analysis Exploring Optimal Prices for 4L .com Domains

[4L.com]

Hello everyone,

As some members of this forum may know, I have an extensive portfolio of 4L com domains. Starting from October 1, 2024, I’ve decided to embark on a series of experiments to determine the most profitable pricing strategy for selling these domains. Currently, I own over 16,000 4L domains that contain one or more of the letters J, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z. These are the domains I’ll be using for my pricing experiments. I plan to continue buying domains, so the number will gradually increase.

I aim to find out which approach will be more profitable: selling fewer domains at a higher price or selling more domains at a lower price. Initially, I wanted to start this experiment on September 1, but due to the issues with Afternic, which compromised the accuracy of any data, I decided to wait until October when most of these issues were resolved.

At the moment, I’ve set the price for all my domains at $14,999 each. The nameservers are configured to ns1.afternic.com and ns2.afternic.com. I’ve disabled Boost as I don’t find it useful. I’ve chosen the "Custom Lander" option, and all domains have a Lease-to-Own (LTO) option available for a 12-month term. The "Make Offer" option is disabled, and I will be ignoring any inquiries through Whois during the experiment to ensure that potential buyers can only purchase the domains at a fixed price without the opportunity to negotiate discounts or terms. This also prevents them from contacting me directly, as well as avoiding back-and-forth with brokers who often try to negotiate regardless of the set price. The same applies to Afternic brokers - I will reject any offers or discounts they send through the dashboard unless the domain is purchased at the current fixed price.

My goal is to achieve the best possible pricing strategy that minimizes the time I spend managing this process. Therefore, there will be no brokers, no email negotiations, no personal landing pages - just a fixed price on Afternic.

The planned schedule for the experiment is as follows:

• From October 1, 2024, to November 30, 2024, the fixed price for all domains will be $14,999.
• From December 1, 2024, to January 31, 2025, the fixed price will be $9,999.
• From February 1, 2025, to March 31, 2025, the fixed price will be $6,999.
• From April 1, 2025, to May 31, 2025, the fixed price will be $4,999.
• From June 1, 2025, to July 31, 2025, the fixed price will be $3,999.
• From August 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025, the fixed price will be $2,999.
• From October 1, 2025, to November 30, 2025, the fixed price will be $1,999.
• From December 1, 2025, to January 31, 2026, the fixed price will be $999.

I believe that two months per pricing stage and a pool of >16,000 domains should provide enough data to draw meaningful conclusions for future decision-making.

I plan to post monthly updates on the results in this thread, assuming it doesn’t violate any forum rules. I know that many forum members actively invest in 4L domains containing these letters (J, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, Z), so I believe the results could be valuable for others as well. I haven’t come across any detailed statistics on pricing for these domains, which is why I’ve decided to conduct this research myself.

If anyone has any insights or ideas to make this experiment more beneficial, both for myself and for other forum members, I’d be happy to hear them.

 

[Gabriel360]

$1999 seems to be the best price point so far.

Interesting experiment!

 

[AK85]

you are paying a renewal of 160,000 for your 16,000 4L.com names, even if you sell 12 names for 10,000 each, ie 1 name selling every month you will make 120,000 a year which you still have to pay 40,000 form your pocket to renew.

putting 160k every year is not really a good business imo, cause the only one making money here are registrars.

 

[4L.com]

you are paying a renewal of 160,000 for your 16,000 4L.com names, even if you sell 12 names for 10,000 each, ie 1 name selling every month you will make 120,000 a year which you still have to pay 40,000 form your pocket to renew.

putting 160k every year is not really a good business imo, cause the only one making money here are registrars.

I didn’t quite understand the point of your message. By the same logic, if I sell 24 domains for $10,000 each per year (i.e., 2 domains per month), I will earn $240,000. If I subtract the renewal costs of $160,000, I will have a profit of $80,000, which already looks like a pretty decent business.

