Nature of the beast

[The Restorer]

Please somebody correct me. Why do i get this feeling that most of the domaining biz (buying and selling and reselling) is between domainers and less so with end users.

1. Is it just me or you also feel the same way?

2. If this is true, does it mean we are inflating prices.

3. How long can keep on this practice?

 

[CanSpace]

I actually completely agree with #1. I think most end users running real businesses who are looking for domain names don't even realize they can purchase one from a "domainer" for so cheap.. every time someone talks to me about looking for a domain for their business they're always looking for ones that are not registered yet.

#2 and 3 would seem to logically follow...

 

[Ronald Regging]

If you look at the industry as a whole, yes, it is completely inbred. The vast majority of strategies and services out there are centered around the idea of one domainer pushing his crap onto another. And no, it is not a sustainable business model. The best thing that any newcomer could do in this industry is to try to acquire a few quality .coms with end user potential and then put in the effort to make those sales. Leave the hype behind, don't get caught up in the hysteria, the self-promotion and sheep mentality.

 

[johname]

its not just the crap, those big auctions with big domains are domainers selling to other domainers

 

[Jawed]

It's not only you who feels like that. The whole domaining business is still shady. Most domainers are deluded by the hype created by a few. Only handful domainers make their fortunes; the vast majority of domainers are destined only to applaud.

 

[Ronald Regging]

It isn't even about being successful. To me, it's more about the general make up of the industry and the domaining community. It just seems to me like all of the people who are in a position to help this industry thrive, whether they are wildly successful or not, are doing nothing but shameless self-promotion and preying on the weaker, less knowledgeable domainers in order to make their money. There just came a point in this industry where some people realized that it's easier to make money off of fellow domainers who are desperate to sell their domains than it is to actually put in the work to try to make sales. Instead of trying to help the industry and empower it, they are doing nothing but whoring it out for a profit. And whatever, this is business after all. I just think it's sad when the vast majority of an industry has turned into sheep and wolves and NO ONE is focusing on the areas that will actually drive this industry forward in a sustainable, long-term manner.

 

[SpareDomains]

the power is in the hands of everyone reading this, you can continue flipping your domains exclusively in forums for a few bucks or through anonymous auction houses where you will never learn who the buyer is or you can say I have had enough I am going to do my own thing, grab yourself a free script from namepros Eric Domain Name Portfolio - DomainPortfolio.us pay someone to make you a logo, use a parking company that lets you link your parked domains back to your own sales site... namedrive, parked, fabulous, domain sponsor, trafficZ, do a little advertising plus all of your parked domains are advertising the site with backlinks to your portfolio, create your future.

domain=$7.57 godaddy
hosting=$4.99 godaddy
logo=$10-$50 namepros contest
portfolio script=free

slowly but surely you will sell to end users and build a lead database for future sales over the years, sedo may be quicker but sometimes ya gotta make an initial sacrifice for long term gain.

 

[Ronald Regging]

Some very excellent points SpareDomains. I particularly like the idea about using a parking company that lets you link back to your own portfolio. It is definitely true that when you receive offers directly via email you have more power, because you have more of an opportunity to research your potential buyer and tailor your sales pitch and negotiating strategies based on information you discover about them.

 

[SpareDomains]

Some very excellent points SpareDomains. I particularly like the idea about using a parking company that lets you link back to your own portfolio. It is definitely true that when you receive offers directly via email you have more power, because you have more of an opportunity to research your potential buyer and tailor your sales pitch and negotiating strategies based on information you discover about them.

your portfolio is hidden among millions at the auction houses, any sale from your own site puts in your pocket as they are all your domains, can't lose when the whole site is your inventory, I would still recommend listing your domains at sedo etc... but building your own site is a lead builder as I have been doing this for years, the more places ya list the better but end user sales rarely happen in domain forums, expand your reach and cover all angles then you can transform 100% domainer sales into a nice combo of domainer/end user sales combined, end users may not know you can buy aftermarket domains because there are so few marketplaces, if the guys with a good number of domains built their own sites and maybe even networked with similar sites it can only help increase awareness that aftermarket sales channels exist for the future end user buyers, it takes time but it does work, and if your domains are brandables and not generics that make parking money you could also just redirect them straight to the sales pages on your site and skip the parking.