Is There a Trick to Getting Good Bids on Flippa?

[goldey]

Hi -- I've been listing domains on Flippa for three years now, and nobody bids more than just a few dollars. Even when I pay extra for the upgrades, the bids I get are really pathetic. I had a bid of $3128 last week on MoneySpeaks.com, but I cannot contact the guy, he's not even reading my messages. So that was a phony. When Cats.com was up to $126,000 with a reserve of $710,000 last week, I listed my domain BeautifulCats.com at a fraction of the price, and the highest bid was only $65. I know that 1 word is always better than 2, but come on, $710,000 better?? BeautifulCats.com says "almost" the same thing as Cats.com for a fraction of the price. I have some excellent domains -- I even own TheGreatestSiteInTheWorld.com -- how can I attract bids that are not so pathetic? Is there a trick to it? Some domains there that I think are really dumb get high bids -- what do they have that I don't have? All my domains are at least 12-17 years old, and never used. I bought them just as investments. Or should I forget Flippa and list them elsewhere? I am open to all advice .... thanks!

 

[Casey L]

Not to be crass, but beautifulcats.com isn't even in the same galaxy as cats.com. In terms of advice, your domains aren't generic enough to thrive on flippa. I would just put them on afternic, sedo, etc and let offers come in that way. Only certain types of domains do best in auctions

 

[Jman92]

Honestly, there are no tricks or gimmicks. Good names always attract good bids. and as casey pointed out, beatifulcats is no where near as good as cats.com. Having said this, you can always pay the $49 for their market place home page listings for a better exposure.

 

[Wannabean]

Firstly, there's a lot of fraudulent bidding that goes on everywhere. So your going to see bad names with high bids. They'll never be paid though. Flippa seems to be especially susceptible but that's just my impression.

Secondly, Flippa upgrades aren't worth it. If your going to list the sort of domain there that would benefit from that kind of exposure, the upgrades should be included free and the listing fee waived. Remember, if you have a good domain, your doing flippa a favour listing with them, They're taking a commission and should be thankful for the business. It's their job to get eyes on the name and they shouldn't be paid extra for it.

You need good domains and patience. The marketplace won't make much of a difference.

 

[TerriJ]

Yeah, I go on Flippa to reasearch sales and I'm shocked at just how many Bidders are labeled BANNED on there.

Especially first bids. Makes you wonder...

 

[Tia Wood]

I'm afraid I have some bad news for you. This is constructive criticism as I hate to see anyone waste their money or bang their head on a wall. We've all been there.

I know that 1 word is always better than 2, but come on, $710,000 better?? BeautifulCats.com says "almost" the same thing as Cats.com for a fraction of the price.

There are many metrics that go into what makes a domain sellable. Some domains, like Cats.com are a no brainer. Other domains, like BeautifulCats.com are a bit tricker so you have to do your research. BeautifulCats.com isn't comparable to Cats.com because of the word "beautiful". BeautifulCats.com is actually on the same level as BeautifulComputer.com, BeautifulSofa.com, etc, but not Cats.com.

Domains like Computers.com, TVs.com would be around the same level as Cats.com but even then there are other metrics that would determine their: a) sellability b) desirability c) pricing.

One thing you should go out and learn very soon is what metrics make a good domain sellable? Why do people bid on specific domains? There is a reason. There are ways to find these metrics:

• Google search with quotes
• http://dnpric.es for similar, comparable domains
• https://archive.org
• Google Insights
• Searching other marketplaces and forums to see if the domain or similar domains went for in the past

After awhile of doing this you gain an intuition on what names are better than others, what domains are comparable to others and most importantly what metrics make a good domain.

So you're not there yet. It seems you are going by what "sounds good" and this is what gets people in trouble.

Take the time to learn the metrics, take some time to learn why people buy good domains, and don't buy much more until you learn this.

Check out igoldrush.com. Hope this helps.

 

[Kate]

I have a trick: don't pay for upgrades ever.
Instead, use the money toward better domains and they will sell for themselves.

 

[namezest]

I have a trick: don't pay for upgrades ever.
Instead, use the money toward better domains and they will sell for themselves.

Flippa is better suited for selling or buying developed sites imo. It's not worth the fees you can have 2 domains for every one you list on flippa.

 

[rahul page]

no there is no such trick