advice What are top strategies for selling domains?

[Francis AHLE]

Hi, i have a big concern and i really need answers. What are top strategies for selling domains? I have few ideas:
- Create a website a kind of personal business about selling domains) and have a landing page
-By domains from several registrars and try to sell them via the registrar
- Publish my sales in social media groups (Facebook, Linked in and Twitter)

Do you think it's enough? I'm waiting for your advices, especially those which would help finding end users.
Best,
Francis

 

[gilescoley]

These 4 few pointers will help new domainers not waste money

1) Check and make sure you have a whole list of potential buyers before buying a name
2) Don't hand register any names, email owners of above-average names and find a bargain.
3) Don't buy names and then park them or put up a landing page. Email each potential buyer individually and ask if they are interested. 4) Biggest mistake domainers make is thinking the buyers will come to them afgter buying an average domain. This wont happen unless you have really good names.
5) Rather spend $200 or $500 on 1 or 2 names that will at least sell, rather than 50 or 100 crappy names.
6) DO NOT fall for the new domainer regging frenzy, buy 1-5 names and try and sell them, if you cant sell them, dont buy more, research and learn where you went wrong.

Good luck

 

[Francis AHLE]

Hi @gilescoley , thanks for your answers. Can i list here the domains i have so that you see if they worth selling?

 

[gilescoley]

You can if you want, but putting them in the appraisal section will give you a much better idea though

 

[Domain Broker5]

The only advice I can give is for you to buy domain from auctions which many other extensions are registered and developed, some domainers are very lazy to outbound sales.... This works for me....

 

[Domains - Wanted]

These 4 few pointers will help new domainers not waste money...

Let me jump in with my take on this... in case you thought it's as simple as following one PRO's advice and you'll be set for life...

1) Check and make sure you have a whole list of potential buyers before buying a name...

Check

2) Don't hand register any names, email owners of above-average names and find a bargain...

Don't hand register any domains, unless:

- you know what you're doing, that is to say, know how to identify gems among a sh*#load of leftover droppings...

- you concentrate primarily on leftover droppings, that is each day's dropped domains, those that have not been scooped up yet!

- you love doing online research and cold calling people - prerequisites to doing outbound marketing! Plus you know how to do this without being branded a spammer and getting all your emails banned!

3) Don't buy names and then park them or put up a landing page. Email each potential buyer individually and ask if they are interested...

Don't even think of not putting up a landing page! That's what you do first, before anything else... see item (7) below for what to do after that...

4) Biggest mistake domainers make is thinking the buyers will come to them afgter buying an average domain. This wont happen unless you have really good names...

Check

5) Rather spend $200 or $500 on 1 or 2 names that will at least sell, rather than 50 or 100 crappy names...

I couldn't disagree more, except for the "crappy names" part! Starting out, don't put all your eggs in one or two baskets. Rather, try to buy or handreg 50 or 100 good names! It's possible, but takes a lot of time, trial and error, so be very careful how much money you're gambling with on each bet... er, domain!

6) DO NOT fall for the new domainer regging frenzy, buy 1-5 names and try and sell them, if you cant sell them, dont buy more, research and learn where you went wrong.

Check

Except I suggest starting with a bit more, say a few dozen domains, to test the waters...

7) The second thing to do, right after setting up your landing pages, is to get your domains out there, in front of potential buyers! In all likelihood, they'll never come to you, to any given domain's lander, but buyers do visit domain marketplaces...

Here's an excellent thread by @JudgeMind...

https://www.namepros.com/threads/5-steps-to-successful-sales-for-a-newbie.1097669/

8) So much for getting someone interested in your domains. Then all you need to do, is close the deal. Here's the kicker: most deals fall through at this point! But that's a subject for another thread entirely...

Good luck!

Andrew

 

[Furquan]

Here is a simple strategy to sell the name,

Find Sellable name, Get it hand reg or acquire it from aftermarket,
List on Sedo, Afternic, Undeveloped, Uniregistry
Sold

Now the question is what is a sellable name, that is something you need to learn... Here on namepros, you will find tons of insight about this. search for it.

 

[EASYPICKINGS]

These 4 few pointers will help new domainers not waste money

1) Check and make sure you have a whole list of potential buyers before buying a name
2) Don't hand register any names, email owners of above-average names and find a bargain.
3) Don't buy names and then park them or put up a landing page. Email each potential buyer individually and ask if they are interested. 4) Biggest mistake domainers make is thinking the buyers will come to them afgter buying an average domain. This wont happen unless you have really good names.
5) Rather spend $200 or $500 on 1 or 2 names that will at least sell, rather than 50 or 100 crappy names.
6) DO NOT fall for the new domainer regging frenzy, buy 1-5 names and try and sell them, if you cant sell them, dont buy more, research and learn where you went wrong.

Good luck

Well I wish I read that 4 months ago I have 140 hand-regs and some of them are amazing.. but only recently have I been seeking out buyers. I made my instagram page @DomainSellers

 

[gilescoley]

Let me jump in with my take on this... in case you thought it's as simple as following one PRO's advice and you'll be set for life...

