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?

 

[Simon SE]

Total investment to date: $21,000

Total net received: $13,612

if the average sale price is $2,127, and currently you are carrying a $7000 loss over 2 years, what will you change to reach 1.5% STR while simultaneously increasing average sale price by 50-100%?

• If AVG sale price moves to $2,500–$3,000
• If STR increases to 1.3–1.5%

I guess this is your vision for 2026:-

• Improve quality
• Be more selective

This likely means spending more on acquisitions which are currently at ~$36 each, exposing you to more risk.

Think carefully about your next steps would be my advice (unless you want to rely on "luck" and "lighting candles", which many domainers seem to attribute their success to)

 

[MrBahCa]

if the average sale price is $2,127, and currently you are carrying a $7000 loss over 2 years, what will you change to reach 1.5% STR while simultaneously increasing average sale price by 50-100%?



I guess this is your vision for 2026:-


This likely means spending more on acquisitions which are currently at ~$36 each, exposing you to more risk.

Think carefully about your next steps would be my advice (unless you want to rely on "luck" and "lighting candles", which many domainers seem to attribute their success to)

You’re right on the fundamentals. The only sustainable way to improve the numbers is to raise portfolio quality and be more selective.

My first year especially, I bought a lot of “garbage” while learning, and now I need to rebalance/upgrade the portfolio to compensate. The good news is that in the most recent period, I’m already seeing improvement in both STR and average sale price, so the direction is positive.

And yes, being more selective probably means a higher average acquisition cost, but I’m aiming to manage that risk by buying fewer, better names (and liquidating weaker ones). As I mentioned, my plan is for the portfolio to become clearly profitable by 2027/2028.

 

[biggie]

Hi

it’s good you have a plan
just be prepared for those discount prices and fees to increase

focus more on roi per domain sale than str.
as the cost and competition to replace same or higher quality name increases daily

imo…

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Thanks so much for providing such a clear and complete run down. I am sure it will be instructive and helpful to many others, and no doubt taking the time to put it together has been helpful to you too. I find when I actually write something I come to a better understanding.

Really like this summary of key takeaways.

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.

Thanks again,
-Bob

 

[killshotroxs]

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?

Wow, thank you for sharing suxh a transparent and detailed breakdown! The shift from emotional to mathematical in Year 2 is really an good milestone that many investors miss.

To answer your question on what I would improve: I’d focus heavily on pruning. With a 1% STR, you have solid movement, but if you want to push that average sale price to $2,500+, you might need to clear out the lower end of your inventory that is anchoring your averages down. Cutting the bottom 10-15% of your portfolio and reallocating that renewal capital into fewer, higher-quality acquisitions could be the lever you need to hit that 1.5% STR goal. I mean I ma not saying just let them go, but a simple nudge here can really affecxt your numbers in a positive way...

Also, interesting take on Unstoppable Domains. It’s bold to have 65% allocated there, but if the ROI and support are there, it makes sense. I have been using them extensively for their friday 5.99 offers as well lol. Good luck hitting that self-sustaining goal in 2026!

 

[MrBahCa]

Hi

it’s good you have a plan
just be prepared for those discount prices and fees to increase

focus more on roi per domain sale than str.
as the cost and competition to replace same or higher quality name increases daily

imo…

The main lesson from my second year of experience is that ROI needs to improve. I’ve now set a minimum price of $2,480 for most of my domains.
I should also mention that I wasn’t very lucky because i have a mid five-figure LTO sale canceled, and I was probably too greedy at times, rejecting around $8,000 in offers.
You’re right.. ROI is the key.

 

[MrBahCa]

Thanks so much for providing such a clear and complete run down. I am sure it will be instructive and helpful to many others, and no doubt taking the time to put it together has been helpful to you too. I find when I actually write something I come to a better understanding.

Really like this summary of key takeaways.

Thanks again,
-Bob

Thank you for your response, Bob!
I try to share everything because I believe that’s the key to success. What I’ve learned from the community is what has helped me grow and progress in this business.

 

[MrBahCa]

Wow, thank you for sharing suxh a transparent and detailed breakdown! The shift from emotional to mathematical in Year 2 is really an good milestone that many investors miss.

To answer your question on what I would improve: I’d focus heavily on pruning. With a 1% STR, you have solid movement, but if you want to push that average sale price to $2,500+, you might need to clear out the lower end of your inventory that is anchoring your averages down. Cutting the bottom 10-15% of your portfolio and reallocating that renewal capital into fewer, higher-quality acquisitions could be the lever you need to hit that 1.5% STR goal. I mean I ma not saying just let them go, but a simple nudge here can really affecxt your numbers in a positive way...

Also, interesting take on Unstoppable Domains. It’s bold to have 65% allocated there, but if the ROI and support are there, it makes sense. I have been using them extensively for their friday 5.99 offers as well lol. Good luck hitting that self-sustaining goal in 2026!

You’re absolutely right about pruning. That’s actually one of my main focuses now. A portion of my portfolio comes from my first year of learning, and some of those names don’t meet the quality level I’m targeting today. I’m gradually reviewing the portfolio, dropping weaker names, and reallocating renewal capital toward fewer but stronger acquisitions.
The goal is exactly what you mentioned: improve average sale price, optimize renewal costs, and push STR higher through better overall quality rather than just volume.
Thanks again for the valuable input, and wishing you strong sales as well!

 

[DrJacoby]

Well done, you're on the right track. Just keep going.

My advice would be – at this stage of your journey – to not be greedy. Don't be afraid to leave money on the table, because it's much better to get a sale and reinvest the money into more and better domains. You will scale much faster, and reach a profitable portfolio much faster as well.

Good luck!

