Ready to Quit!

[Broker]

Have'nt been able to sell a domain in months and I'm getting very frustrated. Have sent out hundreds of emails to potential endusers and not one reply of interest. Meanwhile tons of very odd domains are being sold everyday for thousands. This business is not treating me well at all. I just dont know what gives or what I'm doing wrong. :yell:

 

[DnEbook]

me , well some of my names are long term bets , 3dtvs.tv , robohire.com hirerobot.com , bothire.com hirebots.com , solarhire.com online3dtv.com , i have accepted this will be long term for me ....... so i guess i can say sometimes it takes time ...... but yes it is amazing how much gets sold , but no one grabs yours , i think luck has a bit to do with it and also name choice of course ........ i do not wish to tell you how much wasted money i have put into domain names ... but i still have faith. Because i still think this is a great way to invest , i truely wish you well , maybe buy a good quality aftermarket domain name ????? to restore your faith

 

[dannbkk]

Jot down a list of all the people that have bought from you before and offer them the option of buying from you again, you have already the relationship there. Ask them what their needs and wants are? perhaps if you don't have something they want you could find it for them!

 

[Albert]

I had been domaining for like 4 years plus. First 1 and 2 years I bought like 20+ domains and some sold for low $xx I think I got fed up and left namepros for like nearly a year then I am back here last year end and continue my domaining path. All i can say is that I make no profit in domaining but I treat them more as a hobby then a business. Nobody around me (friends, parents, buddies) understand about domains.

All I can say is love the domains treat them like your puppy and one day they will grow up and become DOG. That's the time to make a sales.

 

[estibot.com]

What a great thread, fine posts & valuable advice from the experts. I have also all but stopped registering new names, because I've found it's much better to have a trimmed portfolio of domains that are obviously good ones than to waste hundreds if not thousands each year renewing / registering second-rate names, or purely speculative names. Say, keep a portfolio of about 50 speculative names such as marsrealestate.com , just to indulge, that'll only cost you about $500 per year to renew and who knows....

But I've found that purchasing generics and LLL/LLLL domains is a more surefire way to make some sales and keep things profitable.

It's all about interest. I bet if you post your domains for sale here you won't get more than reg fee for most of them.

If someone is interested in your domain, then he may be willing to pay grands for it even though others won't pay you $10 for it!

I also second this. Selling surplus names here for $xx is good for trimming the portfolio, but it's worth waiting for that motivated buyer for your better names.

That's why appraising is hard, too. MarsRealEstate.com would be worth low $xx in the reseller market, but if someone actually decided to set up a mars colony and sell the condos, they would pay $xx,xxx for it.

There are always long periods of time with no offers, unless you've got one hell of a portfolio. Then you may get several offers within a week.

That's when it might just be the time to move the goods, if it's a domain that has never before received an offer, consider selling for a very reasonable price, it might be the last offer you'll ever get for that domain. Use that money to buy a generic/LLL/CVCV.com and so forth.

One thing I think is not given enough attention on this forum, is profit per hour of work done. A lot of folks are spending many hours each day (or night) researching and registering domains, yet only make a modest sale every once in a great while. If you only make a $1k sale once a year and spend 1,000 hours domaining, that's a lousy salary by any standards. That time would be better spent with the family, outdoors, or working toward a promotion in your day job.

...or possibly developing. Development is good because once you get the site going, it will keep producing some income, which will accumulate over the years and eventually the cumulative income will have justified the long hours you've put in the project.

Also, don't forget ccTLD's. I have invested mostly in those in the past year, and they are surely the dotcoms of tomorrow. My best parking revenue and income from developed minisites are all from generic ccTLD's. Also, in many ccTLD's, true generics are still available for registration, but not for long!

Good luck!
Josh

 

[gazzip]

But really could use low xx,xxx

Rob...I know the feeling mate ! despite getting $500, 800, 1000 intial offers on some of my names over the year its been ages since my last decent low to mid x,xxx sale.

Its hard going if you don't have a decent budget to play with even though there are some fantastic success stories of people starting out with nothing, Sashas and Giode are two very fine examples of that here at NamePros :tu:

....


