How to Sell Domains Fast - Marketplace or Own Site

[JamesCrew]

Hi mates,

So after investing in more than 20 domains, I am desperately trying to sell couple of those since February 2015, but have yet to see any positive response.

I have tried the old 'Email to Potential Buyer' method but with no success. So now I am seriously thinking to launch my very own website with my domains listed for sale there.

But before I do that, I would like to know what you guys think would be a better and faster (not to mention more profitable) approach for selling domains?

I have other option of listing my domains to marketplaces like SEDO, Afternic and etc.. Have already done that last month, lets see what happens. But what I was thinking, would launching my domain selling website be a more direct method to attract buyers for the right price?

Would really appreciate your input mates. I am just about to lose my patience if I don't sell something fast, lol...

Good day,

 

[Ilhicas]

I don't think there is a fast way. Its not like its a quick flip business(with some exceptions) I think you just have to be patient. How long are you holding the domains?

If you build a website you also have to get traffic to it to sell your own domains. And that will cost you time and money.

You can always try to sell here on forum or on ebay for a faster way to sell. But if the domains are not good its not an easy way to be profitable.

If you have good domains you should always try to put a flippa listing or try the new Sedo Direct Auction.

 

[tomcarl]

It all depends on your domains, there are no guaranteed fast sales for anything unless you've got an impressive domain with obvious value, otherwise if you emailed people about it and no one expressed any interest, chances are you won't fetch a fast sale for it anywhere else if your top end users didn't want it.

If you want a fast sale in the 5-20 dollar range, try forums/ebay auctions, that would be your best bet.

 

[dollarfield]

Building a website and selling domains does not work in short run because of traffic and credibility issue. Many website owners including me do must of the selling here in Namepros and places like Flippa, Sedo and Godaddy. If you are looking for a quick flip Forums are the best.
Setting a realistic price is also important for making faster sales. I hope you will succeed very soon.

 

[The New Guy]

Method with highest probability of success:

1. Have a domain that can be used by multiple parties
2. Price that domain below market price.
3. Make parties from number 1 aware that your domain is available at a below market price.

Otherwise it's a waiting game - waiting for the right buyer, waiting for someone to find you, waiting for someone with the funds to make a good offer, etc.

 

[Kate]

...
So after investing in more than 20 domains, I am desperately trying to sell couple of those since February 2015, but have yet to see any positive response.

Well, it's been 3 months only. You need a lot of patience in this industry. And domains are illiquid assets, they don't sell fast at all, unless they are extremely high quality and priced right.

I have tried the old 'Email to Potential Buyer' method but with no success. So now I am seriously thinking to launch my very own website with my domains listed for sale there.

...

But what I was thinking, would launching my domain selling website be a more direct method to attract buyers for the right price?

You can list them at plenty of venues, even set up your own, but I don't think that will make any difference. Why ? Because nobody is looking for your domains, or domains that are similar to yours.
Remember: millions of domains are on sale today, all looking for a buyer. There are few buyers, and even fewer repeat buyers...

Here is the big secret: the best way to sell domains, is to have domains that buyers are looking for.

The bottom line: you need patience even with good domains, but if your inventory is not good enough buyers will never come. If you have registered bad names because you are new, then it's very possible you will have to ditch them and start it all over again.

Welcome to domaining...

 

[JamesCrew]

Appreciate all for your valuable participation.

I know domaining is a game of patience and I am good with it. So I can wait for months or years for the big and right sale. It's not about not being patient, to me it's about not being successful after so many months. I can PM couple of my domains to senior members here to see if I am going on the right direction with buying the right domain names. Just let me know if you wish to guide me about my domain route.

The reason I do not want to list domains in forums is because normally there are no end users here and to tell you the truth, I have certain value for my domains and in forums, one can not expect a three or four figure sale that often. So selling for $5 or $20 is obviously not in my plan.

@sdsinc I have re-started buying domains back in August 2014 and that makes eight months "with no sale". Not a single sale. That's what worries me. And to give you a slight idea about the types of domains I have, I usually go with 2-3 word generic domains (example: FogDataHub). I normally pick tech related domains. Also have couple of brandables and small biz domains but they represent only 15% of my 20+ domains.

