How long before you sold your first domain?

[Sykology]

I have only recently decided to try to make money selling domains. So far, I have struggled to find a way to sale the 4 domain names I have bought. I am just wondering, how long did it take most people to make their first sale, and by what medium?

I am trying to sale:
3dprintersafety.com
busyknitter.com
relaytraining.com
clickbliss.com

...and not succeeding. I know it takes time, like anything, but how long did it take you?

Thanks!

 

[RaiderGirl]

I hope you don't take offense to what I post here, but IMO 3 out of the 4 names you listed would be considered "Pigeon Shit" by most.

I like RelayTraining, but with 28,000 results I wouldn't invest too much in it. How long before a name like that sells? I don't think anyone here can answer that.. Domaining is a numbers game, the more domains you have, the higher potential you have of making sales, the same applies to quality, But with very HIGH quality domains that most of us cant afford, you don't need a large number of them to attract buyers.

You asked about my first domain sale, I had roughly 50 domains before I made my first sale, and that was after 3 months, I didn't use that money to pay bills or buy a designer purse, I re-invested that money in more domains, and when I sold another, I re-invested it again, and over time the domains I was acquiring were better and pricier, then came my first really big sale of $30,000, this was shortly after my first year in domaining.

What I suggest you do is, build UP your portfolio with better quality domains, desirable domains that end users want.. And when backordering a domain, don't settle for pigeon shit, it's better to spend $1000 on one good domain than $1000 on a dozen crappy ones.

Once you have your portfolio built up, sales will likely come your way.. Domaining is NOT a get rich quick business like so many newbs believe, you need to put A LOT into it before you can even think about get something out of it, your NOT even there yet, NOT even close with your 4 domains.

Good luck!

 

[Kate]

It can take months, even years. But that bad domains will never sell.
Patience is justified for good domains, the bad domains should be dropped.

 

[Havela]

Might as well take the $2k and find 1 good domain

The problem is that unless you have experience, you don't know what to look for. It is no problem wasting $2000 on the aftermarket on one p**spoor domain; there are tonnes of crappy domains priced at $x,xxx - just look at Sedo. Finding good domains requires experience - a newbie is better off with cheap domains in order to get some seller experience. :imho:

 

[Domainace]

It's not that hand regs are bad, per se. There are a few established domainers who hand reg heavily - and most domainers hand reg to some degree. A name registered today might be worth a considerable sum in 5 years - things change and new words are formed all the time. But it's very much a lottery ticket approach

The thing is, turning a profit on hand regs is difficult, and requires organization, a great understanding of the market and lots of cash if you're planning to make any significant money. And even then, it's still a risk.

New domainers tend to reg a lot of crap. They may sell some of it at a modest profit, but they take a loss overall. And then they have no plan for when renewals come around. A few years ago it was possible for a new domainer to register a bunch of names and flip them to others on Ebay or on forums. Those were my first deals. That's not so easy now.

Like you said, you spread the risk with fresh registrations, but you're also less likely to have any gems.

The balance, I think, for a beginner, is to look at the drops and expiring auctions. There are some worthwhile names on Godaddy for under $20, and even some nice names in the closeouts. Look for domains with solid end user potential, keep the cost per name under $20, and flip them for several hundred dollars. Then, as you learn firsthand what names sell and what names don't, start to move up. That still works.

 

[Kate]

I just don't have a lot of capital to spend buying excellent names.

That's something that all new domainers say, but they end up accumulating hundreds of domains that will never sell. Do the math.

I have secured many domains that are quite decent for less than $100 at snapnames or namejet for example.
Domains that can sell to end users for ten times more. Rather than buy 10 domains, buy one.
Quality > quantity.

Repeat the process and you can buy domains of higher quality.

But you need a certain level of quality in the inventory to start with, otherwise you won't make sales often.

 

[RaiderGirl]

May I ask why you think these domains are worthless?

Thanks.

It's I who should thank you for your honesty.

I don't see value in the names you listed for the reason they can easily be replaced with other variations, and for 3 word domains it's much easier to do , NOT suggesting 3 word domains are worthless, their can be plenty of value so long as you have the right combination of words.

Let's take this one; "CreateWindEnergy"

Doesn't flow for me, does it flow for you? If you were starting a wind energy site or business, is this the name you would use? I this a name you would open your wallet to own? Think about that.

GenerateWindEnergy.com doesn't flow for me either, I mention it because it's available for hand reg.

So why should a end user pay you for a domain they can replace with a different and perhaps better variation for Free? Same with beautifulroadtrips.com.

