Domain sale through DomainNameSales.com — My first

I sold my first domain through DNS. What have your experiences been?

The prior week I completed my first domain sale using the Internet Traffic/DomainNameSales.com platform.

One thing that is a bit confusing at first is how the communications work inside the DomainNameSales.com platform. The platform is “open”, meaning you can handle domain inquiries yourself or use a number of third party brokers (counting DNS itself, like what I chose). By using an outside broker or DNS, some of the communication tabs are bypassed since someone else is handling it for you.

Once you understand that, it’s fairly straightforward.

I set up my account to let the DomainNameSales.com brokerage team handle all incoming domain inquiries. They charge a 10% commission.

I like having a third party manage negotiations even though I have to pay 10% for many reasons.

1. I find that it takes some of the emotion out of negotiations.

2. A broker can play the good cop in negotiations with the other party.

3. In the case of DNS, they offer a phone number for interested parties to call, which can improve conversions and leads.

4. Brokers see a lot more activity than I do as an individual. The broker on my transaction suggested that I raise my counter-offer. She was right; the buyer paid the full amount of my counter-offer.

DNS uses Escrow.com’s broker tool to handle transactions. With the broker service, the buyer pays the total due and then Escrow sends two payments: one to the seller and one to the broker.

At first I was a bit confused by the Escrow.com transaction since the onscreen transaction information didn’t break the price down by sales price and net proceeds following commission. The Escrow.com transaction showed just the proceeds following commission with no indication that the commission had been deducted. It was pretty easy to figure out that it was the amount following commission, but I was concerned that perhaps the amount had been entered incorrectly. The closing statement email does show the full amount plus the amount following commission, but I think it would be helpful if Escrow.com showed a breakdown online when you accept the transaction.

Overall it was a good transaction. Have others had success with DNS? Did you handle the negotiations yourself or use a third party broker?