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.

 

[akcampbell]

If the person bidding against you is a shill that doesn't make it worth $350. It sounds to me that when that bidder was taken out $59 is where the auction was at.

I'm suspicious about the $350 bid for Truck.pro, bidders on Snapnames do bid on .pro then find they are not eligible to register. My issue with the $350 bid on Truck.pro was that the bidder had the username Profan1. My logic is if somebody is a .pro fan, they would know what the eligibility requirements are and $350 wouldn't break the bank so there is no reason for them not to pay.

I have cross checked the identity of bidders who have outbid me in the past to the WHOIS details after domains have been transferred and they are all known .pro collectors so I don't think shill bidding on Snapnames for .pro is endemic. Also, .pro is such a thin market on Snapnames, no .pro drop has sold for more than $1,000 in the time I have been bidding and most go for less than $300, that risking your reputation or career for the sake of a couple of hundred bucks wouldn't make sense.

You say Truck.pro isn't worth $350 but I paid $485 for Airplane.pro yesterday, $300 for Boat.pro, and $250 for Yacht.pro, all to NP members, and I'm willing to do that again and again for any similar calibre "big rig" mode of transport .pro. That would suggest Truck.pro is worth $350, if you don't agree, go and get yourself a .pro like Truck.pro for $59 and I will buy it off you for $350.

It probably says they are pulling their data mostly from dnjournal who don't report sales under $1000.

That's incorrect, look at the .com, .net and .org reported sales on DNSalePrice.com, they have a full range of reported sales, not just DNJournal. Also, look at earlier reported .pro sales, there are alot of $XXX sales included and none of them were reported on DNJournal.

Also, you are wrong about DNJournal not reporting domain sales under $1,000. It depends what is going through that week and whether RJ can think of a suitable pun, search for "Sedo just missed another four-figure sale with FamilyTree.info uprooting $899", that was my sale.

 

[MicroGuy]

So far from true - there are many of us on this board that flip handregs for 1000% profit everyday - I am one of them.

I sincerely doubt that anyone here if flipping recent hand regs (plural) for 1000% profit each and every day. That would be $1100 week income MINIMUM from hand reg flipping alone. That is plain BS.

Is it possible to sell hand regs for a profit? Yes. I do it from time to time myself but it's unreliable and hit or miss. Not the best business model for domaining and certainly not the best way for a beginner to enter domaining. IMO.

 

[bgmv]

I sincerely doubt that anyone here if flipping recent hand regs (plural) for 1000% profit each and every day. That would be $1100 week income MINIMUM from hand reg flipping alone. That is plain BS.

Is it possible to sell hand regs for a profit? Yes. I do it from time to time myself but it's unreliable and hit or miss. Not the best business model for domaining and certainly not the best way for a beginner to enter domaining. IMO.

I have sold over 100 domains this year to endusers and every sale has been over 1000%. Considering I only send emails Mon-Wed that equates to 156 potential sales a year, I am very close to that mark and have taken a significant amount of time off in between. Its not BS and some members here will tell you the same - JoshuaPZ, Federer, TelKing, and many others that dont even report their sales. When you think about it 1000% is not even a lot of $ on an $8 hand reg, especially to an enduser.

I wasnt suggesting that the original OP jump right into enduser sales, I emphasized reading a lot and taking his/her time as there is a steep learning curve, mostly trial and error that can be avoided through constant reading.

 

[MicroGuy]

I have sold over 100 domains this year to endusers and every sale has been over 1000%. Considering I only send emails Mon-Wed that equates to 156 potential sales a year, I am very close to that mark and have taken a significant amount of time off in between. Its not BS and some members here will tell you the same - JoshuaPZ, Federer, TelKing, and many others that dont even report their sales. When you think about it 1000% is not even a lot of $ on an $8 hand reg, especially to an enduser.

I wasnt suggesting that the original OP jump right into enduser sales, I emphasized reading a lot and taking his/her time as there is a steep learning curve, mostly trial and error that can be avoided through constant reading.

Perhaps. I guess if you send out enough email anything is possible. If what you say is true, your results are the exception and certainly not the rule. Thanks in sharing.

 

[bgmv]

Perhaps. I guess if you send out enough email anything is possible. If what you say is true, your results are the exception and certainly not the rule. Thanks in sharing.

I do send out a large number of emails per domain - each domain has roughly 50+ potential targets, many of those emails come back because of incorrect whois info. I never register a domain if I see less than 25 potential endusers.

 

[biznews]

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.

Thumbs up! Hitting the nail where it should.

 

[snoop]

The thing with actively targting endusers for 10 times reg fee is that that is more of a job rather than making money off the domain. If it takes 50 emails to get a $80 sale then in my view that is more comparable to working in a shop rather than domain investing. (and lets not kid outselves that finding 50 potential buyers and emailing them isn't a huge job). Nothing wrong with it but make sure you accurately calculate the value of your time as that is the reason for the ten times acquisition cost sale, not the domain name.