 

[boker]

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?

That shows how many ways domaining has. My portofolio is around the same, under 600 domains, my average sale price is a litlle over 1k, because I do a lot of outbound xxx-low xxxx sales, but my STR is way higher and my acquisition cost is under $3 Afternic was the worst performant, compared to sedo and dan, spaceship I just started testing. Also, I renew on average just the top 25% or so of my portfolio, so I cut the costs with renewals. I make at least a low to mid xxxxx net profit every year, the better years were mid to high xxxxx profit. I always promise myself to scale up, but always postpone. If I would do it, I will use the same strategy, the difference will be that I will double or triple the number of domains every year.

 

[MrBahCa]

That shows how many ways domaining has. My portofolio is around the same, under 600 domains, my average sale price is a litlle over 1k, because I do a lot of outbound xxx-low xxxx sales, but my STR is way higher and my acquisition cost is under $3 Afternic was the worst performant, compared to sedo and dan, spaceship I just started testing. Also, I renew on average just the top 25% or so of my portfolio, so I cut the costs with renewals. I make at least a low to mid xxxxx net profit every year, the better years were mid to high xxxxx profit. I always promise myself to scale up, but always postpone. If I would do it, I will use the same strategy, the difference will be that I will double or triple the number of domains every year.

Thanks for sharing your journey!
So you’re generating mid 5figures per year with just 600 domains? That’s truly impressive! amazing results! You’re doing a fantastic job!

 

[MrBahCa]

Well done, you're on the right track. Just keep going.

My advice would be – at this stage of your journey – to not be greedy. Don't be afraid to leave money on the table, because it's much better to get a sale and reinvest the money into more and better domains. You will scale much faster, and reach a profitable portfolio much faster as well.

Good luck!

You’re absolutely right and I really appreciate the advice. At this stage, building portfolio and reinvesting capital is more important than trying to maximize every single sale. Scaling the portfolio and improving quality is the main goal.
Thanks again for your insights and encouragement!

 

[boker]

Thanks for sharing your journey!
So you’re generating mid 5figures per year with just 600 domains? That’s truly impressive! amazing results! You’re doing a fantastic job!

The last mid xxxxx a year was, probably before the war started, and I had around 800 domains that time. In the last 2 years or so around 20k a year, but I keep low the cost of acquisition and renewals (what basicly eats of lot of profit every year). But this works after experimenting a lot,I had some years when I've sold over 1k domains a year to other domainers, just to keep the profit high and learn what sells and what not, that was around 2016-2017. That was the time with chinese bubble and the rise of all brandable marketplaces.

 

[boker]

Thanks for sharing your journey!
So you’re generating mid 5figures per year with just 600 domains? That’s truly impressive! amazing results! You’re doing a fantastic job!

PS, there are also others who have fine tuned their strategies even better. There is one guy around here who was selling$69-$99 domains, for an average of $400 a day, so that"s around 12k a month Another guy makes xxxxxx sales a year with 17 domains, hunting great domains undervalued and maximizing the price. There are all kind of investment strategies.

 

[kool1]

Thanks for sharing.

Over the years, 22% of my offers have come on Monday's so statiscally 50% higher than it should be. Weekends may be a good time to evaluate prices.

GL

 

[bmugford]

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.

Thanks for sharing. It's a good start.

You have a proof of concept as you are receiving offers and making sales.

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.

It's good you saved money this time, but you can't rely on discount offers on an ongoing basis.

You need to budget normal renewal fees into your business model.

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.

I don't think the domain quality is going to increase much with an average acquisition price of $60 - $70.

It's probably going to be roughly the same quality domains. The difference in quality between $36 and $70 would be negligible.

• 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.

Pretty accurate.

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.

The work I did in the past is still paying off today.

I don't put nearly as much work in now as I did years ago.

What would you improve if this was your portfolio?

I think you need to mix in some higher quality domains.

When you are buying $36 quality domains, the $11/renewal fee is a large percentage of the value.

If you selectively buy some higher quality domains in say a $200 - $500 range, you start to notice a dramatic increase in quality.

You see domains with a little more liquidity, higher upside, and the renewal fee is less of a factor.

Even with good decisions, it can take years to turn the corner and really become profitable.

Brad

 

[DomainMagnate]

nice thread and good insights there! Tracking your portfolio NAV or reseller value is also helpful to know how well you're doing. If you focus on domains that have no reseller value, and only sell to end users, the portfolio doesn't appreciate. Slowly moving into more higher value domains also helps you make more $ from value appreciation in the long term, if you look at a 10y perspective. After 20y in domaining I no longer look at it through a monthly or yearly perspective. When I buy a domain I basically assume I'll keep it for another 10y, add up the renewal fees and have a ~20% to sell to an end user.

 

[MrBahCa]

nice thread and good insights there! Tracking your portfolio NAV or reseller value is also helpful to know how well you're doing. If you focus on domains that have no reseller value, and only sell to end users, the portfolio doesn't appreciate. Slowly moving into more higher value domains also helps you make more $ from value appreciation in the long term, if you look at a 10y perspective. After 20y in domaining I no longer look at it through a monthly or yearly perspective. When I buy a domain I basically assume I'll keep it for another 10y, add up the renewal fees and have a ~20% to sell to an end user.

Most of my domains have strong wholesale or auction potential. Many are carefully selected, for example: several are registered in 5+ extensions.
Recently, while analyzing auction markets i realized that if I listed some of these names i could likely sell them for at least 4× my acquisition cost. I also own around 40 .com domains that have been registered in more than 10 extensions for over a year.

 

[Mkt Sales Leads]

I also own around 40 .com domains that have been registered in more than 10 extensions for over a year.

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