I give up. What am I doing wrong?

[G_C]

Alright, first off, I will do my best to keep this post a constructive one and stop it from turning into a rant.

Anyway, I've been trying to get into domaing for about two months now. "Trying" is the key word - in spite of the 30+ domain names I have registered, I was only ever successful in selling one of them, for a worthless $15.

Apart from that, I have not been able to sell a single domain name.

My target audience at this point is mostly resellers, although I have tried sending out a few e-mails to end users. Some of the names that I have are considered to be fairly good, and, in the opinion of a number of people, should be worth at least mid-xx to resellers. However, despite my best efforts, I have so far been woefully unsuccessful in selling anything.

What have I tried so far?

1. Contacting end buyers - (30-50 emails per domain name, no positive feedback).
2. Auctioning on multiple forums - no luck
3. Fixed offers on multiple forums - no luck
4. Asking for offers on multiple forums - no luck
5. Stickied a post on one of the forums which received 200 views - no luck
6. Selling on eBay and advertising the sale on forums and to prospective end buyers - no luck.
7. Starting my own worthless website with descriptions of domain names and links to Sedo selling pages - no luck.
8. Parked and listed domains with Sedo - no luck.
9. Listed a domain name with Afternic - yet to see some results, but I don't expect much, to be honest.
10. Tracking down my irl CEO and holding his family hostage until he bought one of my domain names - no luck, and, by Gods, his wife is annoying.

Anyway, my question is - what am I doing wrong here? What shocks me is that no one even bothered to make an offer for any of the domain names I listed on the forums, in spite of the fact that they were clearly worth more than the reg fee - at least in my clearly incompetent opinion and in the opinion of the more experience appraisers who frequent NamePros (and yes, I know that no appraisal is ever entirely accurate). I do not expect to make millions, or even thousands overnight or in the first few months - however, I must admit I was expecting to make at least some low-ball ($40-60) deals for some of my domains. Given my expectations - and now would be a good time to tell me if they are unreasonable! - total lack of offers is all the more disturbing.

I do not want to post my complete portfolio in this thread (since I don't want to come across as trying to market my domains here) - however, I will be happy to PM it to you if you genuinely want to have a look at them and see if you can suggest where I went wrong based on the names that I have for sale at the moment.

Let me make one thing clear, though - I am not asking for emotional support. This is not one of those "I will quit domaining now unless you tell me everything is going to be alright" posts. I have every single intention of staying in the domaining game and winning at it - however, perseverance becomes folly if you simply persist at doing the wrong thing. Neither do I expect you to hand me all the marketing strategies that you have surely developed over the years that you have been in domaining - you have achieved success and are under no obligation to disclose your secrets to anyone, and I have nothing but respect for you.

Instead, all I am asking for is someone who has a moment or two to see where I might have gone wrong in my attempts to sell domains. It could be that I am targetting the wrong audience or that I am not promoting my offers adequately, or a whole number of reasons that I am unaware of.

Any help will be greatly appreciated - I would be delighted to provide any additional information upon request.

EDIT Just to clear one thing up - I do not, for a moment, think that domaining is easy money. Over the last two months, I've been spending 6-10 hours a day in activities related to domaining in one way or another (after all, office Internet is there for a reason!). I would come to work at 9am, leave the office at 3pm (I work part-time), come home and spend the next 6-8 hours busy with domaining-related activities. While investing time does not guarantee success on its own, it does go to show that I am under no illusion that domaining is as simple as registering a name at GoDaddy and then rushing to the forums to sell it for millions.

Sincerely,
George

 

[Kate]

You know, 2 months into domaining is not that much, I believe it took me more time to have a really good grasp of the business (so I hope). It's a learning curve. I began registering names in 2000 and I still learn everyday.
Maybe you have really great names, I don't know, but you have to realize that there may not be buyers *when* you need them.
I receive offers on a regular basis but I think it takes an average of 1 year registration before I receive the 1st inquiry for a domain name. Do not expect to sell fast. If you are looking for a fast deal then your best bet is to find another reseller but the sale price will be low of course when compared to what an end user might be willing to pay.
This is a business that should be conducted with a long-term sight. Try to monetize your names using a parking scheme or better yet develop them into sites (if you have some time, at least cherry pick the best ones).
Just like real estate, I believe that any decent name will eventually find a buyer or be put to good use.
I don't think you are doing anything wrong, it's just that you need to be more patient IMO.

