My biggest problem with domaining is...

[Dtutahey]

My biggest problem with domaining is how to set value for domain. As a beginner, I don't have a tiniest idea
what domain could cost. I checked Namebio.com for some clues and I want to check with you guys too:

GEO + attorney.com - around $1500-2500.
GEO + practice area + attorney.com - around $300.

Does this sounds right?

 

[barefooted]

You will read many times here in the forum that domain costs what the buyer is willing to pay.
There are many attorney related domains selling or sold in 100-300 range and only a few above 1,000.
In general, three words cost much less than two words domains. The bigger geo area is the more expensive is domain. Same for practice area.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

You will read many times here in the forum that domain costs what the buyer is willing to pay.
There are many attorney related domains selling or sold in 100-300 range and only a few above 1,000.
In general, three words cost much less than two words domains. The bigger geo area is the more expensive is domain. Same for practice area.

But I seriously don't agree with "that domain costs what the buyer is willing to pay." For me, it's that the domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at.

 

[Dtutahey]

I think you're both have a point. Domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at, but domain can be sold
only if buyer is willing to buy it
I have GEO + practice area + attorney.com and my price is $149. City has 300,000+ people. What do you think - is this fair price? I listed my domain at Sedo and Flippa for now.

 

[SBS66]

I think you're both have a point. Domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at, but domain can be sold
only if buyer is willing to buy it
I have GEO + practice area + attorney.com and my price is $149. City has 300,000+ people. What do you think - is this fair price? I listed my domain at Sedo and Flippa for now.

I had mine (many of them) at Sedo for a while, and also at GD, nothing. I've come to realize that this domains will sell mostly if you do outbound emails--which many here will tell you puts you at a disadvantage in terms of price. But it might be more than $149.

 

[SheikhOvais]

The price also depends on the industry you are selling to. Real estate, lawyers, dentists, are top-notch and competitive businesses and from my knowledge, you can expect $300+ for lawyer related domains. BUT, it mostly depends on how good your domain is (two-word, three-word).

 

[iowadawg]

That is the problem with domaining.....
For me, it's that the domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

That is the problem with domaining.....
For me, it's that the domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at.

Absolutely. Let's take one of my past sales example BMGL.com which I sold for $25,000 last year. If I had not waited for the right buyer than I must have sold to someone who was offering me 2-3K. So if the seller has the negotiation ability, cashflow to hold the name for longer period of time in order to wait for the right enduser, surely he will be paid off well.

 

[ivey]

But I seriously don't agree with "that domain costs what the buyer is willing to pay." For me, it's that the domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at.

Agree with this... this was my last experience...The buyer held back for over a month and I just stuck to my price because I believe the name to value such. In Essence the buyer eventually saw what i was seeing. Buyers don't always understand a domain value. As long as you are not being out of reality with your pricing

 

[GoKaizen]

Cashflow means sales.

 

[doubleU]

You should only be concerned about a domains 'worth' when you set a price.

When you reg a domain for $10 it cost you $10 but it might be 'worth' $2000.

 

[Bean]

But I seriously don't agree with "that domain costs what the buyer is willing to pay." For me, it's that the domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at.

It sounds almost the same except for one minor detail, it costs the seller money and time to be picky since he has to keep renewing the domain + he can't know how long it will take him to find the right buyer. On the other hand the buyer doesn't lose anything by being picky/fussy about the price.
Having said that, if you have enough spare money to renew a domain 10 ten years in advance, then of course you can take your time and wait for a buyer who agrees to your price.

 

[Bram C.]

Absolutely. Let's take one of my past sales example BMGL.com which I sold for $25,000 last year. If I had not waited for the right buyer than I must have sold to someone who was offering me 2-3K.

Waiting for the right buyer is fine but it will result in a lot of domains that will never be sold.
For all my domains I have a BIN price (visible to the buyer) and a reserve price (not visible to the buyer, just inside my head). If a buyer makes an offer that comes close to the reserve that I have in my mind (90% or so) I will not say to him "Sorry but I'm going to keep the domain and wait for a higher offer". Especially since that higher bid may never come.

I rather sell 10 domains around my reserve compared to sell one at BIN and risk that the other 9 remain unsold.

So if the seller has the negotiation ability, cashflow to hold the name for longer period of time in order to wait for the right enduser, surely he will be paid off well.

I agree that if you have enough cashflow that you can hold the name for a long time but I don't agree with your statement "surely he will be paid off well."
You cannot know this. You took a bet and made a nice sale but you could just as well be stuck with this domain forever, waiting for that 25K offer that never comes.

 

[garptrader]

Being patient can result in a much higher sale to a deep-pocketed end user than to a cheap developer or domain investor. However, one needs to distinguish between domains that are worth renewing for ten years vs. those which should not have been registered in the first place. Otherwise, you will spend thousands of dollars renewing domains which will never sell.

 

[SheikhOvais]

Interesting discussion.

My two cents would be: In the end, it all comes down to how we (as domainers) play this domain selling game, either as a "Domain Investor" OR as a "Domain Flipper". Both methods have their own perks and advantages.

 

[Andish]

In the end, it all comes down to how we (as domainers) play this domain selling game, either as a "Domain Investor" OR as a "Domain Flipper".

I agree. It makes all the difference. And there is always a large dose of luck needed, as this market is full of surprises, much more so than - say - real estate market.

