Making the first dollar in domain flipping... Hi everybody

[robertpaulson]

Hi everyone, just starting to get into domain flipping and have started heading down the road with the pinned "it looks easy..." forum topic (obviously it's not, but it's mentioned for us starting out to read). Holy moly, just in that thread there is a serious amount of info. I'm very excited at the opportunity to join up to the community and I hope to do good things and be able to contribute to the forum down the line once I have some proper experience under the belt.
I have recently, on a whim, just purchased a domain and I'm currently getting it listed (richovertime.com). So I actually bought it because I thought it would be good for perhaps finance people.

1. To the more experienced people on the site, was this a good choice now we're heading into 2024, or should I as a person trying to make my first dollar with domain flipping just stick to expired domain purchases?
2. Previously a lot of people would buy domains and then just build them out keeping them for the long haul. Is that still something you do or is that pointless these days?

Thanks in advance to anyone who gets the time to respond and I hope everyone is doing well over the holiday season.
Onwards and upwards!!

Meeeeeeeeeee

 

[robertpaulson]

Thanks guys. All awesome notes which I'm taking onboard.

 

[Foxtrot Mod Team]

Hello,

Welcome to NamePros!

Here are some links that may help you navigate the forum.

We have many resources that are designed to help you get started:

• Domain Beginners section contains lots of valuable information and FAQs.
• Popular Content for Beginners is a list of some of our best threads for beginners.
• Meet and Greet section is a great place to meet other domainers and mentors.

Domain Name Discussions is the most popular place in the entire industry to discuss domains with domainers and ask questions.

Additionally, the following guides will help you navigate the marketplace to sell your domains:

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[Yanosh]

Hello , welcome to NP

You’re in the best place to start learning.

Good luck !

 

[robertpaulson]

Thanks again @Foxtrot Mod Team and @Yanosh . Currently looking through all materials to see what I can absorb into my tiny brain currently

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Welcome to NamePros!

There are great resources in the post above by @Foxtrot Mod Team - I highly recommend starting there.

I would not so much concentrate on the mechanics of where to look for domains, auctions, wholesale acquisitions here at NamePros, closeouts, hand registrations, etc. can all work. Rather I would concentrate on the following:

1. Is this name something multiple possible buyers would legitimately want? They have literally tens of millions of names to choose from, will they choose this name? Lots tied up in that question, about how the name could be applied (the sector or niche), aesthetics on how elegant it sounds, memorability on things like ease to remember correctly and making an impact, how pronounceable is the name, length, is it not too similar to a well known brand yet similar to the types of names in a general way that businesses have chosen in the past, etc.
2. An easy test of sort of the same thing is to ask would I personally start a business on this name?
3. Before you decide whether to acquire a name, decide how you would price it. Yes, really! Get familiar with NameBio and DNPric.es. Learn to separate which names were sales to end users, versus expired auction acquisitions. You should only acquire when your acquisition price is well below what you thing legitimately the name will sell for, because each name is unique, and even strong names may not sell for a long time.

There are tools to help you with these and other questions. This article will get you started on some of the most basic ones: https://www.namepros.com/blog/free-tools-for-quick-domain-research.1209548/

Best wishes for success, and once more, welcome to NamePros! It is a fantastic community, and there will be someone willing to share expertise on almost any topic that you can imagine.

-Bob

 

[bmugford]

To the more experienced people on the site, was this a good choice now we're heading into 2024, or should I as a person trying to make my first dollar with domain flipping just stick to expired domain purchases?

Domain flipping is not easy.

The first question is who are you going to flip domains to? Other domain investors?
Then, how are you going to flip them?

For domain investing to be profitable, you need to consider both sell-through rate and average sales price.

You will need an extraordinarily high sell-through rate when it comes to lower margin flips.

Here is some real world math.

Let's say your average purchase price is $50 and you are flipping them for $250.
You would need a 20% sell-through rate to break even.

