Sellers often default to whatever pricing mode the marketplace presents first. That’s a mistake — the right mode depends on the domain’s category, your timeline, and your tolerance for negotiation.
Buy It Now: when the number is the number
Fixed price. Pay it, get the domain, no conversation.
Use BIN when:
- The domain is in a well-comped category (4-letter .com, 3-letter .com, common dictionary word). You can defend the price with public comp data.
- You have a hard timeline. You want the domain off your books in 30 days. BIN gets faster engagement than make-offer.
- You’re allergic to email back-and-forth. BIN doesn’t generate the chat volume that make-offer does.
Don’t use BIN when:
- The domain is one-of-a-kind. There are no comps. You’re guessing — and your guess will probably be wrong by 5×.
- You want signal. BIN tells you exactly one thing per sale: the price was acceptable. Make-offer surfaces what competing buyers actually think it’s worth.
Make-an-offer: when you don’t know yet
No published price. Buyers submit; you respond. The marketplace enforces a min_offer_usd floor so trash lowballs are auto-rejected.
Use make-offer when:
- The domain is unique. Brand-able, niche, no comps. Let the market tell you the number.
- You’re testing the water on a portfolio you haven’t sold from before.
- The number you want is in the ‘you’ll know it when you see it’ range — variable depending on buyer fit.
Don’t use make-offer when:
- You hate email. You will get 5-50 inbound offers per month on a desirable name. Each deserves a polite reply.
- You’re impatient. The right buyer might be 6 months away. Make-offer rewards patience.
Auction: when you have a crowd
Timed bidding with anti-snipe extension. Public bid history visible to all bidders.
Use auction when:
- The domain has visible demand: high views, multiple pending offers, recent search traffic.
- You want a fixed close date — a marketing event, an end-of-year liquidation, a specific publicity moment.
- You can publish a defensible reserve. Buyers will bid harder when they trust the reserve isn’t fantasy.
Don’t use auction when:
- The domain has zero historical traffic. An auction with no bidders ends without a sale and signals weakness for future relisting attempts.
- You’re not willing to set a realistic reserve. Reserve-too-high auctions are the most common cause of failed sales on every marketplace.
A simple decision tree
Ask yourself, in order:
- Is there public comp data within 50% of my asking? If yes → BIN. If no, continue.
- Is there visible buyer pull right now? (3+ offers, high view count, search engagement) If yes → auction with a sensible reserve. If no, continue.
- Make-offer with a published min.
Most portfolios end up with a mix — BIN on the well-comped names, make-offer on the long tail, occasional auctions for the showpieces.