For me, the most fulfilling part of selling domains is discovering how buyers develop the domains that I sell to them. Many times, I have an idea of what a domain could become when I buy it, but I am often surprised by the creativity of my buyers, and what they use the domains for.
Here are some websites hosted on domains that I've sold.
Earnify.com
Bought: 11/22/2014 » Sold: 4/30/2015
My Expectation: I envisioned a lot of different business uses for this domain, but the core value that I saw in the domain was a site to teach people how to earn money.
Outcome: Instead of my vision, the website on this domain is a native advertising platform. From their website: "We present you Earnify, the world’s first CPA native advertising platform which allows you, as a publisher, to yield a premium for the traffic you send.”
Greetfully.com
Bought: 10/9/2014 » Sold: 7/23/2015
My Expectation: I imagined a service that hired greeters for events or a business that created and sold greeting cards. I thought it could also host a website for a gift basket service.
Outcome: It turns out that my vision for the domain was very close to its current use! The domain now hosts a subscription based greeting card service.
iVetting.com
Bought: 1/9/2015 » Sold: 12/29/2015
My Expectation: I knew that the market for doing background checks on people (vetting them) was not going anywhere and a popular way to do background checks is online. However, I almost gave up on this name. I had decided to drop some of my domains that use the
Outcome: I did not expect the current use of the domain. The site is built around getting feedback on your ideas. It’s an interesting concept, but I’m not familiar with their business model.
Analyticable.com
Bought: 10/9/2014 » Sold: 7/23/2015
My Expectation: I thought that this one had a pretty straightforward meaning: able to do analytics. I pictured some sort of analytics business using this domain name.
Outcome: The company that now owns this domain offers analytics workshops, and their website says that their "goal is to enable people to use advanced analytics through multiple modes: Training, Software, and Consulting." My vision and the actual use were pretty similar in this case.
Popful.com
Bought: 1/7/2015 » Sold: 3/13/2015
My Expectation: To be honest, I had no idea what business would use this domain name. I just thought that it was a great six letter name with the word “pop” in it and a nice suffix.
Outcome: The site is in Spanish and features a mix of gossip, pop culture, and viral media.
Profitise.com
Bought: 2/4/2015 » Sold: 6/2/2015
My Expectation: I thought of this name as the pairing of profit and expertise: guidance to profit by experts.
Outcome: The domain is now used by a marketing firm that offers lead generation services to help companies increase their profits. From the website: "Profitise is a marketing firm and your solution in business financing. We’re a trusted source whether you are establishing a business from the ground up or need assistance in expanding. It’s more than leads. It’s more than calls. It’s about growing your business." So, similar to what I thought, they are establishing themselves as experts that can help you gain profits.
Bagogo.com
Bought: 1/6/2015 » Sold: 5/11/2015
My Expectation: When I first saw this domain, I thought of “Bag'n go.” I figured that it would be a neat name for a service that bagged products. I also liked the CVCVCV (consonant, vowel, ...) pattern and that it contained the word “go.”
Outcome: I didn’t see this one coming. From the website: “Bago is a female artist, she is a singer, songwriter, jewelry and candle maker.” She is a true artist. Great domain choice for her, considering Bago.com is taken and in use.
Eskroh.com
Bought: 11/3/2014 » Sold: 7/30/2015
My Expectation: I was simply looking up words in the dictionary and seeing their suggested pronunciations. When I looked up escrow, the dictionary recommend pronouncing it “es-kroh.” So, I bought the domain with escrow in mind.
Outcome The website features a data escrow service. No surprise to me!
uBrandable.com
Bought: 10/7/2014 » Sold: 7/14/2015
My Expectation: Funnily enough, I bought this domain to be my portfolio site for my brandable domain names, until I discovered BrandBucket. I decided that BrandBucket could do a better job than I could of selling my brandables, so I sold this name.
Outcome: No surprise, the site lists brandable domains for sale. I believe the owner is also a NamePros member.
Porkify.com
Bought: 6/18/2015 » Sold: 7/16/2015
My Expectation: I don't believe this domain had ever been registered before, which surprised me. Even more surprising, less than a month after I registered it, a broker came to me with a buyer in hand. At the time, I was very excited, and I closed a sale quickly. However, once the website went up, I realized that the buyer was one of the largest pork distributors in the U.S. and that I had probably undersold the domain. I probably could have added a zero to the sale price and still closed the deal. I had only been domaining for a couple of months, and I didn’t realize that most buyers who pay a broker to find a domain have serious interest and capital behind them. I learned from this experience that I should not undervalue names.
Outcome: FarmLand bought the domain and held a contest where pork lovers sent in their pork pictures to win a “porkify” contest. The contest is over now.
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I highly recommend looking into the domains that you have sold to see what your buyers (or their buyers) are using them for now. It is very fulfilling and you can learn a lot from doing so. You can see if your vision for the domains came true or whether your buyers went in different directions. Share some of the domains that you’ve sold, what you thought they could be used for, and what they are now!
This is my first NamePros Blog post. If the community likes it, I will write more. Thanks for reading!
