Thoughts

Andrew Miller

January 29, 2023

The Dynamics of Negotiating Premium Domain Transactions

As I am writing this (on Saturday morning for Sunday posting), I am in the middle of two late-stage premium domain negotiations with buyers, both category killer and exact match domains. Both are likely to close this week (one after 18 months). It got me thinking about negotiations both past and present.

I have negotiated for my own domain acquisitions, as well as for both buyers and sellers for so many years, and while each deal is different, which makes it so exciting, there are commonalities between them all. In many cases, regardless if we are representing the buyer or seller, I am like “Switzerland”, acting for both sides to achieve an outcome everyone is happy with, which is the hallmark of a great deal. In other cases, I am working with a third party which can be a domain broker representing the other side or a law firm doing the same.

The number one thing I always keep top of mind is something I learned from the legendary Professor John Hammond while I was at Harvard Business School. John had 2 terms that are used in teaching negotiation; BATNA and ZOPA; the former is “Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement”, and ZOPA is “Zone of Possible Agreement.”. I always want to have a known ZOPA when negotiating. This is something I work out carefully if I am representing a buyer or seller. I just came to an agreement today on one of the above-mentioned deals, and the main reason was the ZOPA on both sides, and everyone’s willingness to get inside of that zone.

A Strong Week for Hilco Digital Assets

This has been a strong week of bonafide inquiries and offers on some of the amazing domains we at Hilco Digital Assets are overseeing, viewable here at HilcoDigital.com/domains. It is a really good indication of how strong the domain asset class is even in a tighter economy. I expect this to be a very good year for the most valuable premium domain names.

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