I'm always looking for good ways to increase opportunities for domain sales. We all know, it's not as easy as it sometimes looks. While pursuing positive means for improving sales, I always find more experience in "what not to do." Sometimes I find these things in my own experiences and other times I pick them up from what I see others doing. If any one of these items can save you some time, then it's equally as helpful as "what to do." These 5 Ways to Sabotage Your Domain Sales come in no particular order.
1. Panic
Don't freak out when an unsolicited offer or inquiry comes in. Just because someone is asking about your domain does not mean they are willing to pay top dollar for it. Often times, they are just curious and not even serious players. If you take the price too high just because you think someone is interested, they'll quickly back away. It's important to have a predetermined price you are looking for. That way, you know what you will be satisfied with and not have any regrets over a lost sale or a completed deal.
2. Do Nothing
Unless you have category killer names you should be taking some type of proactive action to sell or develop your names. It's not likely that buyers will be knocking on your door to make you an offer on ReusableExamGloves.com. However, if that happened to be a real niche, a little research and a couple of dozen emails might land you a few bucks. Alternatively, investing a little time into developing a site about the benefits (or dangers) of this product with a few affiliate links could also produce a small revenue. That name might then pay for itself, at a minimum, while increasing some traffic numbers for a future sale.
3. Over Promote
I often get Twitter followers who only tweet the domains they have for sale. I rarely follow these people back. I don't recommend using Twitter or other social media outlets as a feed for strictly advertising the sale of your domains. No one wants to see that. Mix it up with some valuable information sharing or even some personal comments. Another aspect of this is pimping your domain name to every domain forum, auction site, spam blitz and any other means you can find. If the name is seen frequently and doesn't generate interest, it might just die on the vine from over exposure.
4. Misrepresent
This goes without saying. Well, no it doesn't so I'll say it. Never, never, never misrepresent your domain's search, visitation, or monetization statistics. There is no better way to quickly develop a bad reputation. That said, every buyer needs to do their due diligence and shouldn't blindly trust the stats provided.
5. Price Shift
It hasn't happened to me, but I have heard and read many stories where a domain had a set asking price and when an offer arrived, the seller upped the price. A more common example is when a seller accepts an offer and then reneges to accept a second, higher offer. This will not only lead to legal issues, but word travels.