Buying exact match domain names

[jamesuk]

Hi all

I hope this is the right place to post this. Forgive me if it isn't.

I am thinking of buying a bundle of exact match keyword domains for various business areas. I was wondering whether or not anybody has any advice on how much I should pay for these?

As an example:

londonmortgagebrokers.co.uk - 1,600 local searches per month. What would should I be prepared to pay? The site has a 1 pager on it offering to sell or rent.

[DomainMagnate]

hey James, I'm guessing you're buying these to build sites for leadgen, so best figure out how much you expect to make from each once you hit the frontpage to see what its worth to you and go from there.

[Clinton]

I have a few hundred EMDs. What I'm interested in is that "leasing" option they offer. Do you know who runs that business? I'm thinking I could maybe lease out some domains to them for them to sub-lease if they are setup to handle leasing agreements and have a market for this.

[Fish]

The owner of the the domain you mention is asking 870 £.
So there's your start. You could always offer 200 and go from there, but it depends (as DomainMagnate said above) what you expect you can make on the name. His pricing seems reasonable, but I'm surprised to see that it doesn't look all that difficult to get a page one Google listing for the term.

Clinton, so far as leasing, you could always try. The thing is, the motives for leasing a domain include:
1-The leaser may end up buying it.
2-The leaser builds valuable content on the name, maybe gets backlinks and search engine results, thus boosting the value of the name for sale to someone else.

[KenW3]

I am thinking of buying a bundle of exact match keyword domains for various business areas. I was wondering whether or not anybody has any advice on how much I should pay for these?

For 1600 exact, I would probably be willing to go £50 or so. (Maybe I'm too cheap from the posts above?) The niche does make it more valuable than that, but £870 is someone who is deluding themselves as a wannabe domainer.

Estibot.com allows three appraisals a day without membership, and I would offer half of their appraisal maximum.

An EMD can contain extra words and be valuable in terms of SEO benefits, but the exact is best. I would sooner add a word and pay reg fee, especially if the other EMDs are parked.

What I'm interested in is that "leasing" option they offer.

Most domain name leasing companies I've tracked have gone out of business. Many people do not recognise the value of names. SiteVestors tried in 2009, but all they do now is buy names. TLDRental.com tried a service, but it didn't work for them and they're gone. E-TechValley.com is trying it on their own.

LeaseThis.com and SiteBrokers.org are still around with leasing services and representation. I have not used either one, so cannot endorse these.

[Fish]

I do know domainers who say they lease profitably, and I am inclined to believe them. However, it's more a case of leasing to catch the eventual sale rather leasing as a business plan. If the lessee is happy, they'll naturally want to buy. Of not, they cancel, but the domain owner has picked up some extra money in the meantime. From the potential buyer's point of view, it's a way to give the domain a test drive before committing to buy. And if the domain proves itself during the lease period, the seller has a stronger position in setting the price.

[ScottJ]

I leased out a few of my domains got the monthly lease income to low £x,xxx per month but to get a lessee I found I generally needed a small site and top 10 ranking which on most EMD' isn't that hard.

As has been mentioned it depends greatly on the lead value and how quickly you think you could get paid back on the domain as to whether its asking price seems fair. 1600 local searches for 'life insurance' would be much more valuable than 1600 local searches for 'tattoos' and therefore value two domains with the same exacts completely differently so do your sums and work out a fair offer.