Good luck

 

[G_C]

Well, if that's true, then it seems as if I still have a great deal to learn (not that I ever for a moment thought that it wasn't the case). I will admit that I am somewhat disappointed with the fact that even getting a low-ball offer of mid-xx can take months and possibly years - up until now, I had assumed that low-worth domains can change hands rather painlessly and on a frequent basis.

Still, I thank you kindly for your contribution - although it's no silver bullet for my current problem, it is still very useful and gives me a fairly good idea on where I might be going wrong. I must admit that your post has put the domaining thing into a whole new perspective for me - I did not think that domain turnaround times are that long!

Rep up.

 

[dochlaggie]

I got into domaining in 2001, just registered 100 names that had dropped, that I thought had potential. I then just renewed registrations and forgot about domaining for 4 years. That was a bad move m but anyway must look forward, dont look back and say I should have done this or that.
During the last 5 years i have had virtually no interest in my domain names or interest from others, other than emails trying to scam me into a domain appraisal.

2005 I thought maybe this is the year domains will improve, so i started registering domains i thought had potential.

I really think it will be another 2 to 3 years before i see any big sales. I have sold 2 names, one for $1000- and the other for $1250- Both names I had only only owned for 9 weeks.
These where from people contacting me about a name. I have done nothing other than list with sedo, afternic and have one name listed with great domains and have just had another 2 names accepted by great domains.

Last week I started building a site listing all my domains for sale . Next step i think I will try and devlop 2 of my better names. Will need help with this one.

The last 2 months I have been averaging around 6 enquiries a month.

Another thing I am trying. I have two business's . I am registering as many good names as i can find dropping about these subjects. At the moment , I am parking these names, but long term I will direct all these names to my business websites. If I got a good offer for any of these names I would consider the sale. If I dont get an offer does not matter.

Parking is helping pay some of the bills and the 2 sales was great.

This business is long term.

I had a look at your website listing your domains. You have in my opinion some good names. Just be patient.

2006 is going to be a great year for domain name trading.

Merry Christmas

 

[zencha]

Dochlaggie:

Thank you for your nice and encouraging post. There are a lot more of people out there who would be encourgaed by your post.

 

[sunken]

I was like you, I thought about throwing in the towel after I got started. I bought a busload of what I thought were cool names, that wound up being not as cool as I thought. Spent way too much money and wondered why I couldn't sell them. It's good advice above. Domaining is not a short term income solution, it's one that is built up over time and with the idea that it's an investment. I'm just in my second year and I have learned a lot in that time. I still have a lot to learn. I am on the profit side of things, and I hope by the end of 2006 to be more sustainable income oriented. Now though, it does well to supplement my retirement and feed the family.

It is an investment as was said. I like the real estate analogy, with a little bit of lottery built in. Selling names should be considered a long term goal rather than a short term, on demand, unless you plan to sell cheap enough to get the resellers interested. And like a regular investment, you will have some good ones and some bad ones that may never sell. Sometimes that piece of "swamp" land can turn into a multi-million theme park if someone is interested in it. Same with domains, you never know what people might want, although you can make a very educated guess, and that comes with experience.

So my advice is to hang in there, buy carefully, read all you can here and ask questions. Folks are really friendly on NamePros and are very helpful. Watching is one of the most important things, see what is selling, what the techniques are, and you'll do alright. But it takes time. I just wish I had started long ago...

 

[tajimd]

I have been for last 3 years in this domain industry . but still i consider myself as newbie. there are lots of things u need to consider. So keep working.

