poll I am at 5000+ now, how many domains in your "keeper" portfolio?

[Recons.Com]

So, I finally crossed the 5000 threshold. Let's share here the portfolio sizes we currently have.

For the poll, I am asking to include only the keeper names, those you are likely to renew, not the heavily discounted names you are holding for a year only. But feel free to mention that portfolio size in the comments too.

As for my portfolio, It seems in past year I have more than doubled the size, buying over 2500 names just from GD auctions/closeouts. Most names are with the GD (see the screenshot) but I also have couple hundred at Epic, Dyna combined.

And I rarely drop names now, with probably under 1% being pruned.

 

[Recons.Com]

Well, this did not take long... Already crossed 6000 at GD (6172 as of now, to be precise, but around 40 on the way, haven't hit the account yet), plus another 320 with Dyna and Epik, for grand total of around 6500...

I had 5095 with GD on June 6, less than 3 months ago, and had under 200 elsewhere. So around 1200 added since then, which is roughly the rate I need to get to doubling a year goal.

 

[blogspotter]

Your random list of the first 30-35 domains are all keepers. Haha
By this sample i doubt if you have any losers

 

[Recons.Com]

Your random list of the first 30-35 domains are all keepers. Haha
By this sample i doubt if you have any losers

Yeah, well, I used a trick there and sorted by GD value

The list is not representative ))

But, yes I keep about 99% of the names, as each name has been researched before buying.

 

[rumevic]

Well, this did not take long... Already crossed 6000 at GD (6172 as of now, to be precise, but around 40 on the way, haven't hit the account yet), plus another 320 with Dyna and Epik, for grand total of around 6500...

I had 5095 with GD on June 6, less than 3 months ago, and had under 200 elsewhere. So around 1200 added since then, which is roughly the rate I need to get to doubling a year goal.

Show attachment 166311

elix.com is developed - the first on your list
does not seem to be for sale
from site footnote: "Elix.com is America’s New Exquisite Magazine"
copyright from 2018...
latest news are from May 17th though
did you just sell this domain after domains list screenshot and company quickly got the website running?
or you bought it recently and DNS still not updated I guess?
Just wondering
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Recons.Com]

elix.com is developed - the first on your list
does not seem to be for sale
from site footnote: "Elix.com is America’s New Exquisite Magazine"
copyright from 2018...
latest news are from May 17th though
did you just sell this domain after domains list screenshot and company quickly got the website running?
or you bought it recently and DNS still not updated I guess?
Just wondering
Thanks for sharing!
Show attachment 166325

Elix is my project... It is an online mag first, and will be print later. It is on backburner with the Rightbrand taking priority, and one more business next. So, might be another 12 months to the print and 6 months to getting tens of articles a day. It already has DA of 50 though. Thanks for asking

 

[domvault]

what is your STR (Sell through rate) @Recons.Com ?

 

[Recons.Com]

what is your STR (Sell through rate). @Recons.Com ?

I am averaging 5-8 sales a month now. Annualized, if I were to stop growing, that would add up to around 70-80 names or STR of around 1.2-1.3%.

There is a lot of room for improvement, of course, with better conversion of traffic and other ways.

 

[uzver]

Yeah, well, I used a trick there and sorted by GD value

The list is not representative ))

Thanks for validating my guess

 

[uzver]

I am averaging 5-8 sales a month now. Annualized, if I were to stop growing, that would add up to around 70-80 names or STR of around 1.2-1.3%.

There is a lot of room for improvement, of course, with better conversion of traffic and other ways.

How many of these are RightBrand sales?

 

[DN_Hunter]

I've got around 1,500 names and it's been in that ballpark for the last 6 or 7 years. My annual sales are just under 1%, and I drop another 2.5% (about 50 names total sales + drops). But I also purchase about the same amount of names per year -- so the overall portfolio size stays about the same.

Any tips on savings on your annual renewals? a few years ago eBates (Rakuten) was great with cash back from GD. But they got rid of the cash back on Renewals and GD Expired Auction purchases.

I save a little on renewals using a credit card that offers cash back on online purchases. But any other tips on cutting down your annual renewal fees?

 

[7363824]

I've got around 1,500 names and it's been in that ballpark for the last 6 or 7 years. My annual sales are just under 1%, and I drop another 2.5% (about 50 names total sales + drops). But I also purchase about the same amount of names per year -- so the overall portfolio size stays about the same.

Any tips on savings on your annual renewals? a few years ago eBates (Rakuten) was great with cash back from GD. But they got rid of the cash back on Renewals and GD Expired Auction purchases.

I save a little on renewals using a credit card that offers cash back on online purchases. But any other tips on cutting down your annual renewal fees?

