Buy Smart and Be Patient: Story behind Mike Mann

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Who is Mike Mann? Business Insider describes him as a man who “became a multi-millionaire by being an obsessive, compulsive, domain buyer.” Mann is also the owner of DomainMarket.com which has $4 million in annual sales.

How does he do it?

Mann’s strategy appears simple. He buys good domain names and waits, in many cases several years, till a buyer comes along who is willing to pay his price.

Sounds easy don’t it? Well it ain’t. First it can take years to develop solid name picking skills and learn the domain market. Second you have to have the patience and resolve to decline years of offers that are below your asking price. You need to do this at the same time you are paying millions of dollars in annual renewal fees. That, my friend, takes nerves of steel.

Here are some of my favorite brandable names that Mike Mann has self-reported as sales over the past two years:

• TakeTheChance.com – Bought in 2013 for $300. Sold in 2015 for $15,000.
• CityMarkets.com – Bought in 2011 for $230. Sold in 2015 for $9,000.
• CareerFit.com – Bought in 2011 for $370. Sold in 2015 for $25,000.
• Yogalicious.com – Bought in 2012 for $135. Sold in 2015 for $18,000.
• SpyApp.com – Bought in 2011 for $500. Sold in 2015 for $13,500.
• StrongerEveryday.com – Bought in 2010 for $8. Sold in 2015 for $5,000.
• BroadSpectrum.com – Bought in 2007 for $3,250. Sold in 2015 for $75,000.
• SleepLabs.com – Bought in 2008 for $1050. Sold in 2015 for $29,000.
• DigitalLabor.com – Bought in 2012 for $200. Sold in 2016 for $9,888.

These are amazing sales. But keep it in context. According to a 2014 article in the Washington Post, Mann’s company, DomainMarket.com grosses $4 million per year but spends more than half of that on renewals. After overhead and new acquisitions Mr. Mann is left with a salary draw of $5,000 per month. No doubt he has millions in assets but he was cash poor at the time of that article. So maybe not as glamorous as one would imagine.


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