Now to the main point. When I said "selling domains fast", I meant selling small business domains. I once read a blog in which people were selling such domains on a weekly basis (think of domains related to dentist, contractors, plumbers & etc.) So that is why I was asking if there are any certain techniques to pitch these domains to potential buyers for some quick sales.

PS: I listed five domains on eBay four days ago. No response till date. May be that's because I have listed few low profile domains, but my intent was just to test ebay domain market. Let's wait and watch.

 

[NameFit]

Let me be realistic and be practical, it is well established fact that average sale for good names where the buyers are end users is 1-3%. We are not talking about $50-$100 profit names, we are talking about names well at $1000 average. So if you have a portfolio of 100 names, you are looking at 1-2 sale in the year. You still break even at this sales volume. I do not think the 1-3% range goes up if you have larger portfolio - it is advancing towards more sales to keep the cash flow going. I park all my domains and let the buyers reach out to me. For the past 10+ years I have maintained that volume well above average with average price well above $1000. 5 years before that, I had minimal sales and paid out of pocket and was about to give up. You just have to spend more effort in acquiring the names rather than selling them. It requires knowledge of practical every industry in the world. It is not that you have go reading out about industry, you just develop it over time - 'General Knowledge' is he word that comes to mind. Also, it does require good knowledge of English, and above all how creatively you can think. Once you get into that 'mental state' of thinking, it is a breeze - you are all together in different state of mind. It is lot of work but rewarding in long run. There is no 'magic' name that you will hit on one day! Lastly, I would say, if you want a business buyer to come to you and pay you the optimum price, then you have to think like a buyer - meaning that you have to develop that level of understanding of the topic/solution/idea much much before the prospective buyer decides to establish a business around that thought and starts looking for a name.

I had a post about how start ups should select a name, you have to think exactly like a buyer.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/79...-a-name-for-your-startup.857739/#post-4856731

Hope this helps!

 

[cocaseco]

Before you try anything i think you need to decide who your target is. If it is other domainers, then this forum is a great place. If on the other hand you only want end users, and hence top dollar, you would not post it here. End user sales will almost always take longer than selling to another domainer, who himself needs to flip it at a profit. So are you a wholesaler or a retailer?

 

[alcy]

keep in mind thta a place like ebay offers you loads of exposure right off bat.. I don't mean 100 visits a day etc.. but even 10 a day is probably way more than you can generate from yoru own website.. at least before its well advertized etc..

so ebay is a real easy way. but again, how much you get depends on quality of nqame

to increase that visaitor count and exposure way up, you can simply post it on here too

 

[JamesCrew]

@NameFit very well said, can't disagree with you there. But I am a little dishearted by having no sales at all for months (not to mention the outreach I started in February and got no results.) But like I said, even my small business domains didn't receive any response when I outreached those (one was dentist related and another was limo related).

I see people here sharing their success stories how they sold their first domain in only a matter of few weeks. I believe my domains are not that bad if they aren't of premium quality, but still, would like to know what I am missing. I am O.K. withe the waiting part like I mentioned earlier, it's just that I need something to justify that I am going on the right direction and so far, I have no results to prove that

Second thing, I have read here most senior domainers telling members to buy 'domains that can be sold'. Can anyone point which type of domains are those? I mean either they are brandables, small business, generics or etc.? (Not asking about where to get these domains as I figure these are going to be from dropped domains; right!) I want to learn which domains have the potential to be sold instantly (or in a months period.)

@cocaseco Thanks for your response. I am not a wholesaler at all and I don't plan to be one.

@alcy Thanks for dropping by. That's exactly why I have listed couple of domains on eBay to test how the site works for domains. Until now I have only read mixed 50/50 reviews of members here about selling domains on eBay.

