Year 2 in Domaining — From Excitement to Strategy

[MrBahCa]

Two years ago I jumped into domain investing.
Today, I’m at 535 domains.
This year wasn’t about hype.
It was about structure, data, and long-term scaling.

Portfolio Snapshot:

• Portfolio size: 535 domains (was 300 last year)
• Total investment to date: $21,000
• Avg acquisition cost: ~$36/domain
• Domains sold (2 years): 8
• Annual STR: ~1%
• Avg gross sale price: ~$2,127
• Avg net sale price: ~$1,701
• Total gross revenue: ~$17,015
• Total net received: $13,612
Almost all sales came from @Afternic
One sale from @Sedo
One sale from Dan
@Afternic clearly wins for exposure and conversion in my case.

A Surprise Platform This Year:

One of my best surprises of 2025 was @unstoppableweb .
Because of their promotional offers and Domain Member Club model, I progressively moved a large portion of my portfolio there.
Today, ~65% of my domains are held in my Unstoppable account.
What I appreciate:
• Competitive pricing
• Domainer-friendly initiatives
• Constant platform improvements
• Responsive support (special thanks to @ntropiq )
They’re clearly building long term — and I like aligning with platforms that think long term.

What Changed This Year:

Year 1 was emotional.
Year 2 became mathematical.
I now look at domaining like this:
• If AVG sale price moves to $2,500–$3,000
• If STR increases to 1.3–1.5%
• Even with acquisition cost rising to $60–$70
The model becomes exponentially stronger.

At 535 names:
1.5% STR = ~8 sales/year
At $3,000 avg = $24,000 gross/year.
That alone makes the portfolio self-sustaining.
This is where compounding starts.

Key Realizations:

• Name selection is everything. The money is made in the buy.
• Scaling requires stomach. There are >60 day dry spells.
• Average acquisition cost will rise over time.
Cheap inventory builds cash flow. Better inventory builds future upside.
• .COM is still king but I’m slowly studying selective alternative extensions.

Marketplace Insight:

I tested different landers.
For my portfolio:
@Afternic = highest sell-through
@Spaceship = I haven’t moved all my domains there yet, but I’ve already received two four figure offers. It looks promising and I really like the self-brokering option and lower commission fees.
@Sedo = occasional sell
@atomHQ = Beautiful UX and features, but the exposure has been less consistent for me. I haven’t moved many of my domains to Premium or used their nameservers for most of my standard listings but I’ll definitely be using them more and more.

Data > opinion.

Personal Note:

Balancing domaining with family life and a full-time job isn’t easy.
But building digital assets that scale over years (not weeks) changes your perspective.
This is not a get rich quick game.
This is asset accumulation.

2026 Vision:

• Raise AVG sale price
• Improve quality
• Be more selective
• Increase STR
• Let reinvestment compound
By 2027/2028, this portfolio should look very different.
Domaining is volatile.
But calculated risk + reinvestment + patience = leverage.

Wishing you all strong closes and smart buys this year.
What would you improve if this was your portfolio?

 

[fka1080405]

Do you also track your dropped Names to see whether you were right when you bought them

or right when you dropped them?

Yes, but it is difficult to get good data about end user domain name sales. I am not hopeful that I will learn much. As I only started just over 12 months ago, I haven't dropped many domains yet, but of the ~100 domains I have dropped so far, 4 sold at expired auction for between $100 and $400. HugeDomains bought a few. I can see why someone else bought them, probably the same reasons I bought them, but based on what I learned from owning the domains for a year, I remain confident in my decision. I wouldn't pay $10 for them today (hence, dropping them).

Something I have observed in online discussions between end users is that some end users who want a domain that is listed for sale think that they can just wait until the expiry date and then get it for the registration fee. For whatever reason, some end users think statuses like "clientRenewProhibited" mean the domain will be dropped. I have been thinking about how I can validate whether this does have an impact. I think I will try renewing some domains for multiple years but I am not yet confident in how I'd pick the domains to test this with.

Can you share what percentage of the $100K came from your top-performing sales?

For example, the top three sales accounted for roughly 75% of the total revenue.

I don't think my numbers are particularly helpful or interesting yet because they are the product of experimentation and refining my strategy, what I'm doing today isn't what I did 12 months ago. I have made some truly awful purchases (and sales). The point I hope to convey is that it is absolutely possible to start now and be profitable with a small initial investment.