Luck is most definetly a factor to a certain extent, eg: the other day I would have bought D u b a i Y a c h t s _c*m for less than $300 if the luvely Mr FS (C a y m a n s) was'nt in the bidding ! the same thin happened for
D u b a i C r u i s e . c * m

(one of my domaining idols just kicked my poor cheap ass once again :lol: )

However, I am VERY happy with some of the names I have managed to get this year in the drops considering the stiff competition :tu:


All I can suggest to you is

Aim in the $500 to $4000 max if you're trying to sell a brand new hand reg in the first year or two to an end user. (unless it is FANTASTIC)

Most weeks on DNJournal this is the most common price range of sales.

eg: DubaiPrivateIslands_c*m is nice but I would'nt say it was fantastic and it is very new. 10k starting price is too high unless you are willing to hold it for a number of years JMHO (listed on BuyDomains)

Overpricing? Take a look at how your pricing things maybe thats your problem.

Stick to .coms

eg: dubairealestate_c*m has had 36 offers (just on sedo) most of which were made in the last year.

My (2003) Dubairealestate_n*t has had 3 lowball xx offers in 2 years !


STICK to a managable limit, renewals can really eat a REALLY BIG hole in your profits (and time) - I cringe when I see how many domains some people have, great if they're selling often or are paying their reg fees each year which I suspect the vast majority don't.

...the....maybe the next name I buy will pay for all the others approach is VERY DANGEROUS IMO

I currently own around 250 and its far too much - serious trimming down is on the cards for me as I can't afford to hold them all !


If you have nice usuable names that are earning over their reg fee each month hold out for an enduser sale - don't sell based on a multiple of.

Rob, why don't you trade some of your domains in for some more liquid names? Get some good LLLL.coms, LLL.net, LLL.info names. Good quality LLLL.coms are appreciating in value and you can make an easy 25% on investment in 3 months time. Liquid names are much better than brandable or keyword names in that they don't require much time or effort to sell; you always have ready buyers here at the forums

This would appear to be one of the most immediate & lucrative areas....end user sales a far and few between, GREAT when they do happen but it requires a HUGE amount of faith and patience IMO


All in all, be patient - don't give up, just change tact if you feel things are not working out as you would like, as they say "there's always more than one way to skin a cat"


Best of Luck...keep the faith !



Disclaimer - No Animals where hurt or harmed in any way

.

 

[Jasonn]

This game can be very frustrating. I find myself banging my head against the wall daily. Its not so much that i can't sell domains because i am not really trying to but that i can't find good domains to buy. Then i see noobs like sashas cleaning up making good sales and finding good domains and it drives me nuts. Everyone i talk to seems to want 100,000 for their domains. It sucks. Also not having much luck selling to end users when i try. Who even knows if i am contacting the right person in charge or not. One big sale or one good deal buy would be so nice right now to put me in a better place mentally about the whole biz.

 

[-REECE-]

One thing I don't believe in when it comes to domaining is success by luck. Maybe a single nice sale, yes. But I believe "The harder I work, the luckier I get" pretty much sums this up. Sashas has worked very hard over the last few months to soak up as much info as many people here have learnt in years. More than anything, I see domainers crushed by unrealistic expectations. If you could consistently flip names for 20% profits each month, you could turn a 10k investment into $2 million in less than 3 years... It's not about making huge profits, it's about making consistent profits, month after month.

This game can be very frustrating. I find myself banging my head against the wall daily. Its not so much that i can't sell domains because i am not really trying to but that i can't find good domains to buy. Then i see noobs like sashas cleaning up making good sales and finding good domains and it drives me nuts. Everyone i talk to seems to want 100,000 for their domains. It sucks. Also not having much luck selling to end users when i try. Who even knows if i am contacting the right person in charge or not. One big sale or one good deal buy would be so nice right now to put me in a better place mentally about the whole biz.