Imo renewals are only part of the equation. Take @Recons.Com with 6500 names thats a heafty renewal bill. Let's just say the average renewal cost if $9/yr that'd be $58,500 in renewal costs. But then there's the sales. He didn't specify the average sales price but in order to make that from say 70 sales on the low end the average sales price after commission would need to be about $836. Thats probably much lower than his average sales price i'd guess, especially given the rate of growth.

You can keep transferring names around chasing coupons but personally id just focus on getting quality names that will sell and more than cover their renwal costs

 

[DrJacoby]

Any tips on savings on your annual renewals?

GoDaddy's Discount Domain Club gives you .com renewals for $8,49. If I remember correctly, I paid around $80/year when I purchased a multi-year membership (using a "hack").

The problem for people that chase cheaper renewals by transferring to different registrars each year is that Afternic's Fast Transfer network (DLS) is inactivated for 60 days every time you transfer to a new registrar. In my opinion, the small amount you save by switching registrars doesn't make up for the loss of sales for the two months that Fast Transfer is inactive.

 

[garptrader]

For those without 2-4 character .Com domains, sales are sporadic and periods of time pass where renewals must be paid with the uncertainty of when the next sale will occur. So inevitably some domains get dropped. My portfolio has not been this small since perhaps late 2007 though my current portfolio probably only includes 5% of the names I held back then. 2010 continues to be my best sales year in domaining though without question there were domains I sold in 2010 for low to mid-$xxx that I would not even renew today. I believe the release of hundreds of new extensions plus the impact of social media platforms has reduced the demand for aftermarket domains. However, I have seen a pickup in demand for English domains since the corona pandemic.

 

[boker]

GoDaddy's Discount Domain Club gives you .com renewals for $8,49. If I remember correctly, I paid around $80/year when I purchased a multi-year membership (using a "hack").

The problem for people that chase cheaper renewals by transferring to different registrars each year is that Afternic's Fast Transfer network (DLS) is inactivated for 60 days every time you transfer to a new registrar. In my opinion, the small amount you save by switching registrars doesn't make up for the loss of sales for the two months that Fast Transfer is inactive.

First of all, if you list your domains with BIN at afternic, they will show up at godaddy, no matter if they are fast transfer or not and since godaddy is delivering most sales, out of entire network, the impact is not so big. Second, if you transfer your domains to certain registrars, you can opt out of the 60 days lock an they can be listed through afternic fast transfer. Third, this year, my domains listed through afternic fast transfer make up around 10% of the sales through landing page, so I can't see where you loose. Fourth, there are some offers from smaller registrars where you can transfer a .com as low as $0,45 in certain times, so the saving is pretty big for a big portofolio. I have a batch of around 70 domains, registered for $0,31 and then transferred the second year for $0.45, so there are huge savings if you are looking for and you check the right registrar at the right time.

 

[Windoms]

First of all, if you list your domains with BIN at afternic, they will show up at godaddy, no matter if they are fast transfer or not and since godaddy is delivering most sales, out of entire network, the impact is not so big. Second, if you transfer your domains to certain registrars, you can opt out of the 60 days lock an they can be listed through afternic fast transfer. Third, this year, my domains listed through afternic fast transfer make up around 10% of the sales through landing page, so I can't see where you loose. Fourth, there are some offers from smaller registrars where you can transfer a .com as low as $0,45 in certain times, so the saving is pretty big for a big portofolio. I have a batch of around 70 domains, registered for $0,31 and then transferred the second year for $0.45, so there are huge savings if you are looking for and you check the right registrar at the right time.

Are you BIN or make offer.
Because 10%of your sales through fast transfer is not normal if you are BIN.
Are you the type to put 20k bins everywhere with make offer option on lander.
Because again, 10% is not normal.

 

[Windoms]

(You should have at least 50%)

 

[boker]

Are you BIN or make offer.
Because 10%of your sales through fast transfer is not normal if you are BIN.
Are you the type to put 20k bins everywhere with make offer option on lander.
Because again, 10% is not normal.

All my afternic domains have BIN and the prices are the same as my landing pages, so no difference there. Last years was better, this year the landing pages work much better. Also, I have offers through my email listed at whois and I have done more sales privately, than afternic, excepting the landing pages. Most of my prices are xxx to low-mid xxxx, so nothing special.

 

[Recons.Com]

How many of these are RightBrand sales?

Around 20% for now. But aiming for 60-70%.

 

[Recons.Com]

I've got around 1,500 names and it's been in that ballpark for the last 6 or 7 years. My annual sales are just under 1%, and I drop another 2.5% (about 50 names total sales + drops). But I also purchase about the same amount of names per year -- so the overall portfolio size stays about the same.

Any tips on savings on your annual renewals? a few years ago eBates (Rakuten) was great with cash back from GD. But they got rid of the cash back on Renewals and GD Expired Auction purchases.

I save a little on renewals using a credit card that offers cash back on online purchases. But any other tips on cutting down your annual renewal fees?