To answer the question, though, my first couple of sales were small, and I thought I would leverage up by re-investing the profits into more expensive domains. I then made an expensive reinvestment and sold it very quickly for ~$50k. That single sale represents about half of what I've made. My reaction to that sale was, naturally, to think reinvestment is the right way to go and that I should be levelling up my per-domain investment with each sale. I quickly spent ~$10k of that on buying more expensive domains... and now, ~8 months later, I have learned that was a bad idea. The other half of what I've made comes from domains that cost me less than $1k in total, which is orders-of-magnitude more cost effective of an investment.

Overall, my initial out of pocket investment was around $3k, I've made ~20* sales, I've taken out about $75k, and I have around $20k of domains (mostly made up of the expensive domains I wouldn't buy now). I have some long ongoing negotiations on some of the more expensive domains that I believe will turn into sales eventually, so I don't think expensive domains are bad, and they can represent great wins (as my experience shows) but for someone getting started like the OP or me I think they are the wrong choice.

* I have actually made more like 40 sales but 20 of those are from .now domains which I did not buy as an investment, they were an accident.

 

[BritFlippa]

Yes, but it is difficult to get good data about end user domain name sales. I am not hopeful that I will learn much.

Many thanks for your reply.

After a delay I was hoping that you hadn't taken it as a flippant question!

I re-read it and thought I could have phrased it better, but it was genuine interest as I try and calculate

where my time can be spent most effectively.

I think I will try renewing some domains for multiple years but I am not yet confident in how I'd pick the domains to test this with.

This was also a tip given out by @bmugford last year.
It has stayed with me but at the moment I don't have the extra cash to do it.

Hopefully after my first sale!

 

[VaibhavA]

Share your portfolio here.

Chances are that you will get a lot of criticism.

Take it.

Learn from it.

Improve your acquisitions and drop the scrap.

Start building a brandable portfolio.

Com is the King and AI is the Queen.

Best of luck

 

[MrBahCa]

The key is whether these alt extensions are owned by end users or domainers.

Okay, I’ll stop here.
How can you determine that? Do you rely on WHOIS data, development signals or something else? When i check other extensions many of them are neither listed for sale nor developed. I’m wondering whether that indicates an end user securing the name while preparing to build on the .com or possibly different end users who simply haven’t launched yet.
For example, I own ai-infra •com. In the past two months more than 10 new extensions have been registered and there’s growing interest overall. AI infra seems to be an emerging, high growth market with major companies investing heavily. Now i'd like to understand whether the other extensions are held by end users or investors. Some are listed for sale but most are not.
In such a case, how can you assess whether the other extensions are owned by end users rather than investors?

 

[Sjpals]

@MrBahCa I tried running the numbers a couple of years back. I thought you may be interested in taking a look https://www.namepros.com/threads/can-i-make-a-full-time-living-from-selling-domains.1281944/

 

[fka1080405]

In such a case, how can you assess whether the other extensions are owned by end users rather than investors?

You can often differentiate between an end user and an investor by looking at the behaviour surrounding the domain. An investor will often register a domain and do nothing else because all they are interested in is owning the domain. An end user will buy a domain as part of a project, the registration is one action of many, which usually involves making a website, setting up email, registering social media handles. DNS records are very helpful!

Unfortunately, it is much more difficult now with vibecoding. Historically, if someone had put up a website, it was a sign they had invested time and money into the project. Today a website could have been churned out in seconds by an LLM. Fortunately it is currently quite easy to spot a vibecoded website (lack of substance, the same gradients...) but that may not last long.

I agree with @Mkt Sales Leads that you do need to avoid over indexing for other investors who are registering similar domains given so many other investors are chasing hype. That said, while the number of end users on non-.com extensions is interesting, I don't think that is very useful information alone even if there are dozens of other end-users.

For example, I have a .com that has 30 other extensions registered, a few of which are developed websites by businesses using the exact name. Yet, I don't consider this domain particularly valuable to me: I can't imagine the .com driving much value to their business, so it is unlikely that they would be willing to pay much for it. I have received no offers on this domain in the ~10 months I have owned it. I would probably take any offer over $2k on it. The fact that other people are launching businesses with the name is good, it could mean that in future, someone with money will come up with the same name, and want the .com... that's where your judgement comes in.

So, it's not really about the number of extensions, but who is using the extension and why, which can inform your thinking around who might want the domain in future and how they might value it. If, for example, you find that there are funded technology startups using the same name on an alternative extension then that is a fantastic sign that the domain has the potential to sell for a very good price in future. If, on the other hand, it's a bunch of people vibe coding another calorie counting app... it provides you with very little insight.

Specific to the name ai-infra •com: hyphens are pretty weak in general (last time I checked, less than 1% of the top 1,000 websites use a hyphen, and when they do, it's usually either a French, German or Japanese website). That said, a hyphen to separate words finishing and start with the same letter is one of the few times a hyphen can be useful. The core problem with hyphens is that they are forgettable, people do not type them or communicate them. Fortunately, I think "ai-infra" is one of the examples where that is less likely to happen, "aiinfra" is weird to look at, hyphenating feels natural, I think "ai hyphen infra" is quite intuitive. Certainly, I'd rather own "ai-infra" than "aiinfra". The type of business that might be named "ai-infra" is unlikely to be consumer-facing, which further reduces the risk/cost of using a hyphen.

I've looked at the other "ai-infra" extensions and none are particularly interesting. I do not think any of the other registrations provide much information. Even so, exercising my own judgement, I'd say that is a good domain. The hyphen does reduce the potential buyer pool, but it is a good phrase, it is for an industry with a lot of money. So, regardless of the other TLDs, it's a good name.

If you priced this domain at $1k I think you would find a buyer easily, perhaps even on NamePros! At $10k, I think there is a fair chance of finding a buyer within a couple of years. At $100k, I think it is unlikely to ever find a buyer (as is the case for all high priced domains) but if it did, I think a company that wants that name is quite likely to be able to spend $100k on a domain. You would be competing with something like "infra.ai" which is nice but I actually like your .com more. If you are going for the long term hold strategy, where you are focused on getting the best sale price, I think $100k is a good list price for this domain.

 

[MrBahCa]

You can often differentiate between an end user and an investor by looking at the behaviour surrounding the domain. An investor will often register a domain and do nothing else because all they are interested in is owning the domain. An end user will buy a domain as part of a project, the registration is one action of many, which usually involves making a website, setting up email, registering social media handles. DNS records are very helpful!

Unfortunately, it is much more difficult now with vibecoding. Historically, if someone had put up a website, it was a sign they had invested time and money into the project. Today a website could have been churned out in seconds by an LLM. Fortunately it is currently quite easy to spot a vibecoded website (lack of substance, the same gradients...) but that may not last long.

I agree with @Mkt Sales Leads that you do need to avoid over indexing for other investors who are registering similar domains given so many other investors are chasing hype. That said, while the number of end users on non-.com extensions is interesting, I don't think that is very useful information alone even if there are dozens of other end-users.

For example, I have a .com that has 30 other extensions registered, a few of which are developed websites by businesses using the exact name. Yet, I don't consider this domain particularly valuable to me: I can't imagine the .com driving much value to their business, so it is unlikely that they would be willing to pay much for it. I have received no offers on this domain in the ~10 months I have owned it. I would probably take any offer over $2k on it. The fact that other people are launching businesses with the name is good, it could mean that in future, someone with money will come up with the same name, and want the .com... that's where your judgement comes in.

So, it's not really about the number of extensions, but who is using the extension and why, which can inform your thinking around who might want the domain in future and how they might value it. If, for example, you find that there are funded technology startups using the same name on an alternative extension then that is a fantastic sign that the domain has the potential to sell for a very good price in future. If, on the other hand, it's a bunch of people vibe coding another calorie counting app... it provides you with very little insight.

Specific to the name ai-infra •com: hyphens are pretty weak in general (last time I checked, less than 1% of the top 1,000 websites use a hyphen, and when they do, it's usually either a French, German or Japanese website). That said, a hyphen to separate words finishing and start with the same letter is one of the few times a hyphen can be useful. The core problem with hyphens is that they are forgettable, people do not type them or communicate them. Fortunately, I think "ai-infra" is one of the examples where that is less likely to happen, "aiinfra" is weird to look at, hyphenating feels natural, I think "ai hyphen infra" is quite intuitive. Certainly, I'd rather own "ai-infra" than "aiinfra". The type of business that might be named "ai-infra" is unlikely to be consumer-facing, which further reduces the risk/cost of using a hyphen.

I've looked at the other "ai-infra" extensions and none are particularly interesting. I do not think any of the other registrations provide much information. Even so, exercising my own judgement, I'd say that is a good domain. The hyphen does reduce the potential buyer pool, but it is a good phrase, it is for an industry with a lot of money. So, regardless of the other TLDs, it's a good name.

