sales First Year Domaining Results

[SBS66]

I thought I would share my results for 2016, which is the year I actually applied myself to domaining. It may help other newbies like myself or just bore the old timers with yet another annual newbie post.

This is the first year that I actually applied myself to domaining, even though I had registered the name for esquire domain back in 2013. What made the difference for me, I think, is actually scouring the forum for “actionable” content. By this I mean posts that people would share with things that we can do, as opposed to just opinions about what will work, what will not work, etc., what is spam, blah, blah. That cliché about having a plan and working the plan has always worked for me.

So, in 2016, I sold 21 domains for gross sales of $7895, and domain net profit of $7335.11, which is what I had left over after escrow fees/PPal fess/domain cost. The business itself left a total profit of $4000.97, after taking into account the monthly cost of, for example, membership in this forum, phone number, hosting, GD Domain Club membership, marketing experiments, course purchases (Infosec’s course/conference, DNAcademy), EFTY marketplace, etc. My original goal in April 2016 was to make $5,000 in all of 2016; I didn’t know how that was going to happen but that is what my goal was. So, for me, 2016 has been a domaining success.

Of the 21 domains sold, 2 (SiteKart.com and LearnAppBuilding) were experiments on Flippa and here. The net profit combined was $30.00. Lesson: forget Flippa and NPs is a great place to buy.

The remaining 19 consisted of 14 legal domains and 5 other domains.

I am not ready to venture into buying domains that will cost more than $75 as I don’t think I have the acumen to value properly yet; about $95% of the purchases have been for under $9, and 4% under $20.

Inbound vs. Outbound: 1 domain has been sold via inbound, the rest have all been outbounds. I have gotten other inbound offers but they have been for $10-100, and for names that I suspect are worth more (not law related names), so they have not resulted in sales. For those names, I am trying to be patient and committed to holding them for at least 5 years, we shall see…

I wish everyone on the forum a healthful, happy and successful 2017. Thanks to everyone who posts their sales, what works/doesn’t work for them.

 

[SBS66]

Wow! Congrats on your first year. Those numbers are amazing.
Generating that kind of ROI on domains you bought for under $10 is simply remarkable.

Good luck in 2017.

Thank you..same to you. My very small "portfolio" needs to be trimmed, so my next idea for the first 3 months of 2017 is to liquidate some names to end-users, which I already tried once and was a success, netting 8 times the cost (reg+/ppal fee) on the name.

Best in 2017 to you as well.

 

[NameAgency]

Good job! and great idea to keep track accurately.

 

[stewmath]

I really need to learn how to find end users like you. Lol. My domains are just collecting dust

 

[SBS66]

@stewmath lol..it's just google searching...Talk to @infosec3: it's his system I use for searching for names and finding end users.

 

[stewmath]

@stewmath lol..it's just google searching...Talk to @infosec3: it's his system I use for searching for names and finding end users.

Cheers ill message him

 

[garptrader]

Congrats on a phenomenal "first year" - review what is working for you and what is not and have the discipline to make the necessary changes.

 

[SBS66]

@garptrader so true re discipline. I've been ruminating the idea of liequidating/not renewing some and have finally taken steps this mond (Dec) by not renewing 2 names.

 

[Hemanttilotia]

Hi
Great community and awesome people here. I am loving this.
Okay, I started a bit late.
Precisely on 20-October-2016, so just a couple of months into it.
I started off with $15K something and have recovered that amount by some big sales.
Sold 7 domains overall and still have some 140+ domains left.
It's very tricky. I try not to get swayed at GD auctions but still do.
Today bought another one for $440 which is a habit I must get rid of.
NP is a great place.
I have made Doron of DNGeek.com as my Guru & he doesn't know about it
I mean just follow that guy. He is awesome and realistic in his comments. I hope this year bring a lot of good luck, end user sales to us all. Cheers !!

 

[Doron Vermaat]

Well done on your first year and for giving back by sharing your journey with everyone!

 

[Doron Vermaat]

I have made Doron of DNGeek.com as my Guru & he doesn't know about it
I mean just follow that guy. He is awesome and realistic in his comments.

I know now lol! Thanks a lot for the kind words but honestly there are no gurus in our business but what we do have is a lot of great people that are willing to share and learn together.

 

[Hemanttilotia]

Thanks Doron. It's worth following you on your blog.

 

[BostonDomainer]

Good job on your first year. You're doing it right. You're focused on a niche with good sales records, driven, you're tracking expenditures etc.... that's good stuff for your first year. You're treating it like a business form the start. Many should take some notes form you.

