analysis Broker Offer Question - $10,000 Offer

[Maggie Mae]

If a broker contacts you with interest to buy a domain, and the initial offer is $10,000, is there any way to determine what the market value is based solely on the offer?

I know there are many variables, in this instance, the domain is: 9L .com

Still kinda vague, I realize, just curious if the $10k offer correlates to value/resell price?

Thank you for any insight you may offer.

 

[jamesau]

Are there any big companies that appear when you search your domain in Google?

 

[Maggie Mae]

Are there any big companies that appear when you search your domain in Google?

Yes, I've done quite a bit of research; there are several.

My domain is a 2 keyword domain; both words are popular. There are several companies that use each of these words.
One company in particular has purchased quite a few of the domains with one of my keywords; this company has partnered with a much larger company. I think the broker was looking for a fast flip when I was contacted (my domain is in use). It is not be a trademark infringement

 

[alcy]

zero relation what some greedy buyer and or broker offers u and actual name value which is a fictional concept anyway. all that counts is your next move. say 60k. gl.

 

[Maggie Mae]

zero relation what some greedy buyer and or broker offers u and actual name value which is a fictional concept anyway. all that counts is your next move. say 60k. gl.

Thank you; the domain is in use, so I haven't decided if I will sell. If I do, I will pitch directly to the prospective buyers.

I was just curious if there is a formula the broker may have used; i.e. pay $10k, sell for $25k, pay $10k, sell for $100k etc.

 

[capybara]

Escrow services such as Escrow.com can process domains transactions in different ways. If you don't want to be screwed by the broker, since the beginning of negotiation insist on considering only a transparent transaction. This way, if the broker throws claims like "its the top my client is willing to pay", you'll know its true since the terms of transaction will be set before it is initiated. And obviously the scenario where end user pays $100k, you get paid $10k and broker pockets the rest is out of the question. The industry standard for brokers is around 15% of the deal amount.

Edit: it still can be not true as the broker's goal may be to get as lower price as possible but in that case it would be merely a negotiation tactics.

 

[Maggie Mae]

Escrow services such as Escrow can process domains transactions in different ways. If you don't want to be screwed by the broker, since the beginning of negotiation insist on considering only a transparent transaction. This way, if the broker throws claims like "its the top my client is willing to pay", you'll know its true since the terms of transaction will be set before it is initiated. And obviously the scenario where end user pays $100k, you get paid $10k and broker pockets the rest is out of the question. The industry standard for brokers is around 15% of the deal amount.

Edit: it still can be not true as the broker's goal may be to get as lower price as possible but in that case it would be merely a negotiation tactics.

Thank you, Capybara!

 

[bmugford]

If a broker contacts you with interest to buy a domain, and the initial offer is $10,000, is there any way to determine what the market value is based solely on the offer?

I know there are many variables, in this instance, the domain is: 9L .com

Still kinda vague, I realize, just curious if the $10k offer correlates to value/resell price?

Thank you for any insight you may offer.

Impossible to answer without more information.

A domain can be worth anywhere from $0 to tens of millions.

Brad

 

[kor]

(microsoft.com) is also fits with your clues but you wouldn't sell it for $10k if you have it, right?

So, there's no way to address the datapoints without the fundamental input.

 

[draco]

It also depends on the company that wants to buy the domain. It could be a small business that only has $10k to spend. It could also be a trillion dollar corporation that wants to try to get it 'cheap'.

 

[Joe N]

Thank you; the domain is in use, so I haven't decided if I will sell. If I do, I will pitch directly to the prospective buyers.

I was just curious if there is a formula the broker may have used; i.e. pay $10k, sell for $25k, pay $10k, sell for $100k etc.

A reputable broker shouldn't be engaging in that kind of behaviour.

Like the others said, you are the very best source for determining value. Decide what price you would be content with and present it to them.

 

[karmaco]

This is a get you to reply get your attention opening offer imo. Their budget is likely much higher.

 

[Samer]

If all i know the length is 9L.com
and the opener was $10,000
i think i would have took that offer.

(understandably) missing DN but we need more info. Again, I would’ve took $10K, based on this limited info.

