Why is it so hard to sell domains ?

[doridori]

i find it is very difficult to sell domains. any suggestions ?

also smart remarks like "get a better domain" are not necessary here. i find liquidity is a problem here, so need to find alternatives to sedo and etc.

 

[tristanperry]

We are in the middle of a recession (or starting to come out of it, depending on how you look at it), and the domain reseller market has taken a big knock.

I've got a range of domains (from low $xx ones to low $x,xxx ones) and I've certainly found it harder to sell domains in this market. Heck, I've barely sold at all (have been buying mostly) since prices have gone down by a large % overall.

Perhaps this is what you're finding hard. Also try and remember that it's not always easy to hand register a domain and be able to resell it for a profit.

 

[Kate]

also smart remarks like "get a better domain" are not necessary here.

Yet it is the main reason. The better the domain the more liquid it is.
As for the "crisis", it is an excuse for anything and everything. I don't buy it.

I think that domainers often have unrealistic expectations about the market, the Internet is still young and is far from being saturated to the point that average domains can sell like hot cakes. Abundant supply, limited demand. Plus, domainers won't pay top dollar for your names. Everybody here is looking to offload their names, you're just one competitor

 

[mattste]

Hi,


you probably have been through it already, but I found the "How to find potential end users" thread is very informative. If you haven't already, give it a try.

Matt

 

[Jokez Guy]

Not everyone finds a domain valuable. For example Arfan.com that is my name you might not find any value in it but to me I find value in it. So you have to wait for the right buyer to come in. And many people also just find ways around it for example they keep searching for dot com domains that are available and they register those for $10 rather then paying $1000's on a domain where they could invest else where.

 

[coltter]

Actually i keep away to involve this domain industry,
the main reason is the market is full enough,
almost any potentials money domains have been registered,
at least you can not earn too much and remember you should pay the domain renew bill annual for the whole list portfolio.

 

[doridori]

now why didn't i think of that ! going after end users!

 

[garptrader]

Turn the table for a moment and put yourself in the eyes of a potential buyer looking for a domain. Pretend that you want to buy a domain about some topic you are interested in ____, use the filter at SEDO/Afternic to try to find a domain with a certain keyword. You will likely see hundreds of results. Perhaps you can filter for only .COMs or price and limit the results but there will be still be many to choose from. What are the odds that any particular domain will sell give the intense competition? Now, if your names aren't short .COMs priced to sell, how are your odds any better unless you are actively marketing your domains. If you are not happy in your current job, how likely is it you will land a new one without actively searching?

 

[leanback]

Selling domains being so complicated I agree....

Thanks Everyone for your info,

I thought domaining was going to be my new great niche ha ha..
Other than me starting completely backwards.

My great domain name ideas (at the time) of course our own are great ones...
I registered many without learning or knowing research of niche, traffic, demand etc.
number of letters... yes ... A awesome newbies mess.
I finally got it thank goodness. Well maybe not got it, but have learned a bunch since a year ago..

Now it seems even a great easy short spelling domain, I find
traffic statistics and website thing really is a must.

Buyers of domains want to purchase income sites and be able to verify how well established, visits
links... G menee.... How do you spell that one? I forgot..

I thought, maybe best not to develop a site for one of my best domains before offering for sale
To give the buyer benefit to develop them self from start..... Not so true..

Domaining, sure is so much more complicated then one first thinks?
Seeing domains without a website selling for thousands, newbies are and can be so
easily misguided. Me anyway..

Time consuming a lot of learning, webpage set-up, basic html, seo a must,
I am still way too far from what I need to learn to pursue.

Thanks everyone if reading, my post....
I'm on overload of domains trying to set up sites.

Therapy today was very much needed and appreciated..

Thanks a bunch

 

[globegenius]

If it was really easy everyone would be a millionare. I agree that alot of people think their domains are worth more than they actually are. Sometimes luck comes into play as there is millions of domains for sale and you need the right buyer to see yours. If you have some good names develope them and or make some money off parking them. I've been on the net for many years and made money at other things. Multiple streams of income is always good. Waiting for your "ship to come in" over a domain sale might leave you with a cheap rowboat. There is alot of good advice in the forums worth reading. Goodluck with the sales everyone.

:wave:

 

[oldman35]

I thInk since Industry go down....we have to focus on how to develop....or park....which is fast develop. first is try to cover domain fee each years. second is wait for oppotunity market go up...the point is the longer our name keep it...the better value... of course have to read read more...in here......

 

[akcampbell]

The main problem with selling domains can be illustrated statistically, there are 110,000,000 .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz domains. DNJournal reported about 25 sales over $5,000 in the last edition, let's assume another 25 go unreported making 50 in total to illustrate this point. That means you have a 1 in 2,000,000 chance each weak of selling a domain for more than $5,000. To put that into perspective 1 in 2,000,000 is the probability of a jet plane crashing each time it takes off.

