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!

 

[Domainace]

Much good advice. I agree that a newbie spending 2k on a name is not a good idea in general. If that's all the money you have to invest, you risk the chance of buying a name you can't sell. Maybe more likely is that it's an OK name for the money, but the wait for the right end user will mean your money is tied up for years.

With limited funds, you should never use the bulk of them to buy one domain unless you are certain you can flip it (probably to another domainer) for some quick cash if need be.

 

[Honey Domains]

I am enjoying this thread and have a question for those more experienced with domaining.

Has anyone ever actually skipped the buying a bunch of hand regs stage? I know it is what is always recommended, but did the people doing well now, skip it or years ago, is it how they learned what domains are truly good and saleable and what crap can be dropped after a year?

Putting all your eggs in one $2000 basket does seem like more folly and I understand it is a balancing act, but how to you learn what is worth $2000 without actually doing (alongside reading, learning and studying sales lists and figures)?

I am curious and I'd love people's opinions, as I have a feeling it is a necessary part of the learning process. I have gone through the same type of learning in another market (antique lace) and made newbie buying mistakes buying crap, paying too much for crap, selling too low etc. Also learned mediocre and marginal stuff does Ok in a good market, but when supply increases (like these new exrtensions coming) or demand drops (for the lace, the eceonomic crisis in US) they will never sell.

I eventually taught myself how to make good money doing that, but with domains, I still find myself still doing the newbie thing hand regging and buying cheaper auction/dropping domains. I have sold 2 domains in the first 2 months, but know it it is now likey just due to sheer numbers now

I think it is partly, what if a purchase is a mistake? You have risked less, you can build up more of a collecton to look at (no matter how gruesome) and dream with for less $, and you have 'spread the risk'. But also your risk of failure is higher because chances are, for what you paid, there are way less gems in there. A greater percentage of good ideas, names that flow and names that are in demand, are already registered. But do you learn something each time you reg and need many more times than one $2000 domain to give you the big picture? What is realistic for a newbie?

 

[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.

 

[Honey Domains]

Domainace, that does make sense. Thanks for your thoughtful reply.

 

[ruzeen]

Thank you everyone for all your posts; really enjoyed this thread. I started domaining 3 months ago.

Dec. 2012 my dad bought KZPO.com for $20 in a GoDaddy auction. He's not a domainer nor does he know much about domains but he likes collecting good names, that's just a hobby of dad's. In August this year I stumbled upon NamePros - that's when I started to like domaining.

I then asked dad for KZPO.com to be pushed to my account and he did. I didn't know how to price it so I used Valuate.com, checked for search results on Google and posted it in the "Appraisals" section of NamePros. Some told me high xx to low xxx. (Maybe, I could've gotten more for this if I was patient) I got an offer for $70 so I just quickly sold it - I was excited to make $50 off my first sale. Lol.

 

[mycontrepipol]

what do you think about the domain vastw.com? can it easily sell? if yes at how much? thanks

 

[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.

 

[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!

 

[Domainace]

Doubled your money though!

No, he lost money. The name likely had to be renewed at least once.

 

[TotalWebsites]

I'm not sure how I ended up in this thread, but I felt a bump was necessary. It's possibly some of the best advice and discussion I've seen in a while here.

 

[Md Jafri Ahmed]

Hello guys, a total beginner here. Have been reading quite a few articles on domain buying & selling and the huge figures that each domain could sell for :p . Nevertheless I believe this could be interesting if you learn the tricks from the right people, don't know if this would be the correct time to start though.

Anyways, any say on onlinegameslive.com . Just used a few free tools, felt like this could work. What do i do next? Appraisal, parking or sell. How do i know when is the time to sell?
Some guidance please.

 

[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.

 

[Md Jafri Ahmed]

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.

Thanks Stub, could you please throw some more light on what and how exactly should I proceed. Since this is my first buy am not sure on when and what price to sell.

 

[Name Trader]

Always development is best. Only you can tell when and what price to sell at. If you are looking for an appraisal, there is always the appraisal forum.

 

[nolag]

I had an interesting experience where I was renting a domain (taking monthly payments and pointing to their ns records) for about a year, then the guy renting it purchased it It worked out nicely because I got some money to renew the domain with (plus a little profit) then made a little on the sale.

 

[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.

 

[D. Wells]

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.

Sedo sell?

 

[Nadeem75]

Very informative thread

 

[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.

 

[BruceWayne]

Hi everyone, I am new in this domain business and am super excited. I am willing to put my hard work during the weekends while I am not working obviously. I have created a few domain names which I know aren't much worthy as no one has shown a keen interest on them and I don't think they have potential. I need your advice on buying domains, If let's say I buy an expired domain and put it on auction, will I need to face any legal matter from the previous domain owner?

My next question is can anyone kindly tell me which are the genuine sites to buy expired domain names? How do we choose which ones are good among the thousands of ones? Does the years mean anything, per se when it was created?

Lastly, let's say if hotels.com was expired and I buy it, will I face any legal matters?

Thanks in advance Geniuses

Here are a few websites which I have created and Invested little amount.

360roundtrip.com

ehotelnyc.com

ihotelnyc.com

apps4online.com

apps4tech.com

askz.net

cheapappz.com

resort77.com

travel2nyc.com

What do you guys think? >.<

 

[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!

 

[BruceWayne]

I haven't sold any yet, thanks for the encouragement

This really helps.

I wanted to ask a question, If I buy an expired domain, do I get the content what the previous owner left on the website?

 

[DomainVP]

I wanted to ask a question, If I buy an expired domain, do I get the content what the previous owner left on the website?

No. The name is registered in your name and you will have to provide hosting and content.