Calling all Wannabe Ballers

[Candace]

Hey All,

So I wanted to start a thread for everyone (else) who wanted to try the $20 to a baller challenge and document it.

Here's the link to the challenge: https://www.zandibot.com/the-20-to-a-baller-challenge

I'll link to Jelani's $20 to a baller thread as well: https://www.namepros.com/threads/follow-my-20dollar-to-a-baller-challenge.938384/

Now here's the deal.
1. You don't have to follow the challenge exactly. For example, your first domain does not have to be $20 etc etc. The idea here is to follow the overarching idea of the challenge because that's helpful.

2. You can either

a. Post the domain you purchased up-front before you've sold it. However, if you choose this option don't be surprised if others do not like the name. I'd try to ask everyone to be polite and helpful though. You want to help newbies? Well I've not seen too many people come up under the hand of criticism and be better for it. Some do but not all. Remember that please. If you have no desire to help newbies then this thread isn't for you. No offense.

OR​

b. After you've bought and sold a domain, tell us the entire story. Try to write as many helpful details as you can as I'm sure others will benefit.​

3. We wanna keep it real in this thread. Tell of both successes and failures. Epic Wins & Epic Fails. All of us need to realize that domaining is not all glitz and glory. It's hard work, and there will be many failures along the way. Tell both sides of the story.

4. Give us regular updates on what you've been doing. What seems to be working? What's not? Do you have any new ideas on how to sell the domain? I'd say once a week updates might be nice but you don't have to. It's up to you.

5. If you're not a new domain investor and you think that a domain was undersold please don't argue about it on this thread. What's done is done. The purpose of the thread is to flip and move on. One day some may attain baller status like you - they'll be able to afford to hold and wait then. But I'm sure that most people who are taking the challenge aren't taking it because they're interested in or can afford to hold and wait.

I'll write my story below.

 

[Candace]

In February I bought m/i/n/i/h/a/u/l dot com for $59 at drop catch. I purchased this name and one other with the intention of taking the $20 to a baller challenge.

I felt that minihaul was a good brand because of the number or mini shopping hauls that go down among the ladies of YouTube. You can search it, you'll see the number of results. In addition, I felt that a hauling company might make good use of the name. I did the usual estibot (not for valuation), google keyword planner, google trends, trademark247.com, ban check, backlink check, dnjournal search etc to valuate and check the domain. Once all seemed well, I purchased.

Failed Deal: A day or two after receiving the domain, I contacted u Haul among other companies. I probably contacted a total of like 5-10 companies. I got a "How much?" email from uHaul about 2 days after my emails went out. I responded with $4,100 - better to quote high and land lower. They responded with $500. I countered with $2,500 (Come on u Haul, you're u Haul after all). They walked away. Along the way, I actually posted a thread on Namepros seeking help. The advice from @garptrader here was awesome advice. Unfortunately, by the time I read it I had already ended the negotiation.

Two months later, I felt like I needed to burn and churn some domains. I contacted about 10 more hauling companies. I got a response from a guy using easy-haul dot com. After about two emails and some advice from a few fellow domainers, I decided to let the domain go for $300. Yup! That's right, from $500 to $300. My thought process was that I just wanted the money so that I could invest in a better domain that'll potentially make me more money.

Could I hold this domain and get more money later? Sure, maybe
Did I want to move on to a better domain? Yup, and I still made a profit.

 

[Sarik_Sid]

Taking a no. of challenges at once..Invested in few <20$ .com's and couple of .org's.

 

[usernamex]

This challenge would be good for me, I keep putting off doing outbound and I have too many domains already. One of which is UH/AL (Albania) and it went nowhere until 10 minutes ago so my ghetto inquiry page is better than nothing for now : grin :

 

[Candace]

Taking a no. of challenges at once..Invested in few <20$ .com's and couple of .org's.

Hey @Sarik_Sid , I'd be careful with dot orgs for the challenge. Many domainers find them harder to move. You'd have better chances with the liquid ones (acronyms and/or numerics), but even those are still tougher than the liquid dot coms. That's the advice I got so just figure I'll pass it on.

