So about six months ago a reader emailed me about a domain he owned that received an unsolicited offer. He told me he could not give me the exact domain but that it was a brandable two word .com. He wanted to know how much he should counter ?
I did not know the guy so I just emailed that it was hard to give an opinion not knowing the domain name. Plus the term brandable has many different meanings to many people. He then emailed me later that he countered the offer and has been waiting for one month to get a reply.
He emailed me over the weekend to tell me he made the sale, but it is how he made the sale that interested me. Shortly after his second email he got a reply and the company told him another name they were considering. This was an obvious ploy to remind the seller to not ask for the moon because they had another fish on the hook.
So he went to Whoisology and found out what other names the competition owned. He then replied to the company that the owner of their other choice owned several perverse and pornographic domain names, he asked did they want to do business with such an individual ?
The company asked him if he could prove the statements he made and he sent them the link to Whoisology.
They completed the sale with him three days later at a price that was in the middle of both parties bid/ask price. As I did not know the domain name I cannot verify that to be true just as an fyi.
I did receive permission to tell the story as he is quite proud of this negotiation, the only request was to not use his name or email address. As I only have emails that have a first name this was no problem. I did say to him that I thought it was a bit of a dirty move. He replied “all’s fair in love and domaining”
I can say this is the first time I have heard a story about using another domain owner’s portfolio against them. Maybe it is all the nasty dealings during this primary political season rubbing off, at least he didn’t say the other domainer’s Dad knew Lee Harvey Oswald.
Ex Lax says
Slick move.
Frank says
That’s dirty pool, hard to believe that was the determining factor at the corporate level.
todd says
If corporate america gave a crap then Berkens and Schwartz would never make any sales. How many dick and pussy names do they own? Lots!
Joseph Peterson says
Who cares what else is owned by the ex-owner of a domain you bought and now control?
Suppose the company bought office furniture from somebody who was later spotted exiting the local strip club. Would they be horrified? Would their own company implode?
Strange argument. If the buyer fell for it, more fool them!
AlphaMale says
@ExLax ‘slick move’ …… and you wonder why the world is in a mess…. its because of people thinking like you and the jerk who sold the domain.
Donald says
Fair move I say.
@”AlphaMale”(?!)
Some choose not to invest in anything related to porn, gambling, alcohol, coal, uranium, etc. for the sake of a better world.
How exactly “the world is in a mess… because of…” the above situation?!
I don’t get it.
And is your name ironic?
Joseph Peterson says
@Donald,
What’s wrong with Uranium? Without it, I’d have had no lights, no oxygen to breathe, and all of us aboard my boat would have been crushed like an empty soda can on the bottom of the ocean.