Cashbacks are nice, but not the primary thing. Yes, GD has stopped with those, I think, under the new management.

I am fine with $8.47 that I pay with GD.

Sales under 1%: Unless you are pricing aggressively most of your names, I'd revisit the setup/choices/pricing. Are your names listed on Afternic? Do they have landers? Are they too niche? More suitable for non-paying fields, like blogging etc? 1% is the minimum you should be targeting if pricing in the sweet spot.

 

[Recons.Com]

Imo renewals are only part of the equation. Take @Recons.Com with 6500 names thats a heafty renewal bill. Let's just say the average renewal cost if $9/yr that'd be $58,500 in renewal costs. But then there's the sales. He didn't specify the average sales price but in order to make that from say 70 sales on the low end the average sales price after commission would need to be about $836. Thats probably much lower than his average sales price i'd guess, especially given the rate of growth.

You can keep transferring names around chasing coupons but personally id just focus on getting quality names that will sell and more than cover their renwal costs

Spot on! Renewals are the fixed pain, but that is given. For success, you have to focus on the upside portion that is under your control.

 

[Recons.Com]

GoDaddy's Discount Domain Club gives you .com renewals for $8,49. If I remember correctly, I paid around $80/year when I purchased a multi-year membership (using a "hack").

The problem for people that chase cheaper renewals by transferring to different registrars each year is that Afternic's Fast Transfer network (DLS) is inactivated for 60 days every time you transfer to a new registrar. In my opinion, the small amount you save by switching registrars doesn't make up for the loss of sales for the two months that Fast Transfer is inactive.

I am with you here. Considerable percentage of sales come from FT network outside GD/AN.

Don't want to chase transfers, as a) there is a lead time to decision making by buyers and the stability leads to improved results. I believe part of why Mann is successful selling some names at ridiculously high prices is because he conditions potential buyers over years to $25k+ price tag. Initial shock passes and eventually they pull the trigger. b) value of time. For some it might not be much, but for me the cost of my time is $xxx/hr. Transferring each name can take couple of minutes, that would add up to $xxxx loss for me; c) cost of managing. When 95%+ of my names are with one registrar, managing is much easier. Just pay renewals; d) potential loss in sales from losing FT status or even disrupting the flow.

In short, I treat renewals as rental cost for your office. Sure every year you might find somewhere cheaper, but do you really want to keep moving/setting up/informing your partners and clients about the change, updating your sites and creating a stress for your employees for new logistics of getting to work?

 

[Recons.Com]

For those without 2-4 character .Com domains, sales are sporadic and periods of time pass where renewals must be paid with the uncertainty of when the next sale will occur. So inevitably some domains get dropped. My portfolio has not been this small since perhaps late 2007 though my current portfolio probably only includes 5% of the names I held back then. 2010 continues to be my best sales year in domaining though without question there were domains I sold in 2010 for low to mid-$xxx that I would not even renew today. I believe the release of hundreds of new extensions plus the impact of social media platforms has reduced the demand for aftermarket domains. However, I have seen a pickup in demand for English domains since the corona pandemic.

That is part of the reason I want bigger portfolio. It takes care of being sporadic. I had a look at your names and noticed that they focus on few areas, so the net is not wide enough from that perspective too.

 

[DrJacoby]

this year, my domains listed through afternic fast transfer make up around 10% of the sales through landing page

Almost all of my sales so far has been through Afternic, so making sure all my domains are in Fast Transfer network is vital.

 

[Recons.Com]

Almost all of my sales so far has been through Afternic, so making sure all my domains are in Fast Transfer network is vital.

Hmm... Almost all? Unless you use their landers, this shouldn't be the case. Normal would be 30% to 60% via Afternic.

 

[Recons.Com]

First of all, if you list your domains with BIN at afternic, they will show up at godaddy, no matter if they are fast transfer or not and since godaddy is delivering most sales, out of entire network, the impact is not so big. Second, if you transfer your domains to certain registrars, you can opt out of the 60 days lock an they can be listed through afternic fast transfer. Third, this year, my domains listed through afternic fast transfer make up around 10% of the sales through landing page, so I can't see where you loose. Fourth, there are some offers from smaller registrars where you can transfer a .com as low as $0,45 in certain times, so the saving is pretty big for a big portofolio. I have a batch of around 70 domains, registered for $0,31 and then transferred the second year for $0.45, so there are huge savings if you are looking for and you check the right registrar at the right time.

You are doing great. But your strategy would be hard to express/follow/administer for someone else. It still might be worth considering/following for someone starting with low budget and aiming at more than 100% IRR on a small scale and willing to do all research/work/hustle.

The classic recommendation would basically be stick to your registrar that allows to list with FT/MLS or both and has renewals around $8.5, and have landers at Afternic/own site/Efty/Dan etc. Especially, when dealing with thousands of domains.