It Looks Easy...

[itlookseasy]

Hey guys,
Been lurking for a week or two, and haven't really had many questions I couldn't find the answers for (great forum). There is so much to know about this business, and just like my handle, it looks easy (but it's not).

I was first interested in domains about 10 years ago, but life got overwhelming and I unfortunately let everything expire and gave up on the dream. Well, life has been a ride since then to say the least, and now I'm in a transition. Financially I'm at an all time low ( I made $0.00 last year), I sleep on a cot, and live primarily on PB&J and water. (Don't judge me haha) I've managed to get a couple broken old thinkpads off craigslist and fix them, took some youtube tutorials, and started designing and selling vector graphics online. I'm now taking the very little bit of income I get from that, and investing in domains with my hammy-down laptop. Luckily I eat cheap and my cot is portable. I hope one day I can thank some of you in my future success story

I'm trying to be picky with the names I hand register since my whole life is starting from literally ZERO, but I'm sure I'm already making mistakes. I have a book with around 1600 available names I found in the last week or so. I really need to figure out how to sell most of all. So far it's a bit daunting, and I still need to make my first sale. It's like I'm scared of the outcome good or bad. What I really need is a mentor. Or someone to say, look at this, this is how we make money. If only it were that simple.. HA

Anyway, time to cut the novel short. Thanks for reading, and I hope to meet some of you creative geniuses in the future.

Some coms I registered in the last week: Deadful, RiffClass, PVTinvestigate, Motocroz, Namefam

-William

 

[itlookseasy]

When it comes to hand registering domains I try to keep it as niche and straight forward as possible, I.E - DenverMovers .com - SeattlePianoTuning .com etc etc Riffclass and Motocroz are not the worst domains in world particularly as some of your first reg's but I don't think they will sell (not anytime soon anyway). You might have to sit on those domains for 5 or so years just to get an inquiry - those are brandable type domains which are a bit of a lottery. It's very unlikely you are able to handreg anything of substantial value nowadays so it's better to focus on domains which have a very clear end users available that you can try reach out to via email and make a nice return on.

Most people just leave their personal information for everyone to see, althought you probably will get spammed with phone calls from people trying to sell your websites etc.. which happens to everyone

That reply is not at all what I was looking for, and that's why it's so important. So do you think I should stay away from brandable names all together? Is it that hard to find an end user? I have seen some horrendous brand names selling, which made me wonder if I should try. Since I was there typing like a maniac anyway. I guess at the end of the year is when reality hits me hard. I have 4 books with different categories, one is keywords. I'll focus more on those, and make sure the end user is crystal clear from now on.

Thanks for everything you've said, it's all very helpful.

 

[CrocodileDundee]

That reply is not at all what I was looking for, and that's why it's so important. So do you think I should stay away from brandable names all together? Is it that hard to find an end user? I have seen some horrendous brand names selling, which made me wonder if I should try. Since I was there typing like a maniac anyway. I guess at the end of the year is when reality hits me hard. I have 4 books with different categories, one is keywords. I'll focus more on those, and make sure the end user is crystal clear from now on.

Thanks for everything you've said, it's all very helpful.

Ultimately you should try spread your domain investment across multiple different categories, the handreg domains should help you cover the cost of holding the brandables and vice versa. Always try and cross reference your purchases using Namebio.com - How many domains have sold containing the word riff? how many domains have sold containing the word riff at the beginning? - try and establish if your domain has the same characteristics.

I don't think you should stay away from brandables completely, but you should stay away from them until you understand what a good brandable is. Try to focus on quality brandables and ones which share the most characteristics with previous sales. Try not to get too caught up in the random offhand "pigeon shit" sales - that person may own 1000 domains and had to renew them for 2 years to get that sale, its possible they aren't in the profit.

It's also possible the horrendous brand names you see selling may not be all that horrendous. After a few weeks / months certain sales may start to make more sense for you.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Thanks for your post, @itlookseasy, and a most sincere welcome to NPs! As you have already seen, this helpful, skilled and vibrant community is always more than willing to share their expertise. I think that you are definitely taking the right approach by starting with a long list of possible names, and then looking for ways to analyze which are most likely to sell before buying them.