But it is obvious that I will not sell the required number of domains containing J, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z for $10,000 or $20,000, as I have already tested high prices, and they do not work. Therefore, the only way to make a profit instead of losses (or at least to cover the expenses) with such a large number of domains containing these letters is to sell them at much lower prices. And I am sharing my results so that all forum members can draw their own conclusions about whether it’s worth getting into random 4L domains and, if so, what potential profit they might expect.

 

[NicTraders]

you are paying a renewal of 160,000 for your 16,000 4L.com names, even if you sell 12 names for 10,000 each, ie 1 name selling every month you will make 120,000 a year which you still have to pay 40,000 form your pocket to renew.

putting 160k every year is not really a good business imo, cause the only one making money here are registrars.

If you read the OP's earlier posts you'll see that he's not necessarily trying to optimise profit from this experiment. Domains is just one asset class where he parks some $.
I certainly appreciate @robosapien taking the time to share the findings.

 

[campout]

It looks like $999 from January (which included J and Q) outperformed $1,999 in February (which didn't even include J and Q).

 

[4L.com]

It looks like $999 from January (which included J and Q) outperformed $1,999 in February (which didn't even include J and Q).

I also became interested, and since I still have the list of domains I used in the first experiment, I decided to create a summary table by dividing these domains into the current two categories: (J, Q) and (U, V, W, X, Y, Z). There are some minor inaccuracies since I purchased additional domains during the process, and their total number slightly increased by January. Additionally, sold domains were removed from the list, but I don’t feel like calculating such nuances. Therefore, the results differ slightly from what I previously published due to the varying number of domains, but calculating everything precisely would take too long, and I don’t want to overcomplicate things because of these details. Here is the final table for December 2024 and January 2025 (If we divide all the domains into two main categories):

As far as I can see at this moment, for domains in the U, V, W, X, Y, Z category, the best results among the three price points (999, 1499, and 1999) were achieved at 1999.

 

[NicTraders]

I also became interested, and since I still have the list of domains I used in the first experiment, I decided to create a summary table by dividing these domains into the current two categories: (J, Q) and (U, V, W, X, Y, Z). There are some minor inaccuracies since I purchased additional domains during the process, and their total number slightly increased by January. Additionally, sold domains were removed from the list, but I don’t feel like calculating such nuances. Therefore, the results differ slightly from what I previously published due to the varying number of domains, but calculating everything precisely would take too long, and I don’t want to overcomplicate things because of these details. Here is the final table for December 2024 and January 2025 (If we divide all the domains into two main categories):
Show attachment 271577

As far as I can see at this moment, for domains in the U, V, W, X, Y, Z category, the best results among the three price points (999, 1499, and 1999) were achieved at 1999.

I think you'd need a couple more months of stats to begin to reach a conclusion. At least for me, I usually find January much busier than December anyway, so I'd want a couple more months of sales to see how things go.

Edit: Checking back on your Feb stats, yes $1,999 again seemed best (despite sales being well down), however you didn't have a $999 group for comparison this time, which was the next-best group for the previous 2 months.

 

[Bname.com]

I think there's something wrong with your pricing method,
Because each domain name corresponds to the buyer is different,
So you can't imagine the value of all domain names to be the same,
If you price a high-value domain name low, people will buy it,
But if you put a high price on a low-value domain, no one will ever buy it,
When you reduced the price of the domain name to 499, you only sold a portion of the domain name,
Those are the good domain names,
So what happens to the other domains that don't sell?
You should use some software to set prices,
Put a price on some domain names that have the possibility of end-sale,
It's a mistake to price all domain names alphabetically

 

[4L.com]

I think there's something wrong with your pricing method,
Because each domain name corresponds to the buyer is different,
So you can't imagine the value of all domain names to be the same,
If you price a high-value domain name low, people will buy it,
But if you put a high price on a low-value domain, no one will ever buy it,
When you reduced the price of the domain name to 499, you only sold a portion of the domain name,
Those are the good domain names,
So what happens to the other domains that don't sell?

