Advice 4 newbie wanted: Selling one premium domain

rfg · Jun 6, 2018

I hope I'm in the Right Place.

I just now joined the NamePros forums and I am looking for some advice. I am absolutely not a domainer, by any stretch of the imagination. But I have this one domain name, monkeys.com, that I personally have owned, continuously, since 1995, and I've been meaning to sell it for the past several years, but somehow that task keep slipping off the bottom of my TO-DO list. Now however I need to get serious about it. so I'm here now, and asking for some good advice for how to proceed. Any suggestions or words of wisdom from experienced domainers would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, the story is this, in a nutshell. I registered monkeys.com way back in 1995 to use as my personal and personal business domain (for my one-person consulting business). It never got a hell of a lot of traffic and I never really "promoted" it in any formal sense. In the early 2000's (e.g. 2002-2003) I ran an popular anti-spam (DNS based) blocking list that became known as the monkeys.com list. But I had to terminate that back in 2003 because some nasty spammers DDoS'ed the bejesus out of me, so I had no choice.

Anyway, for the past few years I've been meaning to sell the thing (but like I said, that task has repeatedly been put on the back burner) and as a result, I long ago transitioned over to using a different domain name as my personal/business domain, and monkeys.com has been just sort of lying fallow since about 4 years ago. At that time I had gotten 2 formal appraisals that both said the thing was worth well over one hundred grand (USD) but I have no idea whatsoever what the thing might be worth today. I have just now looked at a listing of recent sales (for the past couple of weeks) over on a site called dnjournal and i see that the domain walrus.com fetched fifty five grand, so I'm thinking that monkeys.com ought to fetch at least that and perhaps even way more, but there are a couple of wrinkles.

Firstly, if I try to work with some broker, then I really want to only work with one that is incorporated in the U.S. if anything goes sideways, I really do not want to have to try to sue some broker who is incorporated in Signapore or in the Cayman islands. (Because I am new at this, I don't trust anybody not to try to take advantage of me, or try to screw me.) Second, for tax reasons, I'd really greatly prefer to sell this thing in two installments... one this year and one next year. I understand fully that this may hugely complicate matters, but splitting the payment across two years really would help me massively.

Today, I very nearly hit SUBMIT on Sedo's web site to sign up for their brokerage service, but thank god, before I did, I read the fine print. It appears that if one does that then one is contractually giving Sedo the exclusive rights to broker the domain, apparently in pertetuity. (So I guess that they can take their own sweet time selling the thing.) Well, screw that! Maybe Sedo used to the #1 and the only game in town for premium domains, but it appears to me that they have plenty of competition these days.

So, I am left with finding a different broker and/or trying to sell the thing myself. This is where any advice would be appreciated, specifically from experienced domainers. If you were in my shoes, how would you proceed? What should I do first? Should I pay for a new and current appraisal? If so, from whom? Should I try selling monkeys.com myself or should I get a broker, and if so, which one?

Thanks in advance for all responses.

P.S. I don't have a hard and fast deadline, but I do want to try to get a sale completed within the next 30-45 days, tops. And I am really busy doing other things, so I just don't have time to put tens of hours into trying to promote and/or sell this thing. I can invest a little time into this, but not bloody much.

Kate · Jun 6, 2018

This is a premium domain, we don't see many names of that caliber over here. You are definitely looking at 6 figures. It's highly brandable and a lot of businesses could make good use of this domain (or upgrade their current 'monkey' domain) - there are many businesses with domains that use the string 'monkey'. There is a pool of potential end users that is not negligible.
But your schedule is rather tight. It is a shame if you really have to liquidate this asset in a hurry. It's doable but you would probably be underselling the domain. Even qualified buyers need time to arrange the funding. I think a few months is more realistic. Corporations are slow to move, and while a lot of them could be interested, the issue could have to wait until the next board meeting to be discussed, so that a budget is made available and the purchase can be authorized. You know what I mean. Businesses don't write a check for 6 figures without discussing it internally and pondering the purchase.

Normally you should have received a good number of unsolicited offers over the years right ? Then, why not gather all of your previous contacts and ask them to submit their best offer now, as this is their chance to finally own this domain name.

