The easiest part of domain name investing is buying. Anyone with $10 can buy a domain name, but the most important part of being a successful domain investor is knowing exactly how to sell a domain. There are many different options available when selling a domain, but which should you choose? In this article, we'll share with you the possible ways of selling your domain names.
Buying the Right Name
Before attempting to sell your domains, you must acquire the right names. NamePros has a whole article about where to buy domain names, but we cannot tell you which names to buy. This must be done based on your judgement of possible "end users", or other investors who may be interested in domains you acquire.
NamePros
The NamePros marketplace gives you a unique opportunity of listing your domain name for sale, without having to pay a listing fee or a commission on domain sales. NamePros' wide reach of investors also means that plenty of people will see your listing.
Pricing your domain name on NamePros should be done so with resellers in mind. A typical investor will not pay end user pricing, and will expect a lower price in order to try and resell for a profit. If your domain is priced attractively for a resale market, NamePros may be a viable option for selling your name.
Outbound Sales
This involves sending a domain sales email to a number of prospective companies. If you own a domain name that could very easily be used by a business, then this may be an option for you. Your domain may be a generic one-word or two-word .COM, or it could be a suitable upgrade to their existing domain.
Whatever you're selling, it should be suitable to the company and their online strategy. Finding a list of businesses and sending a mass email is something you should try to avoid at all costs when sending out a sales email. Targeting your sales emails to companies that should have a genuine interest has a far greater chance of reaping reward.
The right business is often willing to pay a higher price for a domain name than a reseller would, so outbound sales is often a domain investor's first port of call. Outbound sales can be a time consuming task, but it is often worth taking the time to do so.
Marketplace and Auction Platforms
There are a number of marketplace platforms that you can use to promote your domains, or even auction them off. Each has varying degrees of efficacy and commission rates. Some platforms may also attract different types of buyers, so liquid domains may be better promoted at some platforms than others, for example.
The most profitable sales often happen when an interested party enquires about your name. Services such as Uniregistry Market, Efty and Sedo offer landing pages designed to attract the attention of potential buyers, whilst also offering solutions to manage and respond to leads.
Brokerage
Domain name brokers work to find a buyer for your domain name on your behalf, often using key contacts at companies and with wealthy investors to help produce a sale. Giuseppe Graziano, Founder of the domain name brokerage company GGRG.com told us:
"Besides acting as an advisor, a good domain broker adds value by:
What are your tips for selling domain names? Comment below.
Buying the Right Name
Before attempting to sell your domains, you must acquire the right names. NamePros has a whole article about where to buy domain names, but we cannot tell you which names to buy. This must be done based on your judgement of possible "end users", or other investors who may be interested in domains you acquire.
NamePros
The NamePros marketplace gives you a unique opportunity of listing your domain name for sale, without having to pay a listing fee or a commission on domain sales. NamePros' wide reach of investors also means that plenty of people will see your listing.
Pricing your domain name on NamePros should be done so with resellers in mind. A typical investor will not pay end user pricing, and will expect a lower price in order to try and resell for a profit. If your domain is priced attractively for a resale market, NamePros may be a viable option for selling your name.
Outbound Sales
This involves sending a domain sales email to a number of prospective companies. If you own a domain name that could very easily be used by a business, then this may be an option for you. Your domain may be a generic one-word or two-word .COM, or it could be a suitable upgrade to their existing domain.
Whatever you're selling, it should be suitable to the company and their online strategy. Finding a list of businesses and sending a mass email is something you should try to avoid at all costs when sending out a sales email. Targeting your sales emails to companies that should have a genuine interest has a far greater chance of reaping reward.
The right business is often willing to pay a higher price for a domain name than a reseller would, so outbound sales is often a domain investor's first port of call. Outbound sales can be a time consuming task, but it is often worth taking the time to do so.
Marketplace and Auction Platforms
There are a number of marketplace platforms that you can use to promote your domains, or even auction them off. Each has varying degrees of efficacy and commission rates. Some platforms may also attract different types of buyers, so liquid domains may be better promoted at some platforms than others, for example.