 

[Mike K]

Candace,
I have a question. I purchased WholesomeBreakfast dot com thinking someone would make me an offer for it. Nothing. Can you think of any end users that I could target with outbound appeals? Do you think it's worth the trouble? It expires soon and I'm trying to decide if I should renew it... and then try harder to sell it.
thanks
Mike

 

[Candace]

hey @Mike K, I would do a google search using "wholesome breakfast" to see what it turns up. I'd also use ZFBot.com to see if you can get any leads. Most of those leads might be bloggers so if you're really trying to get rid of this you'd want to offer them a really cheap price.
If you want to flip quickly, don't use "Make Offer".

That's what I would do.

 

[Mike K]

Thanks! I'll let you know what happens.

 

[Candace]

Just wanted to share a weekly update.

So I received $390 - $10 = $290 in my account from the sale of m/i/n/i/h/a/u/l dot com, since Escrow.com takes $10 for the transfer of funds into your checking account.

According to the challenge I should have spent the $290 on one quality domain (quality here is subjective based on the price). I wish I had. Ali pretty much 'told me off' about that after the fact. lol. Sad. Live and Learn! I have to remember Quality over Quantity! Quality over Quantity! Plus quantity means higher renewals

Anyway, at this point, I bought a domain from GD Expired Domains for $100. I bid on the domain when it was $12, then someone decided to put the domain on their daily list and it was a wrap. Anyway, I ended up paying $100 for it. It's a generic two-word dot com. There are currently about 4-6 end-users already using the name or using similar names. I've reached out to most of them, and I'm currently negotiating with one. However, it's tough to negotiate with the owner of a non-profit because they 'never have money'. I'll share the domain if the negotiation goes through and the sale finalizes.

In addition, before and/or after listening to Mike Krell's webinar last week and seeking advice from him through email (don't know him personally), I hand registered 3 brandables for $8.88 each at Uni. We'll see what becomes of those.

@Mike K, @Sarik_Sid @usernamex, you guys have any updates?

 

[Sarik_Sid]

Sold fundspout.com(50$,my share 35$) which I bought for 11$ .A small sale but good thing I made 5 such sales in the last week.

I bought elderlylove.com from GD Closeout and saw lot of potential there,sadly the domain got renewed at the last moment.I think it was a pretty powerful word combination.

 

[Sarik_Sid]

On a side note,
I come from India and currency (Rupee) we use,100 Rupee wouldnt seem much.
I think with 6 months into domaining,I have come to realize dollar is a big thing (bigger than my initial impression)and 50 $,100$ sale is a pretty decent sale and I cant treat it the same way as my native currency.

 

[trp3]

Congrats on your sales, @Sarik_Sid

Where and how did you sold them?

 

[Sarik_Sid]

So I purchased it on ebay and listed on GD Auctions(Buy now with offer/counteroffer option) for a couple of times(I always list them for 7 days,call me impatient) .

Sold 1 other through GD auction(VR Domain),one through outbound sale.Reached out to a company using the .in extension.Their reply asked me not to mention sale anyplace,so.

 

[Candace]

So wow! It's been a couple of weeks.

The $100 domain I picked up in GD Expired domains, and I spoke about above on June 1st is now in Escrow for $1000. We'll see if the escrow completes successfully.

The buyer contacted me because he read my blog posts on Zandibot.com. He apparantly looked through my portfolio and chose the domains he wanted. He also asked me to blog on his blog for a certain % of the money the blog makes.

Anyway, I'll write a more detail update if/when the escrow completes. Either way, it's good to get this $20 to a baller challenge moving. It's definitely not as easy as Ali's article described it.

@Sarik_Sid, I see you've been selling a whole lot.

@Mike K, do you have any updates on the wholesomebreakfast(com) domain

 

[Sarik_Sid]

So wow! It's been a couple of weeks.

But the $100 domain I spoke about on June 1st is now in Escrow. We'll see if the escrow completes successfully.

The buyer contacted me because he read my blog posts on Zandibot.com. He apparantly looked through my portfolio and chose the domains he wanted. He also asked me to blog on his blog for a certain % of the money the blog makes.

Anyway, I'll write a more detail update if/when the escrow completes. Either way, it's good to get this $20 to a baller challenge moving. It's definitely not as easy as Ali's article described it.

@Sarik_Sid, I see you've been selling a whole lot.

@Mike K, do you have any updates on the wholesomebreakfast(com) domain

Thanks Candace..2 Words domain have been doing good for me,so will be focusing on them for now.Also,trying to build my brandable portfolio(especially 5l) side by side.

