The majority of domainers are indeed losing money. But those who have success are not always going to boast about it, in fact they are busy and they don't even have the time to post here. On the other hand those who struggle don't like to admit they are not doing well.
Even making a good sale here and there still doesn't mean you are profitable.
Blanket statement: domaining is most of the time a hobby, sometimes profitable. A full-time business: rarely. There are few people who make a living on domains. They exist but they are not representative of the average NPer. I don't have accurate statistics so you don't have to agree with me here.
Newcomers are typically attracted by the sales reports, that suggest there is a big gold mine waiting to be tapped and money to be made easily. The reality is that aftermarket activity is tiny when compared to the gross volume of domain registrations. So they tend to overestimate the potential.
There is a lot of money wasted on domain speculation, I posted some famous examples that are only the tip of the iceberg.
When you are a newcomer and read the comments you are sometimes under the impression that 90% of posters here are making a comfortable revenue, and those who aren't are just at the beginning of the learning curve, and everything will sort out for itself soon enough.
Yet the majority are not incorporated and they never complain about taxes because they are not paying any. Because you don't pay taxes on revenue that doesn't exist.
You have to keep a critical mind, analyze what you see and hear, do research, sort the wheat from the shaft, and not take everything at face value.
The sales reports from established sources are generally trustworthy, but they can be contaminated by fake sales or non-completed transactions too.
But there is money to be made though, if you work hard and do your homework. Dreamers will be washed over.
