What does an average domainer make a year?

[KCsGreat]

I was just interested to know an estimate of what an average domainer can make a year. I know you can get lucky and hit a big score, but I'm saying just buying and flipping domain names, with average returns, not every single one at end users prices obviously.what is realistic yearly income?

 

[domainerdon]

I think that we are dealing with the "brass ring" syndrome here for the average domainer. They play the game and they are willing to take losses because they hope for that "big score" they can retire on. If you do it as a business there needs to be a business plan, a work schedule (don't expect to make it big if you are not willing to put in the time) education and perseverance. Yes, there is money to be made, but it is definately not a get rich scheme.

 

[rollsy]

So many true words in this thread!

I consider myself to be a newbie again, after first being a newbie a few years ago (and then letting 90% of domains expire after a year or so keeping only a few personally relevant ones).
The reason I got into domain speculation originally: I purchased a couple domain names to start a genuine business, but during the pre-launch stage I was contacted by someone wanting the name. They asked if I was willing to sell the domain. I replied "Sure, $5000 please." We ended settling on $3500.

I presumed this was a simple process and would result in untold riches for very little time or money invested. So, I proceeded to register about 150 domain names at about $7 each (without developing - did not have the tech skills). and spent untold hours looking over their meagre parking revenue on a daily basis (earned about $50 p.a.). I managed to sell two other domains, for a total of $90 (as you can see, if I take the first big sale out of the picture, that was not a sustainable business plan).

Suffice to say, the lucky results can come along for newbies like me on rare occasions (as happened with my first domain), but don't expect to be able to replicate it!

This time around, I plan to concentrate on two or three niches I know a lot about, choose only real words or short "natural phrases", try to develop them a bit, and try to sell a few. First step: find out how to develop the sites well and improve their traffic. Would any of the experienced folk here suggest hosting topical forums as a good way to build traffic?

 

[mcdonna]

I look at domaining as a way to support my own domain acquisition habits. I am a web developer by profession, and on the side I like to build random websites for myself or friends or charities. Over the last 10 years I've sold around 20 domains at prices from $30 to $2000, mostly in the $100-$500 range. That's been enough to pay for registrations for my own sites and donated sites.

Make a living from domaining, however? Doable, but it's like taking any hobby to a profession. Lots of work and study, and you don't buy domains just because you like them. You have to attack it purely as a business.

 

[SK1990]

Because they make more money flipping these e-books, than actually flipping domains.

The only true get rich quick scheme is selling get rich quick schemes

 

[dcristo]

I base my opinion on the thousands of worthless domains that drop every day. Some of which have been renewed year after year.

Thats placing all people who register domains in the domainer category, which would be incorrect. I think less than 1% of people who register domains would be considered typical "domainers" that are trying to make money flipping domains. The amount of domains that drop every day really has nothing to do with it.

 

[Krossat]

unfortunately,
there are people that talk.
and then there are people that sell.

 

[forge]

@randomo What do you mean dried up? As long as there's domains in demand why would sales stop from resellers?

randomo was last seen: Mar 12, 2018

Press "1" for hold music, otherwise please remain on the line.

 

[MicroGuy]

The ones who earn are the registrars and commission-based intermediaries like Sedo.

If you exclude all those who gamble on domaining then give up after losing as much as they can stand, which is most people, then the remaining "pro" domainers probably make at least enough every year to cover their renewals.

Domains only have value if there is demand and scarcity, so it is true the winning domainers and registrars and auction houses all need to keep getting new players into the game. A bit like the tobacco industry?

I hope people will not only read this but also try to digest this information. It will be hard for most but perhaps a few can benefit from your precise and accurate explanation.

A thorough understanding of basic economic theory would also be helpful to many.

 

[carltonleon]

Great Thread Guys. Really insightful and thought provoking.
I am just coming back into domaining after a long absense and I wasn't massively successful to begin with but I did manage to limit my losses and sell a few domains.
What I have decided this time around is that I am not going to buy anything until I research domaining again for a few months to get a feel for it again and then to stick to .coms to begin with and to peruse the expired lists instead of new hand regs. Well that is my plan anyway, we will see.

 

[RaiderGirl]

For the majority it's a matter of how much the yearly loss is.