A number of people have already offered excellent advice and tips (hats off in particular to the posts by @Silentptnr and @CrocodileDundee !). I would stress that the Namebio database should be your friend here, start with possible names, and see what similar names have sold for, where, and when. I would also use the free automated tools GoDaddy GoValue and Estibot (5 per day are free). Certainly don't take their valuations as gospel and sometimes they are very wrong, but in addition to an "independent" estimate they provide additional comparators and (in Estibot case) information on search statistics and advertiser information.

A really important decision should be where you will place domains for sale once you have a few names to sell. I sense at this point that funds are really tight, so free choices are the best. I would recommend Undeveloped.com that is free to list on and they take a reasonable commission when you have a sale. Most importantly their landers look great, so it can help you build a professional presence without paying up front costs. Since Undeveloped act as the third party accepting payment and transferring name, it will give your potential purchasers confidence in the transaction. There are of course other options.

Since you need to be selective, I would make sure you are getting a few names with multiple possible buyers, and the hardest job is going to be coming up with a plan on how they will get in front of some of those buyers.

Not to be negative, but selling domains is certainly not a sure thing. Most domains go unsold for a long time. Even good names may never sell. Just to make sure your expectations are realistic that this is the way you want to invest your very hard earned and limited funds.

Welcome to the community, and we look forward to having you here. We all learn from each other!

Bob

 

[itlookseasy]

Ultimately you should try spread your domain investment across multiple different categories, the handreg domains should help you cover the cost of holding the brandables and vice versa. Always try and cross reference your purchases using Namebio.com - How many domains have sold containing the word riff? how many domains have sold containing the word riff at the beginning? - try and establish if your domain has the same characteristics.

I don't think you should stay away from brandables completely, but you should stay away from them until you understand what a good brandable is. Try to focus on quality brandables and ones which share the most characteristics with previous sales. Try not to get too caught up in the random offhand "pigeon sh*t" sales - that person may own 1000 domains and had to renew them for 2 years to get that sale, its possible they aren't in the profit.

It's also possible the horrendous brand names you see selling may not be all that horrendous. After a few weeks / months certain sales may start to make more sense for you.

Today is the first time I've seen namebio, had no idea that tool existed. Very powerful. That really helps me see things objectively.

I won't go too crazy with brandables for now, I'm glad you said all that before I get too deep. I need to make more calculated buys, and need to get some sales under my belt so I can re-invest better.

I learn something every post, thank you!!!

 

[itlookseasy]

Thanks for your post, @itlookseasy, and a most sincere welcome to NPs! As you have already seen, this helpful, skilled and vibrant community is always more than willing to share their expertise. I think that you are definitely taking the right approach by starting with a long list of possible names, and then looking for ways to analyze which are most likely to sell before buying them.

A number of people have already offered excellent advice and tips (hats off in particular to the posts by @Silentptnr and @CrocodileDundee !). I would stress that the Namebio database should be your friend here, start with possible names, and see what similar names have sold for, where, and when. I would also use the free automated tools GoDaddy GoValue and Estibot (5 per day are free). Certainly don't take their valuations as gospel and sometimes they are very wrong, but in addition to an "independent" estimate they provide additional comparators and (in Estibot case) information on search statistics and advertiser information.

A really important decision should be where you will place domains for sale once you have a few names to sell. I sense at this point that funds are really tight, so free choices are the best. I would recommend Undeveloped.com that is free to list on and they take a reasonable commission when you have a sale. Most importantly their landers look great, so it can help you build a professional presence without paying up front costs. Since Undeveloped act as the third party accepting payment and transferring name, it will give your potential purchasers confidence in the transaction. There are of course other options.

Since you need to be selective, I would make sure you are getting a few names with multiple possible buyers, and the hardest job is going to be coming up with a plan on how they will get in front of some of those buyers.

Not to be negative, but selling domains is certainly not a sure thing. Most domains go unsold for a long time. Even good names may never sell. Just to make sure your expectations are realistic that this is the way you want to invest your very hard earned and limited funds.

Welcome to the community, and we look forward to having you here. We all learn from each other!

Bob

Thank you Bob!

You made me think about some things. I was eyeballing undeveloped a few days ago, but was unsure if I should use it. I will definitely take a closer look now that you recommend it (and more than likely use it).

I don't think what you said is negative, real is real. I realize it could take time to make substantial profit, or even ANY profit at all, especially with mediocre/crummy names.

