Is it worth it selling domains on eBay?

[unknowngiver]

Hey
i bought thebatmanbegins.com thinking that it is a great name since the movie was just released...anyway it looks like hardly anyone likes it at namepros...so is it worth sleling at ebay? or any other site?

 

[JoshHendo]

Why eBay ? What's up with SEDO ?

eBay is not a very good place to sell domains

I agree. I think you should use sedo or afternic. They are much better than ebay!

 

[Raz0rBlade_uk]

I have sold many domains on eBay. Sometimes you can get a really good sale. Often there's hype about one thing and people on eBay will pay more for it than anywhere else.

Overall I found that it was very hard to make a profit due to using bold, gallery etc features. If you don't use promotion then it can be hard to sell a good domain.
I suggest you avoid it. I won't be using it again for a long while.

 

[AdoptableDomains]

The choice of sales venues depends on your needs to sell in a certain amount of time. If you need to sell quickly, you'll usually be attracting wholesale buyers who are going to resell the domain. If you want retail or end user buyers, be prepared to wait months or years for the right buyer unless you actively seek end users to direct market to.

Ebay - Most ebay listings are 7-10 days. The odds of finding the exact right end user who happens across your domain in that period are small. You'll most likely find wholesalers looking for quick bargains. When I did sell there, I found it best to list the domain not exclusively in the domain category, but in a category end users may search. For example listing a photography domain in the camera category, or antiques domain in the antiques category. Also, even crudely developed websites sell better than a domain name alone.

Afternic Bazaar - specifically listed as a wholesale domain reverse auction. You can sell quickly, but rarely expect to get more than $50.

Afternic, Sedo, and Great Domains - Long term listings and parking will lead to higher prices and end users based on landing on a parked page or searching listings for something they like. If you can get parking to pay for renewal fees, time no longer becomes a factor in your cost to hold the name.

TDNAM - yet unproven, but somewhere between AN/SEDO and ebay. listings are not a year or more, but a few months, and free to list initially. We'll see how their market pans out.

The forums - normally wholesale buyers, but a few end user developers know to look here for good domains. If you don't mind sacrificing price for quick sales and turning of money. Advantage is many ways to sell such as fixed price, auction, or make offer.

The second best way to get end user pricing is to park (with for sale on the parked page) and wait, as well as make sure your whois indicates a way to contact you and some indication you may be willing to sell.

Probably the best way to get end users is to actively seek them. This can be time consuming and if you pick non-generic names can get you into UDRP territory. However, the best way to get retail buyers is to let them know something they may want or need is available. This is not practical if you have a huge portfolio or little time, so combining with the above paragraph is the ususally smart.

 

[Grrilla]

Adoptable has brought up a good point, that was implied in my post, but that probably should have been more clearly stated. The scenarios I have described all fall under the umbrella of a quick or "forced" sale. The "cesspool" I refer to isn't the listing site per se, but rather a "swimming pool" of our own design. The intent of my post is to issue a caution, and not an indictment.

The reseller's market, from the seller's POV, can look like the bleak wasteland that I have described, and domainers, particularly the new, and less experienced should heed the warning. But, there is also a larger, brighter and more optimistic picture, as well:

-As was mentioned, good sales, and even some enduser sales do occur. Just don't bank on it happening in the short term. You can market to enduser's at site's that have an audience w/ a broader demographic, (ie eBay), but it is important to weigh listing *and* relisting fees, (and don't forget registration renewal fees), against the asking price when calculating potential profit. Also remember that the higher your desired price, the tougher the sell and the higher the risk of coming up blank.

-Take the "crap shoot" mentality. Don't model your business around this approach, but occasionally, you might want to throw the dice, and put up a name, at retail, on eBay or ABazaar, just to see if you might hit on a yoleven! I've hit hot "yoleven's" in Vegas before, (one time I hit them twice in a row!!), but I have yet to hit one selling a name at retail on a, (primarily), reseller's domain name listing site.

-With time, patience, and persistency, better results can be acheived. If you are diligent, consistent, are not prone to discouragement, don't view the lack of response to your listings as rejection and can take it all in stride, (at least to some degree), eventually, (who knows when or where?), you are going to sell some names at, around and, yes, even above, their appraised wholesale values. After reading my previous post in this thread, it may seem ironic to some, that I sold 5 names last week at fair, appraised market value prices, right here at the NP "Domain Names For Sale" forum.

The safest way to list names in the reseller's market, and w/ the lowest amount of financial outlay and risk, is to list right here at NP, where there are no membership fees and no listing fees. I can't speak on behalf of the other forums, or their domain name sales boards, but I do know that besides being the fastest growing domain name forum, NamePros is now also the largest, has the highest volume of traffic, and the quality of the name transactions and the participants involved, has been markedly rising.

The moral of the story? There is life after swimming in the cesspool. :sold: :hehe:

 

[tandiono]

If your domain name is very gud, then try Greatdomains.com.. All the best

 

[unknowngiver]

Hey thanks guyz
i think i will stick wid Namepros and instead of selling the domain, i will take time to develop it and sell it as a developed website :P

 

[Grrilla]

i think i will stick wid Namepros and instead of selling the domain, i will take time to develop it and sell it as a developed website :P

:bingo:

If your domain name is very gud, then try Greatdomains.com.. All the best

I've got 4 listed there now. Is it OK to stop holding my breath, yet?

 

[equity78]

Michael your two long posts were the most realistic and informative for new sellers I have read you broke everything down to its purest form. Nice Job Rep upgraded.