 

[mpls]

Amazing results guys @SBS66 @Insha010 (25k of profit is unbelivable) !!
My first year is also closed, but I've lost 10k this year in domaining, I've not luck with any markets, 0 sales on sedo, 0 sales on afternic/godaddy auctions, 0 inquiries, only 1 ridicolous offers via sedo in march.
I've sold only 1 domain with a good ROI.
Also lost 50/60k in web development, built 20 websites without earn a penny from them (for real! $ 0).
Parking revenue for (all) 2016 is $ 2.
I hope 2017 will be better. I really need money now, in order to finance/start other projects.
Good luck to all for an amazing 2017!!!

 

[NetworkPearl]

Amazing results guys @SBS66 @Insha010 (25k of profit is unbelivable) !!
My first year is also closed, but I've lost 10k this year in domaining, I've not luck with any markets, 0 sales on sedo, 0 sales on afternic/godaddy auctions, 0 inquiries, only 1 ridicolous offers via sedo in march.
I've sold only 1 domain with a good ROI.
Also lost 50/60k in web development, built 20 websites without earn a penny from them (for real! $ 0).
Parking revenue for (all) 2016 is $ 2.
I hope 2017 will be better. I really need money now, in order to finance/start other projects.
Good luck to all for an amazing 2017!!!

Good luck to you sir. If I were you , I'd do outbound sales by purchasing domains in the $10-$30 range and try to sell for $200-$500.That's what I did initially and I know other people who have succeeded as well.

Seems like you do have enough budget but you should be aware of the domain market before spending. Also I wouldn't rely on domain parking anymore.

Good luck and I hope you have an amazing year!

 

[domainbartender]

@mpls I've had a terrible year too. Just like the time when Google started penalizing PR sites and I left webmastering alltogether.

 

[stewmath]

Good luck to you sir. If I were you , I'd do outbound sales by purchasing domains in the $10-$30 range and try to sell for $200-$500.That's what I did initially and I know other people who have succeeded as well.

Seems like you do have enough budget but you should be aware of the domain market before spending. Also I wouldn't rely on domain parking anymore.

Good luck and I hope you have an amazing year!

Thats exactly what i need to do

 

[SBS66]

Amazing results guys @SBS66 @Insha010 (25k of profit is unbelivable) !!
My first year is also closed, but I've lost 10k this year in domaining, I've not luck with any markets, 0 sales on sedo, 0 sales on afternic/godaddy auctions, 0 inquiries, only 1 ridicolous offers via sedo in march.
I've sold only 1 domain with a good ROI.
Also lost 50/60k in web development, built 20 websites without earn a penny from them (for real! $ 0).
Parking revenue for (all) 2016 is $ 2.
I hope 2017 will be better. I really need money now, in order to finance/start other projects.
Good luck to all for an amazing 2017!!!

On the other hand, you seem to have a lot of great skills! I'm sure with a little bit of thought you will be able to turn some of that around.

I missed the parking's golden years. The only "parking" revenue I get is an avg of $27/month from google ads on a micro site.

Best to you in 2017 as well.

 

[Serengeti]

@SBS66 & @Insha010 Congrats for the results of the countless hours deep in the nights.... day in day out... rinse & repeat... add a little lemon grass ... ginger on the sauce.. adjust the fire... and May the Blessings be with you. Keep it up..guys.

 

[wigitgetit]

Thank you for sharing this. I just joined NamePros Forum and this is nice to see.

Congrats.

 

[SBS66]

Thank you for sharing this. I just joined NamePros Forum and this is nice to see.

Congrats.

You are quite welcome!

 

[staringatascreen]

Killer! I barely managed to break even my first year (a couple months past that first year now, and I'm in the red...). What are you saying in your outbound? You mentioned scouring the forums for "actionable" content? Care to share your method a little bit? (If you don't wanna share publicly, I'll happily field a PM )

Awesome job @SBS66 !

 

[SBS66]

Killer! I barely managed to break even my first year (a couple months past that first year now, and I'm in the red...). What are you saying in your outbound? You mentioned scouring the forums for "actionable" content? Care to share your method a little bit? (If you don't wanna share publicly, I'll happily field a PM )

Awesome job @SBS66 !

Alrighty then...I will pm you! Obviously I don't mind sharing publicly but I don't want to bore everyone with the details. I can tell you--cause I've posted before about it-- that "the system" I use is the one from @infosec3, but I gave you more details in the pm.

 

[rhakim]

SB, great first year .. the results are amazing, and good of your sharings including the numbers.

 

[exyzed]

Hi @SBS66 congrats on making a sizable profit while at your first year in Domaining. Seems you are much ahead of most of the newbies like me here. And thanks for your sharing it here for me to learn.

that "the system" I use is the one from @infosec3, but I gave you more details in the pm.

Can you PM me as well for me learn more about the "the system"?

Thanks.

 

[stewmath]

Hi @SBS66 congrats on making a sizable profit while at your first year in Domaining. Seems you are much ahead of most of the newbies like me here. And thanks for your sharing it here for me to learn.



Can you PM me as well for me learn more about the "the system"?

Thanks.

The system is for sale, i think its about $49