Just because a domain contains strong generic keywords doesn't always make it a good domain for resale. It's the words as well as the right combination that make it appealing and give it value.

My suggestion to you is to re-think what your registering and where your acquiring domains, Unless your really up on current events, hand regs can be a very long road to prosperity.

Of course everything here is just my opinion. Not to be construed as expert advice,

 

[Keith]

did you look to buy at the aftermarket for a good pre release domain and then try and sell that one domain that would be a better start then going for 200 reg fee domains?

1 or 2 great domains = about $20 per year renewal fees. 200 crappy hand regs = $2000 per year renewal fees plus initial reg fee! Might as well take the $2k and find 1 good domain

 

[RaiderGirl]

I just don't have a lot of capital to spend buying excellent names.. If I could just find a gold egg and get enough capital to a) allow me to buy decent domains

I bought some that I consider good ones for $60 each and sold them for over a thousand each, They were slow moving but they sold, if you get enough of these over time, you will see some sales.. And then you can step it up, buying better names.

For me, I've always had full time employment and treat domaining as a side business, not depending on it for anything other than park revenue to pay my renewals, and when a big sale comes a long, most of it now goes in the bank... If you have the right outlook on domaining, you wont be so disappointed.

You can also get into development like one poster suggested, If you have the time, (and it takes plenty) that's what I would be doing.

Whatever you decide, I wish you the best of luck.

 

[Semtex]

My newb mistake 7 years ago was registering everything I thought sounded cool. After about a year of hand registering I ended up with about 600+ names. Of course I sold a few of them for $100 here and there, but 90% of them were garbage. Luckily I landed a few $1000 sales after my second year. You have to be willing to hunt down numerous end users for your specific name. Most of your sales will never find you. You need to find them.

 

[timestamp]

I started in 2011, and sold my first domain in 2013, right here at namepros. Bought it for $1 and sold if for $2.

 

[solarix]

I'm a total n00b as well, only doing so for a month. It took about 2 weeks for my first domain sale. It was cheaply priced on Sedo for 60 dollars as I was mainly testing to learn how the Sedo process works. Who knows if the name could have gone for more, but hey no complaints from me, only a $4 hand reg

 

[ImageAuthors]

Although it often does take people weeks or months to get their first domain sale, in reality you could sell a domain in 24 hours or less. All that's required is

(1) A good domain
(2) A cheap asking price
(3) A list of people who realistically ought to buy
(4) Time spent inviting them to purchase

My recommendation to every new domainer is to find someone who already sells domains successfully but who has an excess of inventory. He'll have better domains than you'd hand-register. If you're willing to sell something from his portfolio, you'll make money faster, waste less money on bad buys, and learn more quickly how to repeat the process for your own sales.

There are lots of domain owners out there who'd be happy to let you try selling some of their stuff. So I'm not just talking about myself.

 

[Calvenor]

Back on track with the original thread. It took me exactly 20 days after I started buying domains to have one of them sold in NameCheap's marketplace. Hand reg turned into 108$ after NC got their provision. Felt great, but ...

... that was roughly 4 months ago and and I've been awaiting second sale since, despite the fact that my pigeon shit collection improved over time. I'd say it's much clearer to me now that in domaining good things do NOT come those to wait, but rather those who go "door to door", offering goods to at least mildly interested parties.

 

[RogueWriter]

I guess mine would be zero days, I had an end-user contact me and buy my semi-developed web site. I owned the .com and he owned an alternative extension. That was the first moment it occurred to me that I could resell domains. And then, like a complete rookie ( which I was ), I did a nominal amount of research, and registered a bunch of .bz domains, thinking of course people would want an extension that almost looks like 'business', lol. The domain business has a fairly harsh and unforgiving learning curve if you do not take the time to approach domaining in a proper, professional manner.

 

[Name Trader]

It was something like 6-18 months before I sold my first domain. Personally I don't think you will ever sell any of those domains. Better to move on to greener pastures, imho.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

I like the ring of BusyKnitter.com

Madame DeFarge's website?

[ame="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madame_Defarge"]Madame Defarge - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/ame]



Seriously, though, BusyKnitter could be developed into a niche forum of avid knitters, not just for spies during the French Revolution.

8-X

My first domain sale occurred about six months after I started; the domain itself would have been considered pigeon sh1t, but I got $800 for it.

Having said this, I think that you should still educate yourself (by reading blogs and sales sites, such as DN Journal). Also, selecting good solid names is almost as much as an art as it is a science--this comes with experience.

