discuss Is domaining a portfolio game?

[Arpit131]

I have been thinking and reviewing things and I realised that a lot of times, domaining looks like a portfolio game to me - of course, a decent one.

Even a hand registered portfolio of say, a 250 domain name portfolio with 3% sale at $6 a name would have an investment of $1500 and 8 domain sale of say $700 each amounting to $5,600
Accordingly, the numbers may adjust as we scale up. But when I look at appraisals section with individual domains, a single domain may not make sense a lot of times.

Like say, a single decent .CO domain may not have value individually but if you own 200 of them, price it in $1000 range and expect a 2% sale, that may make more sense.

A portfolio game looks like a decent game in domaining.
What is your thought on this?

 

[oldtimer]

Can we get some stats here from people who actually own 20 , 30 , or 50k domains.

 

[Recons.Com]

Wow, this is a huge contrast with my strategy and portfolio. To be honest, I wouldn't have the bottle to hold a portfolio of 4,000 with the renewal fee of $30,000 or so per year hanging over my head. However, you obviously have a good eye to grab some decent names if you're making a healthy profit every year. I guess it takes guts to take the plunge in year 1 and see the results, once proven you have the confidence to scale up.

Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you to build up a portfolio of 1,000., then 2,000 and finally 4,000 names? Also, how many premium domains (liquid reseller value in the $XX,XXX range) do you have in your portfolio if any?

Arfy

Thanks, Arfy

I had only few hundred .com names just 4 years ago.

I sold my liquid xx,xxx names not earmarked for projects during 2015 boom and have not bought for resale as I don't think they are the best category for passive holding at the moment.

I have around 400 names with average reseller cost of around $400. The rest have been purchased at low $xx.

I keep buying both types, as they provide similar returns.

 

[7363824]

That is what stopped me from developing a full scale market place with my portfolio over the years, the process of creating it is very tedious to me lol, I probably shouldn't rely so much on other market places for my sales and try and absorb the 9% to 20% into my own pocket, but the market places fit my needs because i work full time outside of domaining, I plan to retire this year late in 2020 and put the family business into my sons hands, maybe i will consider venturing full time into the domain name industry, we'll see i guess

I hear that. I am working on building mine now, it is a bit of work for sure. And I'm not even really going to save much over say something like Epik's marketplace as I plan on running all transactions though Escrow.com so I don;t have to deal with the risks of chargebacks and fraud. But I like the idea of building my own for full control, full visibility, ect. And besides I need a project to work on in my free time.

 

[Pay.My.id]

imo ...its like play a lottery but sometime really fantastic

 

[bmugford]

Can we get some stats here from people who actually own 20 , 30 , or 50k domains.

Yes, I think it is a very small pool of people.

It is one thing to build a portfolio up over time. It is another to have acquired that amount of domains in a short period of time, recently, and turn it into a profitable business model.

That business model would be a massive risk with lower quality as sales are an unknown while the registration/renewal fees are a fixed liability.

Brad

 

[NickB]

If you own a lot of domains and are not getting steady offers it is a bad sign.
Sales are streaky, even for large portfolios, but offers should be far more steady.

Brad

What would you consider a good percentage ratio for domains held and offers received in a year?

As an example someone owns 500 domains how many offers should they be receiving a year?

 

[Steven McEvoy]

Its a money game. End of discussion.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I think the answer may depend on whether you are in it as a full-time or significant part-time job, or if in it as a hobbyist or side-gig. In the former you need some minimum income stream, and that implies at least portfolio size to sustain.

However, if you are doing this because it interests you, and while making some money now now and then is a goal, you do not depend on it for living expenses, it seems to me the only important thing is the quality of the holdings, not the number.

Bob

 

[golan]

Portfolio sales have made me great money in the past. I currently have two on Flippa. One that is 75 incredible dot coms, and the other that has been relisted several times now, which is 105 of the very best Libra related Domains.

Can you elaborate? You said you have made great money which is very interesting; in the same time you say one of your lists has been relisted already several times by now. Anyway, would love to hear your positive experience.

I am highly skeptical that in today's market you can find 25K domains worth buying and renewing in a year.

May be if omit "renewing" part. If one has some higher risk part of budget, they can use it for domains that most probably won't be renewed. Or hoping for reg sales for regging such domains.

But buying + renewing, i agree with you.

