Possible to make money from low end domains?

[Philleh]

Hey, do you guys think it's viable to 'domain' with a low budget? So basically registering domains and trying to sell them? Or buying other ones cheap and reselling? From what I've seen the real profit is buying short domains, then reselling months/years later.

Could it be viable to start low and work your way up?

thanks

 

[Spade]

Is it Viable, yes? And perhaps a smarter move for a new domainer. Usually it takes months upon months to really understand how value is derived in domain names. Taking it slow as a rookie is the way to do it, as not to invest your money poorly.

The issue here is what kind of investment are you looking to make? Many people purchased a few names here and there in hopes of selling them down the road. Are you trying to actively buy and quickly sell?

Is it possible? Yes. How long will it take you to get to the bigger leagues? Probable a while.....

Justin

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

Hey, do you guys think it's viable to 'domain' with a low budget? So basically registering domains and trying to sell them? Or buying other ones cheap and reselling? From what I've seen the real profit is buying short domains, then reselling months/years later.

Could it be viable to start low and work your way up?

thanks

That's how I'm doing it. I've caught some decent names that were dropped, and regged quite a few that while not premium, aren't bad and should fetch a decent profit when it's time to sell. Also, don't forget to develop some of the names that you buy (that's a pretty surefire way of increasing the value of your portfolio).

I think it will be a year or two before I progress into the bigger names, maybe sooner. You pretty much decide how quickly you learn the ropes and start making a profit (research the field and read, read, read, read, read, and read some more).

BTW, did I tell you to read? lol

 

[Philleh]

Is it Viable, yes? And perhaps a smarter move for a new domainer. Usually it takes months upon months to really understand how value is derived in domain names. Taking it slow as a rookie is the way to do it, as not to invest your money poorly.

The issue here is what kind of investment are you looking to make? Many people purchased a few names here and there in hopes of selling them down the road. Are you trying to actively buy and quickly sell?

Is it possible? Yes. How long will it take you to get to the bigger leagues? Probable a while.....

Justin

Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping to manually register some 'ok' domains that will fetch maybe 2 fold of what I paid. I'm not really interested in getting into the bigger leagues. More so, just earning a bit of an income to put into developing sites.

thanks again.

 

[HcDomains]

I also tried the same... But most of my new reg. domains don't get any offer and I decide to let it gone after one year.

Main sales / profit for me come from the domains I pick from drop domains

 

[Coastalguy]

I've been buying/selling domain names for several years now. I've yet to reach the "big leagues". I'm content selling mostly hand regs for small profits (quantity not necessarily quality). That's not to say that I wouldn't want to be a member of the "big leagues" but I believe that you need money to make money (for the most part).

Good-luck in your endeavors,
ST

 

[Spade]

I believe that you need money to make money (for the most part).
ST

Truer words have never been spoken!

 

[randomo]

I've been registering and drop-catching many low-budget domains for the past year-and-a-half. My hope was to have a part-time way to make decent money from home, and it's just starting to provide a reasonable profit now (I've sold about 2,000 domains in that time).

Two pieces of advice for Philleh:

1. As someone else said or implied, doing this is a good way to learn the industry and to work your way toward bigger and better things.

2. Do NOT register names that "will fetch maybe 2 fold of what I paid". This is a money-losing proposition, as not all of them will sell. There are a ton of decent names available, so if I don't feel I can realistically list one for at least 5 times its cost, I don't register it.

Good luck,
Dave

 

[Philleh]

Thanks for the advice. I'm currently 'looking for inspiration' of what domains to register.
Guess I could take a look at some dropped domains.

 

[DomainMayhem.com]

I wanted to add that you should be picky about the names you get, at least to some extent. Don't think that you have to buy a bunch of names just so that you have a decent-sized portfolio. Concentrate on hot areas (and you'll learn these areas by doing your homework and reading this forum, as well as dnjournal, blogs by other domainers, etc.). Right now I am concentrating on domain names that are short, some geos, cvcv names that are catchy and brandable, dictionary one-worders, financial terms, etc. as these types of names will most likely bring me a pretty good profit when I'm ready to sell.

