What did you learn, from your first attempt at selling a domain?

[RockBros]

And if you could do it, all over again, what would you do differently?

 

[Addison]

Offers (and sales) can disappear just as quickly as they appear.

Don't count on a sale until the money is in your bank account.

Never buy a domain name because you think "at least one person will want to buy it."

Buy domains because you think hundreds or thousands of people will want to use it.

 

[Nikhil Jain]

That this really isn't easy money. This is real business. If I could start again, then I would stress more upon "RESEARCH".

 

[Sumeeth]

1) Don't build portfolio too much,,, later it will be difficult to focus on all domains and end up in expiring and not able to choose which domain to renew !
2) Don't be hurry in buying domains as soon as it strikes in your mind! Do good research!
3) Try to take your domain to end users, its up to their interest whether to buy it or not! In this way you are exposing your domains to real end users.
4) Try to price domain reasonable to end user otherwise ends up with lack of sale.

 

[.X.]

Start off slowly, not get caught up in domainer domain name fads, take my mentors advise literally.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Along with agreeing with the excellent points made by others about starting slowly, emphasizing quality, learning the ins and outs of the various marketplaces, and being prepared to do the work and research, I would add the following:
(a) Really learn to use NameBio fully - like names that start with or end with, or just on certain venues, or number of letter combinations, or categories, etc. Learn every last setting and use them!
(b) Always focus on who might want a name and how they would use it, and don't let your own views that a name is cool sway you. Actually make lists. A good domain investment is one that you can sell for more than you bought it for, period.
(c) Establish a personal brand as a domain investor. Someone should in one sentence be able to describe what makes your work in domaining a bit different from others. Be honest, open, polite and professional. Always.
(d) While looking at what has sold (see a!) also be creative and forward looking.
(e) Figure out how much domain investing risk you can handle and take that much, but not more!
(f) Be alert to domainer addiction. Don't spend all of your time looking for gems or discussing domain names on NPs. Keep balance in your life. Set limits on how many you will acquire or spend.
(g) Especially in early sales, don't be greedy. If you have a good ROI and an offer that is what you had hoped to get, don't try to squeeze out more and maybe lose the deal.
(h) Keep written records and grow. I don't just mean for the tax man, but that is important, but also so you can look back at what your thinking was in 6 months or 2 years. Keep a domain idea and decision diary.
(i) Be organized. Keep track of expiration dates, prices, where stuff is listed, etc. Don''t be the one that sells a domain and then leaves it up on another market. I suggest using spreadsheets for tracking things if not using a service like Efty.
(j) Use evidence and data and don't fall into (too many of) the traps in deceptive logic. Make a reasonable projection of acquisition, holding and selling costs, and likelihood of sale and price, to decide quantitatively if a domain name makes sense.
(k) Costs matter. Use tools like TLD-list (there are others) to find the best registration, transfer and renew cost. Also be alert to other costs like hosting to find the best balance of service and costs.
(k) Be positive and help others.

Have a nice day, everyone!

 

[gilescoley]

For me, this is THE most important thing in domaining, learn how to do this well and your sales will increase

Contact the right person at the company, the decision maker. It doesn't matter how good your name is or how prefect it is for the company, if you send it to someone who doesn't see the immediate value or doesn't bother forwarding the email to the correct person, it will end up the trash folder and the time and effort you have put in is wasted.

Check the company exec team on their website, Google, LinkedIn, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance etc and find someone who can make the call on whether to buy the name (ie Business Development Manager, Head of Marketing, General Counsel, CEO etc)

Using the WHOIS email often just gets someone who will delete the email and cant make the decision

I spent a lot of time in the beginning sending emails to the WHOIS email, receptionish, sales guy etc or used email from their website like [email protected], [email protected] and more often than not I never received a reply at all.

Hope that helps

 

[eined]

That a good keyword will sell in ANY extension. (My first 'real' sell was a .team!)

 

[UmerK]

The first attempt I made yielded results, the sale was at decent price and within 4 days of hand reg so what I learnt that day was that domains indeed work and the business is real if one knows what they are doing.

Something I learnt later on was asking questions, has worked great for me. If someone says not interested or no straight away, a well thought out reply asking why not? serves well. Has helped me learn how end users think and what not.

 

[Grayclouds]

To buy quality domains

 

[NickB]

for absolute newbies.....make sure you know how the selling process works where you have your names listed!!

My first sale was through Sedo, didn't have a clue how it worked and luckily Sedo helped a lot and it was fairly smooth

My second deal was a joke and took ages via Godaddy because I did not read through their procedures and was unsure on what I needed to do and Godaddy were not helpful - lot of time wasted on the phone and via email

Also don't waste time with the idiots who don't pay - recently happened a few times and I will not be losing any sleep over it. Once the payment deadline passes just let it go and move on!

Lessons learned

 

[Dogmains]

Buy domains because you think hundreds or thousands of people will want to use it.

THIS.

 

[RockBros]

Offers (and sales) can disappear just as quickly as they appear.

Don't count on a sale until the money is in your bank account.

Never buy a domain name because you think "at least one person will want to buy it."

Buy domains because you think hundreds or thousands of people will want to use it.

Thanks!
Seems like, some lessons learned and sound advice!

 

[NickB]

Thanks!
How would you recommend, newbies get to know how the selling process works, either where names are listed and/or through private sales?

As for idiots who don’t pay, I assume payment, typically needs to be received before domain is released, to said idiot...?

I Looked up the terms and conditions for Sedo, Godaddy, Flippa, Undeveloped and Afternic and read through them a few times and when an offer comes in do a little refresh on them

Payment is usually held by the marketplace until the name has changed hands then funds released - similair to an Escrow service.