 

[jamesau]

Thank you; the domain is in use, so I haven't decided if I will sell. If I do, I will pitch directly to the prospective buyers.

I was just curious if there is a formula the broker may have used; i.e. pay $10k, sell for $25k, pay $10k, sell for $100k etc.

If you have a genuine $10K opening offer then the domain is likely to be worth more.

I wouldn't recommend pitching the domain to anybody else before speaking to a different broker.

 

[Bannen]

First, the '9 letters, two words' means nothing; the domain could be AutoParts.com, worth $ a lot, or it could be PorkRinds.com, worth $ very little, or anything between. So that part is irrelevant to any kind of valuation, without us knowing the name.

Second, as mentioned above, a $10K opening offer could mean anything. Could be all that the company can (or will) budget for the domain, and they came in serious with their top offer. Or it could be a drop in the bucket and the company would pay $2 million, but of course the broker wants to start off as small as possible - but with an offer large enough to show you they're serious, rather than, you know, "Hey, we'll pay you $200 for this!" However, **usually** the opening offer is not the top offer. And an opening offer of 10K can often mean they are willing to go much, much higher. Again, just no way to know, without further details.

Way too many variables and unknowns for us to give you any real answer. The thing to remember is: you don't have to give them any information! Since you are actively using the domain for your ongoing concerns/projects, you don't have to come up with a number. You can simply reply:

"I'm not interested in selling this domain, so I won't try to think up a price. Thank you for your interest."

That is a great response. It's honest. It thanks them. It opens a door for them: if they are REALLY interested in your domain, they won't let it go at that. They will keep hammering at you to get a price from you, or keep raising their offer if they can, etc. So with that simple reply, you will see just how interested they are in your domain. Then the REAL negotiation can begin.

We understand you do not want to put your domain up for valuations in the appraisal section here and have it be indexed. If you want more input, you might cloak the domain (like an image/screenshot of it) and put that in this thread, we can give you better advice. Another avenue is: there are a few old-timers I see in this thread, most of them (and me) are open to you DMing us with the name and we can give you private valuations and advice and we won't mention the domain publicly.

Whatever you decide to do... Good luck! Always nice to know there's a sizeable company out there who wants your domain and brings a strong first offer to the table. Even if you don't really want to sell... well, if the price goes way, way up, maybe you will want to sell

 

[Future Sensors]

We understand you do not want to put your domain up for valuations in the appraisal section here and have it be indexed. If you want more input, you might cloak the domain (like an image/screenshot of it) and put that in this thread, we can give you better advice.

Text in image/screenshot will be indexed almost immediately, as well. So don't do this. Google is very smart.

Thanks for your great posting @Bannen.

 

[chenzen]

"I'm not interested in selling this domain, so I won't try to think up a price. Thank you for your interest."

If somebody gave me a reply like that and I see that the domain is in use, I would never make another offer.
It gives no indication of you willing to sell it at any price point.

 

[Maggie Mae]

(microsoft com) is also fits with your clues but you wouldn't sell it for $10k if you have it, right?

So, there's no way to address the datapoints without the fundamental input.

Good analogy. The company I believe the broker was either representing, or selling to, has a primary name they are using. But they own a lot of similar, but unrelated domains, that forward to their main site. Like, in the example you give: microsystems, trymicro, micronetwork, etc.

So the purpose is possibly future use or brand protection.

But this is just one company that could have interest. The broker buy interest has me curious and I've made a list of brands that may have interest.

Has anyone ever hosted an auction and invited prospective buyers to bid?

 

[Maggie Mae]

A reputable broker shouldn't be engaging in that kind of behaviour.

Like the others said, you are the very best source for determining value. Decide what price you would be content with and present it to them.

Really? I didn't see anything wrong with the broker extending an offer.

 

[Maggie Mae]

First, the '9 letters, two words' means nothing; the domain could be AutoParts.com, worth $ a lot, or it could be PorkRinds.com, worth $ very little, or anything between. So that part is irrelevant to any kind of valuation, without us knowing the name.

