Rick is fishing only for whales because he can afford to sit back and wait for them. Most people here are busy flipping domains to other domainers at wholesale prices and I have to say, I've never been a fan of that strategy either. It seems like a lot of work for little return.
It would be kinda nice if wholesale sales weren't even reported because if anyone google's around they'll see all these low end and mostly crappy letter combinations trading hands at low prices and end users think that means something. And it does. It means these are mostly crappy letter combinations selling at wholesale - that's why you're not willing to sit on them long term. If it was good and you knew it, you certainly would not sell it for anything less than a home run.
Anyone that has been collecting these low end names but now needs to liquidate because of an unexpected expense, they're almost always going to liquidate the crappy ones first - and then hold the best ones that have the most upside potential. That's what you're seeing happen. So Rick's advice really just doesn't apply to every LLL or premium domain, but it does apply to the cream-of-the-crop.
And I don't think Rick's probably buying these up otherwise he wouldn't be here saying to not sell cheap. He'd be shooting himself in the foot. Rick is about 65 now, so maybe he's not wanting to invest in more inventory, I think he'd just want to maximize his return on what he has but otherwise sit back and enjoy the ride. I'm a little surprised he's trying to start up TRAFFIC again, but maybe he's gotten bored and wants to get back on the .com pulpit.
I do agree, it would be great to see Rick put $100K - $200K into picking up some of these domains he's complaining are selling too cheap, maybe only reveal his investment and domains to someone like Ron Jackson, and then show us all how its done. Ron can report just on the portfolio performance rather than specific transactions. If he proves that he could do it all over again starting now, well then he really earns the right to give all the advice he wants.
Back to selling... it's the same whether its LLL or 1-WORD or .COM or some other extension (like .CA that I primarily invest in). A QUALITY domain and having the PATIENCE to wait for the right buyer is the only way to catch a whale. You pull in one whale and its the equivalent of fishing all day every day for years catching only rockfish. You collect top quality and you can't really go wrong. Also consider that if you focus on quality, you'll have fewer domains to manage, much lower carrying costs, less work, higher profit margins, etc... This is what Rick should be saying.
So I'd rather have one $25K domain than 25 $1K domains. Those $1K domains are a dime a dozen, you'll work exponentially harder trying to sell them all and for a smaller profit. That $25K domain is going to be infinitely more unique and rare and when the right buyer comes along you can demand a much higher price. If you want to go fishing for whales you've gotta be fishing with the right bait, right?
OK, the whale analogy is technically a bad one since whales eat plankton and krill, but you know what I mean
So especially if this is just your side-hustle, focus on quality and not quantity. You'll have to dig a little harder than just finding someone liquidating their crap on a forum where the competition for anything actually good is going to be stiff...