Also, you should like the domains you select--makes selling them easier. For example, I don't deal in hard core p0rn names because I would have to hold my nose, though slightly racy names are okay.



*

 

[cdnbigd]

Hey RaiderGirl,

Thanks for your honesty. I did research on Sedo, Bodis, Afternic and DN Journal mainly. I found that there were quite a few Web 2.0 domain names that were short and sounded catchy and brandable.. that's why I went with:
blogble.com
flipba.com

I went with beautifulroadtrips.com mainly because that's what I love doing.. I have an interest in it and started a website now with adsense.. doing ok with the revenue off of that. I've also had a couple offers on that name so far.

I went with GoGuts.com mainly because it's a short 6L pronounceable word that rolls off the tounge and just sounds perfect for an adventure/adrenaline junkie company or website.

I went with createwindenergy after doing some long-tail keyword research and found it's a pretty low competition with still a nice amount of traffic/searches. Also, it's getting quite big nowadays.

After doing some research on a "challenge" keyword, I found many sites with the word challenge in them selling for a good amount. Also, trx is a pretty big workout lately. I remember p90x challenge blogs and sites when it was big and rushfit challenges etc..

I went with breakfast.im because it's a real word and 1 word domain name which has a pretty low competition and pretty high search rate. I thought I could sell it to a B&B or breakfast restaurant in the Isle of Man. I'm actually in talks (emails) with 4 of them currently.

May I ask why you think these domains are worthless?

Thanks.

For the names you listed, that would be a waste of time.

I'd like to ask how much research you and the OP did prior to registering these domains?

 

[eightofdiamonds]

I started in 2011, and sold my first domain in 2013, right here at namepros. Bought it for $1 and sold if for $2.

Doubled your money though!

 

[Name Trader]

When you are not disatisfied with the price, is a good time to sell. But also you might sell at a loss if you feel you've had enough time in the domain and you could use the money elsewhere.

 

[techie14]

I'm also a newbie here, not really sure if its luck or whatever but I sold my first domain for mid $XXX. 19 days(to be exact) after I started domaining. Funny thing is, it was an NLLLL.com and I know that there's nothing special about it. I actually thought of letting it expired but luck has favored me.

 

[Semtex]

If you are buying generic names like hotels.com, oranges.com, boats.com, you won't have any issues legally. UNLESS, you buy names that are close to another business's name and you try selling a similar product. For instance, you bought apples.com and tried selling computers. That would get you into trouble. But if you bought apples.com and sold shoes, you are perfectly fine.

Buying expired names from GoDaddy, NameJet, and Snapnames are the biggest 3 I can think of. There are plenty of $69 domains that expire, that can be flipped for $300. You just need to find those gems and pray that nobody else does.

As far as your domains in your list, I don't like any of them.


.

 

[BruceWayne]

Thank you for your honest review and advice, I really appreciate it buddy. Made another mistake and actually have put a couple of my website on flippa for sale, spent 20 bucks on posting these domains and then the rest on godaddy, just praying so that someone buys them out.

I'll try to look for names in GoDaddy, Namejet and Snapnames as for now. Thanks again Semtex.

 

[DomainVP]

Have you sold any of these yet? Have faith!

I sold 1 / Day / Garage (D0T.C0M) for $1,500 a few months after I regged it. It was one of 10 cheap domains I purchased when I decided to start acquiring deleted names for potential projects.

The truth is, that we could tell you what's worth money and what isn't. However nobody really knows.

If someone is inspired to create a business with a name, and they have funding, what you negotiate for the domain is what it is worth.

So I hope you have had good luck with these names.

Cheers!

 

[J Sokol]

Back to the original question: I made my first sale of $850 after four months of domaining and had about 40 domains at the time. It sold on GD after a bit of negotiation. Since then I've had a few really small sales, but no more good ones yet. For me, trying to stay patient is the hardest part of the business.

 

[rohitgoyal]

I have only recently decided to try to make money selling domains. So far, I have struggled to find a way to sale the 4 domain names I have bought. I am just wondering, how long did it take most people to make their first sale, and by what medium?

I am trying to sale:
3dprintersafety.com
busyknitter.com
relaytraining.com
clickbliss.com

...and not succeeding. I know it takes time, like anything, but how long did it take you?

Thanks!

Most probably your listed domains would be really hard to sell irrespective of the fact that for how long you renew the same.

My first sale came after 3 months when I started in 2016 and now I have sales on daily basis