 

[fatter]

I guess I would have to disagree with just about every poster, If i were you i would rethink my business plan, I only looked at some of your posts of names for sale and it looks like you might be top heavy with brandable generics that probably dont get a lot of traffic or income (some look real good too)this puts a load on you financially. Being patient like everyone says may end up costinga pretty penny. I rarely reg domainer names, first domainers are the cheapest bunch of endusers there are, I include myself in this evaluation. most domainers are just as good when it comes to making up brandable names to use in a website. while I didnt want to i let some good names expire years ago that I know i could have sold for a good price today, but the problem is I had so many names I had to thin my portfolio, now i keep names that make over reg fee, my spec names based on future health plans congress is debating, and future generic tech names.
and I limit myself on generic brandables to keep costs down. I am not only in the black but make a decent profit every year. I have never bought a domain only reg them. One of the problems with brandable generics is there are thousands of domainers entering the domain market and regging a ton of made up names. Just as an example i randomly selected bluegoat redgoat greengoat all regged in several extensions
having a ton of made ups for sale brings down the price as its all domainers competing for the sales and some are just happy to sell for 25 dollars. I know you have been at this for a while and have your own strategies I am just relaying what has worked for me. My main business strategy is to reg names with traffic even if only a couple views a week and continue to increase my portfolio and income. as a side note i dont participate in drops or backorders either
Before taking any of my advice weight it carefully like i said i have lost a few really good sales because of names i let drop I would hate for that to happen to you
good luck
Joe
Rob out of curiousity about how many names do you carry?

 

[Pound]

LOL, I'd be a happy with a mid xx sale right now But really could use low xx,xxx

OutLawbiker, my portfolio is listed everywhere just about and you can see it at domainersbusiness.com in my sig.

I dont have too many great names but do have a few I'm glad I own. Eventually I know they will sell for some decent profit. Right now though is pretty tough not getting any replies to my emails and I've sent out hundreds as I mentioned.

Thanks for all the replies!

You should be happy with the fact that you are one of the few that hasn't been kicked off Bodis!

 

[TheBaldOne]

Rob, most of us have periods like you are unfortunately having at the moment, I know I certainly have. But just take a minute and think about the world class athletes out there who have periods when they just cannot get it together, authors who have writers block, etc., the only thing you can do is just acknowledge that from this point on it can only get better and keep trying.

You have succeeded in the past, now is just a quiet time for you, but make use of this time to fine tune your strategies and portfolio. What would be a real waste is if you did not take advantage of the moment to better prepare yourself for tomorrow and all the days afterwards. You are obviously no quitter, you wouldn't have lasted 6 months in this business if you were, so like the world class athlete keep going, you might not win todays race, but who knows about tomorrows race............

 

[Spade]

Domaining often involves what I consider waves and patterns. These are ususally due to just random dumb luck and sometimes extra effort and skills. Ive found that when I hit a downtime - I look for a different strategy. I move my efforts to an untapped market or try something completely new and different.

Domaining isnt easy, and requires a complete understanding of the market and the industry. It requires connections and smart strategy. Be Patient - but at the same time be smart. Dont sit around waiting for a sale. Yofie recommended making phone calls - Those are about 10x more likely to net a sale and its good advise.

Dont quit - just change your strategy.

Justin

 

[Jasonn]

One thing I don't believe in when it comes to domaining is success by luck. Maybe a single nice sale, yes. But I believe "The harder I work, the luckier I get" pretty much sums this up. Sashas has worked very hard over the last few months to soak up as much info as many people here have learnt in years. More than anything, I see domainers crushed by unrealistic expectations. If you could consistently flip names for 20% profits each month, you could turn a 10k investment into $2 million in less than 3 years... It's not about making huge profits, it's about making consistent profits, month after month.

I think i work pretty hard. I spend at least 12 hours a day doing this. It might not be luck but maybe just a numbers game that people like sashas or giode are able to find some poor sucker who has no idea of domain prices. For me, like i said its not even about selling names. I'm not really interested in selling any right now beside the odd few that i have no use for. I just want to find some deals and not feel like i am wasting 12 hours a day researching domains.

 

[Web Master]

Hi HasRob,

I feel the pains that you have. Domaining is going down now. Domain offers are much much much more than domain needs in the market. What can you do for domaining, if you don't own high-rate domains?

