Here is another look back at a post from Mike a decade ago. This was published in November of 2009. The post generated a lot of traffic and 65 comments.
1st Rule Of Dealing With Domain Offers Is: People Lie
We generally receive 10-15 offers a day, everyday so several thousand a year, and here is the 1st general rule of thumb.
Buyer’s lie.
Yes people on the Internet often lie.
Yes the emails you get from that beautiful model from Russian that wants to marry you and have sex with you 5 times a day, is probably from a hairy guy in Detroit.
The law firm wanting to sending you a $5 million dollar inheritance; its not coming.
and the offer from the college student that has no money but wants your domain for $1,500, is probably lying.
Here’s an email I just got this past week:
“Hi there,
How much is the domain TheProfessors.com? My daughter and her friends dressed up as professors for Halloween, and I wanted to put their photos up online.””
Yeah right
Sure
So I wrote back:
“Sorry this is a serious asset and is not going to be priced for the purpose you’re suggesting”
“You can go with another extension like a .me or .tv or other extension for such a use”
His response:
“You shouldn’t make an assumption that I don’t have the money for it. How much do you perceive your domain to be worth?
My response:
“I’m not making an assumption you don’t have the money for it, I’m making the assumption that a domain you’re buying for the expressed purpose of:
“My daughter and her friends dressed up as professors for Halloween, and I wanted to put their photos up online.”
“Is not going to be viable to pay fair market value of this type of domain”
His final response:
“So once again, you have refused to answer the question. Congrats on losing potential business”
Ok so what does this show you?
Buyer’s lie.
Usually I wouldn’t even engage with this type of buyer but I was in a playful mood that day.
Typically I disregard anything in the email, any story, any plan for the domain, any information about the buyer that he is providing.
Instead I just quote a price.
At the end of the day the domain is worth what’s its worth, the price is not dependent on the buyer’s pocketbook.
The statements or representation made buyer that buyer it maybe true or not but your price should certainly not be lowered based on them.
However the domain maybe worth MORE to certain buyers not because they have more money but because they have more need for the domain.
So if the buyer properly identifies themselves and from that information you can determine the buyer has a particular need for that domain, then its fair to say the domain is worth more to them.
That’s good information to have.