Good day. Thank you for your opinion, but as I have mentioned here several times before, I do not agree with this position. I believe that there is always demand for random domains. In any case, if I am wrong and all the good domains are bought from me, then over time, my domain sales will simply stop since only illiquid domains will remain. We will all test this theory together as well -)

 

[4L.com]

March 2025 Sales:

For all calculations, I used the renewal price for .com domains set at $10.86, which is my current price at Dynadot.

Additionally, I calculated Gross Profit, where only the Afternic commission (15%) was deducted from the sale price of the domain, and Net Profit, where both the Afternic commission (15%) and the cost I paid to acquire each domain were deducted from the sale price.

March 2025 Results:

Since the final results for the $999 price for domains with the letters (J, Q) (when I did the breakdown by categories for the first experiment) showed quite good results (except for February 2025), I decided to stay at this price level for a few more months for this category of domains. I also changed all prices from $499 to $888. I want to test which of these two prices ($888 or $999) will be more profitable and then compare the winner with the $777 price level.

For the category of domains with the letters (U, V, W, X, Y, Z), the $2999 price again showed mediocre results, so I reduced the price for this category from $2999 to $2488. I want to test this price over the next couple of months before moving on to testing lower prices.

Below is the final distribution (as of 30.03.2025) by letters and the number of domains in each of the category/groups:

 

[Eagle Domains]

I didn’t quite understand the point of your message. By the same logic, if I sell 24 domains for $10,000 each per year (i.e., 2 domains per month), I will earn $240,000. If I subtract the renewal costs of $160,000, I will have a profit of $80,000, which already looks like a pretty decent business.

But it is obvious that I will not sell the required number of domains containing J, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z for $10,000 or $20,000, as I have already tested high prices, and they do not work. Therefore, the only way to make a profit instead of losses (or at least to cover the expenses) with such a large number of domains containing these letters is to sell them at much lower prices. And I am sharing my results so that all forum members can draw their own conclusions about whether it’s worth getting into random 4L domains and, if so, what potential profit they might expect.

If one is Sellin 4 L .Com's he needs to consider each domain Individually , Doesnt matter whether it contains J,Q,U,V,W,X,Y,Z . Each domain needs to be Priced based on Domain Extensions reg , Dom Developed and Abbrevation Present for that keyword

Your Example Doesnt apply to the Rest of us , you have 16,000 doms all another Story

 

[davidc1]

March 2025 Sales:
Show attachment 273120

Show attachment 273121

For all calculations, I used the renewal price for .com domains set at $10.86, which is my current price at Dynadot.

Additionally, I calculated Gross Profit, where only the Afternic commission (15%) was deducted from the sale price of the domain, and Net Profit, where both the Afternic commission (15%) and the cost I paid to acquire each domain were deducted from the sale price.

March 2025 Results:
Show attachment 273122

Since the final results for the $999 price for domains with the letters (J, Q) (when I did the breakdown by categories for the first experiment) showed quite good results (except for February 2025), I decided to stay at this price level for a few more months for this category of domains. I also changed all prices from $499 to $888. I want to test which of these two prices ($888 or $999) will be more profitable and then compare the winner with the $777 price level.

For the category of domains with the letters (U, V, W, X, Y, Z), the $2999 price again showed mediocre results, so I reduced the price for this category from $2999 to $2488. I want to test this price over the next couple of months before moving on to testing lower prices.

Below is the final distribution (as of 30.03.2025) by letters and the number of domains in each of the category/groups:
Show attachment 273123

You will never have enough sales to compare 777/888/999, you would need hundreds of sales as prices are not far from others.

 

[URL Stream]

Thank you for your opinion, but as I have mentioned here several times before, I do not agree with this position. I believe that there is always demand for random domains.

Your stats suggest your approach works – you're getting good money for seemingly random domains, even some lower quality ones. Also, the hold times aren't that long.

So, how are you making these sales happen? Is it just luck due to the sheer number of domains you list, or would your pricing be similar with less volume? Do you ever follow up to see end-user products?

 

[campout]

So $499 outperformed $999 yet you're abandoning $499?

