I was so amped and now, the silence...

[Futurewizard]

So, I own about 300 or so domains. I've made a thorough Google Sheet which pulls in data using APIs and other sources. (If anybody wants the list, I can provide a basic CSV/TXT file)

Some of them are great and are appraised quite higher than my BIN/floor prices. I made the mistake of grabbing 75 or so .net addresses.



Either way, they are all just sitting on Sedo/Flippa/Dan/TPP with plenty of offer views and hits, and no offers. I've lowered my prices. my .net addresses are pretty much a blanket 25-35$ floor with a 75-150$ BIN.

I know this takes a while, but I feel like I'm missing something. I've paid for Flippa auctions but I haven't paid for any other services yet. I've considered a broker, but I would likely need a XX,XXX - XXX,XXX domain to make it worth their time.

My questions (feel free to answer just 1 or 2)

• Leave them parked on Sedo's Full Landing? (rather than Ads, Sales Crush, etc)
  
  
• Sedo is my favorite backend, but is Dan/Voodoo/Etc better for visibility? I'm counting mostly on 'walk in' or 'type in' traffic
  
  
• I've started creating landing pages for a few of these. This is a lot of effort (even with Google Domains' free sites). Is the effort worth it? Would 'MowCheap.com' be more likely to sell on a page with relevant ads, a landing, or is Sedo Parking enough? (ok that was like 2 questions, sorry)
  
  
• If I have a 300 budget to spend with... 3-5 domains... Where would that money best be spent? I'm considering DNAcademy as I really love his style of business.
  
  
• Am I stuck walking up hill until I make some outbound/cold call/emails? Are there templates/scripts?

I want to keep my expectations realistic and I realize this is not a quick process - it requires patience. I'm ready to spend extra money, but I budget to buy about 300 domains (which I did). I'd say 60% of them are below appraisal and just need to be noticed.

Thanks so much, and I'm reading several guides (and I bought a Udemy course). So, apologies if my questions overlap other threads.

Thanks for your time and happy hump day! Here's a peaceful otter if you took the time to read all of this! If not, enjoy it anyways!

P.S. here's a random sampling of 5 urls, nothing special - just 5

1. Immersives.co.uk (Immersive art/parks/museums are getting big - see MeowWolf.com)
2. FurZap.com
3. 2me4.com (decent backlinks, lots of parking traffic)
4. FitATX.com (Austin Texas - common abbrev)
5. 4tel.net (lots of backlinks)

 

[Mister Funsky]

The real simplistic answer is that the name sells itself or it does not (outbound has not resulted in many sales in my case).

It takes the perfect alignment of someone (business owner, tech department, etc) thinking about what the ideal name (or upgrade name) for their business would be. Then upon typing that name in, they see it is owned by someone else...if you have a reasonable (in their eyes) price listed, they will pull the trigger. If you have the 'make offer' link available, they will use it...if the name is truly ideal for their needs.

My names (90% com with the rest being tv, org and a sprinkling of others--no net) are listed everywhere with a 'make offer' link activated (including sedo). Although I get lots of 'broker' inquiries from daddy and after, none have resulted in a sale through them (in several cases, months and years later, the potential buyer ends up typing in the name and making an offer to me directly). In fact, I've never had a single 'follow up' contact by a broker from either one of those venues...although I've names listed at sedo since about 06 there has never been one lead generated from parking there. Others have had success with them but I have not.

The reality is wherever you point a domain that is likely where offers will originate. Whether you use a white label option or use a marketplace is the decision you have to make. My experience has been very positive with Epik...with a quick email to customer service I've had them help with closing a deal. I've NEVER gotten a response from brokers at the other venues I mentioned above when questioning how the 'lead' is proceeding...never.

One thing I have learned is that low pricing a domain can result in a name selling for far less that it is worth. It took me many years to abandon setting pricing on all my domains to go with the 'make offer' model. The only buy now pricing I have in place are on clearly lower value domains. Had I not done that, it is likely I would not be investing in domains today as the 'price everything' model was not financially sustaining.

 

[biggie]

• Immersives.co.uk (Immersive art/parks/museums are getting big - see MeowWolf.com)

• FurZap.com

• 2me4.com (decent backlinks, lots of parking traffic)

• FitATX.com (Austin Texas - common abbrev)

• 4tel.net (lots of backlinks)

If I have a 300 budget to spend with... 3-5 domains... Where would that money best be spent? I'm considering DNAcademy as I really love his style of business.