Also, under $20 means closeouts, because I don't think that you can get average auctions prices at this average. Also, $20 at godaddy, if it's a partner registrar I think that you are paying something like $17 just renewal, so for $20 they should be only godaddy registered, so a limited amount, but I could be wrong.

In my calculations + my investing capacities, i find $20 too high. So i go to GD only for the best (in my eyes) domains. All others - from drops and other registrar expires.

 

[DpakH]

It may depend among investors
1. Under the circumstance, if a domainer hold 1000 portfolios which are worthless.
2. The experienced domainer knows what type of portfolio to hold.

Thanks
DpakH

 

[ThatNameGuy]

I think the answer may depend on whether you are in it as a full-time or significant part-time job, or if in it as a hobbyist or side-gig. In the former you need some minimum income stream, and that implies at least portfolio size to sustain.

However, if you are doing this because it interests you, and while making some money now now and then is a goal, you do not depend on it for living expenses, it seems to me the only important thing is the quality of the holdings, not the number.

Bob

Bob...i think it depends on how you define "quality" and whether or not you understand basic sales and marketing principles. Really good sales people can sell ice to Eskimo's, and some don't even need to believe in the product/service they're selling. Fortunately I believe in my product, and I believe in myself. I've been told by some NP members....more than one that I hold some pretty good names, many of which are brandable. Armed with that knowledge, "outbound" marketing will be the key to my success. Just like I've been honing my skills developing my portfolio, I'm now in a position to hone my "outbound" sales and marketing skills.

Bob, where I come from success begets success. Never give up or give in

 

[TauseefKhan]

Though it's portfolio game. But, the way you price domains is more important. And, we all are on learning curve when it comes to pricing. Anyway, this worries me: "Only 2% of your portfolio sells at retail price". That 2% is from 100 names or (any other number)?

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Though it's portfolio game. But, the way you price domains is more important. And, we all are on learning curve when it comes to pricing. Anyway, this worries me: "Only 2% of your portfolio sells at retail price". That 2% is from 100 names or (any other number)?

The 2% is deplorable and unacceptable. This is because domainers as a whole have NO OFFENSE. At best, if they get an "inbound" inquiry, that sparks a little offense, but that's not the kind of offense I'm talking about. I just started another thread a few minutes ago; "Why Hundreds of Thousands of Quality Domains Don't Sell" Check it out, and maybe you'll find some answers

 

[Joe N]

...domainers as a whole have NO OFFENSE. At best, if they get an "inbound" inquiry, that sparks a little offense

Completely inaccurate statement.

You even started a separarte thread a while ago where many people chimed in about how to market your names and contact potential buyers directly:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/logical-outbound-discussion.1160662/page-2

There are other threads on the forum dedicated to providing outbound marketing advice as well:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/an-ideal-outbound-email.1171808/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/outbound-process-for-beginners.1101291/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/reaching-the-decision-maker-while-outbounding.1162229/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/do-you-do-any-outbound-sales-for-your-portfolio.1157973/

Those are only the tip of the iceberg.

 

[SpareDomains]

I have been thinking and reviewing things and I realised that a lot of times, domaining looks like a portfolio game to me - of course, a decent one.

Even a hand registered portfolio of say, a 250 domain name portfolio with 3% sale at $6 a name would have an investment of $1500 and 8 domain sale of say $700 each amounting to $5,600
Accordingly, the numbers may adjust as we scale up. But when I look at appraisals section with individual domains, a single domain may not make sense a lot of times.

Like say, a single decent .CO domain may not have value individually but if you own 200 of them, price it in $1000 range and expect a 2% sale, that may make more sense.

A portfolio game looks like a decent game in domaining.
What is your thought on this?

Portfolio equals more fishing lines in the lake which can be useful if those lines/sales pages lead back to your own domain sales site but I still feel quality trumps all. I've worked with various smaller portfolios like you mention in the 100-500+ domain quantity range over the last 17 years and I've seen that most offers come in on the top quality domains in the portfolio and the others very rarely get offers. Portfolio I'm working on now contains 460 domains primarily .com handregs from years ago with most offers rolling in on the same usual suspects that are higher in quality. Last 2 sales on this portfolio brought in 32k which isn't bad considering whole portfolio like 4k year to renew but as the gems get sold offer frequency decreases so ya gotta capitalize on the gem sales as the lower end names might never see much in terms of offers.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Completely inaccurate statement.