 

[GoKaizen]

Waiting for the right buyer is fine but it will result in a lot of domains that will never be sold.
For all my domains I have a BIN price (visible to the buyer) and a reserve price (not visible to the buyer, just inside my head). If a buyer makes an offer that comes close to the reserve that I have in my mind (90% or so) I will not say to him "Sorry but I'm going to keep the domain and wait for a higher offer". Especially since that higher bid may never come.

I rather sell 10 domains around my reserve compared to sell one at BIN and risk that the other 9 remain unsold.


I agree that if you have enough cashflow that you can hold the name for a long time but I don't agree with your statement "surely he will be paid off well."
You cannot know this. You took a bet and made a nice sale but you could just as well be stuck with this domain forever, waiting for that 25K offer that never comes.

I agree with this. Lots of domains won't ever sell unless you are motivated to move them.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

Waiting for the right buyer is fine but it will result in a lot of domains that will never be sold.
For all my domains I have a BIN price (visible to the buyer) and a reserve price (not visible to the buyer, just inside my head). If a buyer makes an offer that comes close to the reserve that I have in my mind (90% or so) I will not say to him "Sorry but I'm going to keep the domain and wait for a higher offer". Especially since that higher bid may never come.

I rather sell 10 domains around my reserve compared to sell one at BIN and risk that the other 9 remain unsold.


I agree that if you have enough cashflow that you can hold the name for a long time but I don't agree with your statement "surely he will be paid off well."
You cannot know this. You took a bet and made a nice sale but you could just as well be stuck with this domain forever, waiting for that 25K offer that never comes.

I have some domains which I seriously target 1 specific buyer for which I tell my sons (although they are too young to understand this business) that you have to hold those names for these particular buyers no matter I am alive. So I still stick to that "surely" statement for quality domains which is in actual must for those companies to buy either now or in future. It's waiting game the person with most patience wins.

I know there is risk involved and domain might not get sold for now but the thing is when it's sold, you hit the jackpot which is far better IMO than flipping which is highly time consuming.

I used to do that in the beginning but for people who have decent cash flow and good domains, flipping isn't the way to go forever.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

I agree with this. Lots of domains won't ever sell unless you are motivated to move them.

Why do you need to sell all domains in your own life? If cash flow isn't an issue, why hurry to sell?
Your spouse and/or family members can benefit from it after you are gone. Don't take it personally, I am just using as an example

Also ALL GOOD domains DO sell. It's just the matter of time.

 

[biggie]

If I had not waited for the right buyer than I must have sold to someone who was offering me 2-3K. So if the seller has the negotiation ability, cashflow to hold the name for longer period of time in order to wait for the right enduser, surely he will be paid off well.

Hi

i've said this quite often, and glad you re-iterated the point.



imo...

 

[GoKaizen]

Why do you need to sell all domains in your own life? If cash flow isn't an issue, why hurry to sell?
Your spouse and/or family members can benefit from it after you are gone. Don't take it personally, I am just using as an example

Also ALL GOOD domains DO sell. It's just the matter of time.

Is your family actively investing in domains? Most members family/friends don't care about domains so why wait that long?

Good domains do sell. What are your renewal costs?

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

Is your family actively investing in domains? Most members family/friends don't care about domains so why wait that long?

Good domains do sell. What are your renewal costs?

Good question

Yes, I came into domain investing as my father was mostly buying domains for his newly established company in 1997-98. But he never seriously invested in domains but in 2004 I got into domaining and wasn't serious until 2010. My brother is also involved in this business and my wife is fully aware of my business and we both are actively involved in it.

Even if my family members not involved in this business doesn't mean I should sell all domains before I think my life time is up. I would still give the responsibility of handling domains to my family members rather than letting it drop and would educate them the basics and value of those I am holding domains no matter they aren't interested in domaining.

My renewals is $1,000 p/month from which 65-70% is paid by parking revenue itself.

 

[Bram C.]

I know there is risk involved and domain might not get sold for now but the thing is when it's sold, you hit the jackpot which is far better IMO than flipping which is highly time consuming.

I used to do that in the beginning but for people who have decent cash flow and good domains, flipping isn't the way to go forever.

I have plenty of good domains and a decent cash flow. Yet unlike you I'm not gonna turn down offers that are reasonable just because there might be a jackpot in some distant future. And yes they keyword is "might". You say good domains do sell. While I agree that this is true, it just means imo that at some point if you want money for those domains you could sell them for a reasonable price (small profit). Good domains bring liquidity. They do however never guarantee that you will get for it what you want to get for it.

Keeping a good domain for many years just to find that one buyer who will offer what you want for it is the same as buying a lottery ticket with the same numbers every day and thinking you will win one day just because you play those same numbers for a long period of time. Your odds will slightly increase in your favor yes, but it will never be a guarantee that you will win.

People who are holding domains long term usually do it because once they finally hit a jackpot it more than makes up for all the lost smaller sales they could have had much earlier.
People who flip do it because they want the sales earlier and do not wish to take the risk to be stuck with a domain.

Personally I prefer to sell as many domains as possible in the shortest amount of time. Sure I will get less money on average per domain this way but I will sell a lot more domains this way.

 

[Casey L]

But I seriously don't agree with "that domain costs what the buyer is willing to pay." For me, it's that the domain costs what the seller is willing to sell at.

That only applies to good names though. The last thing we need is people setting ridiculous prices on terrible domains and using this to justify it.

 

[AbdulBasit.com]

That only applies to good names though. The last thing we need is people setting ridiculous prices on terrible domains and using this to justify it.

Of course, that applies only to good names whereas crappy names will never get sold, let alone at my desired asking price.