I know domaining will boom in the future, but that's a long time to wait. I think many domaining guys cannot wait so long. Time is pressing as living is pressing. Quitting domaining is wise, if you'll choose a stable/growing-income business.

Best luck!

David

 

[geb9696]

This thread really got me to thinking about domaing ang my approach. Along with this thread the Start Over Challenge thread that I started has made me completely rethink what I am doing in the domaining business. Whatever poster above said that people he should track hours spend looking for names is completely true. It was not that I forced myself to see how much I could make in a week starting with nothing did I realize how inefficent it is to look through drop lists and try to find reg fee names. I have found for me the best way to make money online is to develop my names. So for me I really have no need to hold more then 10 names. It is because of this I have decided to trim down my portfolio.

 

[Giode]

It might not be luck but maybe just a numbers game that people like sashas or giode are able to find some poor sucker who has no idea of domain prices.

In a way, I resent your statement above. Like Reece said earlier, luck is a byproduct of work. Very hard work. Some people will never understand this. I can tell you one thing, pessimism will never change your situation.

I understand you're frustration though. I got into this domaining stuff in February of this year, and quickly realized how late I was. I was frustrated often, but it made me hungrier and work harder. Truthfully, when I started out I was spending 16 hours everyday learning all I could. I didn't post a lot, but I did read a lot. I started doing my own thinking, and tried new things.

One of the things I tried was catching names as they dropped, since back ordering wasn't working so well. I timed the .info drop down to the minute, and everyday would set an alarm to wake up at that exact time with my pre-drop list I prepared the night before. I usually got exactly what I was trying for on those .info drops (except the three letter .info's! I soon found that there were a couple members of this forum who were quicker than me and were snagging them all and comparing their catch on this forum). I then got a membership at Exody.com (I still have one) and learned a ton about the domain drop system works, plus picked up some of my best .info domains there. I would VERY highly recommend becoming a member of Dwayne Rowland's site. Amazingly it is still undiscovered by large.

Why does this matter? Because it made this business fun, and I was naturally able to progress to bigger and better things. For the first 3-4 months though, I saw obtaining premium .com's as unrealistic (That was, until I tried in May).

One thing is, I always made a note to stay away from anything negative relating to the domain biz, because I realized that negativity can hurt enthusiasm in a big way. You need to be enthusiastic if you want to succeed in anything. Things were no different for me then, than they are for you now (or anyone). It's all a matter of attitude and the level of determination you have. Joe Girard, Guinness World Record holder for the most sold used cars, said that he would avoid most of the other car salesmen he worked with because they were always so negative. It drained him and effected his performance. He noted that they always made excuses for failing, but never blamed themselves for underachieving. Because of this, their situation never changed and Joe always sold rings around them.

Regarding your comment on my, or Sashas, low-balling owners of generic domains. That's a cop out! I think you would be shocked if you knew the prices I paid for the names in my signature. They were not low-ball offers. Frankly, I am put off by low-ballers like the next guy. When I bought Cushion.com for 10k, forum appraisals put the name's value at 10k-20k max. I did the leg work that led to a 75k sale. When I bought Copies.com for 35k, one member of this forum in fact, posted that he thought I OVER paid. It was an opinion that I respected, but fortunately was able to sell it for 90k. Were those low-ball offers? I don't think they were at all. The same for Sashas. I know some of the prices he paid and can tell you that they were not low-balls either.

The best thing for you would be to stop looking at the success others are having, and go out create your own success. If you are truly determined to succeed in this business, no one should need to baby step you on how to do it. There is so much information out there, that you couldn't possibly need more.

 

[Dotmainer]

....
The best thing for you would be to stop looking at the success others are having, and go out create your own success.
...

:bingo:

 

[mwzd]

I'm going to have to say that luck is everything. But you'll never have any luck unless you work smart. So all those people giving advice about this are correct.

When I started I spent a large amount of time just reading. I did have an inherent advantage in that people approach me all the time for branding new companies. And not all of them are 'domain smart' and hence are willing to buy brandables for $x,xxx.

I don't have too many keyword heavy .coms, but have concentrated on acquiring and marketing .ins and have reasonable success in that so far.

