You can't really compare any of the big players to each other, nor to the rest of us human domainers.
For the most part they all have unique infrastructure in place that make their domains much more visible and likely to be seen/purchased.
Some have support staff, which makes a huge difference. While most of us don't even work at domaining full time (yet).
Purchase opportunities are not equal.
Some have preferential treatment at auction houses (like NameJet featured actions).
Don't get me wrong though .. the big players are where they are today mostly because of the hard work they did yesterday to build their infrastructure. They get their fantastic buy opportunities because they have been reliable buyers for years, and more importantly because they've spent time and energy developing their personal brands and networks.
But let's be honest in saying that once the big players get to a certain level, those opportunities and infrastructures are actually quite different .. just as their portfolios are also very different.
But does it even really matter in the end if in a year you've made a million dollar profit for selling 1,000 domains or a million dollars for selling just 4? Of course not .. either way you have a million bux to enjoy! At the end of the day volume means nothing anyways .. profit vs time is the true measure we all realistically use to assess how we're doing in this industry. If you're making money then you stay or grow. If you lose money then you likely will be finding yourself another sideline sooner than later.
Heck .. I'm at about 8% this year .. but that's because of a couple bulk auctions I made to help trim some parts of my portfolio. I've been in growth/buy mode and have made what I feel have been some great value purchases. With all my buys I am far from being in the black this year .. but I'm very happy with where I am now (particularly considering how little time I've devoted to sales so far). The smart value purchases I've made this year are essentially the backbone of my profits in future years (and hopefully later this year .. lol).
Also let me be upfront that I personally am thankful to Drew (
@MediaOptions) for his involvement at
@DomainSherpa. I love his crazy rambles and rants because it is off the cuff, unscripted and genuine, which in turn brings out a lot of unique unfiltered points of views towards domaining you don't usually see. While I don't even always agree 100% with everything he says, I have taken things I found pertinent and learned a great deal from those discussions.
But even to me that 12% isn't really relevant. It should be high because of the amplified rotation
@MediaOptions options gets via NameJet auctions and their mailing list (both deservedly in place now because of past work). To me MediaOptions is successful because they make huge profits .. and because they successfully help broker domains like x.com among countless others.