 

[Candace]

Thanks Candace..2 Words domain have been doing good for me,so will be focusing on them for now.Also,trying to build my brandable portfolio(especially 5l) side by side.

@Sarik_Sid Have you been selling them at GD Auctions successfully? Do you advertise?

 

[Sarik_Sid]

like 6 of them had been at GD Auction,sold at about 50 each.(No advertising as such,but most had good search volume and CPC )

Received enquiry for my brandables from a GD Auction buyer(who previously bought one of my domain) ,who ended up buying 5 of my domains for $300.

Also received a enquiry on NP which resulted in $200 deal for 7 domains.

Then there was I sold through outbound marketing to an Indian company(I think .in extension)

 

[Candace]

Alright, so my $20 to a baller challenge officially moved.

The domain that was in escrow on June 29th (above) was r/e/a/l/i/n/d/u/s/t/r/y in com. That buyer did not complete the escrow for the $1000 deal. However, the domain sold on GD premium for $1,497. I think it could have gotten more because of some of the end-users but hey - all's well that end's well and I'm happy.

I bought this domain about 2 months ago. I found it through expireddomains.net and put in an initial bid of $12. I was the only bidder at the time. On the last day, it appeared on @equity78 daily list, and I eventually got it for $100.

Summary of my challenge so far: $59 to $300 to $1497 (minus commissions). Time to rinse and repeat.

The $20 to a baller challenge does not happen quickly at all.

 

[Sarik_Sid]

Alright, so my $20 to a baller challenge officially moved.

The domain that was in escrow on June 29th (above) was r/e/a/l/i/n/d/u/s/t/r/y in com. That buyer did not complete the escrow for the $1000 deal. However, the domain sold on GD premium for $1,497. I think it could have gotten more because of some of the end-users but hey - all's well that end's well and I'm happy.

I bought this domain about 2 months ago. I found it through expireddomains.net and put in an initial bid of $12. I was the only bidder at the time. On the last day, it appeared on @equity78 daily list, and I eventually got it for $100.

Summary of my challenge so far: $59 to $300 to $1497 (minus commissions). Time to rinse and repeat.

The $20 to a baller challenge does not happen quickly at all.

Congratulations on the sale.So how much budget you thinking for the next acquisition??

 

[Candace]

Congratulations on the sale.So how much budget you thinking for the next acquisition??

So so far I've invested in a BB portfolio. Very risky, but we'll see if it was worth it. Check it out in my signature. Have you stopped posting brandable recommendations?

 

[Sarik_Sid]

So so far I've invested in a BB portfolio. Very risky, but we'll see if it was worth it. Check it out in my signature. Have you stopped posting brandable recommendations?

Oh so you trying with BB.Some really good names there.

Yeah,with good 2 last months,I am shifting my focus towards auction domains(like acquire VYLLA and AQZO) and not so much concentrated on hand regging,so may be not posting as much.Although always trying to help if someone PMs.Have planned a different strategy this month with a little bigger budget.And this month would be my first attempt at learning SEO and 2nd at making websites.

 

[Candace]

Oh so you trying with BB.Some really good names there.

Yeah,with good 2 last months,I am shifting my focus towards auction domains(like acquire VYLLA and AQZO) and not so much concentrated on hand regging,so may be not posting as much.Although always trying to help if someone PMs.Have planned a different strategy this month with a little bigger budget.And this month would be my first attempt at learning SEO and 2nd at making websites.

Sounds like a great strategy. Be sure to let me know how it goes. I need to learn SEO myself.

 

[Sarik_Sid]

Sounds like a great strategy. Be sure to let me know how it goes. I need to learn SEO myself.

Deal

 

[Janji bhanderi]

i start domain flipping but not sell any domain now ,please guide me how sell it
monsoonweapon.com
ulllla.com
beg7.com
UsRentHousing.com
sallustyle.com
pepshi.com

 

[pablohc86]

i start domain flipping but not sell any domain now ,please guide me how sell it
monsoonweapon.com
ulllla.com
beg7.com
UsRentHousing.com
sallustyle.com
pepshi.com

i don't think you will be able to flip those domains...
I would advise you to check what is selling now (namebio.com) and for how much they are selling.
Once done that you should be able to understand when a domain name is undervalued. Buy it and then try to flip it offering it to someone that is buying those names or just put those on an auction.
However before to be able to do all this i think you need at least 6 months in learning (and i'm positive)