Hi

if.... those 5 names above are indicative of your portfolio, then i'd say you're going to have silence for a long time.
don't buy domains with a mix of numbers and words.

also, if you only have $300 budget, then that's really not enough to invest with, at your current knowledge level.
save your money and continue reading.
don't waste it on any premium listings, webhosting, subscriptions, courses, ebooks, etc.
in meantime, leave your names parked with ppc pages and maybe those names with backlinks might deliver some traffic.
but if you are not getting clicks from those visitors, then the backlinks maybe worthless.

it's best to learn first, otherwise you're wasting time and money.

imo....

 

[bmugford]

The average sell-through rate is around 1%-2% a year for quality domains at reasonable end user prices ($2K - $5K).

Even with a massive portfolio sales are streaky. Outside putting domains on popular venues, there is not a lot you can do. There is no substitute for time.

If the domains are below average quality, overpriced or unpriced, not listed on popular venues, etc. that will lower the average sell-through rate.

You can try to outbound, but the prospects are not great. It was never that optimal, but spammers have basically destroyed that model by pitching an endless flow of garbage domains over the last several years.

Brad

 

[jmcc]

P.S. here's a random sampling of 5 urls, nothing special - just 5

1. Immersives.co.uk (Immersive art/parks/museums are getting big - see MeowWolf.com)
2. FurZap.com
3. 2me4.com (decent backlinks, lots of parking traffic)
4. FitATX.com (Austin Texas - common abbrev)
5. 4tel.net (lots of backlinks)

Just looked at the history of the first one and it seems to have none. That's often a bad sign unless it is a high value keyword in a newly launched TLD. The singular has a history back to at least 2007. One of the biggest mistakes that domainers make when it comes to ccTLDs is in thinking that .COM rules apply equally to all ccTLDs. Domainers have lost millions on that assumption. It may be one of the better ones in that list though but dictionary words can be a nightmare to protect in terms of trademarks. The UK has its own very well developed resale market so it might be better to focus on some of those sale sites rather than the usual US based ones.

The second has a two year history. It might be brandable.

The third is a bit iffy in that it mixes numbers and letters. That is effectively a compromised domain name to a potential buyer because they will also have to buy the all text version.

The fourth is a seller's mistake that is often seen with name hacks. This is the assumption that potential buyers will recognise the name hack or abbreviation. End users and buyers tend to come up with their own meanings for abbreviations but it is not a bad domain name in terms of brandability.

The fifth is very 1990s. It seems to have a history of Polish hosters and then ended up on Parklogic (PPC parking). The term is registered across at least 7 TLDs but the .COM is on Namefind.

To an end user thinking of building a business on a domain name, traffic and backlinks may not matter as much as to a domainer. You've got to look at the domain names like an end user or buyer rather than a seller.

Regards...jmcc

 

[xynames]

I don’t have any experience with names that are intended to sell around only $100., but is it possible that your targeted buyers are just instead picking up reg fee domains? Not a lot of difference in quality between an $8 and $100 domain sometimes.

And then the problem at your end becomes that you have to keep paying maintenance fees on these domains that buyers are overlooking in favor of reg fee domains.

In general I’m not a fan of loading up on reg fee domains. If they’re so great why are they still available to pick up for about nothing?

 

[The Durfer]

look at the sales of the day thread here at namepros. If you notice, most dont say bought yesterday, sold today. The sales are from holding the domains quite awhile with lots of renewals in between. Good luck, your doing fine.

 

[VadimK]

The problem is that you think there are some cool ways or techniques to sell any domain, and it's not the case, there is none.
Domain should be as good as possible in the first place (short, punchy, meaningful and to the point). People should like it and should think about this name, typing it in URL, looking for it. Then it simply doesn't matter what landing page you sell this domain with - Epik, DAN, Sedo. These platforms are competing for you, not for your customer. It's only a matter of design, statistics and ease of use - again, for you. It has nothing to do with your end client.
And please, stick with .com only, disregard any other tld, no matter how much you think you found some ''super cool'' word in another extension.
Also don't go for many backlinks but pointless name. Links - are SEO stuff, SEOs will never pay a 1000 euro for a domain name. If the name is good, you can develop links, ok fine, but these should never be a decisive factor.

