New domainers...can they succeed?

[Keith]

It's hard enough to make a buck with domains after years of experience. Do newbies have a chance? The possible success rate has to be a single digit percentage!

 

[chickenfillet]

I think a lot of people think they can sell their domain names for more than they purchased it for. However, that is simply not the case.

Let's say a domain name changes hands 5-6 times within 10 years, and each of the 5 or 6 owners want to sell their domain name for double-triple-quadruple-even ten times of what they purchased it for. Obviously you can see that it isn't possible, because the price of that domain name will reach a ridiculous amount.

Sadly, this happens all the time, people thinking they can always "flip" their domain names for profit, every single time. New domainers can succeed in my opinion, they just need to be able to spot low priced, good value domain names. This is easier said than done though.

I mean, I've seen domain names sell for roughly $6,000 and then parked for sale at $170,000. That already is far higher than the end-user price, so the new buyer will never in the world be able to sell it for more than $170,000. And that is only changing hands twice. Imagine 4-5 level changes.

 

[ImageAuthors]

It's possible.

But 99% of the new domainers I see are too eager to throw their money away and less eager to research market realities.

If they made better decisions and worked harder, they would have a decent chance.

 

[namerav]

Domaining is still in nascent stage. So anyone can make profits. It further depends how much profit is profit for them.
But new domainers or for that matter any domainer now has to put more investment for successful.

 

[Kate]

Do newbies have a chance?

Yes they do

But:

But 99% of the new domainers I see are too eager to throw their money away and less eager to research market realities.

It's not about being the first to the game. If you are looking to pick up good regfee domains to resell for 5 figures then yes you are too late to the game. At least 15 years late.

But there are good domains to be acquired on the aftermarket (or from their owners), that can be resold with a profitable margin. Anybody who has a grasp of what makes a quality domain can do it.

Some people have been successful in spite of being late to the game. For example Frank Shilling could be described as a relative latecomer. Granted, there are not many such examples.
Yet I have seen newcomers score some nice sales. Sales do not happen by accident - okay there is a bit of luck involved But you don't make sales on a regular basis without the right inventory, and making the proper investment decisions.

By the way, I am not sure 'now' is a more difficult time to do domaining. Back in the old days, you were on your own but there were more good names, and less competition. Today there is a lot of information and free education available, and a more mature industry. But it has become very competitive too. And there is a lot of BS and disinformation too, so domaining is full of traps for newbies. Again, proper research and common sense will keep usually you out of trouble.

 

[N-A]

A lot of newbies get stuck in a hurricane of information thrown at them at once. As it's a natural disaster and they don't have cover, they seek shelter immediately. That tends to be "MAKE $500 A DAY BY BUYING AND SELLING DOMAIN NAMES" rather than long, thought out articles on how one made it from rags to riches by domaining. Usually these people never write or sell an eBook.

They will buy automated tools or enroll in ecourses when they're available for them: Keyword Planner, NamePros, etc.

By the time they've spent money on eBooks, courses, and software, they have little left to invest in actual domain names to make that $500 a day.

Can a newbie succeed? Yes. Only the ones driven to. I'd like to point out the sale of Whiskey.com and who made the $300,000 in brokerage commission. If I remember correctly, he started out selling hand registered domains. (Please correct me)

So can you succeed? Yes, you can. If you follow the right path.

Never quit and never give up.

 

[Keith]

Anybody who has a grasp of what makes a quality domain can do it.

In most cases, it takes years to understand what makes a domain, quality. There are rare exceptions but most folks show up to the party, buy everything in sight, and vanish without a trace.

This game is an art IMO.

 

[N-A]

This game is an art IMO.

I would say it's a science with some "arts" electives.

 

[carob]

It's hard enough to make a buck with domains after years of experience. Do newbies have a chance? The possible success rate has to be a single digit percentage!

Well if you see it as a business or investment then you accept you need knowledge, experience, tools, venues, customers, metrics, maybe training if not self-study.

If you see it as a lottery you just need to throw money at tickets every week and Godaddy codes keep you hooked.

That's the problem - people hear of six and seven figure sales and know at some point probably a domain was registered for $10 - but know nothing about the steps in between and the costs and risks associated with them.

Aside from ebooks there probably is money in domaining training.

 

[Horizonconcepts]

Well,I'm realistic,and most of our domains are in the 3K to 10K range,looking for 6 or 7 figures these days is not being realistic.The big boys,aka,Schilling,Dicker,Schultz had a massive head start and hold a massive amount of inventory,all quality,we can't turn back time,so we have to be realistic on what we can get and do.
New comers just see the dollar signs,and ALWAYS look at the huge sales,they think it is a fast track to make money.

 

[Horizonconcepts]

And some people will NEVER be able to pick a good name,they fall of the cliff.

 

[AEProgram]

100% they can. This question is asked about almost any industry. Can people still make money day trading or getting into real estate etc.

Follow what works for most people and later on once you mastered that try your own methods, but first do what works for most who are successful.

 

[Josh R]

I started in June this year.

Didn't really have a clue, but I've managed to gradually filter out the crappy names I registered for slightly more than reg fee in most cases.

I have spent a large portion of my time studying, listening, and learning from people here and other resources.

I now have a fairly decent portfolio of about 40 names and 10 more that need to go.

I have sold a name for xxx that I bought for low xx and I'm currently still down a couple hundred dollars but have received a high xxx offer on one of my names that I have recently countered.

Do I think that I'll succeed in the long run? ... Yes.... Is it difficult? ... Yes, but I'm still learning.

