Flippa And Your Own Domain Catalog

[Nattydomain]

So I was thinking about listing a domain and a website next month on Flippa. I maybe do it 1x a year. I saw now that it allows you to enter or list your domain portfolio per say. It allows you to list unlimited domains with a min offer and a BIN. It seems if a domain is bought from it it will be at 15% fee at a min of $60 like sedo.

Has anyone listed there domains there and got offers or a sale? Might be ok for possible end users looking for domains. Any thoughts

 

[DomainVP]

Don't do it. It's like giving away your property, plus they charge a fee that guarantees nothing.

I just wasted $250 in listing a domain on there. Flippa is a scam.

 

[jideofor]

DomainVP, why would you pay $250 to list a domain name on flippa?

Sorry man, last time I checked, it cost around $19 to list a domain on flippa. I guess you went about it the wrong way.

 

[DomainVP]

I didn't go about it the 'wrong way'. If you don't know, then don't say anything.

It costs $9 to list your name, but nobody will ever see it and it will get minimal bids. You will essentially just give your domain away for a couple dollars.

They have promotion packages that you add on to your listing. If you want to get people to actually see your listing it will cost $250 for the 'premium' package and $350 for the next promotion package up.

However, regardless if you are listing your name for $9 or $350 dollars it's going to sell for a fraction what it is worth.

Then if it doesn't sell at all, you eat that $250 - $350 and they just give you an 'oh well' we will help you sell it again. Why would I want to use their junk service AGAIN if the domain didn't sell for the minimal that it's worth.

You are much better off selling your name to an actual end user.

Case in point... I had a 4L.com I wanted at least $5k for. It was well worth it. Nobody would place a bid, and that was that.

Two months later I sold that name to an end user for $xx,xxx.

Flippa is a joke, I've tried them TWICE just to give their service a fair shot. Both times the basic strategy of 'reaching out' to an potential end user beat out that sorry excuse for a domain auction venue.

Time and time again, domains that would not sell at Flipa, or that has such low bids, I sold for prices in the thousands.

If you want to waste your money and time, go for it. Have fun at Flippa. If you want to actually profit from your domain, take a day to reach out to end users.

PLUS I see so many articles of people having terrible experiences with buying websites that have made false promises... Flippa doesn't care; as long as they get their money. Bunch of scammers.

 

[JB Lions]

I didn't go about it the 'wrong way'. If you don't know, then don't say anything.

It costs $9 to list your name, but nobody will ever see it and it will get minimal bids. You will essentially just give your domain away for a couple dollars.

They have promotion packages that you add on to your listing. If you want to get people to actually see your listing it will cost $250 for the 'premium' package and $350 for the next promotion package up.

However, regardless if you are listing your name for $9 or $350 dollars it's going to sell for a fraction what it is worth.

Then if it doesn't sell at all, you eat that $250 - $350 and they just give you an 'oh well' we will help you sell it again. Why would I want to use their junk service AGAIN if the domain didn't sell for the minimal that it's worth.

You are much better off selling your name to an actual end user.

Case in point... I had a 4L.com I wanted at least $5k for. It was well worth it. Nobody would place a bid, and that was that.

Two months later I sold that name to an end user for $xx,xxx.

Flippa is a joke, I've tried them TWICE just to give their service a fair shot. Both times the basic strategy of 'reaching out' to an potential end user beat out that sorry excuse for a domain auction venue.

Time and time again, domains that would not sell at Flipa, or that has such low bids, I sold for prices in the thousands.

If you want to waste your money and time, go for it. Have fun at Flippa. If you want to actually profit from your domain, take a day to reach out to end users.

PLUS I see so many articles of people having terrible experiences with buying websites that have made false promises... Flippa doesn't care; as long as they get their money. Bunch of scammers.

The bold, how do you give a domain away for a couple of dollars, when you can simply have a reserve.

You can contact end users on your own and send them to your Flippa auction.

I wouldn't pay for those extra services myself, just the $9 to list. There are some people on this forum doing pretty good over there just using that basic service.

It's only a scam if you paid for those extra services and they didn't do them. The extra service doesn't include some guarantee that your domain will sell, just that it gets more promotion. It could simply be it didn't catch the right eyeballs, nobody was interested (at Flippa) in what you were selling.

 

[tomcarl]

While I agree with most of what's said here, I wouldn't go as far as calling them 'scammers' - Scam is too serious a word to be thrown around lightly and is the most serious accusation to make against a company's reputation.

You're paying to have your domain displayed to their audience and they will facilitate the sale should the listing end successfully. This is the only service flippa is providing and I don't see how they are personally responsible for lack of bids on any particular domain. Your domain is displayed to the same audience that other domains receiving $xx,xxx bids are being displayed to. Sometimes auctions end without a bid, it happens.

Scam? No. Overpriced and Overhyped? Definitely. Could they possibly give the impression to a lot of domain owners that they can list any crap domain and it will sell in $xxx-$x,xxx range? Yes, but that's not them doing it, that's the number of flukes happening. That is the only area where I can see a 'scam' going on if they are directly responsible for fake sales, but this requires evidence.

Are they paying a lot of money to grow their audience? Yes. You can't go to any respectable domain industry website/blog without seeing them listed a sponsor, they are obviously reinvesting a large chunk of their revenue into advertising to grow their marketplace. Regardless of fake bids or not, your domain is being showcased in front of a lot of people in the industry, and at the end of the day, that's what you're paying for and the only service flippa has to offer you.

I believe it would be fair for flippa to allow you to RE-LIST an auction you paid $250 to list. A one-time listing at $250-$350 is excessive, I'll agree with you there. But I have a feeling this is going to change soon.

PS - I'm surprised your domain didn't get a bid, it is better than a lot of what I've seen selling on there though.