May I ask what your basing this on? I can see where newbies take a loss, not knowing what domains to register and buying up a load of crappy domains, or choosing a TLD they predict will be the next dot com, I can see that.. But for the average domainer who knows what names to register and how to monetize on them, it's not that difficult to cover your renewal fees, hosting fees and development costs.. I've been in this biz for well over 10 years now and can honestly say I have never once taken a yearly loss.

 

[dcristo]

lol ahh if everyday was like christmas.

Since Kiwis love Aussies, you can take this opportunity to sell me your good domains at reseller prices. Just a thought.

 

[domainbartender]

So like 100 domains for 10 bucks, sell for 20 a pop, and do that constantly?

That was my big plan when I started out, only to find that out of those 100 domains, you'll likely only sell 10-20. This market is not very liquid.

But it's still very addicting! :sold:

 

[randomo]

lol oh well, keepin it movin

I'm baaaaack ....

And by "dried up", I don't mean that premium domains weren't selling. I mean fewer people were willing to take a flyer on the decent-but-not-great domains I was selling. That type of domain seemed to become less liquid as people had less disposable income in a down economy.

I do a lot less domaining these days. I've trimmed my portfolio from about a thousand sort-of-interesting domains to a couple hundred of the most promising ones. I make a decent sale now and then from buyers contacting me or from targeting a few leads; I'm no longer posting long sale lists at $xx prices on forums like this one.

 

[matt2257]

If the average domainer loses money, why do they do it? Is it the lure of the big sell one day? Like speculation?

 

[randomo]

Is it better to buy a few domains that you can flip for a homerunsell, or like buy 100 domains and sell for double your investment. So like 100 domains for 10 bucks, sell for 20 a pop, and do that constantly?

Most people "in the know" will tell you it's better to own a few excellent domains than a bunch of decent ones. Just bear in mind that that is more of a high-risk strategy, as one bad domain buy can be costly.

I used to use the other strategy - high-volume flipping at low margins. In a 3-year period from 2006-2008, I sold about 5,000 domains, mostly on the domain forums. It was an adventure, but it was also a lot of work for not that much reward. Anyway, in recent years - with the economy crashing - most of those sales have dried up, so I wouldn't recommend going that way. Good luck.

 

[hopkism]

If the average domainer loses money, why do they do it? Is it the lure of the big sell one day? Like speculation?

We all have pie in the sky dreams.

 

[Vito]

Your question is almost impossible to answer.

After defining domainer, then define average.

Then as soon as you find a definition for either of those 2 questions...remember this, things will change often. As you grow, learn and your finances and luck changes, so will your next strategy.

I've been pretty involved in domaining for about 4 years now and I have a ton of time invested in domaining. Each year my strategy was quite a bit different. Each year my results were quite a bit different. 2011 was my best year by far. Finally in my 4th year of domaning I could have actually made this my only income, my livelihood...but luckily I have a pretty great real job so I can afford to make a few mistakes here and there...So I seriously have no idea what an average domainer would be since we are all so different and we each have different measures of success.

Heres a bit of advice though, whatever money you do plan on spending, positively plan on losing your first year. If you actually make money in your first year, you're way ahead of the game.

2nd bit of advice, buy a few great domains rather than a bunch of mediocre domains.

Hmmm, now to define "a few great domains"
That depends on your bankroll. Take the total amount of money you wanted to spend, Cut that amount into thirds, or quarters and buy 3 or 4 domains that you can afford with the amount of money.

Then Market the crap out of them. Marketing works.

Last piece of advice: Take that McDonalds job and read NamePros threads on your breaks.

Good Luck,
Vito

 

[biggie]

I was just interested to know an estimate of what an average domainer can make a year. I know you can get lucky and hit a big score, but I'm saying just buying and flipping domain names, with average returns, not every single one at end users prices obviously.what is realistic yearly income?

realistic income is based on anticipation, assumption,and or expectations of a specific domain, or a portfolio's performance... minus original acquisition costs and renewal fee's.

I think the average domainer loses money.

Brad

i agree, especially when you consider "all" who buy domains with aspirations of reselling them.