Though about 6 sales have been blind luck and those account for a large percentage of the money I put into domains, these were approaches via Bodis or Email, some completed through escrow, some through local contacts, some through wire. All good.

I have received a ton of offers that went nowhere too. Not to mention a few offers to buy my domains for millions if I spent $150 on an appraisal...

From a marketing perspective, your domains are only as valuable as you make them out to be. A standard script might make it easy to list your domains, but unless you showcase them correctly, its not going to have much value. The best product at a street side stall might not entice the buyer to buy, but showcased properly with a little spotlight and nice ambience in a decent store will definitely attract attention and hence sales.

We also provide a dossier for higher sales for the domains on offer, these dossiers include stuff like ovt, valuation and usage parameters.

 

[networkmsia]

Hey hey Derek,

thanks for sharing here once again.

I agree, WE ALL NEED TO THINK POSITIVE.

 

[tpruby]

Only spend what you can afford to lose. Really, would you re-mortgage your home to access cash to invest in a speculative Gold stock?

I see domaining the same way, just as speculative, just as risky. High risk, high reward.

 

[Jasonn]

In a way, I resent your statement above. Like Reece said earlier, luck is a byproduct of work. Very hard work. Some people will never understand this. I can tell you one thing, pessimism will never change your situation.

I understand you're frustration though. I got into this domaining stuff in February of this year, and quickly realized how late I was. I was frustrated often, but it made me hungrier and work harder. Truthfully, when I started out I was spending 16 hours everyday learning all I could. I didn't post a lot, but I did read a lot. I started doing my own thinking, and tried new things.

One of the things I tried was catching names as they dropped, since back ordering wasn't working so well. I timed the .info drop down to the minute, and everyday would set an alarm to wake up at that exact time with my pre-drop list I prepared the night before. I usually got exactly what I was trying for on those .info drops (except the three letter .info's! I soon found that there were a couple members of this forum who were quicker than me and were snagging them all and comparing their catch on this forum). I then got a membership at Exody.com (I still have one) and learned a ton about the domain drop system works, plus picked up some of my best .info domains there. I would VERY highly recommend becoming a member of Dwayne Rowland's site. Amazingly it is still undiscovered by large.

Why does this matter? Because it made this business fun, and I was naturally able to progress to bigger and better things. For the first 3-4 months though, I saw obtaining premium .com's as unrealistic (That was, until I tried in May).

One thing is, I always made a note to stay away from anything negative relating to the domain biz, because I realized that negativity can hurt enthusiasm in a big way. You need to be enthusiastic if you want to succeed in anything. Things were no different for me then, than they are for you now (or anyone). It's all a matter of attitude and the level of determination you have. Joe Girard, Guinness World Record holder for the most sold used cars, said that he would avoid most of the other car salesmen he worked with because they were always so negative. It drained him and effected his performance. He noted that they always made excuses for failing, but never blamed themselves for underachieving. Because of this, their situation never changed and Joe always sold rings around them.

Regarding your comment on my, or Sashas, low-balling owners of generic domains. That's a cop out! I think you would be shocked if you knew the prices I paid for the names in my signature. They were not low-ball offers. Frankly, I am put off by low-ballers like the next guy. When I bought Cushion.com for 10k, forum appraisals put the name's value at 10k-20k max. I did the leg work that led to a 75k sale. When I bought Copies.com for 35k, one member of this forum in fact, posted that he thought I OVER paid. It was an opinion that I respected, but fortunately was able to sell it for 90k. Were those low-ball offers? I don't think they were at all. The same for Sashas. I know some of the prices he paid and can tell you that they were not low-balls either.

The best thing for you would be to stop looking at the success others are having, and go out create your own success. If you are truly determined to succeed in this business, no one should need to baby step you on how to do it. There is so much information out there, that you couldn't possibly need more.

I'm not asking for help. Money is the main thing holding people back from success in this business. I don't have 35k to spend a domain. And i think 35k is nothing for a domain like copies. You would never be able to find a deal like that on the aftermarket. Had you not achieved that first sale you would not of achieved any others because you wouldn't have any way to fund your purchases. Where do you think you would be had you just been unable to sell B6?