The people right at the top of the pile have a far higher chance of selling their generic single word .coms for more than $5,000 which can only mean that people further down the chain have either a very very slim chance, equivalent to winning the lottery of selling a domain each week for more than $5,000. There are probably 1000's of domainers who hand regged domains in the last couple of years who have pretty much no chance, not even the chance of winning the lottery.

In terms of your question, how to deal with this, my strategy was to switch from .com to .pro because I could buy my way to being one of the top .pro domain registrants for a relatively modest investment. I got near the top when there were 6,500 .pro registrations and renewals cost $99. Now there are 40,000 registrations, renewals are $19.99, and restrictions have been eased, I'm near the top of a slightly bigger pile. Last week, there were 3 .pro sales reported so statistically, I had a 1 in 13,000 chance of being amongst the action. Assuming, my .pros are better quality than average, my chances of making a sale are higher. The proof of the pudding is the eating and although I didn't sell one of the 3 .pros sales that got reported, I sold Switch.pro the following week for $2,000, Switch.pro cost me $99 to register in 2007. $2,000 is nothing in the context of my $80,000 investment in .pro but in 2007, I wouldn't have been able to sell Switch.pro because the buyer was Japanese and at that point only professionals in the UK, US, Canada and France could register.

I'm not suggesting people go and invest in .pro domains, all I'm saying is if you didn't have the luxury of regging .coms in the mid to late 90s, you need to find a niche and be one of the key players in that niche. Secondly, if you can find a niche where there is potential for goal post shifting; in registration eligibility, pricing, registrar take up, mindset penetration, value appreciation etc, that will further improve your odds of selling.

The important thing is to know your market and offer value. My market is the extension savvy developer who wants a blockbuster single keyword for branding purposes but only wants to pay a small fraction of the .com, .net, or .org cost. I'm offering France.pro for sale at $4,500 on another NP thread with that logic in mind. France in any other gTLD would cost alot more than $4,500 so it's a cheap way to get the stellar keyword, a credible domain extension, and SEO geo-neutrality. Paris.pro sold for $2,888 in 2006 so even compared to similar keyword sales it offers good value, especially when you factor in the sixfold rise in .pro registrations since then.

 

[webdomain]

.pros

I really agree with you and don't understand why more people don't see this limited opportunity. A freind told me about this extension and now that the price has come down it's an excellent opportunity to get in. I've got a handful and am currently developing sister sites. moms.pro and dads.pro that I own and would at some point like to develop and sell as a unique combination.

Best of luck to you.

 

[Burano]

Thanks Everyone for your info,

Seeing domains without a website selling for thousands, newbies are and can be so
easily misguided. Me anyway..

It's called aggressive marketing. Domain newbies keeps the reseller market afloat. The people at the top of the pyramid have been very savvy at spreading their stories of fame and fortune (so to speak) far and wide. And those lists with mediocre names selling for even 2k to 3k keeps the less elite domainers' hopes alive. The lack of transparency with the majority of sales needs to be kept in mind before you invest more than you can afford to lose.

There is money to be made, but it's not easy if you're handregging. And if you have a few bucks to step it up a notch and purchase a type-in name, be sure you know what you are doing first.

 

[MicroGuy]

i find it is very difficult to sell domains. any suggestions ?

If you had a domain like PIZZA.COM, SOCIAL.COM, or CARS.COM you could find plenty of buyers. The days of hand registering domains and flipping them for a profit are over.

Treat domaining like any other business, if you can make a 50% return you're doing great. For example, go find a deal of a domain in the low $xxx range and work on selling it for a 50% profit. IMO.

 

[snoop]

also smart remarks like "get a better domain" are not necessary here. i find liquidity is a problem here, so need to find alternatives to sedo and etc.

The is exactly the issue.

If the domain is worth something, it will sell, straight away, or you can hold for longer and play the lower odds game of getting a higher price. Only a very small % of domains really have any value. The rest of what sells is flukey names, people waiting years to sell the odd name here and there (while taking losses on the rest).

This is not an easy market. Start with something of definate value is my advice, eg something worth 3/4 figures rather than a name bought for reg fee (which are names the rest of the world has passed up on at $8)

---------- Post added at 03:58 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:53 PM ----------

The main problem with selling domains can be illustrated statistically, there are 110,000,000 .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz domains. DNJournal reported about 25 sales over $5,000 in the last edition, let's assume another 25 go unreported making 50 in total to illustrate this point. That means you have a 1 in 2,000,000 chance each weak of selling a domain for more than $5,000. To put that into perspective 1 in 2,000,000 is the probability of a jet plane crashing each time it takes off.

