- Impact
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2021 has been an wild ride for me. I started good, then slowed down (a lot). But after some recent changes described below, now my sales have taken off like a tsunami.
There are reasons behind this latest stream of sales and it's not just random.
For example I'm having a stream of 4-fig sales (I haven't reported all of them here BTW) but also a stream of xxx range .co sales that at least certain members here might want to learn about.
( Note, I mentioned about this a couple times in the sales thread, but I was awaiting more confirmation. I have gotten a ton of confirmation since. It's not just by chance. In fact, it has all to do with increasing my prices (!) ).
Now, here are my observations.
Note, it will not be the same for everyone else; but if you see similar patterns, my findings below might help boost your sales.
1) There is a sharp decline in low xxx range sales
At least for me. In the past I used to recommend $199 as a very good sales point. I've also had a lot of success with $75 as well and cleared a ton at this price point. I was also getting a ton of $100 offers whenever I offered that via Dan, Afternic or any other lander.
But in 2021? Not so much.
( Edit: I no longer recommend the $199 and $75 price points anymore, which other members have had success with in the past year(s). Changes seem too deep.)
In fact I sold so few of these low priced ones that I'm going to call that a ZERO result. I had almost no sales at the $199 price level in sharp comparison with the past when these made bread and butter.
Notably I also got NO $100 offers anymore. None.
( What the heck is that. Makes one scratch head. )
Theories on the above:
a) Could be the fact that my quality of acquired / registered domains has increased significantly? I find that pretty hard to believe, but it's a possibility.
b) Could be the lack of buying power of market level users (those below $300)? Maybe they are pushed down to a level where they don't pay $100 or $75 anymore. Again hard to tell.
c) Or, perhaps, marketplaces like Afternic for example don't promote well anymore domains with such low price through their network? I can't tell exactly this too, but it is indeed possible.
All I can tell is that something changed sharply in 2021 and it's not like I did something to create such a wild change.
Thing is, weirdly enough, on Dan for example or any other lander I used (not with a sales network behind) I also haven't gotten any of these low offers / low priced sales anymore. This proves to me that actually there's something at play, something in the market. Something I have yet to discover.
Now read this interesting point below.
2) I'm having a ton of sales by pricing everything clearance range, at $299. Not more, not less.
( Edit: I had some .COM portfolio listed on NP but nobody would pay more than $200 for it. I've removed the post, and since then sold 3 domains for $299 in days, through the methods listed here and have still a month to clear more. This is why I'm no longer going to clear anything anymore on NP. Few saw the value in my names... )
In January or so I had a stream of $299 .co sales. Then I made some price increases, but most decreased to $199, tested $250 and other points. Since then, I had like no .co sales whatsoever. But I didn't connect the dots then.
Note, the same domains at same prices did not sell at all in 2020. Weird.
Well right now I moved everything clearance range to $299 and they started selling fast. like 80-90% of them have an increased price as I was trying to clear everything before renewal which is end of this year, well, I was basically killing the whole thing by pricing too low.
Not only that, but all other TLDS who did not sell at all during 2021, have started selling great at $299. All off the sudden. Including .net, .org, .xyz are now selling on all marketplaces at this price point.
So I'm no longer selling ANY domain under $299. Though i plan to test a bit of them at $399 and above and see what happens.
But why $299 is such a hot price level? That I can explain.
First off, it's not $300 so psychologically it makes more sense. (the .99 thing)
Secondly, it's exactly at the top level of the market price range. This is important.
What is the market price range (if you don't know)? The $100-$300 range. This is the price range into which most individuals and self-employed, people with less income etc. will buy a domain in. Above that, it's too pricey for these buyers so then only businesses with at least some buying power will usually start purchasing. (1K-2K range for example)
Third, it's yet again about psychology (important). The price seems high for many users, but not too high so it's out of reach. It also might seem low to other users who see worst domains at $500 or $750, but not so low that it actually conveys lack of value.
So make sure you really test out the $299 price point.
Notably, this $299 price works best on other TLD's than .com. It still works for me on .com's too, but less efficient. Which makes me think i should experiment with higher pricing for my .com non-renewals/clearances, because it makes me think that a $299 price for a .com might still be... psychologically too cheap. And therefore appear not valuable enough to the buyer.
3). I've doubled or tripled my prices overall in 2021, especially on .coms. Result? They started to sell like never before.
I used to have a lot of $500, $750 or so. Now everything pretty much starts at 1.5K, 2K and above. The weird thing is, the higher I price them the faster they sell. It's almost as it makes complete opposite sense of what a discount should bring. So I still plan to increase prices further. Cool, huh?
So what causes this?
Again I believe it's psychology.