Someone pointed out on this forum (actually a few someones) that it is vital to see trends (not fluke sales-look for names showing a definite increase of interest in a certain area), and find a way to get in on it. Also pay attention to the increasing profitability of the different extensions, monitor changing regulations that may make certain ones more mainstream (so you can get in as early as possible). And try to make sure that your names make sense with the extension (if not a generic keyword). Keep those things in mind, and I think you'll be off to a running start.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

Always buy quality over quantity. Those renewal fees can eat you alive.

 

[godolphin]

I would like to add:
1. Do look out for possible TM issues if any with the name you are registering.
2. Check the blacklist status if it was dropped.
3. Look at DNsaleprice.com for comparative keyword domain sales as also Namebio.com
4. Actively market your names at Forums, list them at Sedo etc.
5. Send your names to industry auctions like: Moniker's T.R.A.F.F.I.C etc.
6. Register names with reputed registrars like Moniker etc. and ask for domainers pricing/ bulk pricing.
7. Keep the domains as short as possible and meaningful too.
8. Start with .com domains as the aftermarket is big. In case you find other extensions stick with the premium names only.
9. Post your doubts in threads at NP.

 

[Domainate.com]

Hey, do you guys think it's viable to 'domain' with a low budget? So basically registering domains and trying to sell them? Or buying other ones cheap and reselling? From what I've seen the real profit is buying short domains, then reselling months/years later.

Could it be viable to start low and work your way up?

thanks

When you're starting out, if you don't have much of a budget, use your time in place of the money you don't have. It's easier to buy just a few high priced names and sit on them as an investment since you're only paying reg fees on a few names, but when you're registering names to resell, you not only have to worry about recurring reg fees if you don't sell within a year, but you also have to work harder to sell them vs. higher end names where people often come to you looking to buy them. Use your time to do as much research and looking up of names as you can and get only the very best so that your portfolio isn't hit-and-miss. Expect to spend maybe 3-5 hours a day at least, though if you like domaining like the rest of us, it will not seem like much and you'll wish you had more time in the day. After enough experience, the time you spend to research will dwindle and disappear as you will have wisdom from the experience, plus hopefully you'll have done well enough on sales that you can start flipping higher-end names or dropcatching traffic names or something.

I started out low with the principles I outlined above and now have a condo and a steady domain income to show for it even though I didn't make a single sale in my first 9 months. You CAN succeed starting low, but like anything else, it takes hard work. It's better to act as if nothing comes easy, so that if you manage to be lucky, it's icing on the cake vs. something you need.

 

[-REECE-]

When you're starting out, if you don't have much of a budget, use your time in place of the money you don't have. It's easier to buy just a few high priced names and sit on them as an investment since you're only paying reg fees on a few names, but when you're registering names to resell, you not only have to worry about recurring reg fees if you don't sell within a year, but you also have to work harder to sell them vs. higher end names where people often come to you looking to buy them. Use your time to do as much research and looking up of names as you can and get only the very best so that your portfolio isn't hit-and-miss. After enough experience, the time you spend to research will dwindle and disappear as you will have wisdom from the experience.

I started out low and now have a condo and a steady domain income to show for it. You CAN succeed starting low, but like anything else, it takes hard work. It's better to act as if nothing comes easy, so that if you manage to be lucky, it's icing on the cake vs. something you need.

Excellent advice. It's a much better idea to pick up an extra 5-10 hours on the job (or a second job) than to try starting with a XXX investment. I really wouldn't recommend anyone get into domaining seriously with less than $5k, although I know that many of you have had great success coming in with less... It's so much easier if you come in with a sizeable amount. Not exactly an enjoyable experience when you have to go around seriously low balling everyone because your budget is one tenth the going rate... The more you have, the more competitive your prices can be, while still having a healthy profit margin for yourself. And, even as a .mobi investor, I wouldn't recommend you go near there (or any new extension for that matter) with a pole if you have a very small amount of money to invest. Stick with .com until you a better grasp on the industry as a whole.