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When would you sell a domain at a loss?

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xn--v4h.com

Emoji domains at Punycode.comEstablished Member
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I just sold a domain name at a loss (bought it only a year ago) but frankly I don't mind because even though it's a great name (at least to me) I feel bad every time I see it un-used. Been involved in too many projects I should've said no to. So when would you guys sell a domain at a loss?
 
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When it isn't covering renewal fees, and I don't have a use for it.

I don't usually pay much more than reg fee for a name, so it doesn't really apply to me, but I did coin the saying "You've got to speculate to lose money". :)
 
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When it isn't covering renewal fees, and I don't have a use for it.

I don't usually pay much more than reg fee for a name, so it doesn't really apply to me, but I did coin the saying "You've got to speculate to lose money". :)

If you hand reg it, wouldn't most of your domains not covering reg fees after a year since they would be unsold? Or do you let it expire?
 
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Most of my names are hand regs. I think $250 is the most I've ever paid for a name. I've sold a few, but never more than $x,xxx. I made a lot of money a few years ago with affiliate marketing sites, but I backed off for a few years, and the market has changed. At the moment I'm experimenting, exploring and trying some new ideas. For example, I'm interested to see how far I can run with as the coconut drops, but I really need to get serious. I have started to clean up my portfolio, and I let a few drop a year or so ago. Recently I gave a name away here on Name Pros, and I might do this with a few more.
 
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Most of my names are hand regs. I think $250 is the most I've ever paid for a name. I've sold a few, but never more than $x,xxx. I made a lot of money a few years ago with affiliate marketing sites, but I backed off for a few years, and the market has changed. At the moment I'm experimenting, exploring and trying some new ideas. For example, I'm interested to see how far I can run with as the coconut drops, but I really need to get serious. I have started to clean up my portfolio, and I let a few drop a year or so ago. Recently I gave a name away here on Name Pros, and I might do this with a few more.

A domainer's job seems to me to be finding the person who finds the most value for a domain. Sometimes that's not possible but that's the job.
 
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A domainer's job seems to me to be finding the person who finds the most value for a domain. Sometimes that's not possible but that's the job.
A domainers job is to find a name, and to facilitate the optimum use of that name imho. Selling it to someone else to maximise it's use is just one possibility. In many ways it's the easiest option,
 
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Whether it's a loss or not isn't the question that should be asked .. because you may have very well overpaid for it. Or if you were buying as an end user then there's a 50% chance any sale will be a loss.

The real question is how much is it worth. Which is an extremely open ended question because at the end of the day every person who sees a domain will see the value differently depending on their own perspective and experiences.

My current Portfolio Auction at Flippa will very likely go at a loss .. but I'm fine with that .. some decent domains in there .. but over the last few months my portfolio has exploded in size. My goal is to get down to a size where I can fit all of them into the middle tier Efty account (1500) .. I have about 200 more domains to go. So what I learn from this auction will help me make more for future auctions. It's also letting me learn the auction system so there is added value for me there beyond what I'll make at the auction.

Most importantly .. it's better to even drop (or sell for any amount) names that have minimal chances of selling .. .xyz domains with hyphens for example .. lol. Seriously though .. there are an awful lot of truly horrible domains out there. It boggles my mind when I see the expiration lists at all the really bad domains that were not just registered .. but renewed for 3, 5, even 10+ years. Even here in the appraisals section .. at least 80% of the domains should never ever have been registered in the first place (and I'm being very nice with 80%).

So at the end of the day .. it's best to cut your losses upfront if you have a low likelihood of selling the domain.

If it's a good domain however .. then it's really a guessing game .. sometimes you might never get a better offer than the one that you have in front of you .. so maybe a small loss is better than nothing. But on the other hand you might get a 5x offer a week later. The only real way to judge is to know your domain and the targeted industry or potential end user.

That being said ... I've come to the realisation that domaining still has a very very large luck factor to it .. much of domaining after you purchase is out of your control. That's why value buying is crucial in domaining!
 
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Whether it's a loss or not isn't the question that should be asked .. because you may have very well overpaid for it. Or if you were buying as an end user then there's a 50% chance any sale will be a loss.

The real question is how much is it worth. Which is an extremely open ended question because at the end of the day every person who sees a domain will see the value differently depending on their own perspective and experiences.

My current Portfolio Auction at Flippa will very likely go at a loss .. but I'm fine with that .. some decent domains in there .. but over the last few months my portfolio has exploded in size. My goal is to get down to a size where I can fit all of them into the middle tier Efty account (1500) .. I have about 200 more domains to go. So what I learn from this auction will help me make more for future auctions. It's also letting me learn the auction system so there is added value for me there beyond what I'll make at the auction.

Most importantly .. it's better to even drop (or sell for any amount) names that have minimal chances of selling .. .xyz domains with hyphens for example .. lol. Seriously though .. there are an awful lot of truly horrible domains out there. It boggles my mind when I see the expiration lists at all the really bad domains that were not just registered .. but renewed for 3, 5, even 10+ years. Even here in the appraisals section .. at least 80% of the domains should never ever have been registered in the first place (and I'm being very nice with 80%).

So at the end of the day .. it's best to cut your losses upfront if you have a low likelihood of selling the domain.

If it's a good domain however .. then it's really a guessing game .. sometimes you might never get a better offer than the one that you have in front of you .. so maybe a small loss is better than nothing. But on the other hand you might get a 5x offer a week later. The only real way to judge is to know your domain and the targeted industry or potential end user.

That being said ... I've come to the realisation that domaining still has a very very large luck factor to it .. much of domaining after you purchase is out of your control. That's why value buying is crucial in domaining!

Those are really solid thoughts. Thank you. The domain sold I bought at a discounted price a year ago because I was a repeat buyer. Ultimately I'm glad I found someone who sees potential in the name as much as I did.
 
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As I see it....the purchase price is irrelevant to the sale price.
So it doesn't really matter if you sell at a loss, or what "ROI" you make.

*Extreme* examples :

1. You buy car.com for $500 from a friend. Would it be smart to sell it for $2,000 because you make a great ROI ? lol

2. You buy F6d7saj0sjall-o8.mobi for $500 (obviously you were drunk :)) Some months later you get an offer for $250. Should you sell at a loss ? I think so !
 
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As I see it....the purchase price is irrelevant to the sale price.
So it doesn't really matter if you sell at a loss, or what "ROI" you make.

*Extreme* examples :

1. You buy car.com for $500 from a friend. Would it be smart to sell it for $2,000 because you make a great ROI ? lol

2. You buy F6d7saj0sjall-o8.mobi for $500 (obviously you were drunk :)) Some months later you get an offer for $250. Should you sell at a loss ? I think so !

Understood, but that would depend on the domain name itself.
 
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Understood, but that would depend on the domain name itself.

That's my point, it depends on the domain rather than what one paid for it.
 
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if you take domaining as business not as hobby i would only care about yearly results, not individual sales...
regging/buying a name, renewing it for several years and then dropping or selling below cost is a part of the game. trends change, valuations change, you change. it's ok.

imo
 
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I would sell it at a loss if I sent it to auction and it had many eyes and didn't sell for a profit.
Its a risk to send to auction but occasionaly the payout is great.
Joe T
 
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I generally don't factor in what I paid as much as the current value.

Some reasons to sell for a loss -

1.) Money to survive.
2.) Overpaid / The market has changed.
3.) Better opportunity with the capital.

The total profit/loss matters far more than one isolated sale.

Brad
 
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