 

[Mike Goodman]

@Futurewizard I suggest you ignore all of the above for the time being and start your learning process at the beginning. Looking at the five names you listed and the other one you mentioned within the descriptive text, what business case can you make for any one of them?

The only case I can see is for a local lawn care attendant who earns not very much. How much could that individual afford to pay for a domain name? Hand reg only, I'd assume. Is it worth buying a hand reg only to resell it at hand reg prices? Where is your profit to come from?

All of the theoretical ideas above are very fine if you have something to sell. If you have to explain why a name should sell it is not a name anybody will buy. The reason to buy a name is to name a business. If it is unattractive as a business name, why the hell would anybody want to buy it?

Get tough on yourself. In any speculative business, that is the only way to make decisions. Flaccid or flatulent decisions lead inevitably to losses. Domaining is speculative. Never forget that.

 

[Mister Funsky]

This is very helpful. So, should I try removing prices and setting the low offer at 100 or so to prevent spam? Right now they're individually priced with specific offer minimums. I don't want to over price or under price, this could help with that!

At one time I had all names at the same starting level to weed out the tire kickers. I've since changed to having a bin on lower value names and then a few 'make offer' levels starting at 100 and up to 2500 for top level names.

On names I consider top level that I plan to develop one day I have an extremely high bin with the higher 'make offer' link activated. It seems that about every two years someone else likes the name as much as I do and they go for the bin. This is what keeps me rolling...the high level sales. It is nice to have the xxx sales when they happen but those don't pay the renewal bills.

The one thing that can interrupt sales if you have a bin set too high are the sales from other domain investors. Naturally, another domainer will want to only pay wholesale so setting the 'make offer' too high will keep them out of the buying process. I appreciate it when another domainer lets me know up front he/she is buying as an investment...it saves time (something money can't buy...well, for now).

 

[Samer]

You paid for Flippa auctions!!!

I wouldnt use Flippa, if they paid me.

 

[Deven Patel]

Here are some ideas on how to brainstorm good names:

1. Think about all the brand names of the products and services that you use every day. Are the names you want to buy comparable to those?

2. Put yourself in the shoes of an entrepreneur. Would you use the names you're about to buy for your own company? Keep in mind, all businessmen are super ambitious so niche names will be tough to sell.

3. Check out the brandable listings on sites like Alter, BrandBucket, and SquadHelp for ideas. Even though quality is subjective, these places have already put in the effort to surface good names. Why not leverage all that free knowledge?

P.S. My marketplace Alter already syndicates your domains to Sedo/DAN/other marketplaces so if you prefer the all-in-one approach, simply list them on Alter and Afternic for the widest coverage.

 

[Deven Patel]

One thing i Want to know why Niche names are tough to sell.

It's just a numbers game. Niche names are tough to sell because they have a very limited pool of potential buyers.

For example, the only buyers interested in your name FitATX would be those looking to start a fitness business in the Austin, TX area. Taking the population of Austin into account, that already reduces your chances by 7,800 times compared to a name like QuickFit that would appeal to the whole world.

Also, take a look at the historical sales data on Namebio for the keyword "ATX". Only around 20 similar names sold over the past two decades out of the 1 million total sales reported on the site.

Additionally, the keyword "ATX" is already trademarked in the fitness category which makes it even harder for a new business to use that name.

I think what may help you is to create your own checklist of criteria you should meet before buying a name (e.g. short, catchy, pronounceable, X extension, X length, X price, trademarked?, similar sales?, etc). It'll be a nice tool to have in your arsenal as you grow as a domainer.

Like any other business, it's not easy to make money domaining. But if you put enough hard work into it, you can certainly be successful. Good luck!

 

[Ostrados]

List at Afternic and opt-in to their fast transfer service.. Afternic + fast transfer is super powerful.

 

[Futurewizard]

At one time I had all names at the same starting level to weed out the tire kickers. I've since changed to having a bin on lower value names and then a few 'make offer' levels starting at 100 and up to 2500 for top level names.

On names I consider top level that I plan to develop one day I have an extremely high bin with the higher 'make offer' link activated. It seems that about every two years someone else likes the name as much as I do and they go for the bin. This is what keeps me rolling...the high level sales. It is nice to have the xxx sales when they happen but those don't pay the renewal bills.