 

[iqeez]

I'm a newbie also

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm in it for the long haul. :D

 

[G_C]

Well, the consensus seems to be that all I really need is time and patience, and I will be the first to admit that both are in short supply, especially the latter. Thank you everyone for replying and helping me identify the problem - unfortunately, all seems to boil down to overambitious overexpectations on my part.

So, off I go to bombard prospective buyers with e-mails (now that I have finally figured out how to created Outlook templates).

Thanks, everyone!

Sincerely,
George

P.S. Do you reckon it's ok to let my boss's wife out of the cellar now?

 

[Fleege]

Dont know your age but maybe its an instant gratification generation syndrome.

Things take time and you must do the right things along the way.

For instance. I just tried your signature link. It didnt go anywhere?

I want to see your domain names. You have to market your products.

Are every single one listed on SEDO and afternic. ARe they all optimized and parked so that they dont lose money.

You must create awareness of your domains. Show your portfolio.

dont give up - work smarter.

Cheers,

 

[G_C]

Dont know your age but maybe its an instant gratification generation syndrome.

Things take time and you must do the right things along the way.

For instance. I just tried your signature link. It didnt go anywhere?

I want to see your domain names. You have to market your products.

Are every single one listed on SEDO and afternic. ARe they all optimized and parked so that they dont lose money.

You must create awareness of your domains. Show your portfolio.

dont give up - work smarter.

Cheers,

They're all parked with Sedo, although I am still working on optimising them after moving them from ND some time ago. Oh, and the reason why the link in my signature isn't working is because the host is temporarily down. =/

But thanks for your feedback!

 

[SimpleDomaining]

i perfectly understand this letter. I am "trying" for a bit longer than 2 month, to be cleare from august till today non stop, every day at least 7-8 hours a day i was spending on findint domain, to develope some of them, etc.. And from my personal experience, i was realy ready to give up completly from domaining. I tryed selling, auctioning, and whaever is listed here on first post with no much luck. Luck came to me later, when i started to do something with my domains. I made a little site on one of them instead of parking somewhere. I put adsense on that 2 page website, and luck is coming now with big steps. I made on that web site in 2 weeks more than in all of this domaining time, so now i am not sorry for trying so long. Somebody can be lucky on selling things, somebody can be lucky on using own domains to make money. We are not all talented in sales, so my suggestion would be to find another way to make money on domains you own. good luck.

 

[Sinfully Wicked]

If you ever feel like topping yourself or getting out of the buisness, just give me your domains or leave them to me in your will. See you in Hell

Thank you

The Devils Spawn - Sin

P.S.
The main thing to succeed in domains is patiance.

 

[G_C]

If you ever feel like topping yourself or getting out of the buisness, just give me your domains or leave them to me in your will. See you in Hell

Thank you

The Devils Spawn - Sin

P.S.
The main thing to succeed in domains is patiance.

Talking about going to Hell, I've been thinking about hiring some Russian hitmen to extort the owners of some of the more lucrative domains. If I'm going to Hell, anyway, might as well do so when I'm rich!

Gugesh, thanks for your advice, I've been thinking about developing some of my domain names (in fact, I put up mini-mini-mini-sites related to cancer on two of them, and used the third one for Sale-Central). Unfortunately, Google refused to accept Sale-Central (but it did accept me when I applied with the cancer website). The thing is, though, my HTML skills are really poor (and by that I mean it took me 20 minutes to figure out how to place an AdSense ad exactly where I want it to be). I'm thinking of learning some basic HTML and seeing if I can at least make my minisites pay for themselves, but I must admit I'm a lot more interested in peddling domain names and developing (or simply parking) the better ones rather than simply developing all of them and maintaining them (since I probably won't have enough time to maintain so many domains).

Fleege, to answer your other question, I'm 22, and I will be the first to admit that when I first became interested in domaining, I did expect instant gratification. Shameful, I know, but how could I not after looking at the GreatDomains index page? I will say, however, that I have somewhat mended my expectations (partly after two months of registering domains and not selling a single one, partly after read the feeback that this thread has received. I will be giving Afternic a shot as soon as possible, too - I was a bit hesitant to invest another $20 for a chance to sell domains that clearly weren't generating enough buyer interest.