 

[NickB]

Thanks!
How was idiot not paying, if payment is held by the marketplace until the name has changed hands?

They have to release the funds in the first place (which they didn't do)

 

[RockBros]

They have to release the funds in the first place (which they didn't do)

Thanks!
Exactly why I asked the questions. To help newbies, learn the process of selling, their domain(s) i.e. Who does what first. Any "Sticky" and/or thread(s), which expand upon the sales process, itself i.e. how and when money & domain(s) change hands, how to ensure secure transfer of funds & ownership, sales through marketplaces & brokers vs. landing pages & private sales, auction selling strategies, etc?

 

[polymorph]

What did you learn, from your first attempt at selling a domain?

That no matter how you present it, a low quality domain is a low quality domain.

Paying for a special listing won't sell a bad domain.
Designing a professional logo won't sell a bad domain.
Dropping your bad domains will save you time and money.

 

[soopasimon]

I got a domain years ago that I thought was a real good result.......

Then I learnt about trademarks, and that domaining is not all about getting recognisable brands.
The name? ipod.tv

I managed to offload it for a couple of hundred bucks but it was not the one to make me rich lol!

Domaining takes research and more knowledge than it looks. That is what I learned. Then I just continued with the day job, which is web programming.

What do I think now? Well I am no domainer so I'll just take a punt:

I think a domainer is not only about mind numbing stats, domain knowledge and in places a slice of luck.

It's mainly about creating dreams. Then forging that dream and attaching it to a name. The final skill is selling that dream onto others and closing it out. I think it's the ability to create and sell dreams that probably sets successful sellers apart.

But I do stand to be corrected!

 

[RockBros]

Along with agreeing with the excellent points made by others about starting slowly, emphasizing quality, learning the ins and outs of the various marketplaces, and being prepared to do the work and research, I would add the following:
(a) Really learn to use NameBio fully - like names that start with or end with, or just on certain venues, or number of letter combinations, or categories, etc. Learn every last setting and use them!
(b) Always focus on who might want a name and how they would use it, and don't let your own views that a name is cool sway you. Actually make lists. A good domain investment is one that you can sell for more than you bought it for, period.
(c) Establish a personal brand as a domain investor. Someone should in one sentence be able to describe what makes your work in domaining a bit different from others. Be honest, open, polite and professional. Always.
(d) While looking at what has sold (see a!) also be creative and forward looking.
(e) Figure out how much domain investing risk you can handle and take that much, but not more!
(f) Be alert to domainer addiction. Don't spend all of your time looking for gems or discussing domain names on NPs. Keep balance in your life. Set limits on how many you will acquire or spend.
(g) Especially in early sales, don't be greedy. If you have a good ROI and an offer that is what you had hoped to get, don't try to squeeze out more and maybe lose the deal.
(h) Keep written records and grow. I don't just mean for the tax man, but that is important, but also so you can look back at what your thinking was in 6 months or 2 years. Keep a domain idea and decision diary.
(i) Be organized. Keep track of expiration dates, prices, where stuff is listed, etc. Don''t be the one that sells a domain and then leaves it up on another market. I suggest using spreadsheets for tracking things if not using a service like Efty.
(j) Use evidence and data and don't fall into (too many of) the traps in deceptive logic. Make a reasonable projection of acquisition, holding and selling costs, and likelihood of sale and price, to decide quantitatively if a domain name makes sense.
(k) Costs matter. Use tools like TLD-list (there are others) to find the best registration, transfer and renew cost. Also be alert to other costs like hosting to find the best balance of service and costs.
(k) Be positive and help others.

Have a nice day, everyone!

Good stuff...
Thanks for sharing!

 

[RockBros]

for absolute newbies.....make sure you know how the selling process works where you have your names listed!!

My first sale was through Sedo, didn't have a clue how it worked and luckily Sedo helped a lot and it was fairly smooth

My second deal was a joke and took ages via Godaddy because I did not read through their procedures and was unsure on what I needed to do and Godaddy were not helpful - lot of time wasted on the phone and via email

Also don't waste time with the idiots who don't pay - recently happened a few times and I will not be losing any sleep over it. Once the payment deadline passes just let it go and move on!

Lessons learned

Thanks!
How would you recommend, newbies get to know how the selling process works, either where names are listed and/or through private sales?

As for idiots who don’t pay, I assume payment, typically needs to be received before domain is released, to said idiot...?

 

[mani0307]

Only Build a quality portfolio, if you have more than 500 domains % of sale high.

 

[RockBros]

That this really isn't easy money. This is real business. If I could start again, then I would stress more upon "RESEARCH".

Thanks, both very good points! That said, if you could start again, what would this more stressed upon "RESEARCH" be focused on and entail?

 

[RockBros]

I Looked up the terms and conditions for Sedo, Godaddy, Flippa, Undeveloped and Afternic and read through them a few times and when an offer comes in do a little refresh on them


Payment is usually held by the marketplace until the name has changed hands then funds released - similair to an Escrow service.

Thanks!
How was idiot not paying, if payment is held by the marketplace until the name has changed hands?

 

[NYJimbo]

Getting paid can take weeks.

My first was a cheap sale, but it still took 15 days from a "BIN" buy to actually getting paid. People dragging their feet, transfers, money release, etc.

 

[myfavorite]

Celebration of sales starts when the money drop in your bank account or at least when the market place confirm the buyer has paid up.

My supposed first sale ended with buyer going silent when it was time to pay. Didn't respond to all inquiries.