Domain Sale - Torn On Offer

I received an offer (low 4 digits) on a domain I own and I'm really torn on accepting it or not.

I had plans for the sites which share far more potential than the 4 digits I was offered. But at the same time, I have other sites/domains/plans that I could focus on. I could make a quick buck and take the very low 4 digits and run. Would be a nice profit.

So why am I so reluctant to accept.

I've never even asked for a 4 digit price on a domain before and I'm not one that walks around thinking every domain is worth 5 figures or even $500 for that matter. I'm flattered to have a low 4 digit offer on a domain.

But do I sell.

I know the potential is many times that but I also know the risks and odds are that I'll never get there...

*sigh* if only this were easier

 

If you're more or less happy with the offer, sell the domain. Hoarding is an innate human nature, which rarely pays off (perhaps only for natural resources…) Bottom line, if you have not developed the domain so far, chances are you will never do, and will end up with a cold turkey. Just an observation. Good luck.

 

Edu,

Your observations are much appreciated.

To expound a bit, I have been very successful in the past with developing online sites. I made a living on it for several years and the only reason that came to an end was a bitter divorce that destroyed the business completely.

I have always held many more domains and ideas that I could or would ever want to develop. And periodically, I refocus efforts. I started about 2 weeks ago doing a refocus. I was trying to select 1 or 2 domains/sites MAX to develop and want to dump the rest of my domain portfolio (nothing impressive, but a few good names here and there, an idea attached to each).

The domain I got a serious offer on is 1 of the 1 or 2 that I selected to focus efforts on. The domain is 6 letters and relatively brandable. Undeveloped, I doubt its worth anywhere near what I've been offered for it. But if I were to develop it, I have very little doubt (not mere speculation, remember, I'm a veteran at this) that it would be worth many times that to me (again, the domain is not worth much by itself).

The business man in me says take the offer. Paid $20. Get $1200 four months later. Very nice turn around. I have plenty of other ideas to develop.

So why am I so reluctant? Human nature, I am sure to some degree at least. But the domain is an offshoot to OutBlogger.com. I bet "OutBlogger.com's" future on a software package that I am not happy with at all. Alternate packages exist and/or I can develop better from ground up. It's not a new project, but a second incarnation and better attempt at an existing project.

*Sigh*... decisions decisions... Thanks for putting up with my rant... I welcome any input, feedback, etc. Good, bad, ugly, down right brutal, all welcomed...

 

What's the domain? Domainers will usually come out with a very lowball offer on something they want. Could be that is what you're facing, a lowballer, can't really say without knowing the details.

On the other hand, if it's a sound offer, ask yourself what could you accomplish with the cash? If what you can accomplish with the cash is substantially more than what you could accomplsh with the domain and no cash, that should help you make your decision.

 

Anthony, it looks like you've already made up your mind, and want to keep the domain. In my opinion, though, the whole "brandable" vs. "non-brandable" discussion is 90% nonsense, created to make appraisal process look more scientific than it actually is.

I come from the "traditional" business world, where brands are not created overnight. It takes time, effort, and many $$ to build something that people will remember. Many great companies have nondescript names: General Electric, Microsoft, American Airlines, Wal-Mart, Berkshire Hathaway, and so on.

In the online world, the situation is not much different. At one point, we did a study looking at the Alexa 500 websites, and to our surprise only a relatively small % had "high value" domain names. Here is just a few names that would not get more than $1K on the open market: Craigslist, YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia, and even MySpace (really, who wants a domain consisting of 2 words? anyone?).

Then look at the quintessential example (at least for 2005): milliondollarhomepage. The domain would not even get a registration fee on DP / DNF. Yet Mr. Tew made $1M, the website has PR 7, and is still ranked Alexa 8,000.

There is a tendency to focus too much on marketing, and not enough on content, which is what matters at the end of the day. Careerbuilder.com - horrible name; successful business. Career.com - excellent name, no business.

In sum, the domain name matters only so much. Unless you're 100% confident that by developing the domain you can significantly increase its value (i.e. $100K vs. $2K) and find the right buyer, sell it, and focus your energy on the other domain.

Best.

 

I have to agree...sell the domain. Then again, I'm lazy and would take less money for nothing over a lot of money for hard work.

However, you also said you have other domains you wanted to develop...so you can get a nice return on those AND sell this domain for $1,200!

 

Thanks for the thoughts...

 

I decided to pass on the offer. I had already started development work and the offer wasn't quite where I needed it to be on that particular domain (not far but not quite there).

 

I could see it coming. From the beginning, it looked like you had already made up your mind. Although I was a proponent of selling the domain, you will certainly make more $$ by developing it.

P.S. Now that it's off the table, can you tell us the name (ah, the human curiosity...)? Cheers.

 

The domain is jamblog.com and it may eventually become a blog article search engine and multi-user free blog host.