You even started a separarte thread a while ago where many people chimed in about how to market your names and contact potential buyers directly:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/logical-outbound-discussion.1160662/page-2

There are other threads on the forum dedicated to providing outbound marketing advice as well:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/an-ideal-outbound-email.1171808/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/outbound-process-for-beginners.1101291/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/reaching-the-decision-maker-while-outbounding.1162229/

https://www.namepros.com/threads/do-you-do-any-outbound-sales-for-your-portfolio.1157973/

Those are only the tip of the iceberg.

A great offensive coordinator is hard to find. Do you want to apply for the job Joe? I've even picked up DomainOffense.com just for the occasion

 

[Joe N]

A great offensive coordinator is hard to find. Do you want to apply for the job Joe? I've even picked up DomainOffense.com just for the occasion

If you want something done right, do it yourself!

Do you know anyone that has decades of experience starting, running, and yes naming businesses? I bet they would be perfect for the job.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

If you want something done right, do it yourself!

Do you know anyone that has decades of experience starting, running, and yes naming businesses? I bet they would be perfect for the job.

Oh....that would be me How could I have overlooked such a brilliant offensive strategist I have a few mechanical/technical issues, but once they're fixed, the race is on

 

[Joe N]

How could I have overlooked such a brilliant offensive strategist

It beats me, Rich. You're as offensive as they come.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

It beats me, Rich. You're as offensive as they come.

"Offense" is my middle name Joe....thanks for recognizing MyOffense.com as one of the many motivators I use to juice me up Have you ever been to a trade show with thousands of lawyers who help people not unlike yourself start businesses? If you have and you didn't have anything to sell them, shame on you

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Portfolio equals more fishing lines in the lake which can be useful if those lines/sales pages lead back to your own domain sales site but I still feel quality trumps all. I've worked with various smaller portfolios like you mention in the 100-500+ domain quantity range over the last 17 years and I've seen that most offers come in on the top quality domains in the portfolio and the others very rarely get offers. Portfolio I'm working on now contains 460 domains primarily .com handregs from years ago with most offers rolling in on the same usual suspects that are higher in quality. Last 2 sales on this portfolio brought in 32k which isn't bad considering whole portfolio like 4k year to renew but as the gems get sold offer frequency decreases so ya gotta capitalize on the gem sales as the lower end names might never see much in terms of offers.

Jay...no one ever said "quality" doesn't count...speaking of fishing lines in the water....i happen to own a domain, BetheBait.com. Think of yourself as the bait Jay, how, where and to whom would you present yourself? If you're dangling your bait in your bathtub, you'll never get a nibble. Note that some of the cheapest baits presented right will be taken

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Can we get some stats here from people who actually own 20 , 30 , or 50k domains.

To a certain extent oldtimer it is a numbers game to some. Regardless of whether you're selling real estate, auto's or domains, strategic targeted marketing will produce profitable results. Walmart sells to the masses, but high-end retailers like Nordstrom sells to the rich and famous like you and me

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Thanks, Arfy

I had only few hundred .com names just 4 years ago.

I sold my liquid xx,xxx names not earmarked for projects during 2015 boom and have not bought for resale as I don't think they are the best category for passive holding at the moment.

I have around 400 names with average reseller cost of around $400. The rest have been purchased at low $xx.

I keep buying both types, as they provide similar returns.

Thanks Recons...it appears you've seen the light. There are lots of ways to make money in every business, and there are just as many ways to lose money.

Profits are in the pockets of the beholder

 

[Recons.Com]

Thanks Recons...it appears you've seen the light. There are lots of ways to make money in every business, and there are just as many ways to lose money.

Profits are in the pockets of the beholder

Thank you. I did experiment a little, as you cannot learn just from observing other people's sales, as that is incomplete data. You don't know how many of the names in the category for how long a person held before the sale. And I haven't seen anyone sharing that kind of data, so there is no way around learning on your own presently, unfortunately.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

Thank you. I did experiment a little, as you cannot learn just from observing other people's sales, as that is incomplete data. You don't know how many of the names in the category for how long a person held before the sale. And I haven't seen anyone sharing that kind of data, so there is no way around learning on your own presently, unfortunately.

Just as an fyi, i've just been to Houston once, but I just read this about your area codes that was real interesting from a Geo domain perspective; https://www.chron.com/news/houston-...-s-secret-area-code-class-warfare-9966440.php

What I found most interesting is how classes of Houstonians/Texans can be identified by their area codes. Could you make a few bucks armed with this knowledge? Maybe