One Question

[NatzEff]

Hi Everyone,
Is it still possible to make a lot of money from domains? Would you need a lot of money to start with now? For example if you had £1000 to start would you be able to do quite well within a year?
I know it's quite general but I am intrigued to know from different angles.
Thanks!

 

[Bushidoho]

I think you can do well if you make the right decisions and choose the right domains. I just started domaining and already made a few mistakes with buying some wrong names. I'd recommend you first look around and read stickies on this board before you actually start buying domains.

 

[NatzEff]

Thanks :D Have you made any sales yet?

 

[mosilager]

My advice (seeing that I too was a newb a few years back) is to read, read and read before you buy any domains!. NP's here has a wealth of information, use it to buy & sell successful domains.

But yes, there's still wealth of gold out there to be made from domain sales!....good luck!.

 

[Bushidoho]

Thanks :D Have you made any sales yet?

Not yet, mainly because I'm waiting for the 60 day transfer period to end. When you first buy a domain, tranfering them within 60 days'll cost you more.

I think the best tip I could give you is to not buy a domain directly when you see it's still free and has potential. Most of the time they'll stay free for some time and you have enough time to invest in the name, see if it would be worth anything, page rank etc.

 

[bmugford]

Yes you can do well starting with any amount of money. It is more about making the right decisions.

Brad

 

[nicedomains]

^^ yep, what Brad said :tu:

Not yet, mainly because I'm waiting for the 60 day transfer period to end. When you first buy a domain, tranfering them within 60 days'll cost you more.

Your customer can obtain a domain without having to wait for the 60 day policy, and if they insist on transferring out simply give them access to the dns then transfer to them when the 60 day period has expired. Registrar to registrar 'push' is the most common way to transfer ownership of a domain. All major registrars have this capability and there is no 60 day policy.

 

[Kate]

Is it still possible to make a lot of money from domains?

Yes but:

• it takes money to make money
• there is learning curve - you will likely lose money at the beginning, unless you swallow the experience of other people and read a lot
• very few people make a living from domains - for most it's a hobby
• bottom line: keep your expectations reasonable, domaining is not a get rich quick scheme. But I really think it's one of the best investments possible.

 

[DavidH]

IMHO it is often better to start with very little money rather than lots.

If you read everything you can and then invest a little wisely, any potential losses should be kept to a reasonable level.

If you have lots to spend, there is a huge temptation to dive in straight away and risk losing much more.

I have never had much spare to be able to put in to domains so anything I have been able to put in has to earn its keep and work to generate parking income or sales, to help pay bills and build up a portfolio hopefully improving in quality over time.

Without much money you just have to start small and build up gradually, reinvesting most of the profits in further names.

Can you make money? Absolutely!

Patience, perseverance, a willingness to learn, hard work and never giving up will help the money to come even faster.

 

[lobbyist88]

Yes but:

• it takes money to make money
• there is learning curve - you will likely lose money at the beginning, unless you swallow the experience of other people and read a lot
• very few people make a living from domains - for most it's a hobby
• bottom line: keep your expectations reasonable, domaining is not a get rich quick scheme. But I really think it's one of the best investments possible.

I started getting into domaining very recently (only a few months ago) and completely agree that there is a significant learning curve. Before you start buying any domains I strongly recommend that you set aside some fixed amount (in a paypal or whatever) of money with the idea that you will not replenish it if you happen to lose all of it.

Although I can't really comment on any personal success as of yet, I think had I not adhered to this rule and kept on spending, my losses would have been significantly worse.

 

[thewebhostingdir]

IMO it depends on your targeted audience. If you have the database and ready to take the challenges then you may start this business. Also it requires time and hard work. So if you are good enough to put these efforts then go for it.

 

[NatzEff]

Thank you for all of your fantastic comments guys it has been most helpful

 

[Bushidoho]

Yes but:

• it takes money to make money
• there is learning curve - you will likely lose money at the beginning, unless you swallow the experience of other people and read a lot
• very few people make a living from domains - for most it's a hobby
• bottom line: keep your expectations reasonable, domaining is not a get rich quick scheme. But I really think it's one of the best investments possible.

Yeah, good post.

I personally think "luck" is a factor also.

 

[Jit Kan]

the income wont be able to feed you, maybe just as a hobby. sometimes you close big sales, at other times not a single one. definitely not stable income you can rely on, cheers.

 

[Saket]

Yeah its simple, develop a website.
moreover if you have more than £1000, i will go on with advertising my site on popular websites to increase my traffic, then keep on running my site.
if it goes on like it for more than a year, i will definitely earn more than my investment

 

[joeljonathan]

I would absolutely agree that you can make a lot of money domaining even if you have not a lot of money to start out. Stay away from riding the trends and just following what everyone else seems to be doing, spend a lot of time learning how to develop a domain, and start out buying domains in a niche that you consider yourself to be somewhat of an expert in (i.e. any subject area that you have some kind of specialized knowledge and know more than the average person - it could be some area that is related to your day job or an area that you studied in school etc.)

 

[DaveGammage]

I'm a beginning domain "hobbyist" and I've managed to make some money from domains. Not a lot, mind you, but I've made a decent ROI...and these are just names I've managed to grab at the registrar, not purchased at higher value from a broker.

It CAN be done. Read, learn, and put your learning into practice.

 

[floname]

WRITE THIS DOWN!!

IMHO it is often better to start with very little money rather than lots.

If you read everything you can and then invest a little wisely, any potential losses should be kept to a reasonable level.

If you have lots to spend, there is a huge temptation to dive in straight away and risk losing much more.

I have never had much spare to be able to put in to domains so anything I have been able to put in has to earn its keep and work to generate parking income or sales, to help pay bills and build up a portfolio hopefully improving in quality over time.

Without much money you just have to start small and build up gradually, reinvesting most of the profits in further names.

Can you make money? Absolutely!

Patience, perseverance, a willingness to learn, hard work and never giving up will help the money to come even faster.

I am an avid domainer for about a year & 1/2 now. I spend WAY more time on it than I should for what it produces, however I am learning something new everyday. I am not by any standards a pro (there are guys here at NP who've forgotten more than I know) and I've learned alot of it through trial and error.

I've bought and sold over 1000 domains. Most all of my selling has been on ebay. Having seen the rise and fall of that market, I wouldn't recommend selling there as its still depressed (although showing faint signs of rebound) and more often than not (because your a beginner), you WILL lose money, whether in seller fees or low bids or both.

I agree that a little luck goes a long way! It's rare that you'll have a good general domain name for a hot market just magically "pop" into your head and find it in the open registry. Drop engines are a good place to find decent names, however sometimes it feels like bottomfeeding. Scouring long lists of worthless trash names to maybe find a diamond in the rough.

You have to know where to look and what to look for! You'll be very well suited to develop your own strategies and be cautious about following trends. Its only a trend util its not a trend anymore. In most any domain marketplace, if there is a name that sells publicly for nice ransom, you'll usually see alot of simular ones come to market. What seemed to be a trend was actually a broker who had a very specific request from a client. So don't register a domain because a semi-decent simular one sold.

Read ALOT! There are countless resources on the web (not all of which are free) that can help you learn and earn.

Good Luck and Welcome Aboard :blink: