[TaylorGood]

Fred Wilson's blog post, but more specifically the top comment is gold. There is a template in there which may work for you: http://avc.com/2011/04/finding-and-buying-a-domain-name/

Subject Line: Whatever.com ($2,500?)

Hi,

I see you are the owner of Whatever.com. I'm in the process of trying to find a domain name for a client I am building a web site for and think your name could be a good fit. I am contacting different domain owners as we have it in the budget to buy a cool name and Whatever.com is on the list we came up with.

Would you be interested in selling it for $2,500?

Let me know and I can have the funds wired to you next day or PayPal'd to you. Just let me know your PayPal address.

Thanks for your time.

-YOUR NAME

[hackerboos]

What happens when you wire the money and get no domain?

Might be worth mentioning Escrow.com/Sedo upfront.

[TaylorGood]

Yes. I always have..