Oh, by the way - whoever repped me for this thread and told me to PM them for more suggestions, can you please PM me? I'd love to hear what you have to say on how I can better monetise my domains, but since the rep system doesn't tell you who gave you the rep up, I don't know who the kind stranger I should talk to is! :D

P.S. And as luck would have it, two days after I sent out some 60 emails to prospective end-buyers of one of my domains, my host went down and I can no longer check the e-mail address I used. Now I can't stop thinking that my mailbox was cluttered with tens of offers from end buyers before it all went down. Someone please kill me and put me out of my misery.

 

[Fleege]

22 I knew it. : )

I want it now now now...

Things take time. Luckily you have it. Be patient. If want to do set it and forget type of income YOU MUST SET IT. AND SET it well. Thats the biggest mistake people do (or dont do)


This is one of the best posts on NP in while. Lost of nuggets. G C deserves some good rep and lots of encouragment.

Cheers all,

 

[ubzweb]

i perfectly understand this letter. I am "trying" for a bit longer than 2 month, to be cleare from august till today non stop, every day at least 7-8 hours a day i was spending on findint domain, to develope some of them, etc.. And from my personal experience, i was realy ready to give up completly from domaining. I tryed selling, auctioning, and whaever is listed here on first post with no much luck. Luck came to me later, when i started to do something with my domains. I made a little site on one of them instead of parking somewhere. I put adsense on that 2 page website, and luck is coming now with big steps. I made on that web site in 2 weeks more than in all of this domaining time, so now i am not sorry for trying so long. Somebody can be lucky on selling things, somebody can be lucky on using own domains to make money. We are not all talented in sales, so my suggestion would be to find another way to make money on domains you own. good luck.

Hi, what content did you put on that 2 page website, and also, how much traffic does it attracts now?

Even tho, I am a newbie in these domain/website stuff, I want to be a bit more sure that atleast i recover what I invest, before I plunge into it..
Thnx

 

[barefoottech]

Minisites are the way to improve results
only need 1 or 2 pages of content and a couple Adsense ads to improve on Parked names

Examples on the 2nd bottom line of my Signature.
Including Minisite.info for more Info on minisites

 

[snoop]

The domains likely blow and it sounds like the appraisals you got are totally out, if the names are good they will sell easily. Put the credit cards away and study the market for a while, don't buy anything more until you feel you can confidently value names. I would suggest following the sales reports at dnjournal.com.

It might be worth thinking about concerntrating on something with definate and easy to calculate value at first such as lower quality 3 letter .net's or .info, alot of people waste money at the start on freely available names (that in truth aren't worth anything).

 

[vrcanada]

I'd suggest buying domains that you believe will pay for themselves
via domain parking. This is a limitation (you need to find domains with potential traffic), but the BIG plus is .. that you can truly forget about your domains and reclaim your life ... nowing that your domain business is not loosing money (overall). This is what I do. I tried emailing before .. and only once got a legit sale, and a few times a couple of angry lawyers claiming my name was their name. And via parking ... I've sold a couple domains for high $x,xxx. Domains that I had considered letting expire!

david

 

[DN Tycoon]

Time, Time and Time...it's alot fo time, reading, testing, learning and so on. 2 months isn't long at all. If your #1 plan in the domain name business is to make money then you need to foucs on premium names and heavy traffic names. Instead of buying 30+ names, spend that money on 1 top shelf name and sell it for more or on several heavy traffic names and put them on some Ppages. In ways the DN selling business is alot like the real estate business where you purchase a property (domain) and fix it up and then sell it for profit or rent it out for monthly payments in this case putting it on Ppages. Once in awhile some people get lucky and happen to have a DN that another wants and that person is willing to pay out of the nose for it but that is the luck of the draw most times. It's also kinda like playing the lottery where we all kinda wait and hope to register and sell that domain name that will pull in mucho deniro beyond your wildest dreams....I think that thought alone keeps some people in the business...me I just love it but that's just -MO