I keep getting offers through e-mail to buy our domain name. They’re always short and to the point, but almost certainly spam. What are they trying to accomplish? Here’s the text of one:
I get these offers every few days with different amounts and different names.
I would plan on there being a snag in the payment after the domain is transferred. Fake money order, etc. Nobody with 3 firing brain cells is throwing around that kind of cash without a more detailed proposal and or clear cut contact info to a web venture firm of some kind. I would bet you dollars to donuts someone is hoping that a sucker will bite, shaft them on payment, and then charge massive amounts of money to release it back, domain kidnapping for ransom?
I was going to respond just to bait the person and find out what they would ask me to do, but the reply-To address seems like a legit address that has nothing to do with the sender of the spam. And there’s no URL in the message either. So what are they trying to accomplish? Arg, I hate spam.
$40,000 seems ridiculous, but legitimate offers do just arrive sometimes. My sister sold a domain that way - guy offered her $300 and she took it.
What is it about your domain that would supposedly be worth that much money?
Could it simply be an attempt to verify that the domain is active and receptive?
It’s a short domain name, so it could be attractive because of that.
If it’s a short name, it’s possible it’s worth a pretty penny, but most serious buyers don’t offer a huge sum right away before even determining whether the item is for sale.
If it’s a scam, as it probably is, it’s likely a varient on the famous Nigerian prince scam. In short, they want your bank account info, and so they’ll offer you money to pique your greed – and pick your pockets.
I get around offer for my main domain name a week. Because it’s a key part of my business (and my business name), it’s probably worth several million dollars. I’d never sell it.
But it’s fun to play, so I always write straight back and say “sure it’s for sale. How much are you offerring?” (i have never been offerred a price as the OP has). They never write back. Other times, I say, “it’s yours for $20 million”, and they still never write back.
Pretty poor marketing campaign. What if I was a serious schmuck!?