 

[JamesCrew]

For those who said that bringing traffic to my domain site would be additional work. I know a lot about SEO (was an on-job professional SEO till 2014) so as far as it goes to bringing traffic to my own domain selling website, I am pretty sure that wouldn't be an obstacle. But the point I am more convinced by setting up my own domain marketplace is because it would give me an added exposure in the field. And besides, one must simply have an online presence to backup its brand and to gain authority. Am I right?

The way I am thinking is that most business/startups don't have the basic idea how to select a domain name. So instead of randomly typing/searching in domains, there is a great possibility that they would just search generic keywords like "buy startup domains, buy company domains, small business domains, and etc.".

My estimations here are that whether or not I have a domain for them but I would still get some exposure. And once I get a lead from them about their domain requirement, I can act as a domain broker and buy the domain for my client for them. This would be a two-way profit, domain brokering and selling, lol. Sounds like a plan!!!

 

[simon churchill]

Hi
I have been doing domains now for 3 years and have made some good sales and some poor ones,take no notice of appraisal site's for example valuate etc it is what the buyer will pay you that is the worth.
I would say namepros, ebay and even facebook for quick low sales,if you have a high value domain which I mean strong keyword or L,LL,LLL I would say flippa,sedo etc.
I have a website that already has the platform for selling domains and websites,but I have been told to market it would cost me a hell of alot of money, and I work with web developers, that is why I and trying to sell it at present.
Good luck with your Domains I hope you have luck in selling them.
But remember it is like selling online property sometimes you have to just take the hit!

Simon

 

[Kate]

Just to put things in perspective...

Last week I sold a domain for $500, that I initially registered in 2006. So it's been a whole 9 years between registration and ultimate sale to an end user.

You must be wondering, why keep a domain that long, is this because I have faith ? Actually I was thinking that the domain might never sell. But I normally always pick domains that I know I could use if they don't sell. Thus I always have a few good domains available in the inventory whenever I need to start a new project (I like to stockpile domains for future use).
So I always advise people to buy domains in industries/niches they are familiar with. So you can think like an end user.

You say you registered dentist- and limo-related, but I assume you are not a dentist or don't run a limo business either. So these domains are not assets you can use. These names are worthless if you can't find a buyer. There is no plan B.

 

[alcy]

Just to put things in perspective...

Last week I sold a domain for $500, that I initially registered in 2006. So it's been a whole 9 years between registration and ultimate sale to an end user.

You must be wondering, why keep a domain that long, is this because I have faith ? Actually I was thinking that the domain might never sell. But I normally always pick domains that I know I could use if they don't sell. Thus I always have a few good domains available in the inventory whenever I need to start a new project (I like to stockpile domains for future use).
So I always advise people to buy domains in industries/niches they are familiar with. So you can think like an end user.

You say you registered dentist- and limo-related, but I assume you are not a dentist or don't run a limo business either. So these domains are not assets you can use. These names are worthless if you can't find a buyer. There is no plan B.

faith is good.

there is nothing wrong with knowing your niche.

this obviously cannot apply to vr. cause no one knows vr. even delvelopers and companeis are just scratching surface.. so imagine what we are doing.

u do not haqve to know aqbout hotelling to sell hotels.com

most niches are just general knowledge of all thingsw life related. no need to drive a limo to know about limo service.

imo

 

[Elvisletters]

Hi mates,

So after investing in more than 20 domains, I am desperately trying to sell couple of those since February 2015, but have yet to see any positive response.

I have tried the old 'Email to Potential Buyer' method but with no success. So now I am seriously thinking to launch my very own website with my domains listed for sale there.

But before I do that, I would like to know what you guys think would be a better and faster (not to mention more profitable) approach for selling domains?

I have other option of listing my domains to marketplaces like SEDO, Afternic and etc.. Have already done that last month, lets see what happens. But what I was thinking, would launching my domain selling website be a more direct method to attract buyers for the right price?

Would really appreciate your input mates. I am just about to lose my patience if I don't sell something fast, lol...

Good day,

.

There is really no true quick way to sell domains but you can try listing on SEDO, Afternic (as u have done) and also try listing on ebay.

Good luck

 

[JamesCrew]

Just to put things in perspective...