I don't think Sedo is a bad option really, but they are not the only ones. There is no obligation to use a broker but it can help sometimes.

Provided that you have a serious buyer offering a good price, you can sell the name yourself. What you need is (preferably) a contract, that could even be signed in front of a lawyer or notary. Then stipulate payment details. A service like Escrow.com can be used and is convenient for distance sales but will of course incur fees. But IMO it's the kind of sale that would warrant a personal meeting between buyer and seller.

Then there are the possible tax considerations to take care of.

PS: of course you don't need to pay for an appraisal. They are a joke.

Silentptnr · Jun 7, 2018

Very nice domain. I would suggest one of several reputable domain brokers. There are many ins and outs involved in structuring and closing the sale of an "ultra premium" domain name.

You will need to invest some time in order to ensure a fair price and a smooth transaction.

Feel free to message me if you would like some specific recommendations.

Silentptnr · Jun 7, 2018

Also, as Kate mentioned, you don't need an appraisal.

KhaledA · Jun 7, 2018

Great premium name !
But may be trademarked name ? check it using trademark247.com !!

canswift · Jun 7, 2018

There are literally thousands of tradmarks that include some variant of "monkey" or "monkeys". It would surely be up to any potential purchaser to conduct due diligence to ensure that their intended use did not clash with any of the existing TMs? If I had an ultra premium name like this I would certainly want to use a professional broker (based in the US or Canada).

Satyajit Adhikary · Jun 7, 2018

No doubt monkeys.com is ultra premium.
But your comparison with walrus.com is not justified.
Walrus is a primary word in itself. If you remove the 's' it wudnt make any sense.
Whereas your domain is a plural of the primary word monkey.

But since the popularity of the word 'monkey' is much more than the word 'walrus', the value of your domain would be more than walrus.com.

Yeah, go for any of the top professional domain brokers in the market and discuss your payment terms with them.
I am sure they broker similar value domains on a regular basis.

biggie · Jun 7, 2018

rfg said:
.

If you were in my shoes, how would you proceed? What should I do first? Should I pay for a new and current appraisal? If so, from whom? Should I try selling monkeys.com myself or should I get a broker, and if so, which one?

Thanks in advance for all responses.

Hi

if it was my domain:

it would have either been parked, so I could gauge traffic and possibly be earning some ppc revenue.

or it would be in some form of development, even if it was just a single page describing what "monkeys' are.

I would not pay for an appraisal, nor would I get a broker.

I would however, field inquiries from brokers or other interested parties, but not aggressively solicit the name, while also listing it for sale in various aftermarket platforms.

Good Luck!

imo...

Ollie3000 · Jun 7, 2018

I'd see if HA are interested https://domains.ha.com/information/...ntellectual-property.s?ic=Task-domains-121913

This is an ultra premium domain, easily $xxxxxx + domain IMO

Speak to Aron.

EJS · Jun 7, 2018

Monkeys.com is a great domain name, but in this case, I think the singular is more valuable. IMO, a singular domain name like Monkey.com is more likely to be used as a brand name whereas the plural is less likely to be a brand besides a sports team name. The same could be said about Walrus.com being more valuable than Walruses.com, in my opinion. On the flip side, someone would probably be more likely to use a domain name like Monkeys.com than Walruses.com for a conservation project or even to sell animals (an unlikely usage).

Notably, the singular Monkey.com was reportedly sold for $500,000 (https://www.namepros.com/blog/blockchain-company-monkey-acquires-monkey-com-for-500-000.1036749/) but then reportedly returned to the seller (https://www.namepros.com/blog/ultra-premium-monkey-com-returns-to-original-owner.1050215/)

Monkeys.com is valuable of course, but I think a more realistic end user sale price is in the mid to high 5 figures. Personally, I would pay low 5 figures for it speculatively. Although your name doesn't seem to resolve, I presume you have received offers via Whois over the years so you probably have an idea of what someone would be willing to pay.

