Just like pasteurized milk, domain quotes have an expiration date.
There’s a good reason for that; milk goes bad after it “expires”, and a domain quote has a lifespan in order to protect its value as an asset.
When someone inquires about a domain name and they engage in an exchange with the owner, once a price is set the clock starts ticking.
The quote is personalized, and it can vary from one inquiry to the next; thus, it’s prudent to expire after a set number of days. On Domain Name Sales, the default period of 7 days can be extended, if the seller so wishes. It’s part of the negotiation game.
Quoting a price with an expiration date also allows the buyer to consult their peers, business colleagues or sort their finances, in order to agree to a sale or provide a counter-offer.
It is important to maintain the expiration date on such quotes rather strictly; once the rules are bent, it’s easy to bend them again.
Sometimes, a second inquiry might arrive during the lifespan of a quote; generally, I either quote the same price as the first one, or wait for the first one to expire in order to process the second inquiry. Such cases are rare, however.
Lastly, whether you ended the exchange disagreeing on the price, or you didn’t hear back from the potential domain buyer during the lifespan of your quote, don’t forget to send them a “goodbye letter.”
You might be surprised by the percentage of rejuvenated responses you’ll get.
Care to elaborate on the content of a “goodbye letter”?
Leonard – There’s a separate post on this, click on the link. 😀