Second, as mentioned above, a $10K opening offer could mean anything. Could be all that the company can (or will) budget for the domain, and they came in serious with their top offer. Or it could be a drop in the bucket and the company would pay $2 million, but of course the broker wants to start off as small as possible - but with an offer large enough to show you they're serious, rather than, you know, "Hey, we'll pay you $200 for this!" However, **usually** the opening offer is not the top offer. And an opening offer of 10K can often mean they are willing to go much, much higher. Again, just no way to know, without further details.

Way too many variables and unknowns for us to give you any real answer. The thing to remember is: you don't have to give them any information! Since you are actively using the domain for your ongoing concerns/projects, you don't have to come up with a number. You can simply reply:

"I'm not interested in selling this domain, so I won't try to think up a price. Thank you for your interest."

That is a great response. It's honest. It thanks them. It opens a door for them: if they are REALLY interested in your domain, they won't let it go at that. They will keep hammering at you to get a price from you, or keep raising their offer if they can, etc. So with that simple reply, you will see just how interested they are in your domain. Then the REAL negotiation can begin.

We understand you do not want to put your domain up for valuations in the appraisal section here and have it be indexed. If you want more input, you might cloak the domain (like an image/screenshot of it) and put that in this thread, we can give you better advice. Another avenue is: there are a few old-timers I see in this thread, most of them (and me) are open to you DMing us with the name and we can give you private valuations and advice and we won't mention the domain publicly.

Whatever you decide to do... Good luck! Always nice to know there's a sizeable company out there who wants your domain and brings a strong first offer to the table. Even if you don't really want to sell... well, if the price goes way, way up, maybe you will want to sell

Thank you for the time you took to share all of that info! I was mostly curious is there is a formula.

I understand it's a good first offer, and could go higher. If I identified the company properly, they purchased several similar and just forward to the primary

 

[Joe N]

Really? I didn't see anything wrong with the broker extending an offer.

It's only wrong if (as you said) they misrepresent themselves as buying the name on behalf of their client for the stated offer, and then turn around and sell it to that "client" for a profit. That isn't a broker... That's a domain flipper (and possibly even front-running).

 

[Samer]

Text in image/screenshot will be indexed almost immediately, as well. So don't do this. Google is very smart.

Thanks for your great posting @Bannen.

Wow, i did not know this.
Does DNMask.com work effectively?
It replaces the letters with Unicode; looks ingenious.

 

[Maggie Mae]

It's only wrong if (as you said) they misrepresent themselves as buying the name on behalf of their client for the stated offer, and then turn around and sell it to that "client" for a profit. That isn't a broker... That's a domain flipper (and possibly even front-running).

Thank you for explaining!

 

[Mindtellect]

Impossible for me to answer without knowing the domain name.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I was just curious if there is a formula the broker may have used; i.e. pay $10k, sell for $25k, pay $10k, sell for $100k etc.

If it is a genuine broker, I would presume that they are working with a prospective buyer. I don't think they would think in formula terms like you mention, as a true broker is not buying to resell, but rather they are representing either a prospective buyer or a prospective seller.

If acting as a buyer broker, they have probably discussed with the potential client both their budget and comparable name sales to give an estimate of the value. It is likely the first offer leaves some room for negotiation, as others have noted above. But it is probably within the ballpark of what they honestly believe the name is worth.

While not every broker in world is mentioned, Elliot Silver, @EJS, has a list of domain brokers here.

You would have the option, if it is a valuable name with many potential buyers, of contacting a seller broker who would suggest a price range to you. If you do that, however, be upfront that you have already been approached by a buyer broker, and their offer. Sometimes two brokers work together to complete a deal. Of course each broker would need to be compensated, so having more than one may make the deal less likely to close.

Since it is a domain name already in use, I think the ultimate question is how much is the name worth to you, do you want to consider selling it, and is the return enough to cover the hassle it would be for you to abandon the name.

I presume you have already queried NameBio to and GD Appraisal to find similar domain names in the past, and queried the main brandable marketplaces to check out pricing on similar names listed for sale.

Best wishes however it turns out.

Best wishes.