Also it's noteworthy that both groups of "inferior" JQ names outperformed the higher quality UVWXYZ names. It indicates that the ideal price for UVWXYZ will also be below $1,000.

 

[4L.com]

Your Example Doesnt apply to the Rest of us , you have 16,000 doms all another Story

Yes, I mentioned that here. I don’t have a goal to find some universal price for everyone. I want to find the optimal price specifically for my domains, considering the approach I want to use (only fixed prices, no communication with buyers, no negotiations, etc.). I’m also ready to share the results with others so they can draw their own conclusions.

You will never have enough sales to compare 777/888/999, you would need hundreds of sales as prices are not far from others.

Maybe, but nothing stops me from trying and seeing the results.

Your stats suggest your approach works – you're getting good money for seemingly random domains, even some lower quality ones. Also, the hold times aren't that long.

So, how are you making these sales happen? Is it just luck due to the sheer number of domains you list, or would your pricing be similar with less volume? Do you ever follow up to see end-user products?

I already answered part of this question earlier:
https://www.namepros.com/threads/exploring-optimal-prices-for-4l-com-domains.1336296/post-9332468

As for tracking usage, the random domains I sold in 2023 and 2024 at high prices ($5K, $6K) were all used in some way (websites, email, etc.). The ones that were bought in late 2024 and in 2025 at lower prices - I didn’t check them, because I was too lazy. I think many of the domains sold for $499 or $999 were probably bought just because the buyer saw potential to resell them at a higher price.

So $499 outperformed $999 yet you're abandoning $499?

Yes, because I’m in no rush and want to carefully test all price ranges, starting from the higher ones. Since I still have around 2,500 domains that don’t contain the letters J, Q, U, V, W, X, Y, or Z - and they also sell well, which helps me avoid losses from this activity - I can afford to run experiments even if the price isn’t optimal, just to be fully sure for myself.

Based on the results I’ve seen, the $999 price for domains with the letters J and Q showed generally good results, except for one month (February 2025). So, I want to observe the results in this range for another 2-4 months, since I can always lower the prices later if needed.

Also it's noteworthy that both groups of "inferior" JQ names outperformed the higher quality UVWXYZ names. It indicates that the ideal price for UVWXYZ will also be below $1,000.

I don’t understand how you came to that conclusion, so I can’t comment on it. From what I see in the data provided, the domains priced at $1999 and containing the letters U, V, W, X, Y, Z are showing much better results than J, Q (of course, I’m talking about the overall results, not just the results from the last month).

 

[campout]

I don’t understand how you came to that conclusion

I was only looking at March. You're right Feb showed a different picture.

If we combine both months, we see that JQ at $499 has outperformed all else doing $22 sales per name annualized which is almost twice as productive as the JQ listed at $999 which did only $12 per name annualized and was 10% better than the UVWXYZ listed at $1,999 which did only $20 sales per name annualized.

We can also see from this that during Feb-March the JQ names as a whole are doing $17 sales per name annualized while the UVWXYZ names are only doing $14 sales per name annualized.

 

[snake_case]

I see the quality of the sold list dropped compared to the last lists, I only like one domain or two from the list, but it's just me because I don't use data like extension token, open corporates etc.. I only consider brandability of the domain.
any way glad for hour results (:

 

[fka1080405]

Thank you for sharing your insights and performing these experiments. Very interesting!

The key observations from your experiment so far seem to be: lower prices don't drive up profitability, and everyone wants to feel like they've got a great deal. I think that matches up with common pricing wisdom: you can always charge more, and people need to be told how to value something. I think designing experiments based on these observations by using other variables would be good. I think just experimenting with Buy It Now is missing a big opportunity.

Price anchoring is very important when pricing because it allows you to control how a buyer perceives value and I think that in the world of domain name sales, Make An Offer + Buy It Now are very effective tools for price anchoring. A prospect probably doesn't know how much a domain they want is "worth", it's up to you, the seller, to tell them how much it is "worth".

My theory is that most buyers of an aftermarket domain go through a thought process like...

