Why (in DNJournal and other similar publications) is the "where sold" typically Sedo, Afternic, etc. Aren't those sales forums almost exclusively frequented by domain resellers? And, don't domain resellers typically pay rock bottom prices for domains? So, my questions are:
1. Why are there such huge sales between domain resellers if domain resellers typically pay so much less than end users?
2. If the end-user sales (i.e. pvt sales) are typically much more lucrative than reseller sales, why don't we hear much about them? Are there really so few of them?
3. Are there any sales on Sedo, Afternic, etc that are actually end user sales (as opposed to reseller)?
4. Is the domain resale market mostly an artificial market (i.e. buyers of domains are just trying to resell them to other resellers rather than actually using them).
5. Is there a sales forum that potential end users frequent?
1. Why are there such huge sales between domain resellers if domain resellers typically pay so much less than end users?
Depends on the name. A name could be making a large sum of money and not intended to sell to an end-user but to another domainer. This is what you would call buying revenue, i.e. Pay 20 months revenue for a domain.
2. If the end-user sales (i.e. pvt sales) are typically much more lucrative than reseller sales, why don't we hear much about them?
An end-user is like seeing a tiger in the wild, you can see them but its hard to find them.
3. Are there any sales on Sedo, Afternic, etc that are actually end user sales (as opposed to reseller)?
There are many many end-user sales that go on in these markets. These are the place where many domainers will send domains to auction and send e-mails to end-user and let them know about it. Also another technique is to send a name to auction at one of these marketplaces if there is more than one end-user interested.
4. Is the domain resale market mostly an artificial market (i.e. buyers of domains are just trying to resell them to other resellers rather than actually using them).
Like i had mentioned, it really depends on the name. Some make money some dont. Some are bought to build on. Some are bought for speculation. I would say the market is largely domainer to domainer and filled with speculation but the end-user is there, they just have to find the names.
5. Is there a sales forum that potential end users frequent?
An end-user is not going to go searching forums to find a name. They will look for prospects and most likely contact directly if interested. Though they can be found frequently on sedo.
Enduser sales are extremely rare in comparison to the numbers of names for sale. Even the best sellers like buydomains are barely able to sell 1% of inventory in a year, it is a game of probability: long odds and high prices.
Dnjournal displays hundred of enduser sales each week, which represents the combined results of sales venues like sedo and afternic which between them have over 13 million domains listed for sale.
Generally they exactly what they want and will contact the owner via the whois or a broker.
This is a little off topic but I've had several experiences where I have initiated a FSBO email to a group of potential end users and received responses like "how much." I have tried providing an "asking price" and even not giving a price at all. In most cases, I get no response from the end user. So, is it best to give them a price or just ask them the make an offer?
I think that stating a price works best, but it is a difficult thing to gauge. You want to set an offer that is higher than you want to get out of the domain because you know through negotiation the price will come down. However, many end users do not see the value in a good domain name when A. they either already own one or B. they think they can just register a good one for seven dollars. A reasonable price is necessary, along with a nice sales pitch describing how the particular name you are selling will benefit their business.