The one thing that can interrupt sales if you have a bin set too high are the sales from other domain investors. Naturally, another domainer will want to only pay wholesale so setting the 'make offer' too high will keep them out of the buying process. I appreciate it when another domainer lets me know up front he/she is buying as an investment...it saves time (something money can't buy...well, for now).

Keep me posted on when we can buy time

 

[bmugford]

In general I’m not a fan of loading up on reg fee domains. If they’re so great why are they still available to pick up for about nothing?

I agree. Also, on lower end domains the registration fee is a large % of the value every year.

Let's say you owned (100) domains with a $10 renewal fee. Your cost is $1,000 a year.

With a $10 renewal and 1% sell through rate you need (1) $1,000 sale to break even.
With a $10 renewal and 2% sell through rate you need (2) $500 sales.

The sell-through rate needs to be far too high to make $100 level sales into a sustainable business model IMO. It would need to be at least 10% minimum based on the same numbers.

Lower prices will yield a higher sell-through rate, but not that much higher.

Brad

 

[frank-germany]

If you are doing that, why not get a proper server you can roll out simple sites on for your domains at linode or vultr and just make a 1 page static html page with a $1 twilio number and make it a local lawn mowing company.

You could sell the leads while the domain gets indexed over time. It won't take long to have built real value -- making it worth 18-24x months revenue + the domain name value.

Getting pennies per click from sedo landers and never getting real pages indexed doesn't seem too tasty nor build real value.

you listened too much to Adam Dicker

 

[biggie]

please continue to give me advice. I won't get offended

Hi

that's a good attitude to have...
as it may take you farther, than some who take criticism personally.

imo....

.

 

[Futurewizard]

@Futurewizard I suggest you ignore all of the above for the time being and start your learning process at the beginning. Looking at the five names you listed and the other one you mentioned within the descriptive text, what business case can you make for any one of them?

The only case I can see is for a local lawn care attendant who earns not very much. How much could that individual afford to pay for a domain name? Hand reg only, I'd assume. Is it worth buying a hand reg only to resell it at hand reg prices? Where is your profit to come from?

All of the theoretical ideas above are very fine if you have something to sell. If you have to explain why a name should sell it is not a name anybody will buy. The reason to buy a name is to name a business. If it is unattractive as a business name, why the hell would anybody want to buy it?

Get tough on yourself. In any speculative business, that is the only way to make decisions. Flaccid or flatulent decisions lead inevitably to losses. Domaining is speculative. Never forget that.

Thanks Mike. You're spot on about MowCheap. I can't expect a lot of money from a domain like that. It actually made me laugh. Now, if I built an aggregation service for local mowing, maybe.

I am trying to be tough on myself, and it's easier as I learn more. I'm already looking back 2 weeks ago and cringing at my decisions. This forum has been crucial. Flaccid and flatulent doesnt sound like a winning combo! I've made my bed and now I get to sleep in it (with a bunch of flatulent domains)... It's a lesson learned and a loss, and I hope to at least make back the registration costs. This is great advice and I appreciate you taking the time. I hadn't thought about this as speculative, but that's exactly what it is. My frame of mind is shifting as I learn more.

Y'all are a grizzled bunch, and I understand why, now. It takes grit to succeed in this business.

 

[Futurewizard]

I just wanted to step in and say Thanks to all of you. I'm thankful that this community exists. The subreddit I found is just a giant flood of people selling domains. I really appreciate your feedback and knowledge. A few strategies I'll be focusing on in the short-term (per y'alls posts):

• Spend extra time reading, learning, researching, studying data (rather than buying more domains with just a parking page)
• Quality over quantity
• Consider developing a few top domains (with links to the sale page) - investigate LOE vs ROI to see if it's worth it.
  
• Stay away from .co.uk unless theyre strong, generic and not risky in regards to trademarks
• Don't mix and match numbers/letters/words and don't make any assumptions about potential clients. Even if it's a no-brainer for me (re: FitATX)
• Considering niche outbound sales. Focusing on local businesses at first.
  
