Don’t offer to help a friend with domain names unless you qualify it first.
I’m often asked by friends for my assistance with buying a domain name. After providing advice or making an initial contact over a dozen times, I’ve learned a few lessons:
1. Make sure your friend is willing to pay up for the domain.
Often times I’ve reach out on behalf of a friend and the other party asked for something reasonable, such as $5,000. My friend would ask me to counter with $500. To the seller, this was like someone offering to buy your house for a fraction of its value. It’s insulting. Don’t put yourself in the position of presenting a low ball offer on behalf of your friend.
2. Make sure they won’t resort to legal remedies if they can’t buy the domain.
One time I helped a friend make an inquiry on a domain, only to find the owner wanting much more than what my friend’s company was willing to pay. Since the amount was out of the question, they passed. But then later the company sent a threatening letter to the domain owner suggesting that the owner was infringing on their mark.
Don’t let this happen. It puts you in the position of looking like an ass.
What other suggestions to you have about helping friends with domain name issues?
Kevin Murphy says
Never recommend a .info 😉
Ace says
Not exactly for domains, but for something tangible, I was negotiating something for a friend and after they settled on an agreeable price for the item, my friend backed out!
Embarrassing.
steve says
Or they look at your websites and click your ads and you get banned from adsense.
That happens every 10 minutes to someone.
I don’t know what they are thinking but you are not helping by making them 30 cents…
Google has billions dedicated to finding you out, arg.
Yes I helped a friend and paid the price.
jp says
Make sure your friend understands they are buying a lease and make sure they knowhow to renew it in the coming years, keep their Whois up to date, etc… These friends don’t know how these fundamentals work. Sucks to help your friend spend $5k on a domain only to next year help them get it back again on snapnames.
chris says
Good tip – but I suggest that BOTH parties do their homework. Your friend should research the value of the domains he wants to acquire and also have a set amount that he’s willing to spend on the domain name. I think its complete BS if a domain is really worth 5K and someone gives you an offer of 500. On the other hand, if a site has no traffic, no content, etc – it probably is worth 500, but has an asking price of 5K. This is a double edged sword – there is no fine line bewteen buyer/seller prices – it always depends on what someone wants to pay for a domain.
Rob Sequin says
Make sure they understand domains and understand the work you will do for them.
Just as you would ask any potential client, make sure they are educated, motivated and qualified.
Be sure to tell them how much you usually get paid for this consulting work.
OR
Just say you can’t help them. You’ll probably both be better off 🙂
Art says
My friends don’t listen, its amazing how ignorant they are. They see that i am getting traffic, they see that i rank well, and yet do nothing about it. Few friends who do get it, still only partially get it, and it sometimes take years for them to “get it.” I no longer bother explaining, they have a question, i will help but don’t ask me and then do nothing.
Einstein says
Can’t really do much, if you don’t help them they’ll be upset, if you they might be upset at the price. Just explain everything 100 times. Many are ignorant (on purpose most times) and they expect you to do some sort of magic.
Meyer says
A slightly different twist on this.
I picked up a domain for a close relative
for a nonprofit organization.
Very nice domain.
They let another person control the domain.
They lost it 2 years later.
There is a domain in auction on Netsol
right now. Mount.org
It belonged to a church for 14 yrs.
I suspect someone screwed up and lost control
of the domain.
Landon White says
And most Important…
Get the money upfront!
The BEST of friends can not even be counted
on to pay up after “THE THRILL IS GONE” 🙂
roddy says
There is an old saying never recommend a friend for a job and now a domain !
chandan says
i never discus domains with my friends 🙂