 

[Horizonconcepts]

Good on you Joshua,yes it appears easy to people (money from heaven) but as you are obviously becoming aware,there is a lot to it.
AEProgram,I agree with what your saying mostly,but I stand by what I said about some people just will never get it.....if everyone could do it we wouldn't be able to make money would we....horses for courses and all that.

 

[NameFu]

Good question, but how many domainers experienced or not are successful? I see people who have an awful lot of domains, doing worst than many newbies with 50-100 domains, because they're losing more money with renewal fees. Success in business is relative to how much money you're making. If you sell a domain for $5k every now and you own 3000 domains and considering the work done to accomplish such, is that the conventional definition of "success"? Are your renewal fees higher than your sales? If they are, you're losing losing money. And if you're putting in more time and effort to sell domains than you would a 9 to 5, just to sell a domain for less than what you'd make at a 9 to 5, you're possibly wasting time, effort and money....even if you're NOT buried in renewal fees you're still losing money.

Being experienced is overrated. It's about whether you can make a profit. With that said. How many domainers, experience or not are making a *profit* and how many of those making a profit are getting back more than what they put in, work wise.

 

[AEProgram]

I started in June this year.

Didn't really have a clue, but I've managed to gradually filter out the crappy names I registered for slightly more than reg fee in most cases.

I have spent a large portion of my time studying, listening, and learning from people here and other resources.

I now have a fairly decent portfolio of about 40 names and 10 more that need to go.

I have sold a name for xxx that I bought for low xx and I'm currently still down a couple hundred dollars but have received a high xxx offer on one of my names that I have recently countered.

Do I think that I'll succeed in the long run? ... Yes.... Is it difficult? ... Yes, but I'm still learning.

Anything good is diffacult, keep it up

Good on you Joshua,yes it appears easy to people (money from heaven) but as you are obviously becoming aware,there is a lot to it.
AEProgram,I agree with what your saying mostly,but I stand by what I said about some people just will never get it.....if everyone could do it we wouldn't be able to make money would we....horses for courses and all that.

Every industry is the same story, day trading, real estate etc etc

All have the same thing in common, people join with the lotto mindset. Let me buy 500,000 shares of this garbage stock as its only 0.00005 per share. After all I read somewhere that some guy started out exactly like this and now he runs his own hedge fund and a yacht.

Let me buy this terrible home with known problems in an area that is full of crime just because I can get it for just 18,000 and im sure I can flip it for 45k if I just repaint the bathroom and hang up new curtains. I will take the profit and reinvest and keep growing and growing until I buy buildings and small cities, maybe even my own island. If things really work out well ill make an offer to buy Japan.

Same with domaining, I can buy this name for so cheap and another name with a coupon. I will list if everywhere and even if I can make a little money I'm happy. The reality is they just keep on losing money. If you go out there and hunt for a .com that is a EMD in a huge industry (it should get at least 1000 exact match searches a month) and you buy it at a great deal, then focus on just getting that sold, list it everywhere, email people daily, call people etc. you can make more money in a month than most make in a year.

Even if your names are semi EMD's (city/geo+keyword or keywords also good), go out there buy some templates and create a site. When you email prospects tell them it comes with a site and when they buy it you switch out the info to theirs. A little bit of work and you can turn dead emails into real money.

The lotto mindset kills everything, it distorts reality and creates a new batch of broksters every second of every day. You cannot argue or reason with these dreamers and they must go down their little path of destruction until they either give up and become walmart greeters or they start doing things right.

PS Many will wonder why EMD's, whats wrong with meaningless cute brandables? Well if your goal is selling stuff, sell things the majority understand. While domainers understand brandables most joe schmoes do not, lower your risks by buying stuff that has the broadest possible audience as potential customers.

 

[Horizonconcepts]

I agree with what you have said AE.The only thing I'll add is with brandables,it takes a st$t load of money to make them a brand....most times in the long run,it's cheaper to just buy EMD's for whatever your doing.

 

[gblasting]

Who are the newbies?

The guy that started last month?

The guy that started this year?

The guy that started last year?

 

[AEProgram]

Who are the newbies?

The guy that started last month?

The guy that started this year?

The guy that started last year?

"When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck."

Its not really a time frame is a behavior

 

[Name Trader]

It's hard enough to make a buck with domains after years of experience. Do newbies have a chance? The possible success rate has to be a single digit percentage!

The possibility of noobs to succeed is great, provided they are innovative and smart. The problem is 99% of them are dumb. Apologies to all the noobs out there. My comments are only directed to 99% of you.

 

[DKN]

Its not really a time frame is a behavior

Well said bro!!

IMHO, I saw some members regd before 2009 in NP and having less knowledge in domaining but some new members have good exposure and they are looking wise.

 

[Horizonconcepts]

DKN,with all respect,and I mean that,you can't judge anyone on that,I have been in the game for 15 years,but only recently joined here.

 

[Horizonconcepts]

STUBS is correct,but more to the point then me.Some people just can't do it in this game,just as I would be hopeless at picking "fashions of the year" for example :D

 

[DKN]

DKN,with all respect,and I mean that,you can't judge anyone on that,I have been in the game for 15 years,but only recently joined here.

Yeah well bro.... I didn't mean all peoples regd here recently are newbies.
I mean "New Members" are not only regd recently here in NP but also started recently.

 

[Nitindomains]

I started about 3-4 months back.

Have sold domains worth $16k in total as yet.

Hold about 250-300 domains, so i am about 3k invested.

That still gives out a net profit of $12-$13k.

But i have worked very very hard for this. In the beginning i researched for about 18-20 hours for continuous days.
I am still learning, and it isn't my main thing.