 

[bgmv]

Snoop, you make a good point - time valuation is very important in calculating the profit made from each sale. I personally, pay myself $15 p/hour and it usually takes about 2 hours to find + send 50 emails. I deduct that cost from the total sales price. I have yet to sell a domain to an enduser for less than $150 - so I'm selling at nearly 2000% on average.

 

[MicroGuy]

Snoop, you make a good point - time valuation is very important in calculating the profit made from each sale. I personally, pay myself $15 p/hour and it usually takes about 2 hours to find + send 50 emails. I deduct that cost from the total sales price. I have yet to sell a domain to an enduser for less than $150 - so I'm selling at nearly 2000% on average.

Can you share 10 of 15 domains that you've sold using this method in the past couple of weeks? Thanks.

 

[Robin]

Its really easy to sell your domains for $1 or couple of cents :P, you will get buyers, but if you want to make good profit, then you need search the needy buyer for it.

For example, if someone owns domain.com, then he will be interested in thedomain.com also.

 

[bmugford]

Why are domains hard to sell? It comes down to two basic factors -

1.) Quality
2.) Price

If you have a quality domain priced to sell, it will sell.

Brad

 

[bgmv]

Can you share 10 of 15 domains that you've sold using this method in the past couple of weeks? Thanks.

Sure, check out Welcome to the Frontpage and look under customers. I havent updated that in a while but it gives you a good idea.

Last Week I sold Hazardous/-/Materials.com for $999, have a confirmed buy for I/Buy/Cars dot net for $200, another confirmed buy for Integrated/controls dot net @ $250, and this week I am working on selling Rebar dot biz, Hardwood/-/Flooring dot net and Wiper/Blade dot net

 

[doridori]

I kind of agree with the last statement.... If Truck.pro sold for only $59, that isn't a good indicator for the future of .pro...

yeah i agree think that kinda gives it away.

 

[Jaco]

Can you share 10 of 15 domains that you've sold using this method in the past couple of weeks? Thanks.

Can you share 10 or 15 domains in your "over 100 investment grade domains" that aren't awful?

http://www.microguy.net/domain-sales/

I currently have over 100 investment grade domains available in my portfolio. If you were redirected to this website by visiting one of these domains and are interested in making an offer or obtaining a purchase price, please contact me.

Below are a few examples of my domains along with a brief description and asking price. I choose not to list the bulk of my portfolio for various reasons. Like every domain in my portfolio, these were chosen using a very rigorous screening process that has taken me a total of 15 years to develop.

Domain = HISTORIC.TV
Registrar = DynaDot
Expires = February 2010
Price = Sold
Notes: This domain would make an excellent host for a website featuring historic places or any type of historical type of media. This domain has certain intrinsic value and unlimited development potential.

Domain = ONLINEPOOL.ORG
Registrar = Godaddy
Expires = September 2010
Price = $5000 (neg)
Notes: This domain would be ideal for hosting any billiards related website. A premium pool name in the .ORG space.

Domain = GRACIAS.TV
Registrar = Dynadot
Expires = November 2010
Price = $5000 (neg)
Notes: One of the most popular terms in the “human language”. A Google search returns nearly 200 million results for the term. This is a highly brandable domain with a standard renewal.

Domain = TREY.TV
Registrar = DomainMonster
Expires = October 2010
Price = $2500 (neg)
Notes: Most common first names have premium renewals. For example Mike .TV is $5000 per year at Enom. This extremely popular name (which produces over 13 million Google results) is a standard renewal. Don’t miss your chance to grab this gem!

Domain = HACK.TV
Registrar = Godaddy
Expires = September 2011
Price = $25,000 (neg)
Notes: Very popular keyword with standard renewal. The fact that this domain has a standard renewal is unbelievable. The development potential on this is huge. IMO.

You can purchase any of these domains by calling.... I will provide free technical assistance to the buyer if needed during the domain transfer process. Thank You.

One would think that a "very rigorous screening process that has taken me a total of 15 years to develop" would result in at least not completely, totally, absolutely sucking at this. I mean- fifteen years later and you're still horrible at something, that's usually a sign to go take up golf; perhaps collecting stamps or playing darts in one of those weekend Pub leagues... Bowling, maybe. CERTAINLY not giving advice on something that you yourself cannot successfully do.

 

[Lulu]

find out about any product about a famous site like google etc. and then register a domain fast about it and then sell it when it gets famous :D

 

[BrandonSolutions]

Domain names are very hard to sell because you have to find names that appeal to others or they must be receiving traffic. Domain names that receive organic traffic(search engines, people typing in the names, etc...) are more likely to sell because it can be extremely hard to build a new website that doesn't have any traffic. That's my philosophy on selling domain names. Also, when selling a domain name. Think of a price that you'd pay for the domain name if you we're going to buy it off someone else. That usually helps me sell a domain name for the right value.

 

[monsterose]

buy the best name, sell at best time

 

[nekomimi]

It may be because of high rate of competition. A lot are trying to sell domain names. If there are just 100 people ready to buy and 3000 people selling there will be a big competition of course.

 

[infosec3]

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.

Totally agree... I learned a lot through that thread. The key is to be systematic in your approach. It is essential to analyze all the reasons why you are acquiring a domain and its possibilities.