I used to price my domains low/too low. But if you search for similar domains on any marketplace, under that same price range, you will see lower quality domains (I saw that with mine). So they simply were in a pile of other stuff, and a buyer might say "okay, anything under 1k seems to be crap" so they move above that and your domain no longer appears in their higher priced search.
It might also be demand related.
I sense the demand for quality names for businesses has skyrocketed (those valued above $1.5...$2k) so put your non-discounted prices where the eyeballs with $ are.
Morale of all this story?
Don't sell yourself too cheap. You might be losing much, much more than you think.
4) Another thing I combined to obtain this result is FIXED PRICING. Which I really recommend. At least for a test.
All my domains under 3K inclusive don't longer have a min offer anymore. Min offer is the same as buy now. So this prompts instant decision, either buy it or go away. Gives user no more time to think and move back and forth.
Think this would reduce sales, by not having a min offer?
Think again. Nope. The contrary. I've learned that price is quite flexible, if you set it in the right range at least. And the above fixed price trick does (at least in my case) increase conversions a lot. A lot lot. Probably more than double them, at least by my own experience. (test yours.)
Also I get best results currently by pointing my landers at Afternic, despite that 20% commission. I end up with most $ after fees. (note: Here is an example of Afternic BIN lander via redirect.
I'm not sure why - but I don't think it's the lander. I bet it's the phone there.
Edit: Many experienced sellers here say that landers aren't really that important. I agree, but
Ns5/ns6 landers are good too but I get some infrequent errors on those currently so I kept them on Afternic for the moment.
Overall I think that phone number works. But make your tests too, as everyone's portfolio is different.
5) I've changed all my pricing on SEDO from BIN to make offer and made my min offer equal to the BIN. So basically increased all prices even further.
Since then, Sedo sales started rolling great and today I'm awaiting yet another 4-fig, already accepted to be paid. I'm also selling domains i had at 3-fig BIN, via 4-fig min offers on Sedo. not just .coms but also .orgs for example.
Why does this happen? Again I think it's not selling too cheap - but I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
Profit note: What the above changed meant for me:
In the last 30 days I've made 400% ROI over all domains and I've basically paid more than half my year in renewals already, so I could spend an extra 5k in new buys with no sweat, on top of the usual 5k monthly. I'm also on track to 6-fig profit this year, and higher 6-fig numbers profits next year. Which I will post about when the time comes. May your sales go great too or even better than this.
In short, it changed everything.
Thanks for reading!
(edited for clarity)
There are reasons behind this latest stream of sales and it's not just random.
For example I'm having a stream of 4-fig sales (I haven't reported all of them here BTW) but also a stream of xxx range .co sales that at least certain members here might want to learn about.
( Note, I mentioned about this a couple times in the sales thread, but I was awaiting more confirmation. I have gotten a ton of confirmation since. It's not just by chance. In fact, it has all to do with increasing my prices (!) ).
Now, here are my observations.
Note, it will not be the same for everyone else; but if you see similar patterns, my findings below might help boost your sales.
1) There is a sharp decline in low xxx range sales
At least for me. In the past I used to recommend $199 as a very good sales point. I've also had a lot of success with $75 as well and cleared a ton at this price point. I was also getting a ton of $100 offers whenever I offered that via Dan, Afternic or any other lander.
But in 2021? Not so much.
( Edit: I no longer recommend the $199 and $75 price points anymore, which other members have had success with in the past year(s). Changes seem too deep.)
In fact I sold so few of these low priced ones that I'm going to call that a ZERO result. I had almost no sales at the $199 price level in sharp comparison with the past when these made bread and butter.
Notably I also got NO $100 offers anymore. None.
( What the heck is that. Makes one scratch head. )
Theories on the above:
a) Could be the fact that my quality of acquired / registered domains has increased significantly? I find that pretty hard to believe, but it's a possibility.
b) Could be the lack of buying power of market level users (those below $300)? Maybe they are pushed down to a level where they don't pay $100 or $75 anymore. Again hard to tell.
c) Or, perhaps, marketplaces like Afternic for example don't promote well anymore domains with such low price through their network? I can't tell exactly this too, but it is indeed possible.
All I can tell is that something changed sharply in 2021 and it's not like I did something to create such a wild change.
Thing is, weirdly enough, on Dan for example or any other lander I used (not with a sales network behind) I also haven't gotten any of these low offers / low priced sales anymore. This proves to me that actually there's something at play, something in the market. Something I have yet to discover.
Now read this interesting point below.
2) I'm having a ton of sales by pricing everything clearance range, at $299. Not more, not less.
