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)

 

[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.

 

[DomainVP]

Great thread for future investors.

Pick good names - takes 3 months to educate yourself.

Sit and hold those great names.

Educate yourself on how to handle inbound inquiries, maybe do a bit of outbound sales.

Pretty pages and marketplaces don't sell names; the buyers have already sold themselves when they approach you.

Agree to a price, or don't.

That's domaining.

 

[Jason Baudendistel]

One other observation I can say from experience. A good or great domain name will get type in traffic and random marketplace hits without you doing a thing.

 

[Futurewizard]

Great thread for future investors.

Pick good names - takes 3 months to educate yourself.

Sit and hold those great names.

Educate yourself on how to handle inbound inquiries, maybe do a bit of outbound sales.

Pretty pages and marketplaces don't sell names; the buyers have already sold themselves when they approach you.

Agree to a price, or don't.

That's domaining.

Thanks, I got swept up in trying to make it more complicated than it is. I'll focus on getting rid of what I have and hold off on buying unless I see stellar 750+ names. I've got way too many for being less than 2 months in. I appreciate the advice

One other observation I can say from experience. A good or great domain name will get type in traffic and random marketplace hits without you doing a thing.

Thanks Jason! I've been watching the Dan Analytics and sorting by views to make sure everything is all set on the landing pages. Pricing is tough as I don't have experience. But I'm doing research on similar names and their sales

 

[jiy k]

@Deven Patel
Hello, Thanks for these valuable tips.
One thing i Want to know why Niche names are tough to sell. I see many veteran domainers stressing on buying Niche Names.
Thank You.

 

[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!

 

[jiy k]

@Deven Patel
Thanks a lot for this helpful piece of info.

One more thing. 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.

 

[Jason Baudendistel]

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.

 

[Futurewizard]

Well, I just sold one! That's a milestone for me, regardless of price. It was via a Flippa.com auction I started last week. Going to read over some FAQ stuff to make sure I do the escrow.com DD right

 

[Futurewizard]

Wow. I had no clue Alter could do this. I moved a group of domains over to Alter last week because I really like the idea. Awesome business model! Apologies, but I hadn't put 2 and 2 together that you founded it. Also, great DD on 'ATX', I'll definitely be using this tool moving forward.

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!

 

[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.

 

[jiy k]

@Deven Patel
Thank you for giving a detailed analysis.