The people right at the top of the pile have a far higher chance of selling their generic single word .coms for more than $5,000 which can only mean that people further down the chain have either a very very slim chance, equivalent to winning the lottery of selling a domain each week for more than $5,000. There are probably 1000's of domainers who hand regged domains in the last couple of years who have pretty much no chance, not even the chance of winning the lottery.

In terms of your question, how to deal with this, my strategy was to switch from .com to .pro because I could buy my way to being one of the top .pro domain registrants for a relatively modest investment. I got near the top when there were 6,500 .pro registrations and renewals cost $99. Now there are 40,000 registrations, renewals are $19.99, and restrictions have been eased, I'm near the top of a slightly bigger pile. Last week, there were 3 .pro sales reported so statistically, I had a 1 in 13,000 chance of being amongst the action. Assuming, my .pros are better quality than average, my chances of making a sale are higher. The proof of the pudding is the eating and although I didn't sell one of the 3 .pros sales that got reported, I sold Switch.pro the following week for $2,000, Switch.pro cost me $99 to register in 2007. $2,000 is nothing in the context of my $80,000 investment in .pro but in 2007, I wouldn't have been able to sell Switch.pro because the buyer was Japanese and at that point only professionals in the UK, US, Canada and France could register.

I'm not suggesting people go and invest in .pro domains, all I'm saying is if you didn't have the luxury of regging .coms in the mid to late 90s, you need to find a niche and be one of the key players in that niche. Secondly, if you can find a niche where there is potential for goal post shifting; in registration eligibility, pricing, registrar take up, mindset penetration, value appreciation etc, that will further improve your odds of selling.

The important thing is to know your market and offer value. My market is the extension savvy developer who wants a blockbuster single keyword for branding purposes but only wants to pay a small fraction of the .com, .net, or .org cost. I'm offering France.pro for sale at $4,500 on another NP thread with that logic in mind. France in any other gTLD would cost alot more than $4,500 so it's a cheap way to get the stellar keyword, a credible domain extension, and SEO geo-neutrality. Paris.pro sold for $2,888 in 2006 so even compared to similar keyword sales it offers good value, especially when you factor in the sixfold rise in .pro registrations since then.

Do we have to read more of this .pro stuff every time you post? Secondly I think you should clearly disclose the fact that you haven't made a profit from .pro when posting.

 

[Larry Fling]

Selling...... is not easy. Takes time and effort. Are you a good seller? Are you using many resources?

Any domain can sell, Are you looking for a buyer..

I agree with MG, if you can make a 50% profit your good.

I mad a joke before
Buy a REG = $7
Sell IT = $20
Buy 2 REG's = $14
Sell Them = $40
Buy 2 MORE REG's = $14
You've made $26
How fast can you do that? Try ebay... Watch those fees though..

GOOD LUCK!

 

[petrosc]

The main problem with selling domains can be illustrated statistically, there are 110,000,000 .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz domains. DNJournal reported about 25 sales over $5,000 in the last edition, let's assume another 25 go unreported making 50 in total to illustrate this point. That means you have a 1 in 2,000,000 chance each weak of selling a domain for more than $5,000. To put that into perspective 1 in 2,000,000 is the probability of a jet plane crashing each time it takes off.

You cannot illustrate this statistically unless you consider all the variables.

The majority of the domains registered are crap. I mean the names have absolutely no meaning at all and are often a random combination of letters. Check out the zone file if you haven't already and you'll be surprised with the crap people register.

When you stop and think about what you are registering before you go ahead and press the pay button
When you research before you buy from someone
When you register extensions that people actually use and not get sucked into obscure extension hypes
When you know how to price your names
When you actively try to sell your domains, not only through domainer venues but also directly to end users

Your chances are not that bad and there are people who are making a living flipping names

 

[akcampbell]

Secondly I think you should clearly disclose the fact that you haven't made a profit from .pro when posting.

"...$2,000 is nothing in the context of my $80,000 investment" I don't think I could make it any clearer. You don't get dividends if you invest in a start up company, the fact I sold Switch.pro for $2,000 last week is a bonus.

 

[snoop]

You don't get dividends if you invest in a start up company, the fact I sold Switch.pro for $2,000 last week is a bonus.

From what I have seen of it domain investors either get it right fairly early or they don't. Those who are losing money tend to stay that way, at least until the figure out want went wrong and make major changes. Running things at a loss is for companies with major startup costs (eg equipment, marketing etc) and those with venture capital funding, not people running domain businesses from home, those people won't survive with that strategy.

On the other hand you are here giving people advice (and constantly trying to pump air into .pro) despite the fact that you've lost money in domaining yourself, that is why I think you should make it clear from the outset your results with .pro.