Here are some websites hosted on domains that I've sold.
Earnify.com
Bought: 11/22/2014 » Sold: 4/30/2015
My Expectation: I envisioned a lot of different business uses for this domain, but the core value that I saw in the domain was a site to teach people how to earn money.
Outcome: Instead of my vision, the website on this domain is a native advertising platform. From their website: "We present you Earnify, the world’s first CPA native advertising platform which allows you, as a publisher, to yield a premium for the traffic you send.”
Greetfully.com
Bought: 10/9/2014 » Sold: 7/23/2015
My Expectation: I imagined a service that hired greeters for events or a business that created and sold greeting cards. I thought it could also host a website for a gift basket service.
Outcome: It turns out that my vision for the domain was very close to its current use! The domain now hosts a subscription based greeting card service.
iVetting.com
Bought: 1/9/2015 » Sold: 12/29/2015
My Expectation: I knew that the market for doing background checks on people (vetting them) was not going anywhere and a popular way to do background checks is online. However, I almost gave up on this name. I had decided to drop some of my domains that use the
i prefix ("iDomains"), and I removed the auto renewal for this one. Luckily, I got an email from GoDaddy just before its expiration date saying, “Congratulations, your premium listing just sold!”Outcome: I did not expect the current use of the domain. The site is built around getting feedback on your ideas. It’s an interesting concept, but I’m not familiar with their business model.
Analyticable.com
Bought: 10/9/2014 » Sold: 7/23/2015
My Expectation: I thought that this one had a pretty straightforward meaning: able to do analytics. I pictured some sort of analytics business using this domain name.
Outcome: The company that now owns this domain offers analytics workshops, and their website says that their "goal is to enable people to use advanced analytics through multiple modes: Training, Software, and Consulting." My vision and the actual use were pretty similar in this case.
Popful.com
Bought: 1/7/2015 » Sold: 3/13/2015
My Expectation: To be honest, I had no idea what business would use this domain name. I just thought that it was a great six letter name with the word “pop” in it and a nice suffix.
Outcome: The site is in Spanish and features a mix of gossip, pop culture, and viral media.
Profitise.com
Bought: 2/4/2015 » Sold: 6/2/2015
My Expectation: I thought of this name as the pairing of profit and expertise: guidance to profit by experts.
Outcome: The domain is now used by a marketing firm that offers lead generation services to help companies increase their profits. From the website: "Profitise is a marketing firm and your solution in business financing. We’re a trusted source whether you are establishing a business from the ground up or need assistance in expanding. It’s more than leads. It’s more than calls. It’s about growing your business." So, similar to what I thought, they are establishing themselves as experts that can help you gain profits.
Bagogo.com
Bought: 1/6/2015 » Sold: 5/11/2015
My Expectation: When I first saw this domain, I thought of “Bag'n go.” I figured that it would be a neat name for a service that bagged products. I also liked the CVCVCV (consonant, vowel, ...) pattern and that it contained the word “go.”
Outcome: I didn’t see this one coming. From the website: “Bago is a female artist, she is a singer, songwriter, jewelry and candle maker.” She is a true artist. Great domain choice for her, considering Bago.com is taken and in use.
Eskroh.com
Bought: 11/3/2014 » Sold: 7/30/2015
My Expectation: I was simply looking up words in the dictionary and seeing their suggested pronunciations. When I looked up escrow, the dictionary recommend pronouncing it “es-kroh.” So, I bought the domain with escrow in mind.
Outcome The website features a data escrow service. No surprise to me!
uBrandable.com
Bought: 10/7/2014 » Sold: 7/14/2015
My Expectation: Funnily enough, I bought this domain to be my portfolio site for my brandable domain names, until I discovered BrandBucket. I decided that BrandBucket could do a better job than I could of selling my brandables, so I sold this name.
Outcome: No surprise, the site lists brandable domains for sale. I believe the owner is also a NamePros member.
Porkify.com
Bought: 6/18/2015 » Sold: 7/16/2015
My Expectation: I don't believe this domain had ever been registered before, which surprised me. Even more surprising, less than a month after I registered it, a broker came to me with a buyer in hand. At the time, I was very excited, and I closed a sale quickly. However, once the website went up, I realized that the buyer was one of the largest pork distributors in the U.S. and that I had probably undersold the domain. I probably could have added a zero to the sale price and still closed the deal. I had only been domaining for a couple of months, and I didn’t realize that most buyers who pay a broker to find a domain have serious interest and capital behind them. I learned from this experience that I should not undervalue names.
Outcome: FarmLand bought the domain and held a contest where pork lovers sent in their pork pictures to win a “porkify” contest. The contest is over now.
--
I highly recommend looking into the domains that you have sold to see what your buyers (or their buyers) are using them for now. It is very fulfilling and you can learn a lot from doing so. You can see if your vision for the domains came true or whether your buyers went in different directions. Share some of the domains that you’ve sold, what you thought they could be used for, and what they are now!
This is my first NamePros Blog post. If the community likes it, I will write more. Thanks for reading!