A bit of background info about me: I own / have owned a few animal .com domain names. In fact, the one public sale I can share is that I bought SeaLions.com at a NameJet public auction for $4,000 last year and have not had any profitable offers since then: https://namebio.com/sealions.com

Here's a list of domain brokers that might help: https://domaininvesting.com/guide/list-of-domain-brokers/

Some are located in the US, some have offices in the US, and others are domiciled totally outside of the US.

I would probably put up some sort of contact form or landing page so people can more easily get in touch if they want to inquire. It looks like your Whois info is public, so if someone really wants the name they can easily get in touch.

Wishing you luck with the sale. You are welcome to reach back out to me if you want to discuss a deal in my price range (we chatted in 2014).

nitg16 · Jun 7, 2018

EJS said:
Monkeys.com is a great domain name, but in this case, I think the singular is more valuable. IMO, a singular domain name like Monkey.com is more likely to be used as a brand name whereas the plural is less likely to be a brand besides a sports team name. The same could be said about Walrus.com being more valuable than Walruses.com, in my opinion. On the flip side, someone would probably be more likely to use a domain name like Monkeys.com than Walruses.com for a conservation project or even to sell animals (an unlikely usage).

Notably, the singular Monkey.com was reportedly sold for $500,000 (https://www.namepros.com/blog/blockchain-company-monkey-acquires-monkey-com-for-500-000.1036749/) but then reportedly returned to the seller (https://www.namepros.com/blog/ultra-premium-monkey-com-returns-to-original-owner.1050215/)

Monkeys.com is valuable of course, but I think a more realistic end user sale price is in the mid to high 5 figures. Personally, I would pay low 5 figures for it speculatively. Although your name doesn't seem to resolve, I presume you have received offers via Whois over the years so you probably have an idea of what someone would be willing to pay.

A bit of background info about me: I own / have owned a few animal .com domain names. In fact, the one public sale I can share is that I bought SeaLions.com at a NameJet public auction for $4,000 last year and have not had any profitable offers since then: https://namebio.com/sealions.com

It can be interpreted as Monkey's as well.

Monkey's __insert product/service name__.

I think it makes a good brand, low six figures should be minimum.

EJS · Jun 7, 2018

nitg16 said:
It can be interpreted as Monkey's as well.

Monkey's __insert product/service name__.

I think it makes a good brand, low six figures minimum.

That is a good additional point I didn't consider, but it doesn't change my valuation.

equity78 · Jun 7, 2018

rfg said:
I hope I'm in the Right Place.

I just now joined the NamePros forums and I am looking for some advice. I am absolutely not a domainer, by any stretch of the imagination. But I have this one domain name, monkeys.com, that I personally have owned, continuously, since 1995, and I've been meaning to sell it for the past several years, but somehow that task keep slipping off the bottom of my TO-DO list. Now however I need to get serious about it. so I'm here now, and asking for some good advice for how to proceed. Any suggestions or words of wisdom from experienced domainers would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, the story is this, in a nutshell. I registered monkeys.com way back in 1995 to use as my personal and personal business domain (for my one-person consulting business). It never got a hell of a lot of traffic and I never really "promoted" it in any formal sense. In the early 2000's (e.g. 2002-2003) I ran an popular anti-spam (DNS based) blocking list that became known as the monkeys.com list. But I had to terminate that back in 2003 because some nasty spammers DDoS'ed the bejesus out of me, so I had no choice.

Anyway, for the past few years I've been meaning to sell the thing (but like I said, that task has repeatedly been put on the back burner) and as a result, I long ago transitioned over to using a different domain name as my personal/business domain, and monkeys.com has been just sort of lying fallow since about 4 years ago. At that time I had gotten 2 formal appraisals that both said the thing was worth well over one hundred grand (USD) but I have no idea whatsoever what the thing might be worth today. I have just now looked at a listing of recent sales (for the past couple of weeks) over on a site called dnjournal and i see that the domain walrus.com fetched fifty five grand, so I'm thinking that monkeys.com ought to fetch at least that and perhaps even way more, but there are a couple of wrinkles.