1. "I want the domain `aaaa.com`. How much can a domain cost anyway? $10? I'll go to GoDaddy and register it."
2. "Oh no, I can't register `aaaa.com` because it is taken? But I can buy it for [$25,000 / $14,999 / $9,999 / $5,000 / $999 / $250]? Wow, that is a lot of money."

And at that stage, almost everyone drops out, no matter the price, because they simply cannot imagine buying a domain instead of registering. The remaining few continue on...

3. "Hmmm, could I afford [$25,000 / $14,999 / $9,999 / $5,000 / $999 / $250]?"

At this point, they're starting to think about how much they could spend. They're not yet convinced they want to spend any money, but they're thinking about it. They're thinking about how much they like the domain, maybe they're looking for alternative domains, but they keep coming back to this one domain. They're thinking about the Buy It Now price as the value of the domain, the price is anchored.

4. "Okay, [$25,000 / $14,999 / $9,999 / $5,000 / $999 / $250] is a lot of money compared to $10, but I really like this domain and I haven't been able to find another I like more. I don't want to spend [$25,000 / $14,999 / $9,999 / $5,000 / $999 / $250] but maybe I could spend half of [$25,000 / $14,999 / $9,999 / $5,000 / $999 / $250]?"

And at this point, the prospect is negotiating with themselves: could they spend that much money? And that's where I think Make An Offer comes in. At this point, the prospect wants the domain but they need to be convinced. I think you can get the prospect to convince themselves by letting the prospect submit an offer that they think is so good for them that it is never going to be accepted, and so when it is accepted, the prospect is convinced and buys with great excitement.

I think a great first experiment in price anchoring is:

1. List all domains with a Buy It Now at a relatively high price, e.g: $9,999 or $14,999
2. Set a minimum offer on the domain of comparatively low amount, e.g: $1,000
3. Decide on an amount that you will always accept an offer for, e.g: $2,500
4. If an offer is under $2,500 then reject, if it's over (whether $2,500 or $9,000) then accept

I think that will drive up the volume of sales substantially with very little overhead. I think further experiments would be on the Buy It Now Price vs. the amount of a discount you're willing to take in an offer, and also the amount of negotiation you're willing to do, e.g: an experiment could be "always accept the first offer" vs. "always reject the offer and ask for the half way point between the offer and the Buy It Now".

(As a person who buys and sells domains, I know all of the tricks sellers can use (like price anchoring) and yet I still find myself being caught up in buying things because I appear to be getting a great deal relative to the list price. I've bought domains that I know in my head are not worth what I'm paying, but my heart is convinced it's a great deal because of the totally expert negotiation I did in getting 75% off the list price.)

 

[4L.com]

April 2025 Sales:

For all calculations, I used the renewal price for .com domains set at $10.86, which is my current price at Dynadot.

Additionally, I calculated Gross Profit, where only the Afternic commission (15%) was deducted from the sale price of the domain, and Net Profit, where both the Afternic commission (15%) and the cost I paid to acquire each domain were deducted from the sale price.

April 2025 Results:

Below is the final distribution (as of 30.04.2025) by letters and the number of domains in each of the category/groups:

 

[NicTraders]

April 2025 Sales:

Show attachment 274849

Show attachment 274850
For all calculations, I used the renewal price for .com domains set at $10.86, which is my current price at Dynadot.

Additionally, I calculated Gross Profit, where only the Afternic commission (15%) was deducted from the sale price of the domain, and Net Profit, where both the Afternic commission (15%) and the cost I paid to acquire each domain were deducted from the sale price.

April 2025 Results:
Show attachment 274851

Below is the final distribution (as of 30.04.2025) by letters and the number of domains in each of the category/groups:
Show attachment 274852

Thanks. I think you should run with the same pricing levels for at least a couple more months so we can see if there is any meaningful pattern. I.e. this month obviously showed a much better STR for $888 compared to $999. I hadn't expected such a difference, so I'll be very interested to see if that repeats or if it's just an anomaly based on the particular letter sequences that sold this month.