Anyone dealt with DomainAgents

[Michael]

After reading mikeshinobi's reply here about how he didn't like the thought of someone else owning the .com of his brand, it has definitely shifted my attention to the fact that I have a .net brand.

You can buy the .com though from domainagents, and they require a min bid of $200.

My question, has anyone dealt with them before? Am I silly to assume they're going to accept my $200 offer for it lol? I don't mind spending the $200, but not really interested in going much further than that.

 

[stackcash]

You're asking us if a person we don't know will sell you a domain in which we have zero info about.... for $200.

The answer?

Yes / No / Maybe

I've honestly never even heard of DomainAgents before this. They seem to just be a domain broker, more or less.

Regardless - you should always own your .com / .net / .org at the very least as a matter of principle. I'm guessing you bought the .net because the .com wasn't available for sale, or the .com had an insane price tag on it. So, you went with .net because...instant gratification.

The domaining industry is basically there to hold you hostage. So, if you're seeing this is owned by DomainAgents - it's likely they're going to do their best to get as much loot out of you for the .com as possible. That's just their business model.

The lesson?

Don't fall in love with a brand name until you know you have all the brandable assets you need to operate. If you can't afford those premium domain prices (not many individual SEO's can), then change the brand slightly to something that allows you to purchase the domains you need.

 

[Michael]

I should of mentioend they're a domain broker. Never delt with one before so I had no clue.

Back to the notepad for a new brand name ay.

 

[stackcash]

The easiest way to create a brandable name is just add a prefix or suffix onto the most broad keyword in your niche:

• Dog Training HQ
• Smart Dog Diets
• Canine Diet Daily
• etc

You won't find a super short, hip brand like Digg, Grindr, or Moz.... but what I've described is usually plenty good for an SEO site.

 

[Ryuzaki]

I'd put in the bid if you're willing to buy it and like the name that much. Some domainers hold out hard and let one sale cover all of their overhead. Others are happy to move smaller named domains to help cover costs of more purchases. It's a volume game for a lot of these guys and it's all about sales.

 

[Nat]

If you're willing to pay $200 for it, do you have anything to lose?

 

[backwoods]

My question, has anyone dealt with them before? Am I silly to assume they're going to accept my $200 offer for it lol? I don't mind spending the $200, but not really interested in going much further than that.

Yes, someone reached out to me earlier this year via Domain Agents and I sold them a domain. They are basically just a broker that the buyer can stay anonymous while negotiating. After a little back-and-forth we both decided on a price and the transaction was done via Escrow.com

Here is what the initial email looks like from Domain Agents when an interested buyer makes first contact. Overall, the process was easy and straightforward.

 

[yuckystuff]

Play around with Lean Domain Search, you put in a keyword or brand identity you're aiming for and it searches through a ton of .com variations to show you what's available to register, and whether or not the Twitter handle is available too.

 

[Michael]

Play around with Lean Domain Search, you put in a keyword or brand identity you're aiming for and it searches through a ton of .com variations to show you what's available to register, and whether or not the Twitter handle is available too.

I ended up doing something similar. I've actually got two killer brand names now, both 9 character long .coms so I'm much happier now.

It can be pretty frustrating trying to think of a brand name so here what I did.
I got a list of deleted .com domains with my niche's main topic/kw in.
Filtered the list to under 11 characters, no hyphers or numbers.
Then went through the list to get ideas for names. Luckily I found two great catchy brandable names, one of which i've bought all 3 TLD's for. The other I might buy the .com now and decide which I like best.

Thanks for the input everyone.