 

[DomainVP]

PS - I'm surprised your domain didn't get a bid, it is better than a lot of what I've seen selling on there though.

Same here tomcarl. The funny thing is that I have a standing $1,500 offer outside of Flippa on the name, personally I am sure I could sell it for much more than that.

I wanted to test Flippa to see if their junk service has improved since I used it last... and it hasn't.

That's why I call it a scam. There is a lot more going on then meets the eye. I think that a lot of names that get 'bids' and are 'won' are most likely shill bidders or a buying circle that inflate the interest in a name just waiting for a sucker to buy in.

Their whole product is successful off of one aspect; misrepresentation.

As for Flippa themselves, they are highly deceptive in their marketing and claims, and their relaxed policies on their own behavior fosters an environment of fraudulent bidding and website claims.

Their overall presentation and pitch for the premium services is highly deceptive.

There are also countless claims from people buying $5k+ websites, only to find that its a junk website on a junk domain. If you look I guarantee that you can find at least 10 claims without even looking hard.


@JB Lions, "There are some people on this forum doing pretty good over there just using that basic service." Well there are some people on this forum selling domains for $2, if you want to join that party please print yourself a VIP pass and hop in line. That is not how I do things, nor would I want to be in that boat. If you want to go and list $9 auctions and sell $69 drop-caught domains for $200 which leaves very little profit, that is your prerogative.

Keep in mind that I have sold a few names on Flippa before, so it's not like I'm talking from some kind of 'wounded dog' perspective. 7 months ago I sold 3 domains for a total of $3,500. After 'promotion' costs, domain acquisition costs, and Flippa fees I was left with $900 profit. That's pretty pathetic results if you ask me.

I decided to give them a try again, and more pathetic results.

So if you <3 Flippa that much, then here's a ring ( O ) - marry it.

 

[Jeeps]

...

They have promotion packages that you add on to your listing. If you want to get people to actually see your listing it will cost $250 for the 'premium' package and $350 for the next promotion package up.

...

I imagine a bit of marketing would be prudent if you have a name in auction...for those that sell on Flippa, how do you market / promote your auctions [outside of premium Flippa features]?

 

[AEProgram]

In my opinion unless you have a real great domain or a great website business flippa is a big waste of money

 

[Nattydomain]

Thanx for the replies but it seems to have gone off to the side. My post is asking about listing domains as part of your own catalog NOT selling on Flippa. I only said that in passing that I may list 1 but my question remains has anyone listed their domains as part of your "domain catalog"

 

[buyselldoms]

Flippa has an internal motive just like any website.

Some big sales are suspicious and despite sometimes being relisted as a new user, its clear that some transactions MIGHT solely be inflating the value of sold domain names and websites through the website. So a website sold for $300,000 ... add that to the value of the website, likely the case that no money even changed hands.

If you got Flippa's company accounts, I am sure it doesn't show listing fees plus 10% success on the claimed value of domains sold within such a period.

Is this a scam or marketing ploy? Well... I am certain they aren't "cooking the books" just over reporting success. For them, if its listed and ends with a bid and above any reserve, that adds to the stats. Whether or not the transaction completes, if it gets relisted or if the seller even paid to list it, is irrelevant.

I did see a fishy one on their the other week approx $500,000 listing with many bids which IMO was 10 times over the maximum value of it. Quite naturally I just looked without success. Bottom line is... its their website they do what they want as long as its all within the law.

It is normally a similar concept to crowdfunding... if you do NOT market it (crowdfunding or flippa etc), you wont get the bids/interest. Which for flippa, raises the question... why are you paying them 10% success fee? You can understand the listing fees for the classified advert part. Those that do well on flippa network extensively... on multiple forums, push traffic through domains, on twitter, linkedin and facebook... its not a list a domain and get bids sort of website.

 

[inforg]

To the OP's original question...I hadn't seen the catalog feature before, so thanks for pointing it out. It may or may not result in anything, but seems worth a try to list your portfolio. A lot of ad dollars and eyeballs on Flippa these days - it can't hurt to list them since it is free.

 

[jideofor]

I didn't go about it the 'wrong way'. If you don't know, then don't say anything.

It costs $9 to list your name, but nobody will ever see it and it will get minimal bids. You will essentially just give your domain away for a couple dollars.

They have promotion packages that you add on to your listing. If you want to get people to actually see your listing it will cost $250 for the 'premium' package and $350 for the next promotion package up.

However, regardless if you are listing your name for $9 or $350 dollars it's going to sell for a fraction what it is worth.

Then if it doesn't sell at all, you eat that $250 - $350 and they just give you an 'oh well' we will help you sell it again. Why would I want to use their junk service AGAIN if the domain didn't sell for the minimal that it's worth.

You are much better off selling your name to an actual end user.

Case in point... I had a 4L.com I wanted at least $5k for. It was well worth it. Nobody would place a bid, and that was that.

Two months later I sold that name to an end user for $xx,xxx.

Flippa is a joke, I've tried them TWICE just to give their service a fair shot. Both times the basic strategy of 'reaching out' to an potential end user beat out that sorry excuse for a domain auction venue.

Time and time again, domains that would not sell at Flipa, or that has such low bids, I sold for prices in the thousands.

If you want to waste your money and time, go for it. Have fun at Flippa. If you want to actually profit from your domain, take a day to reach out to end users.

PLUS I see so many articles of people having terrible experiences with buying websites that have made false promises... Flippa doesn't care; as long as they get their money. Bunch of scammers.

The $19 I quoted was a typo. But that does not mean that Flippa is a scam. Flippa is not a good place to sell 4L.com, except you are talking about 3 letter. You should have known better. if you know that dynamics of how flippa works, I see know reason I should spend such money on a domain name like that. if you had done so with a lll.com or 1 word.com or.info, it would have sold.