Here is one phrase that will quietly ruin your sell-through rate, your negotiating position, and your sanity.
“Open to offers.”
It sounds harmless. It sounds flexible. It sounds like you are easy to work with.
In reality, it makes you invisible.
Here is what most domain investors miss: buyers do not reward uncertainty. They avoid it. When someone lands on your page and sees “make an offer” or “open to offers,” you are not inviting a conversation. You are giving them homework. You are asking them to price your asset for you, with zero context, while they are also trying to run a business.
Most serious buyers will not do that. They will leave, open another tab, and choose the option that feels simple and safe.
“Open to offers” signals you are not sure what you own
A real buyer is always asking a quiet question: is this seller professional, or is this going to be weird?
When your pricing is vague, it raises risk. They do not know if you want $2,500 or $250,000. They do not know if you will respond quickly. They do not know if you will take their inquiry and turn it into a drawn out negotiation marathon.
If I am a founder, the last thing I want is to get trapped in an awkward back and forth with a stranger who might be unrealistic. I have a product to ship and customers to close. So I move on.
Even if the buyer loves the name, uncertainty adds friction. Friction kills deals.
“Make an offer” attracts the wrong crowd
When you do not set an anchor, you get more low quality inquiries. That is not a win. It is noise.
You will see the same pattern over and over. $100. $250. “What is your lowest?” People fishing. People who want a bargain. People who treat domains like garage sale items.
Meanwhile, the real buyer who could pay five figures never even emailed you. Not because they are cheap, but because they do not want to guess. They want a number or at least a clear range.
In other words, “open to offers” does not increase demand. It changes who feels comfortable contacting you.
You lose leverage before the negotiation starts
Every negotiation starts with an anchor. If you refuse to provide one, you hand that power to the buyer.
That is not “being flexible.” That is being passive.
If the first number in the conversation is the buyer’s number, you are immediately defending your position instead of framing the deal. You end up explaining why the name is worth more than whatever random figure they typed into an email.
And if you counter too high, they feel baited. If you counter too low, you leave money on the table. Either way, you are negotiating uphill because you skipped the simplest move: set expectations.
Pricing creates velocity
Domains sell when they feel easy to buy. The easiest purchase is a clean BIN with clean terms.
I know some investors hate BIN pricing. They think it caps upside. They worry about leaving money behind.
Here is the truth: most portfolios die from lack of velocity, not from underpricing one winner.
A strong BIN does a few things immediately. It filters unserious buyers. It signals confidence. It lets serious buyers move quickly. It makes distribution networks work better. It turns a domain into a product instead of a mystery box.
Even if you want to negotiate, a BIN still helps. It is a public anchor. It creates gravity. It tells the buyer what kind of conversation this is.
What to do instead
If you are sitting on “open to offers,” pick one of these and commit.
Set a BIN that you would be happy to accept today. Not a fantasy number. A number that reflects comps, quality, and your holding costs.
If the name is truly high value and you want to keep flexibility, set a range. Something like “pricing in the mid five figures” or “offers above $25,000 considered.” You are not locking yourself in. You are giving the buyer a lane.
Use payment plans strategically. A $12,000 BIN with a plan often beats hoping for a $20,000 offer that never arrives.
The market does not punish you for pricing. It punishes you for being unclear.
If you want to stop being invisible, stop being “open.” Put a stake in the ground. Give buyers certainty, and you will be shocked how much easier the whole business becomes.