Legendary domain name investor Rick Schwartz has taken to Twitter recently to give his opinions and advice regarding domain names. Since Rick has closed an incredible amount of six and seven figure domain sales in his twenty-something years as a domain investor, he is in the position where his advice can and should be listened to carefully.
On April 12th, Rick published a tweet that could spark a real debate about domain name sales. Rick wrote:
As a new domain investor, I was taught that to get the maximum exposure for a domain name you were looking to sell, the name should be listed at as many marketplaces as possible. Platforms such as Sedo, GoDaddy and Afternic reach millions of potential buyers per month thanks to strategic partnerships with a number of registrars that can advertise your domain names to thousands of people every day.
Afternic, for example, is a part of the GoDaddy network and therefore domain names that are listed for sale on Afternic are advertised as premium domain names on GoDaddy if someone attempts to register a similar domain. It’s a popular method of getting your domain names in front of consumers who may not be aware of the domain name aftermarket, but do want to own a specific domain. I personally have closed a couple of sales thanks to GoDaddy’s listings that I wouldn’t have had otherwise, and there’s likely to be many more success stories from other investors.
So, is listing a domain name for sale a desperate move? It most likely depends on the type of domain name that is being referred to. In the vast majority of cases, I believe that listing a domain name for sale at as many marketplaces as possible can only be a good thing, and will maximise the possibility of a sale in return for a small commission. For domain names that receive regular enquiries such as high-value one-word .COM’s, two-letter .COM’s or three-letter .COM's, does listing the domain for sale seem like a desperate act?
Does it ensure that any negotiations that subsequently take place are made in a weaker position thanks to that for sale sign? Rick’s valuable domain names are currently forwarding to DomainKing.com, where a number of names are for sale with prices attached. This is in contrast to other portfolio owners such as Telepathy, Media Options and Future Media Architects look to rely on a combination of parked pages and enquiry pages to advertise their names as being actively for sale.
What is the right approach? Should all domain names in your portfolio be actively listed for sale, or are you more selective depending on the name in question?
On April 12th, Rick published a tweet that could spark a real debate about domain name sales. Rick wrote:
I think listing #Domains for sale at every marketplace is desperate and only gives your domain name LESS VALUE!”
As a new domain investor, I was taught that to get the maximum exposure for a domain name you were looking to sell, the name should be listed at as many marketplaces as possible. Platforms such as Sedo, GoDaddy and Afternic reach millions of potential buyers per month thanks to strategic partnerships with a number of registrars that can advertise your domain names to thousands of people every day.
So, is listing a domain name for sale a desperate move? It most likely depends on the type of domain name that is being referred to. In the vast majority of cases, I believe that listing a domain name for sale at as many marketplaces as possible can only be a good thing, and will maximise the possibility of a sale in return for a small commission. For domain names that receive regular enquiries such as high-value one-word .COM’s, two-letter .COM’s or three-letter .COM's, does listing the domain for sale seem like a desperate act?
Does it ensure that any negotiations that subsequently take place are made in a weaker position thanks to that for sale sign? Rick’s valuable domain names are currently forwarding to DomainKing.com, where a number of names are for sale with prices attached. This is in contrast to other portfolio owners such as Telepathy, Media Options and Future Media Architects look to rely on a combination of parked pages and enquiry pages to advertise their names as being actively for sale.
What is the right approach? Should all domain names in your portfolio be actively listed for sale, or are you more selective depending on the name in question?