I've been a seller and a buyer. Made a living off it for a while even.
My opinion is 3k is about average for a domain sale. If I recall average sale was in the ~2000-3000 range. It's a pretty reasonable asking price without knowing anything about the domain.
As far as valuing, there is no way, scientific or otherwise to tell you value. My favorite explanation from the sellers side is:
Value = Price * Probability of Sale
(Credit for that goes to Paul Shaw)
It so beautifully encapsulates many of nuances of domain names. There is a unique supply and an infinite demand curve. The probability of getting a sale as you go higher diminishes. There is no 'one' answer to value, but it's completely dependent on the seller's risk appetite and expectations.
Finally, some practical advice. There is nothing you can say, no tool you can use that a rational domain owner is going to accept and act on because you wrote it in your counter offer. You have a max price, they have a minimum price, maybe you'll negotiate to a point where they overlap, maybe not. I would counter offer (doesn't have to be your max price or you can play the ultimatum game) and see the response. Repeat or accept. For such a small number I wouldn't be countering more than once MAYBE twice. I generally consider it a warning flag when the other party is negotiating over almost nothing.
Set your max budget and stick to it. People are irrational towards the end of a deal. Don't overspend and regret. You've done the analysis beforehand, you know what it's worth to you.
Find other names and prepare a backup plan. Don't tie yourself to one name. I hate when a deal falls through because they bought another name, but it makes perfect sense from your side.
Great response. Thanks for your input. I think I'm going to set a max price and use that as my only counter offer. If they don't accept I'll keep looking.
Make them aware of it. I've lost sales I would have taken the counter offer but I didn't realize it was their final offer. It sucks (for both sides) when you could have done a deal both of you would have been happy with had you realized it.
My opinion is 3k is about average for a domain sale. If I recall average sale was in the ~2000-3000 range. It's a pretty reasonable asking price without knowing anything about the domain.
As far as valuing, there is no way, scientific or otherwise to tell you value. My favorite explanation from the sellers side is:
Value = Price * Probability of Sale
(Credit for that goes to Paul Shaw)
It so beautifully encapsulates many of nuances of domain names. There is a unique supply and an infinite demand curve. The probability of getting a sale as you go higher diminishes. There is no 'one' answer to value, but it's completely dependent on the seller's risk appetite and expectations.
Finally, some practical advice. There is nothing you can say, no tool you can use that a rational domain owner is going to accept and act on because you wrote it in your counter offer. You have a max price, they have a minimum price, maybe you'll negotiate to a point where they overlap, maybe not. I would counter offer (doesn't have to be your max price or you can play the ultimatum game) and see the response. Repeat or accept. For such a small number I wouldn't be countering more than once MAYBE twice. I generally consider it a warning flag when the other party is negotiating over almost nothing.
Set your max budget and stick to it. People are irrational towards the end of a deal. Don't overspend and regret. You've done the analysis beforehand, you know what it's worth to you.
Find other names and prepare a backup plan. Don't tie yourself to one name. I hate when a deal falls through because they bought another name, but it makes perfect sense from your side.