Previously a lot of people would buy domains and then just build them out keeping them for the long haul. Is that still something you do or is that pointless these days?

I generally don't bother building domains.

I think buying quality domains and holding them over time is the best business model. There is just no substitute for time when it comes to maximizing value and finding the right buyer.

 

[bmugford]

1. Is this name something multiple possible buyers would legitimately want? They have literally tens of millions of names to choose from, will they choose this name? Lots tied up in that question, about how the name could be applied (the sector or niche), aesthetics on how elegant it sounds, memorability on things like ease to remember correctly and making an impact, how pronounceable is the name, length, is it not too similar to a well known brand yet similar to the types of names in a general way that businesses have chosen in the past, etc.

Yes, I have talked about this many times. I call it the pool of potential buyers.

Often times domain investors will target domains just because they are word plays, cute brands, etc.

You want domains that have several potential buyers.

Brad

 

[robertpaulson]

The first question is who are you going to flip domains to? Other domain investors?
Then, how are you going to flip them?

Thanks @bmugford for the response there. I shall be trying to sell to people who might actually want to start sites off the back end and not investors because i believe the potential from business owners is going to be higher than pro domain traders (I'm guessing this as I'm new to the game). In order to do this for my current sites I shall be putting them on godaddy as I've signed up for their service as it just seems easiest for me starting out for now. I shall expand as I get more experience.

 

[sellian]

Is Robert Paulson your real name or is Fight Club your favorite movie?

Welcome to NP!

 

[robertpaulson]

@sellian It is indeed a movie reference . I'd say it's one of my favorite movies of all time but not my favorite. I'm using a pseudonym for now until I get to know the forum more. Just a thing I do in most forums out of habit over the years. Now gun to head I'd have perhaps go with Scrooged. My christmas movie every year without fail. Three more days and I'll be watching it again

 

[robertpaulson]

@Bob Hawkes oops, apologies bob, I got so many responses yesterday from the community I missed your comment there, so thanks for the quick response there as well... Sheesh, so much info.. need brain drugs to keep pushing it all into my cranium

 

[FolioTeam]

Welcome to Namepros

 

[robertpaulson]

Thanks for the welcome @FolioTeam !!

 

[VadimK]

@biggie No problem. What is the term for buying then selling domains now?

He means that it's not a ''get rich quick'' type of business.

 

[robertpaulson]

He means that it's not a ''get rich quick'' type of business.

@VadimK ah okay thanks. FYI I do not remotely think it's a get rich quick scheme at all. There is no such thing anyways and i know it's going to take years to become profitable. I just called it that because that's the traditional term for it.... as far as i'm still aware?!

 

[VadimK]

@VadimK ah okay thanks. FYI I do not remotely think it's a get rich quick scheme at all. There is no such thing anyways and i know it's going to take years to become profitable. I just called it that because that's the traditional term for it.... as far as i'm still aware?!

True. But ''domain flipping'' term implies straightforward buy-sell action, while in reality it's more like ''buy, wait five years and sell if you are lucky. One-two years - if you are very lucky''. And that's what the guy who replied to you means. Most beginners are not aware of it at all (good you are not one of them).

Back in the time the gap between ''buy'' and ''sell'' was smaller, and it resembled a ''flipping'' better. Not anymore.
And for the same reason you don't really see domainers using this term.

 

[robertpaulson]

Ah okay so I'll just call it domain purchase/selling in future thanks.

 

[VadimK]

Ah okay so I'll just call it domain purchase/selling in future thanks.

You can call it however you like, the idea of comments were to show that it's not easy (like vast majority thinks). As long as you are aware - you are good to go. )

Jokes aside - by calling it ''domain investing'' you can't go wrong (you won't meet any comments to respond to, at least))

 

[xynames]

Halloa.

 

[namegulf]

Here is a blog post we wrote on the subject https://blog.namegulf.com/domains/t...-traders-domain-hobbyists-and-domain-brokers/, hope you all find it useful!