I sense a little sarcasm

Telling a new domainer to hand-reg 50 or 100 names is ridiculous, its the number 1 mistake new people make in this game, it doesnt matter what niche or "basket" theyre in, most people who have been doing this for a while know this won't work, almost all of them will end up expiring in a year or 2, new domainers dont know the ins and outs of domain value, so even if they were to hand-reg a name, the chances of selling them are virtually impossible because of the domain quality, thats why you get a small handful and test the waters, then you arent losing big $$, there is a very high chance that 95%, if not all of your first years domains will expire or you'll still have them for sale, you only have to look at the names in the appraisal section and then go and check whats still registered.

Research your names and keep an eye on recent sales, so you know what to look for when emailing domain owners.

It's fine putting up a landing page, but the problem is that you cant do that and expect sales to just happen, because that's what a lot of new domainers do, you have to be proactive to make money. I can assure you that yoi wont get sales from hand reg names and a landing page, go and ahead and try it.

 

[EASYPICKINGS]

I sense a little sarcasm

Telling a new domainer to hand-reg 50 or 100 names is ridiculous, its the number 1 mistake new people make in this game, it doesnt matter what niche or "basket" theyre in, most people who have been doing this for a while know this won't work, almost all of them will end up expiring in a year or 2, new domainers dont know the ins and outs of domain value, so even if they were to hand-reg a name, the chances of selling them are virtually impossible because of the domain quality, thats why you get a small handful and test the waters, then you arent losing big $$, there is a very high chance that 95%, if not all of your first years domains will expire or you'll still have them for sale, you only have to look at the names in the appraisal section and then go and check whats still registered.

Research your names and keep an eye on recent sales, so you know what to look for when emailing domain owners.

Actually you should hand reg if you know what your doing, because guess what times are changing buddy and new words are constantly becoming current in the moment. So, as a new seller, im telling you, I paid $1 for the name quantumsuit.com and im telling you that name is selling 10k-30k. It was available.. for a reason.. because only recently has it been a real thing.

 

[EASYPICKINGS]

Lol I have the craziest science names you should read my portfolio of 140 names or so.

 

[gilescoley]

Actually you should hand reg if you know what your doing, because guess what times are changing buddy and new words are constantly becoming current in the moment. So, as a new seller, im telling you, I paid $1 for the name quantumsuit.com and im telling you that name is selling 10k-30k. It was available.. for a reason.. because only recently has it been a real thing.

Yes, but we are referring to your average new domainer who dont what they are doing yet, if you have done 6 months of research into a new tech niche and then buy a handful of names in that industry, then that can work but very few people do that. I did this with the 3D, Holo, Cloud, Solar, drone and robotics niches and it works. My cloud names were purchased between 2004 and 2012, way before icloud and cloud computing came around. The important thing is you still need to learn domain value when doing that so you get the best names in the niche.

 

[lock]

The only advice I can give is for you to buy domain from auctions which many other extensions are registered and developed, some domainers are very lazy to outbound sales.... This works for me....

He is selling trying to sell domains.

 

[johnnie018]

-buy good extension (only .com or .ws)
-do not spams (outbound emailing)
-do not buy new tld domain

 

[Domains - Wanted]

I sense a little sarcasm

Not at all. Just suggesting that in this business, it's a good idea to get more than one, or even two doctors' opinions

Telling a new domainer to hand-reg 50 or 100 names is ridiculous, its the number 1 mistake new people make in this game, it doesnt matter what niche or "basket" theyre in, most people who have been doing this for a while know this won't work...

I've been at this since the turn of the century. Almost all of my 4,000 names are handregs. Most of my names have no landers - yet! They are not listed at any marketplaces - yet! I'm not even half trying and I still sell 1 or 2 of them worthless handregs for high $xxx to low $x,xxx every quarter.

I realize these numbers are far below your treshold. Buying for $xxx, you are looking to sell for $xx,xxx. The perfect storm of domaining strategy! Problem is, new domainers are no more qualified to follow suit, than giving handreging a try...

It's fine putting up a landing page, but the problem is that you cant do that and expect sales to just happen, because that's what a lot of new domainers do, you have to be proactive to make money. I can assure you that yoi wont get sales from hand reg names and a landing page, go and ahead and try it.

Totally agree!

 

[EASYPICKINGS]

Not at all. Just suggesting that in this business, it's a good idea to get more than one, or even two doctors' opinions

I've been at this since the turn of the century. Almost all of my 4,000 names are handregs. Most of my names have no landers - yet! They are not listed at any marketplaces - yet! I'm not even half trying and I still sell 1 or 2 of them worthless handregs for high $xxx to low $x,xxx every quarter.

I realize these numbers are far below your treshold. Buying for $xxx, you are looking to sell for $xx,xxx. The perfect storm of domaining strategy! Problem is, new domainers are no more qualified to follow suit, than giving handreging a try...

Totally agree!

I have been pretty proactive trying to sell directly to potential buyers, and I know my names are good. Still no luck though its been 4 months, only past month have I been trying to actually sell. I mean catervenue.com got up on squadhelp hurry up and sell!