To me it's highly intriguing, and I actually enjoy everything about the process, researching, reading about it, learning. The thing I might not enjoy is giving names away for dirt because they don't sell. But that's the risk that's involved. I believe, for the average person, its easier to lose money than make a profit.

Thanks for your post, I will most likely park at undeveloped now.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I perhaps in balance should have listed more options re marketplaces. There are the ones run by registrars such as Namesilo and Namecheap (and some others), the Afternic network, Sedo, Tough Domains, Undeveloped, Efty and others. Efty is a wonderful system for managing domains, and if you use it for sale there are no commissions, but after the trial period there is a monthly charge. Afternic and Sedo both have advantage that they have such large numbers of holdings that they get a lot of people searching there.

I have tried most (not all) of them and put my reflections into a blog post if you are interested.

https://agreatnameforyou.blogspot.ca/2018/02/thoughts-on-domain-market-choices.html

Right now I have almost all of mine at Efty, about half at Undeveloped, maybe 20% at Afternic, and about 20% at Namecheap Marketplace (mainly ones within the 60 day transfer rule since you can still do a transfer to another Namecheap account, and some low value ones).

If you do list multiple places, it is safest to include a buy it now price at only one, and make offer at the others, so no chance of a simultaneous sale two places. Watch also any minimum commission and other fees associated with each.

 

[internext]

greetings @itlookseasy and welcome to np

 

[itlookseasy]

I perhaps in balance should have listed more options re marketplaces. There are the ones run by registrars such as Namesilo and Namecheap (and some others), the Afternic network, Sedo, Tough Domains, Undeveloped, Efty and others. Efty is a wonderful system for managing domains, and if you use it for sale there are no commissions, but after the trial period there is a monthly charge. Afternic and Sedo both have advantage that they have such large numbers of holdings that they get a lot of people searching there.

I have tried most (not all) of them and put my reflections into a blog post if you are interested.

Right now I have almost all of mine at Efty, about half at Undeveloped, maybe 20% at Afternic, and about 20% at Namecheap Marketplace (mainly ones within the 60 day transfer rule since you can still do a transfer to another Namecheap account, and some low value ones).

If you do list multiple places, it is safest to include a buy it now price at only one, and make offer at the others, so no chance of a simultaneous sale two places. Watch also any minimum commission and other fees associated with each.

Thank you Bob, I read the article. You definitely got my wheels-a-turnin. Thanks for the help, I'm taking notes.

 

[itlookseasy]

greetings @itlookseasy and welcome to np

Hey thank you!! Have a good weekend!

 

[FintechNames]

Welcome to namePros! @itlookseasy

 

[itlookseasy]

Welcome to namePros! @itlookseasy

Thanks a MILLION!

 

[itlookseasy]

I really need to figure out how to sell most of all. So far it's a bit daunting, and I still need to make my first sale. It's like I'm scared of the outcome good or bad.

Ok here it is, all my hard work finally -paid off.

Drum roll please.............................................................

My first sale:

Domain: CurrencyCrypto ● cc
Venue: NamePros Auction
Sale Price: $10
Paid: $9.85
Gross Profit: $0.15
PayPal Fee: $0.74
Profit Loss: -$0.59

This doesn't include my time to search, hand register, list on NP, bump, communicate with buyer, and transfer.

I'd say that's 20 minutes. I charge no less than $50 per hour for my time, so that calculates to:

20 minutes x 3 = 60 minutes

$50 pr hr ÷ 3 = $16.67

-$16.67 + -$0.59 = -$17.26

So in my mind it is a total loss of -$17.26

But I'd rather say it's a course in how not to sell domains for the bargain steal of $17.26

What am I learning?
From now on I will factor my time into the starting bid, choose better domains, strategically choose bump time, and choose a more appropriate platform to sell the domain (auction, make offer, bin). I like NamePros, and love that the auctions are free, but from what I gather it's best used as a place to liquidate domains. I might be wrong, and please correct me if there is anyone using namepros to extract maximum value (as far as selling to resellers) and making a full time living selling on this platform. I'd love to see what it takes to do that here (if it's even possible).

Namepros auctions are a great place to get your feet wet, and that's exactly what I did (wet with tears).
However I did gain a +1 on my trade rating here which is probably worth at least $1, being that I can sell a domain for $1 and get a positive rating.

