What Domain Investors Can Learn From Shark Tank

Have you ever seen those people on Shark Tank who get greedy? I was watching Shark Tank the other day (a recording) and I saw these two guys show up and ask for $90,000. They not only got offers for the full amount they asked for, but even had a few offers for above what they had requested. Then it happened. They got greedy.

After asking for $90,000 for a 10% stake in their company, they ended up asking for a $2,000,000 line of credit. One of the Sharks (I think it was Mark Cuban) flat out said “now you guys are being greedy”. Robert Herjavec added something to the tune of “I offered you what you asked for” and that was the beginning of the end. They turned down great offers because they did not understand business and they got greedy. In the end, they got lucky and got a deal but it almost cost them in a big way.

Have you ever lost a domain sale, or almost lost a domain sale because you were greedy?  As a domain seller it is important to understand what your domain is worth, but also to not be greedy.  I recently had an unsolicited offer of $2,250 on a domain that I felt was worth $10,000. It was worth that much to me based on what could be done with it, and not its current state (registered and not at all developed.) If I had countered with a higher offer, I might have lost the offer. I knew that I could rename my project, so I looked at it as someone paying me $2,250 to help them create a great name for a brand.

I have learned a lot about domaining over the past decade and I know that I may have held out for more money in some cases where I should have sold, but I don’t believe it was based on greed. It was just not needing the money at the time and knowing that I could at least get that much or more down the road. For the most part, I am thankful that I did not sell myself short with a low offer; there may be one exception that I can think of, but I am sure it will sell to the right person at the right time.

If you find that you are (what Morgan Linton refers to as) a domain collector as opposed to someone who sells domains, you might want to ask yourself if you are being greedy, or holding out for a price that is not realistic. As they say in traditional real estate, “Price Cures Everything.”