( Edit: I had some .COM portfolio listed on NP but nobody would pay more than $200 for it. I've removed the post, and since then sold 3 domains for $299 in days, through the methods listed here and have still a month to clear more. This is why I'm no longer going to clear anything anymore on NP. Few saw the value in my names... )
In January or so I had a stream of $299 .co sales. Then I made some price increases, but most decreased to $199, tested $250 and other points. Since then, I had like no .co sales whatsoever. But I didn't connect the dots then.
Note, the same domains at same prices did not sell at all in 2020. Weird.
Well right now I moved everything clearance range to $299 and they started selling fast. like 80-90% of them have an increased price as I was trying to clear everything before renewal which is end of this year, well, I was basically killing the whole thing by pricing too low.
Not only that, but all other TLDS who did not sell at all during 2021, have started selling great at $299. All off the sudden. Including .net, .org, .xyz are now selling on all marketplaces at this price point.
So I'm no longer selling ANY domain under $299. Though i plan to test a bit of them at $399 and above and see what happens.
But why $299 is such a hot price level? That I can explain.
First off, it's not $300 so psychologically it makes more sense. (the .99 thing)
Secondly, it's exactly at the top level of the market price range. This is important.
What is the market price range (if you don't know)? The $100-$300 range. This is the price range into which most individuals and self-employed, people with less income etc. will buy a domain in. Above that, it's too pricey for these buyers so then only businesses with at least some buying power will usually start purchasing. (1K-2K range for example)
Third, it's yet again about psychology (important). The price seems high for many users, but not too high so it's out of reach. It also might seem low to other users who see worst domains at $500 or $750, but not so low that it actually conveys lack of value.
So make sure you really test out the $299 price point.
Notably, this $299 price works best on other TLD's than .com. It still works for me on .com's too, but less efficient. Which makes me think i should experiment with higher pricing for my .com non-renewals/clearances, because it makes me think that a $299 price for a .com might still be... psychologically too cheap. And therefore appear not valuable enough to the buyer.
3). I've doubled or tripled my prices overall in 2021, especially on .coms. Result? They started to sell like never before.
I used to have a lot of $500, $750 or so. Now everything pretty much starts at 1.5K, 2K and above. The weird thing is, the higher I price them the faster they sell. It's almost as it makes complete opposite sense of what a discount should bring. So I still plan to increase prices further. Cool, huh?
So what causes this?
Again I believe it's psychology.
I used to price my domains low/too low. But if you search for similar domains on any marketplace, under that same price range, you will see lower quality domains (I saw that with mine). So they simply were in a pile of other stuff, and a buyer might say "okay, anything under 1k seems to be crap" so they move above that and your domain no longer appears in their higher priced search.
It might also be demand related.
I sense the demand for quality names for businesses has skyrocketed (those valued above $1.5...$2k) so put your non-discounted prices where the eyeballs with $ are.
Morale of all this story?
Don't sell yourself too cheap. You might be losing much, much more than you think.
4) Another thing I combined to obtain this result is FIXED PRICING. Which I really recommend. At least for a test.
All my domains under 3K inclusive don't longer have a min offer anymore. Min offer is the same as buy now. So this prompts instant decision, either buy it or go away. Gives user no more time to think and move back and forth.
Think this would reduce sales, by not having a min offer?
Think again. Nope. The contrary. I've learned that price is quite flexible, if you set it in the right range at least. And the above fixed price trick does (at least in my case) increase conversions a lot. A lot lot. Probably more than double them, at least by my own experience. (test yours.)
Also I get best results currently by pointing my landers at Afternic, despite that 20% commission. I end up with most $ after fees. (note: Here is an example of Afternic BIN lander via redirect.
I'm not sure why - but I don't think it's the lander. I bet it's the phone there.
Edit: Many experienced sellers here say that landers aren't really that important. I agree, but
Ns5/ns6 landers are good too but I get some infrequent errors on those currently so I kept them on Afternic for the moment.
Overall I think that phone number works. But make your tests too, as everyone's portfolio is different.
5) I've changed all my pricing on SEDO from BIN to make offer and made my min offer equal to the BIN. So basically increased all prices even further.
Since then, Sedo sales started rolling great and today I'm awaiting yet another 4-fig, already accepted to be paid. I'm also selling domains i had at 3-fig BIN, via 4-fig min offers on Sedo. not just .coms but also .orgs for example.
Why does this happen? Again I think it's not selling too cheap - but I'll let you draw your own conclusions.
Profit note: What the above changed meant for me:
In the last 30 days I've made 400% ROI over all domains and I've basically paid more than half my year in renewals already, so I could spend an extra 5k in new buys with no sweat, on top of the usual 5k monthly. I'm also on track to 6-fig profit this year, and higher 6-fig numbers profits next year. Which I will post about when the time comes. May your sales go great too or even better than this.
In short, it changed everything.
Thanks for reading!
(edited for clarity)
Last edited:
