Companies that launch new products and services often seek to register one or more associated domain names.
The preferred choice is a dot .com, although the introduction of new gTLDs has given many companies a wide range of options.
When a corporation wants to rename one of its subdivisions, or itself, the quest for the proper domain name is even more important.
Not all corporations are savvy in the domain name acquisition process, however.
A recent offer I received from a large company that decided to rebrand, came with a $300 dollar price tag and full credentials disclosure. That gave me free reign to research their background and budget, something that it’s great to know before quoting a sales price for domain names.
Knowing who is your buyer adds points to the negotiation process, although it does not necessarily define the sales price.
A domain comes with a valuation that definitely changes over the course of time, but its core or base price should be more or less defined at the time of registration or acquisition. It’s what makes a domain a keeper or a dropper.
The company that reached out through one of their brand executives proceeded to roll out the rebranding in public, without the domain name. Once the press release and other information made it to the Internet in the days that followed, I was able to confirm that my asking price was well-justified.
I’m now in a position to stand my ground, particularly since I registered that generic domain more than 15 years ago. Holding long is part of the waiting game when investing in domain names.
Make sure to post if it sells and what the name is. Good luck!
domains – Thanks. I’m anticipating them to come back once the honeymoon period of rebranding ends, when they realize the asking price (mid five figures) is a very reasonable entry price for brand.
It’s not necessarily a lack of savvy about the domain name acquisition process. It’s financial illiteracy — what’s $50,000 for a domain name that, once purchased and deployed inside the multi-billion dollar corporation, is going to earn the company millions of dollars more over the next 10 years that it would not have earned otherwise had it gone forward with a different, lower quality domain name. Many execs and middle managers simply fail to put pencil to paper to do the simple math to see how little $50,000 truly is when they are dealing in the millions and billions of dollars every year.
Logan – Well said, the Tax.com guy apparently did the math right 🙂
At least they did not offer to take your crappy domain name of your hands. I had someone offer me 250 bucks for my crappy red(dot)ca domain name. He said he could easily add a word in front of it for a reg fee. I responded and said that sounds perfect, please register crappyred(dot)ca and go with that. 🙂