Firstly, if I try to work with some broker, then I really want to only work with one that is incorporated in the U.S. if anything goes sideways, I really do not want to have to try to sue some broker who is incorporated in Signapore or in the Cayman islands. (Because I am new at this, I don't trust anybody not to try to take advantage of me, or try to screw me.) Second, for tax reasons, I'd really greatly prefer to sell this thing in two installments... one this year and one next year. I understand fully that this may hugely complicate matters, but splitting the payment across two years really would help me massively.

Today, I very nearly hit SUBMIT on Sedo's web site to sign up for their brokerage service, but thank god, before I did, I read the fine print. It appears that if one does that then one is contractually giving Sedo the exclusive rights to broker the domain, apparently in pertetuity. (So I guess that they can take their own sweet time selling the thing.) Well, screw that! Maybe Sedo used to the #1 and the only game in town for premium domains, but it appears to me that they have plenty of competition these days.

So, I am left with finding a different broker and/or trying to sell the thing myself. This is where any advice would be appreciated, specifically from experienced domainers. If you were in my shoes, how would you proceed? What should I do first? Should I pay for a new and current appraisal? If so, from whom? Should I try selling monkeys.com myself or should I get a broker, and if so, which one?

Thanks in advance for all responses.

P.S. I don't have a hard and fast deadline, but I do want to try to get a sale completed within the next 30-45 days, tops. And I am really busy doing other things, so I just don't have time to put tens of hours into trying to promote and/or sell this thing. I can invest a little time into this, but not bloody much.

The first thing you need to determine are your pricing expectations, not anyone else's. You need to be firm on that and also how long can you afford to wait for your pricing expectations?

No domain investor is going to pay you the ultimate end user price you are seeking. So you have to decide I want to move it fast and then possibly a domain investor might be worth talking to.

If you are looking for top dollar, and I do agree Monkeys.com is not as valuable as Monkey.com. I would contact Andrew Rosener @MediaOptions or Dave Evanson @Sedo https://twitter.com/SedoDaveEvanson

Doron Vermaat · Jun 8, 2018

I think six-figures is a bit of a stretch for this domain. Unless you're selling actual monkeys online I don't believe many companies want to build a brand on the plural version.

Vito · Jun 9, 2018

Hey RFG,

Welcome to NP.

Very nice domain you have there.

In this thread, you have been offered low 5 digits so far. If you do consider selling to someone in your quick 30 - 45 day time period before taking this domain to a broker/brokerage, i want to see if i can beat your highest offer.

I'm in the US
I pay for good domains
and I like monkeys.

Thanks and best of luck.
Vito

Vimal Kumar · Jun 9, 2018

Welcome to NamePros.
Due to the 's', I would value it between $40k-$45k

alcy · Jun 12, 2018

great domain for sure but keep in mind there are other more interesting choices available to buyers looking to spend 6 or 7 figures on a name... like some people seem to value it here.

gl

likeslikes · Jun 13, 2018

I'm thinking it's around 50-60k or so. Great name!

J.R. · Jun 24, 2018

rfg said:
I hope I'm in the Right Place.

Thanks in advance for all responses.

P.S. I don't have a hard and fast deadline, but I do want to try to get a sale completed within the next 30-45 days, tops. And I am really busy doing other things, so I just don't have time to put tens of hours into trying to promote and/or sell this thing. I can invest a little time into this, but not bloody much.

@rfg

Welcome to the Domain Game. Check Estibot.com (for a floor appraisal; its free). Before you reach out to any broker or sign any contract head over to Ricksblog.com immediately (sort of like newbie 101) and read a few of his posts. If you want an honest appraisal contact Domain King Rick Schwartz and compare to what else you hear. After doing that, I have 3 end users that I think you should contact directly that might be interested in Monkeys.com just message me.

Good luck

lambo.com · Jun 24, 2018

Not a six figure domain, you would have sold by now for that had it been. You've had it for 23 years.

Personally I think it's ok, low five figs to move it I think. $10k min.

Maybe broker would take it on and you ultimately NET ~$50k but then you should be prepared to sit and wait.

JagG · Jun 24, 2018

If you want a quick sale, speak to this brokerage company. They are looking for animals names at the moment budget $100K.

http://vipbrokerage.com/requests/

Great name and all the best.

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