If you priced this domain at $1k I think you would find a buyer easily, perhaps even on NamePros! At $10k, I think there is a fair chance of finding a buyer within a couple of years. At $100k, I think it is unlikely to ever find a buyer (as is the case for all high priced domains) but if it did, I think a company that wants that name is quite likely to be able to spend $100k on a domain. You would be competing with something like "infra.ai" which is nice but I actually like your .com more. If you are going for the long term hold strategy, where you are focused on getting the best sale price, I think $100k is a good list price for this domain.

I understand your point well. The number of registered extensions is a useful metric but it’s only one factor among many. To evaluate and price my domains i also consider data such as Crunchbase insights, the number of developed extensions with real end users, the budget and profile of those users, and the strength of the niche itself.

Given my average acquisition cost and budget, I’m rarely able to acquire domains that already have many established end users or heavily developed extensions in highly competitive markets. Instead, my strategy is to be more forward-looking by investing in emerging niches with strong growth potential and securing names that may gain significant value in the future.

This also confirms your point about extensions taken. For example, I own a domain with many EM extensions registered, yet i still price it low and don’t consider it highly valuable.

Regarding ai-infra•com, i appreciate your analysis and agree with most of what you mentioned. The only point where I slightly differ is the comparison with aiinfra. In my view, the difference is not huge, but businesses generally prefer names without hyphens. However, in this specific case the hyphen feels natural and improves readability which makes ai-infra a strong example where it works well.

My pricing is not based primarily on the number of extensions registered, but rather on the rapid growth of the AI industry and the increasing importance of AI infrastructure. It’s one of the most discussed topics in the tech space today with major companies investing heavily to address AI infra challenges. Based on this market momentum and my analysis of the sector’s potential, i set a price of $100k and it's the minimum ,i will maybe increase the price in the near future.

In addition, infra.ai is already developed so it is not really competing in the aftermarket. The main comparable currently available is aiinfra•com which is listed with a $750k BIN price.

 

[Ali Mustafa]

Two years ago I jumped into domain investing.
Today, I’m at 535 domains.
This year wasn’t about hype.
It was about structure, data, and long-term scaling.

Really interesting discussion. One thing i am m learning myself (still not too old in the journey sitting at 1173 domains) is that market growth ≠ automatic liquidity at a specific price point. AI infra is absolutely a strong macro trend. No doubt. But buyer intent and budget alignment at $100k is a very narrow window especially for a hyphenated name.

I think the real edge is matching price to realistic buyer stage. Early stage AI infra startups may love the term but many will not allocate six figures to a domain. I am Curious would you consider a tiered strategy? (e.g., high BIN + willingness to negotiate aggressively if inbound comes from a funded company.)

Great thread by the way these kinds of breakdowns help newer investors like me think more strategically.

 

[MrBahCa]

@MrBahCa I tried running the numbers a couple of years back. I thought you may be interested in taking a look https://www.namepros.com/threads/can-i-make-a-full-time-living-from-selling-domains.1281944/

I took a look at your post, it’s interesting but do you share any actual results? I prefer seeing concrete outcomes rather than only experiments or ideas. Your post would be even more valuable if it included real results.

Really interesting discussion. One thing i am m learning myself (still not too old in the journey sitting at 1173 domains) is that market growth ≠ automatic liquidity at a specific price point. AI infra is absolutely a strong macro trend. No doubt. But buyer intent and budget alignment at $100k is a very narrow window especially for a hyphenated name.

I think the real edge is matching price to realistic buyer stage. Early stage AI infra startups may love the term but many will not allocate six figures to a domain. I am Curious would you consider a tiered strategy? (e.g., high BIN + willingness to negotiate aggressively if inbound comes from a funded company.)

Great thread by the way these kinds of breakdowns help newer investors like me think more strategically.