If the average domainer loses money, why do they do it? Is it the lure of the big sell one day? Like speculation?

in a nutshell, yes!

but it's also the very low cost to make "one" domain purchase or investment that attracts and retains so many people, who want to have similar successes like those in the articles/posts they read about.

Before ANY of that you need to define DOMAINER

there are levels of experience, but for arguments sake, let's just say that anyone who buy domains with aspirations of monetizing or reselling them for a profit, is a domainer.

I don't think they plan to lose money, it just happens with poor investments.

most don't have a plan, so they lose money

Thank you. For all the answers. I think rookie mistakes will happen, but I figure if i ask, n study, and learn I can make them happen a lot less. Any other info anyone wants to share I am always willing to listen, you can even pm me. I appreciate the help you guys

asking is always good, there really are no stupid questions when it comes to spending money.


i think what you can make is determined by how much you learn and how much time you put in.

too many newbs look for the quick answers, and always flock to the newest thing.

they waste money buying "picks and shovels" to dig for gold, then don't have capital to compete in the bidding wars if they find a decent name.

all imo...

 

[alien51]

A huge part of Domaining, is based on Speculation. There's no business model behind it. That's why a lot of people are actively peddling their domains, blasting inboxes with hundreds of thousands of email spam.

A lot of people disregard the statistics. They only see the domain sales posted on websites. But never saw the larger picture that billions of others dropped their domains with no buyer.

Speculation works best in a virgin industry. Once the industry is saturated (or buyers have matured), it becomes more difficult to speculate for profit.

 

[carob]

It depends what your business model is.

If you have quality domains, there will always be end user demand, so the "domainer" world is almost irrelevant.

Brad

I largely agree, but consider what happens when good domains are unregistered.

If thecloud.com mycloud.com realcloud.com and cloud1.com are all unregistered, does that have an effect on the value of cloud.com? If you owned cloud.com then would you buy those up to profit or even just protect cloud.com?

---------- Post added at 10:46 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:43 AM ----------

A huge part of Domaining, is based on Speculation.

Yes, speculation also in the sense of trying to guess what words or areas will be big in domains in the future. Words have magic power and can be powerful. I am surprised at some of the unattractive speculative registrations that might have SEO value on a bad day but just create awful sounding addresses.

 

[alien51]

Most domainers don't have a business model because they approach it like a hobby.

Well, not really a hobby, but i think they speculate too much. The belief that "this must be worth something to somebody-- now to find THAT somebody. Where the hell is he? Guess i'll just spam the entire internet to find where he is."

So, if you have good inventory you will be making sales on a regular basis. The money will also pay for renewals and maintain unsold domains. Because the margins are high on domain names, that's what I like in this business.

Which means, you need to cough up some moolah and buy expensive quality domains (most likely from other domainers). You buy a domain worth 300 bucks, resell it for 600 bucks. That's a great margin. Buy one-word domain for 1 million dollars, resell it for 2 million. That's a million dollar profit. That's how SEX.COM got passed from one domainer to another, without really benefitting any pervs out there.

But what are the chances that you pick up a domain at reg fee from the drop pool and resell it (no development done) at astronomical margins? True, there may be hundreds who sell reg fee domains at profit. But on the other side of the coin, millions of others are just plain losers who are unable to sell their stuff.

 

[elias75]

Well, not really a hobby, but i think they speculate too much. The belief that "this must be worth something to somebody-- now to find THAT somebody. Where the hell is he? Guess i'll just spam the entire internet to find where he is."

+1
too many people think they can get rich overnight... mind you, there are loads of how-to-become-a-millionaire-flipping-domains ebooks/methods all around promising the world. IMO most newbie domainers fail to realise how fast this industry is changing

 

[alien51]

+1
mind you, there are loads of how-to-become-a-millionaire-flipping-domains ebooks/methods all around promising the world.

Because they make more money flipping these e-books, than actually flipping domains.

 

[MikeRibby]

Wow! Great thread guys! Lot's of great info!

I sold my first domain last year, a hand regd real estate. Com. Sold to end user within 2 days for $50! I was ecstatic! Then my mind started running, "wow, if I do that 19 more times this week, I'm golden"! Well it didn't work that way. Its quite a slow process that doesn't make sense if you are looking at it as $ per hour figure. Its more fun when its a hobby...

Good luck man!