I can say, the push process on dynadot is amazingly straight forward and smooth, and so far that is my registrar of choice for a few reasons: Affordable pricing and renews, bulk transfers, great UI, and a few other features I really like.

I've learned a bit, but need to keep trading before I really even begin to figure things out.

If anyone has any advice or input, please share.

That's it for now.

Thank's to everyone who has been friendly, helped me so far, given me confidence, sent me links, and bid on my auction of a crap domain with slight potential.

 

[Bayan]

Struggle reminds us to appreciate what we have and what we have earned

True.
Or as Ray Dalio says :" Pain + Reflection = Progress"

 

[Omar.]

Welcome! ​

 

[rubencouto]

Hello @itlookseasy !

Welcome aboard to NamePros!

 

[weblord]

welcome to namepros
mabuhay
wow another William

Hey guys,
Been lurking for a week or two, and haven't really had many questions I couldn't find the answers for (great forum). There is so much to know about this business, and just like my handle, it looks easy (but it's not).

I was first interested in domains about 10 years ago, but life got overwhelming and I unfortunately let everything expire and gave up on the dream. Well, life has been a ride since then to say the least, and now I'm in a transition. Financially I'm at an all time low ( I made $0.00 last year), I sleep on a cot, and live primarily on PB&J and water. (Don't judge me haha) I've managed to get a couple broken old thinkpads off craigslist and fix them, took some youtube tutorials, and started designing and selling vector graphics online. I'm now taking the very little bit of income I get from that, and investing in domains with my hammy-down laptop. Luckily I eat cheap and my cot is portable. I hope one day I can thank some of you in my future success story

I'm trying to be picky with the names I hand register since my whole life is starting from literally ZERO, but I'm sure I'm already making mistakes. I have a book with around 1600 available names I found in the last week or so. I really need to figure out how to sell most of all. So far it's a bit daunting, and I still need to make my first sale. It's like I'm scared of the outcome good or bad. What I really need is a mentor. Or someone to say, look at this, this is how we make money. If only it were that simple.. HA

Anyway, time to cut the novel short. Thanks for reading, and I hope to meet some of you creative geniuses in the future.

Some coms I registered in the last week: Deadful, RiffClass, PVTinvestigate, Motocroz, Namefam

-William

 

[alwaysforGod]

Welcome to NamePros, William!

 

[1Darko]

Ok here it is, all my hard work finally -paid off.

Drum roll please.............................................................

My first sale:

Domain: CurrencyCrypto ● cc
Venue: NamePros Auction
Sale Price: $10
Paid: $9.85
Gross Profit: $0.15
PayPal Fee: $0.74
Profit Loss: -$0.59

This doesn't include my time to search, hand register, list on NP, bump, communicate with buyer, and transfer.

I'd say that's 20 minutes. I charge no less than $50 per hour for my time, so that calculates to:

20 minutes x 3 = 60 minutes

$50 pr hr ÷ 3 = $16.67

-$16.67 + -$0.59 = -$17.26

So in my mind it is a total loss of -$17.26

But I'd rather say it's a course in how not to sell domains for the bargain steal of $17.26

What am I learning?
From now on I will factor my time into the starting bid, choose better domains, strategically choose bump time, and choose a more appropriate platform to sell the domain (auction, make offer, bin). I like NamePros, and love that the auctions are free, but from what I gather it's best used as a place to liquidate domains. I might be wrong, and please correct me if there is anyone using namepros to extract maximum value (as far as selling to resellers) and making a full time living selling on this platform. I'd love to see what it takes to do that here (if it's even possible).

Namepros auctions are a great place to get your feet wet, and that's exactly what I did (wet with tears).
However I did gain a +1 on my trade rating here which is probably worth at least $1, being that I can sell a domain for $1 and get a positive rating.

I can say, the push process on dynadot is amazingly straight forward and smooth, and so far that is my registrar of choice for a few reasons: Affordable pricing and renews, bulk transfers, great UI, and a few other features I really like.

I've learned a bit, but need to keep trading before I really even begin to figure things out.

If anyone has any advice or input, please share.

That's it for now.

Thank's to everyone who has been friendly, helped me so far, given me confidence, sent me links, and bid on my auction of a crap domain with slight potential.

The third option is - just drop it and you would have a loss of just the reg fee
just kidding - Welcome to namepros!