• Ask more questions here. Lol

I've set up Goog Analytics on Dan, and I'm getting healthy traffic on about 30% of these. I made the mistake of buying 15-20 NFT .nets. I hope to get at least a few bucks on them to break even, but I'm not expecting that. The friction involved with learning/purchasing NFT art is extremely high for the average type-in buyer. Oh and I thought I was clever with .nets but yea, no.

Thanks again, and please continue to give me advice. I won't get offended if you're holding back.
-Ryan FS

 

[noneisnone]

@Samer never dealt with the customer support ^^

 

[zomainhacks]

I realize this if you're talking about "decent quality domains", but did you read his post and see the domains? These appear to be end user-level prices.

Yes, my reasoning apply only with "decent quality" domains. My humble opinion is that OP should focus on what type of domains have market demand (at least from what I can infer just looking at that sample).

 

[Deven Patel]

As you have given an example of QuickFit. Fit in QuickFit is also a trademarked word. Wouldn't that pose a problem while selling Quickfit domain.
Thanks.

Trademarks are complicated so you would have to talk to a trademark attorney for a more accurate answer but it's my understanding that a common word can't be trademarked if it directly describes the product or service you're looking to sell. So the word FIT can't be trademarked by itself in the fitness category just like how you can't trademark APPLE to sell apples (the fruit).

However, you can trademark the word FIT for a product or service outside the fitness category just like how APPLE is trademarked by a tech company. I think the existing trademarks you see for FIT are all outside the fitness category. The ones in the fitness category are design marks so they only protect the drawing/logo, not the word itself.

Going back to our example, that entire phrase QuickFit is already trademarked so it would definitely make it harder to sell that name. But businesses can still trademark the same name as long as they're offering a product or service in a different category. So multiple trademarks can co-exist for QuickFit for example (one company could use the name to sell gym equipment, another company could use it to sell clothing, another could use it to offer a dating service, etc, etc). Point being.. even though an existing trademark will devalue a name, if the name's good enough to use in multiple categories, it could still be worth the investment.

One other thing brandables are the exception as far as type in traffic. If it could work as a brand name but isn't a real word.

That's a good point but be careful not to generalize because the definition of a "brandable" is blurry. I think you're referring to names like Google and Verizon that don't contain any dictionary words. But there are plenty of keyword based names that can be brandable too like Apple, Facebook, Blue Origin, Red Bull, Taco Bell, etc which can bring type-in traffic.

 

[uswebdev]

Twilio is a deep rabbit hole of useful services. Much more than just text numbers. But you can get a number in whatever area you like on the cheap from them and do what you like with it.

For what you pay for a cpanel you could get a $10 linode with webmin/virtualmin or other panel and have much more control.

Google will host a ton of domain email accounts for $6/mo. That's useful, but mxroute has better solutions and the dude runs a tight ship.

 

[Pierre Barnard]

Exactly my experience.

The real simplistic answer is that the name sells itself or it does not (outbound has not resulted in many sales in my case).

It takes the perfect alignment of someone (business owner, tech department, etc) thinking about what the ideal name (or upgrade name) for their business would be. Then upon typing that name in, they see it is owned by someone else...if you have a reasonable (in their eyes) price listed, they will pull the trigger. If you have the 'make offer' link available, they will use it...if the name is truly ideal for their needs.

My names (90% com with the rest being tv, org and a sprinkling of others--no net) are listed everywhere with a 'make offer' link activated (including sedo). Although I get lots of 'broker' inquiries from daddy and after, none have resulted in a sale through them (in several cases, months and years later, the potential buyer ends up typing in the name and making an offer to me directly). In fact, I've never had a single 'follow up' contact by a broker from either one of those venues...although I've names listed at sedo since about 06 there has never been one lead generated from parking there. Others have had success with them but I have not.

The reality is wherever you point a domain that is likely where offers will originate. Whether you use a white label option or use a marketplace is the decision you have to make. My experience has been very positive with Epik...with a quick email to customer service I've had them help with closing a deal. I've NEVER gotten a response from brokers at the other venues I mentioned above when questioning how the 'lead' is proceeding...never.

One thing I have learned is that low pricing a domain can result in a name selling for far less that it is worth. It took me many years to abandon setting pricing on all my domains to go with the 'make offer' model. The only buy now pricing I have in place are on clearly lower value domains. Had I not done that, it is likely I would not be investing in domains today as the 'price everything' model was not financially sustaining.