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question New to selling domains; have 3 to sell, one premium; need advice, please!!

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ckbraman

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Context: I’m not looking to buy and sell domain names professionally, but rather, to sell three domain names that I own and no longer need as profitably during the next six months as possible. So the advice I need is quite delimited.

The domain names in question (the premium one first):
NYCJazz.com
NewYorkJazzEvents.com
GetStartedAgain.com

The Confusion (i.e., questions):

What is the best way to sell these particular domain names, given my circumstances? Auction, broker, or set-price?

What is the best site to sell these particular domain names? GoDaddy (auctions), Sedo (set price), or others? Or is there a particular broker who could get better results?

My assumptions (true or not?):

There is not a useful way to determine the value of these particular URLs. For example, a major organization with a huge budget like “Jazz At Lincoln Center,” were they hypothetically interested, would obviously offer an astronomically high price for NYCJazz.com. An individual musician looking for an easy-to-remember URL would obviously offer far less, as would a non-commercial site (a site with local jazz concert listings, for example). I assume that even a professional appraiser would even have a difficult time objectively guessing the value of a URL like this.

So my initial assumption is that the best way to sell this would be a 3-month auction on GoDaddy, and let the market determine the price over time, as opposed to paying someone to guess or trying to guess myself.

Thoughts? Insights? Advice?

Thanks!
 
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Context: I’m not looking to buy and sell domain names professionally, but rather, to sell three domain names that I own and no longer need as profitably during the next six months as possible. So the advice I need is quite delimited.

The domain names in question (the premium one first):
NYCJazz.com
NewYorkJazzEvents.com
GetStartedAgain.com

The Confusion (i.e., questions):

What is the best way to sell these particular domain names, given my circumstances? Auction, broker, or set-price?

What is the best site to sell these particular domain names? GoDaddy (auctions), Sedo (set price), or others? Or is there a particular broker who could get better results?

My assumptions (true or not?):

There is not a useful way to determine the value of these particular URLs. For example, a major organization with a huge budget like “Jazz At Lincoln Center,” were they hypothetically interested, would obviously offer an astronomically high price for NYCJazz.com. An individual musician looking for an easy-to-remember URL would obviously offer far less, as would a non-commercial site (a site with local jazz concert listings, for example). I assume that even a professional appraiser would even have a difficult time objectively guessing the value of a URL like this.

So my initial assumption is that the best way to sell this would be a 3-month auction on GoDaddy, and let the market determine the price over time, as opposed to paying someone to guess or trying to guess myself.

Thoughts? Insights? Advice?

Thanks!

Many would disagree calling that premium. It a geo name, even if a better one. Thus outbound price $xxx with 5% to 10% chance to sell, inbound low $xxxx with about 1% chance to sell
 
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Many would disagree calling that premium. It a geo name, even if a better one. Thus outbound price $xxx with 5% to 10% chance to sell, inbound low $xxxx with about 1% chance to sell

@MasterOfMyDomains

Thank you for your advice. Not sure the terminology of "inbound" vs. "outbound," but your opinion of its valuation is helpful either way.
 
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inbound = offers/buyers come to you asking you to sell them your domain name. (you have this domain name, i want to buy)
outbound = you email/contact potential/prospect buyers you think might buy it from you. (I have this domain name, do you want to buy it?)
 
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>> There is not a useful way to determine the value of these particular URLs

This is somewhat true, because values are subjective and there are a lot of factors, but you can determine what it is worth to you. What would you do if someone offered you $10,000? What about $1000? What about $100? Hypothetical questions, but considering these possibilities could help you set a buy-it-now price that you are happy with. How quickly do you want to sell it? If your answer is fast, be prepared to lower your price.

>> So my initial assumption is that the best way to sell this would be a 3-month auction on GoDaddy

I wouldn't agree, because there's a slim chance your ideal buyer will find the auction. GoDaddy auctions are mostly viewed by domain investors and resellers, who don't usually pay top dollar for a name. Resellers (like you find on this forum) will typically buy names at wholesale prices, which is 5-20% of the price you could ask from an end user.

A simple for-sale lander on the domain itself can be effective. If you have target buyers in mind you can reach out to them at let them know the names are available.
 
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inbound = offers/buyers come to you asking you to sell them your domain name. (you have this domain name, i want to buy)
outbound = you email/contact potential/prospect buyers you think might buy it from you. (I have this domain name, do you want to buy it?)
Thank you, @iDestroyer, this is very helpful.
 
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>> There is not a useful way to determine the value of these particular URLs

This is somewhat true, because values are subjective and there are a lot of factors, but you can determine what it is worth to you. What would you do if someone offered you $10,000? What about $1000? What about $100? Hypothetical questions, but considering these possibilities could help you set a buy-it-now price that you are happy with. How quickly do you want to sell it? If your answer is fast, be prepared to lower your price.

>> So my initial assumption is that the best way to sell this would be a 3-month auction on GoDaddy

I wouldn't agree, because there's a slim chance your ideal buyer will find the auction. GoDaddy auctions are mostly viewed by domain investors and resellers, who don't usually pay top dollar for a name. Resellers (like you find on this forum) will typically buy names at wholesale prices, which is 5-20% of the price you could ask from an end user.

A simple for-sale lander on the domain itself can be effective. If you have target buyers in mind you can reach out to them at let them know the names are available.

Thank you so much, @RJ, this is extremely informative and helpful.

Ideally, I'm looking to sell within the next 8 months or so.

If I understand your advice correctly, the best route is to bypass third-party sites like GoDaddy and Sedo (where I currently have these listed) altogether on the grounds that all of these sites cater to resellers, whereas if I want to reach target buyers directly, which would be much more profitable, I should just create a landing page and let them find me (in addition to reaching out when possible)?
 
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Yes, and keep in mind GoDaddy charges a 20% commission. If you want better exposure through GoDaddy, list the domain at Afternic (a GoDaddy company) with a buy-it-now price and the name will appear for sale if someone searches the domain or keywords on their main site.

The best situation is when a buyer comes directly to you, but this can take years or even decades sometimes. If you want to be proactive about it, you can list the name at multiple marketplaces (Afternic, Sedo are big ones) in addition to having your own sales lander, and seeking out and contacting potential buyers via email or social networks.

Best of luck.
 
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Yes, and keep in mind GoDaddy charges a 20% commission. If you want better exposure through GoDaddy, list the domain at Afternic (a GoDaddy company) with a buy-it-now price and the name will appear for sale if someone searches the domain or keywords on their main site.

The best situation is when a buyer comes directly to you, but this can take years or even decades sometimes. If you want to be proactive about it, you can list the name at multiple marketplaces (Afternic, Sedo are big ones) in addition to having your own sales lander, and seeking out and contacting potential buyers via email or social networks.

Best of luck.

Hi @RJ, if I could trouble you again with what I think is likely to be my last question…

Should I or do I need to pay for an escrow service if I sell the domains independently? And if so, would you recommend my using a service like Dan.com? They charge 9% and that includes creating for-sale landing pages that they claim are Google and social media -optimized, as well as an escrow service. Do you think that would be a good value and a good way to go?
 
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Escrow on a case-by-case basis. If I trust a buyer, and they are willing to pay me directly, I don't use one. But in every other case I would use escrow.

I've never tried Dan.com before, but that fee seems reasonable for the bundle of services they provide.

I use Epik https://www.epik.com/services/escrow/ (fee varies by payment type- 1.5% wire, 5% credit card, 6.5% PayPal)

I used to use Escrow.com a lot (3.25%-6.5% fees) but I soured on them after a bad experience that cost me a lot of money.
 
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