Sedo - commission fees ranging from 10% - 20% of sale price
This popular marketplace boasts some impressive statistics. Sedo has over 18MM domain names within their system, and every month, over $6MM worth of domains are sold on the platform. The marketplace, which also offers auctions, is widely used by bother investors and end users.
GoDaddy - commission fee is 20% for a domain sold between $0 and $5,000
The largest domain name registrar has doesn't just let you register a domain. GoDaddy's large aftermarket platform hosts thousands of expired and marketplace auctions every week. Liquid domain names fared well at GoDaddy at the end of last year, helping the company boast a revenue of $425.4MM in Q4 of 2015.
NameJet - commission fee is 15%
In the past, NameJet used to just offer a backordering service, but now private auction listings are available. Anyone can submit an auction listing to NameJet via the Account Dashboard, but each domain is reviewed by NameJet staff. If your name is selected to be sold on NameJet, you'll be notified by email, when you'll be asked to list the domains you want to sell along with a reserve price.
Flippa - $9 listing fee and a 10% commission fee for domain names
After initially starting as a marketplace to sell websites, Flippa expanded into domain name sales and has recorded sales such as StockPhoto.com for $250,000 and Due.com for $130,000. The low listing and commission fees here may mean that it's worth considering Flippa.
Afternic - commission fee is 20% for a domain sold between $0 and $5,000
Owned by GoDaddy, Afternic is a marketplace to consider listing your domain names on. The platform receives 75MM qualified domain searches per month, partly thanks to worldwide distribution through 100+ resellers. According to Afternic's website, they also boast the highest average sales price in the industry.
Inbound EnquiriesThis popular marketplace boasts some impressive statistics. Sedo has over 18MM domain names within their system, and every month, over $6MM worth of domains are sold on the platform. The marketplace, which also offers auctions, is widely used by bother investors and end users.
GoDaddy - commission fee is 20% for a domain sold between $0 and $5,000
The largest domain name registrar has doesn't just let you register a domain. GoDaddy's large aftermarket platform hosts thousands of expired and marketplace auctions every week. Liquid domain names fared well at GoDaddy at the end of last year, helping the company boast a revenue of $425.4MM in Q4 of 2015.
NameJet - commission fee is 15%
In the past, NameJet used to just offer a backordering service, but now private auction listings are available. Anyone can submit an auction listing to NameJet via the Account Dashboard, but each domain is reviewed by NameJet staff. If your name is selected to be sold on NameJet, you'll be notified by email, when you'll be asked to list the domains you want to sell along with a reserve price.
Flippa - $9 listing fee and a 10% commission fee for domain names
After initially starting as a marketplace to sell websites, Flippa expanded into domain name sales and has recorded sales such as StockPhoto.com for $250,000 and Due.com for $130,000. The low listing and commission fees here may mean that it's worth considering Flippa.
Afternic - commission fee is 20% for a domain sold between $0 and $5,000
Owned by GoDaddy, Afternic is a marketplace to consider listing your domain names on. The platform receives 75MM qualified domain searches per month, partly thanks to worldwide distribution through 100+ resellers. According to Afternic's website, they also boast the highest average sales price in the industry.
The most profitable sales often happen when an interested party enquires about your name. Services such as Uniregistry Market, Efty and Sedo offer landing pages designed to attract the attention of potential buyers, whilst also offering solutions to manage and respond to leads.
Brokerage
Domain name brokers work to find a buyer for your domain name on your behalf, often using key contacts at companies and with wealthy investors to help produce a sale. Giuseppe Graziano, Founder of the domain name brokerage company GGRG.com told us:
"Besides acting as an advisor, a good domain broker adds value by:
- Reaching out to an extensive network of buyers
- Managing the timeframe of the bids to maximize the sale price (the longer you wait, the higher the bids)
- Keeping both listing and sale price confidential."
What are your tips for selling domain names? Comment below.