 

[Elad n]

-buy good extension (only .com or .ws)
-do not spams (outbound emailing)
-do not buy new tld domain

WS

 

[bmugford]

I've been at this since the turn of the century. Almost all of my 4,000 names are handregs. Most of my names have no landers - yet! They are not listed at any marketplaces - yet! I'm not even half trying and I still sell 1 or 2 of them worthless handregs for high $xxx to low $x,xxx every quarter.

I realize these numbers are far below your treshold. Buying for $xxx, you are looking to sell for $xx,xxx. The perfect storm of domaining strategy! Problem is, new domainers are no more qualified to follow suit, than giving handreging a try...

So you have 4,000 domains to renew. At a standard renewal rate of say $8 - $10 a year that is $32K - $40K/year in renewals. You said you are selling 1-2 a quarter for high $XXX - low $X,XXX.

On the high end that is selling 8 a year for low high $XXX - low $X,XXX each.
That sure doesn't sound profitable.

Brad

 

[Donmarick]

nice part of information here. I think this topic should be made as a tutorial.

 

[Domains - Wanted]

So you have 4,000 domains to renew. At a standard renewal rate of say $8 - $10 a year that is $32K - $40K/year in renewals...

Well, I renew "only" about 85% of my domains and average a little under $6 per renewal. But you are right, this still amounts to a fair bit

You said you are selling 1-2 a quarter for high $XXX - low $X,XXX.
On the high end that is selling 8 a year for low high $XXX - low $X,XXX each.
That sure doesn't sound profitable.

Nope, it sure is not!

While I'm not above flipping a few names to buyers who come my way (hence those meager sales), I'm primarily a domain investor, planning on developing about 70% of my "properties" en masse, starting later this year (e.g. membership sites, courses/training, sales funnels/affiliate marketing). What can I say, I prefer repeat business models, not one off sales

This said, I'm looking to increase sales. Growing my potfolio at 1,000+ per year, I've started to feel the drain

-- Andrew

 

[Donmarick]

Pretty impresive portfolio.

 

[Ostrados]

I would rather invest in 1 popular one word .com or a 3L.com than 4000 hand reg domains!

 

[Ostrados]

Selling strategy:
1- Buy high quality domains
2- List your domains on all marketplaces (Sedo, Afternic, Undeveloped, Uniregistry)
3- Use good looking landing page for all your domains (Undeveloped & Efty are recommended)
4- Actively market your domains in forums, social networks..etc
5- You can sell your domains at Namepros but at reseller prices (low profit margins)
6- Try to do outbound on your top domains but do not over do it.

#1 is the most important strategy, good domains sell themselves, if you have high quality domains buyers will reach you.

Listen to the pro members who advised you to not do hand reg, What is meant by hand reg is that domains that you come up with and find them available to register, these domains have 0 to very slim chance to sell because they have been available all these years and had never been taken. Think about it, if a domain had been available to be registered for 24 years (since 1995), then why there will be sudden demand on the domain after you register it in 2019?!

The only cases where you can do hand reg are:
1- if the domain was dropped recently, and was registered or in-use in the past. You can use expireddomains.net to check recent drop lists.
2- if the domain is brandable name (combo or madeup name), and can be listed on brandable domains marketplaces (Brandbucket, SquadHelp, Brandpa.. and others) but this is very tricky, so stay away from it if you are a beginner.
3- Domain speculation: If the domain is related to a new emerging technology or trending niche, this is also very tricky for a beginner and requires advanced skill.

Focus on buying domains from:
1- Expired auctions & Closeouts
2- Aftermarket or from Namepros members
3- Droplists free reg

Only buy/register high value domains, it is not easy task to determine which domains are valuable, but here are some hints:

Keyword/Exact Match Domains
1- Many other TLDs are taken for the name or close variant of it (you can use dofo.com for that)
2- High monthly search volume in google
3- The domain is in an active and growing niche or business
4- The domain is not related to an obsolete or dead product or business (ex: fax is dead product)
5- The domain name makes sense and has potential use.
6- Similar domains were sold in the past (check namebio.com for that)

Liquid domains:
1- Dictionary one word domains: value depends on all of the above + popularity of the word + singular vs plural (depends on the name) + correct spelling (never register misspelled domains).
2- 3L, 3N, 4L, 4N, 5L & 5N domains: check shortnames.com to get an idea of the value for each category. Look at sales history, sales chart, and the prices of current available domains.

 

[Domains - Wanted]

I would rather invest in 1 popular one word .com or a 3L.com than 4000 hand reg domains!

Ballsy! I don't like putting all my... er, eggs in one basket. This principle has served me well in life. But, hey, that's just me. To each his own

Besides, hmm, only one domain... where's the fun in that?

 

[Ostrados]

Ballsy! I don't like putting all my... er, eggs in one basket. This principle has served me well in life. But, hey, that's just me. To each his own

Besides, hmm, only one domain... where's the fun in that?

I agree with you, I didnt mean 1 domain literally, I was just trying to illustrate a point.

The correct approach is to invest in variety of domains, I prefer small portfolio under 50 of high quality domains.. easier to manage and easier to sell. but that is my own preference others may prefer larger or smaller portfolio.