Last week I sold a domain for $500, that I initially registered in 2006. So it's been a whole 9 years between registration and ultimate sale to an end user.

You must be wondering, why keep a domain that long, is this because I have faith ? Actually I was thinking that the domain might never sell. But I normally always pick domains that I know I could use if they don't sell. Thus I always have a few good domains available in the inventory whenever I need to start a new project (I like to stockpile domains for future use).
So I always advise people to buy domains in industries/niches they are familiar with. So you can think like an end user.

You say you registered dentist- and limo-related, but I assume you are not a dentist or don't run a limo business either. So these domains are not assets you can use. These names are worthless if you can't find a buyer. There is no plan B.

Appreciate your input mate.

Frankly I have to disagree where you said there's no plan B for dentist and limo domains.

No I am not a dentist, neither I run any limo rental service and I even have no idea how these sectors work. But still I can put these domains to good use (if I fail to sell them.)

I am a firm believer of what you have mentioned, to buy domains within the niche you are familiar with. But some times I will be restricting myself walking on this route and can risk to miss a great opportunity. This is where we have to take bold steps and look outside from our known niches.

How can I use these domains you might ask? Simply by turning these sites into lead generation sites.

Yes, the idea still works and for a guy like me who has up-to-date knowledge of SEO and knows intermediate HTML and designing websites, it's not that hard to develop such sites and optimize them for leads.

Long story short, the way I see my domains, I can use 80% of those for my own projects just in case I don't sell them in the near future.

Wish me luck...

Cheers,

 

[cocaseco]

Talk about having faith....I'm neither a dentist nor a limo driver, yet I could still build a website around these topics.

 

[NameFit]

I believe what @sdsinc means is that 'if the name is good enough for your own business, then only it is good enough for someone else' - that is my understanding.

All the names that I have, which are in several thousands, the sole basis of registering a name is that I have a business thought behind it - otherwise I won't be registering it. Think like a businessman and before registering, ask yourself this question - would you yourself run a business under that name. Whether you actually run a business or not, does not matter. Given the opportunities, would you run the business - that is the question.

 

[Name Trader]

Have you tried GoDaddy's 7 Day Auction format?

 

[alcy]

Have you tried GoDaddy's 7 Day Auction format?

sorry if I aqm wrong but don't you need to get a bid first to push to auction there?

 

[Name Trader]

@alcy - Nope. You can set one up right away.

 

[alcy]

@alcy - Nope. You can set one up right away.

holy crap
I had no idea.
I got an offer couple wekes back.. then an option showed up to accept.. counteroffer.. or push to auction.. so I pushed to auction

I thought that was the only way

I'll check it out
thanks!

 

[fabrio]

There is no such thing called "Get Rich Fast" selling domain names. You have to be patient.
we bought a domain name on ebay a year ago for $25 ,we have just sold the domain name on sedo
for 30k.Please be patient. Don't rush to give away your domains.
Most domains with .de extension sell faster on sedo.One letter domain sells faster. Chinese clients
buy all the numeric like 123.com .
The game on sedo is as follow: let say a domain name with .com sells for $300k 2days ago.
If you can ,register the same domain name with .de and put it back on sedo.The domain will sell in less
than a week. Because the .com buyer will come back to get the other extensions.
Good Luck

 

[Kate]

The problem is always the same: the market is flooded with domain names for sale, that nobody wants. Exposure is not the problem. So I would not advise paying for featured listings. Generally that means wasting even more money.

Also, the end users generally don't stockpile domain names for future use. Only the bigger, domain-aware companies do that.
The end users buy a domain name when it is needed for a project. It is a question of domain quality but timing too. Hence patience is required.
The other opportunity, if you proactively reach out to end users, is to offer a domain 'upgrade': a domain name that is superior to what they are currently using. Keep in mind that few people really get 'it'. Not many people see the point of paying more than regfee for a domain.

I just want to say to the OP: you are not alone. It's not like you are an exception here, everybody is struggling to sell names. Look at reported sales, analyze the market, look at what people are actually buying, it should at least give you an insight at what kinds of names do well on the market.