I’ve said before that we don’t negotiate with shared use companies for visitors or customers because most of them hate us. I can’t imagine why they would hate us, just because we help people find numbers that they OWN nationwide with no strings for less than the monthly rent for one area code of one of their toll free numbers. It could also be that we point out how tend to act like used car salesman selling things without a book value to people who don’t understand the industry and they get away with an awful lot.

I’m writing more on this though because a customer just wrote out a detailed description of their contact with someone in the industry, I would call a vanity number “squatter”. And when I started to answer them it wound up being something that I thought other people would benefit from so here it is.

This is one of the squatters I warn people about. Here’s some of what this customer wrote:

I contacted him about “our” number but he was uninterested in selling the number at a reasonable price and only stated that it would be at least “six figures”. He asked if we had a trademark or a related domain name, he also asked if we would consider renting a “marketing package”. He asked if we would need all regions of the U.S. When I asked more detail all I could get is this rental would provide the 800# and a website. I was not interested in a rental since it would be a lifetime contact after we do any real marketing. After that call I did register the domain name but have done nothing with it and I used a different name so as not to show a greater interest.

I’ve said this before but my advice is to take your time and keep your cards very close to your vest. The reason he asked about trademarks and domain names because that shows how serious you are about this and he’s looking for some indication of how deep your pockets are and how much he can get for it. It’s also very common for them to be vague about the price while using a shoot for the moon approach. I guess at over 100K, he doesn’t have to sell very many, does he?!

He also wants to shift people from buying to renting. They will be very creative and work out something “special” for you, so even if you need it nationwide, they keep part of Canada, Alaska or Puerto Rico or something silly like that. That’s really NOT shared use but they will use that as an excuse because that gives them the all of the power to keep making more and more money, on and on.

Negotiating with Shared Use usually means:
* Vague answers & Big bucks
* Digging for additional info
* Won’t reveal very much about himself
* Shifting to Renting instead of owning
* Usually claims there are other bidders
* Often very one sided contracts

If you are a large company have someone contact them with a cell phone and do all of the negotiation without disclosing anything. They will always push you and try hard to figure out how deep your pockets are, but keep your cards very close to your vest. They are looking for any information they can use against you.

I know because I’ve told people being approached to sell their number that same thing, to tell them to prove that they’re serious before you start. Then when you’re negotiating you use that seriousness against them.

Ironically the squatter who had their number has a heading and paragraph on their site entitled “Avoid the Sharks”, yet they are clearly one of those same sharks. If it doesn’t work out you can file a complaint against someone at the FCC but don’t think that’s going to help you get the number at all. Be patient and be careful. That’s my best advice in a nutshell.

Oh and make sure you have a back up number, because that allows you to take your time and to walk away if necessary. Don’t worry they will do whatever it takes to keep you. They don’t have other bidders as they will probably imply, and you have more power than they want you to think you do, IF you’re willing to walk away to get what you want.