I understand your point and my approach is slightly different. When I’m strongly convinced about the value of a domain, I’m comfortable holding it long term.
AI infrastructure is not just a trend it’s becoming one of the most critical layers of the Ai ecosystem. Today it represents one of the biggest challenges in the industry which is why nearly all major tech companies are investing heavily in it. To me, the price of a domain in this space should reflect that strategic importance, especially since there is essentially no direct aftermarket competition for this exact name.
I agree that the hyphen can reduce value, and that’s already reflected in the pricing. However, in this case the hyphen also makes the term clearer and more natural to read, many people prefer “ai-infra” over “aiinfra” or “infraai” to avoid consecutive letters and improve readability.
Given the market direction and the early stage of this sector, i actually believe the domain’s value will increase over time. We are still at the beginning, and the next five years will likely make the importance of AI infrastructure even more evident. When every major company is investing in a specific area, it’s usually a strong signal of long term value.
I’m not in a rush to sell. Whether the buyer is a startup or a large company is secondary to me, so if someone wants to position themselves in a major market, a strong category name has value, and category names require meaningful investment.
For me, the core category names in this space are things like ai-infra, infra.ai, infraai, or aiinfra and i view this domain as part of that top tier.
I’m considering adjusting the pricing strategy. It’s very possible that I’ll increase the listed price to better reflect how I view the asset long term.
At the same time, I may switch to an Afternic PR lander to keep the door open for negotiation. In that setup, the current price would effectively become my starting point rather than a fixed expectation.
That way, i can anchor the perceived value higher while still allowing serious buyers to initiate a discussion.

 

[Ali Mustafa]

I took a look at your post, it’s interesting but do you share any actual results? I prefer seeing concrete outcomes rather than only experiments or ideas. Your post would be even more valuable if it included real results.

I understand your point and my approach is slightly different. When I’m strongly convinced about the value of a domain, I’m comfortable holding it long term.
AI infrastructure is not just a trend it’s becoming one of the most critical layers of the Ai ecosystem. Today it represents one of the biggest challenges in the industry which is why nearly all major tech companies are investing heavily in it. To me, the price of a domain in this space should reflect that strategic importance, especially since there is essentially no direct aftermarket competition for this exact name.
I agree that the hyphen can reduce value, and that’s already reflected in the pricing. However, in this case the hyphen also makes the term clearer and more natural to read, many people prefer “ai-infra” over “aiinfra” or “infraai” to avoid consecutive letters and improve readability.
Given the market direction and the early stage of this sector, i actually believe the domain’s value will increase over time. We are still at the beginning, and the next five years will likely make the importance of AI infrastructure even more evident. When every major company is investing in a specific area, it’s usually a strong signal of long term value.
I’m not in a rush to sell. Whether the buyer is a startup or a large company is secondary to me, so if someone wants to position themselves in a major market, a strong category name has value, and category names require meaningful investment.
For me, the core category names in this space are things like ai-infra, infra.ai, infraai, or aiinfra and i view this domain as part of that top tier.
I’m considering adjusting the pricing strategy. It’s very possible that I’ll increase the listed price to better reflect how I view the asset long term.
At the same time, I may switch to an Afternic PR lander to keep the door open for negotiation. In that setup, the current price would effectively become my starting point rather than a fixed expectation.
That way, i can anchor the perceived value higher while still allowing serious buyers to initiate a discussion.

I agree AI infra is a foundational layer. My only hesitation is historical liquidity data on hyphenated .coms at six figures. It would be interesting to see comps in that range. If you’re playing a 5–10 year asymmetric hold, that makes sense it just becomes more of a venture-style bet than a traditional domain liquidity model.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Nice to see this worthwhile discussion is now the Community Favorite at NamePros!

Thanks to @MrBahCa for the great initial post, and to all who have contributed their views.

-Bob

 

[MrBahCa]

Nice to see this worthwhile discussion is now the Community Favorite at NamePros!

Thanks to @MrBahCa for the great initial post, and to all who have contributed their views.

-Bob

Thank you very much Bob!
I’ve learned a lot from others here and I’m glad to be part of this community. I’m also happy to contribute by sharing content that may help others. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to share their knowledge and experiences here.

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

I'm currently going through this renewal review process with my earliest domains, and less than half are being renewed, in fact, probably less than 25% of my domains will be renewed based on what I've learned in the first year of that domain's ownership. And some of these domains that I am dropping are domains I spent hundreds of dollars on!

I spent years pricing many handregs in the mid-high 5 figures because some had keywords that appeared in other names considered more valuable/which got headlines for high sales (e.g. Voice for 30 million). The immense self belief I built up in my judgement in the face of no sales was complete delusion. It led to me having to drop hundreds of unsellables when I went months with no sales and renewals were eating into my bank balance.

Yet at the start of my domaining journey, I would've been over the moon to sell anything on a semi regular basis for high 3 figures to low 4-fig (in fact, an estibot appraisal over $100 on a name would get me excited and rushing to reg it). My greed, delusion and ego to be like Rick Schwartz and hold names for years as make offer expecting 6 fig enquiries led to a complete rethinking of strategy lol.

Ego and comparison in domaining is a huge factor in what one buys, holds and renews/drops.