue about domain valuations”

    Here’s another perspective. First I’ve sold many 3 letter .com’s that started off at about that range and went mid high 5 figure. (Not on Sedo but directly contacted.) And the ones that started off low five sometimes ended up high five and 6 figure (see below)

    Second, don’t assume the buyer knows this business. Yes normally “if you have to ask the price you can’t afford it” and people are normally clued in but there are many reasons why someone might think that it is acceptable to offer a low amount to start or might be a strategy (which didn’t work with you agreed).

    Just one might be the contrast principle and similar.

    http://changingminds.org/principles/contrast.htm

    Some names that I’ve sold for the highest amounts were because people had started off with a high amount. If they had started off with a low amount I wouldn’t have necessarily followed the same strategy and might have sold lower. High opening offer you smell blood in the water and can get greedy.

    Yes, you can piss people off by going in at $1500. But the great thing about an auction site is that someone can try the strategy they did and if it doesn’t work they can they try a different strategy as a different person. This would be like having your friend make a lowball offer for real estate. If it works, fine. If not you then go in and be more reasonable.

    Lastly, on an auction site you don’t know who is making the offer. So I would err on the side of not getting upset and just play along.
    This is not the same as some rinky dink small business writing and trying to buy a name and you know you are wasting your time.

    Keep in mind that buyers (of anything) are not always married to ideas they have and a Rick Schwartz strategy won’t work with everyone. Every situation is different.

    Personally my pet peeve is the “I see your not using the name give it to me” type.

  4. Hello Larry,

    The second point you made is all so true. Most buyers have no idea what world they stepped into.

    IMO a pro domainer will help out the buyer to make the transactions goes as smooth as possible.

    With gTLD’s it as rather easy. though now and then they keep suprising you.

    When it comes to ccTLD’s i usually do the whole thing myself even though i am not supposed to under Registry regulations.

    .ES is not a bad market at all but transfering ownership is a hassle for most buyers. When i stepped into that market i noticed that the domains changed to another registrar but i was still the owner after 6 months after the sale…The buyer never understood how to setup an owner change. I charge 100 USD if i have to make it happen.

    Your a proffesional domainer or not.

    Cheers !

  5. Elliot, I hope you enjoyed your first Derby. Don’t forget the Belmont’s just around the corner!

    It’s not unusual to see an unknown cruise into the winner’s circle at Churchill Downs, as Animal Kingdom did on Saturday. I would be interested to see another win at the Preakness next week. A long shot Triple Crown contender?

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