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Domain reselling still works?

Discussion in 'Domain Names' started by JEET, May 24, 2020.

  1. #1
    Domain reselling still works?

    I see a lot of new people registering domains, asking upraisals, hoping to resell their domain for $100 or $500 or even more.
    No website, no traffic, just a domain...

    Does that still works?

    I don't see myself buying a domain at 10 times or 100 times higher price from someone.
    Would you buy?
     
    JEET, May 24, 2020 IP
  2. netmaster123

    netmaster123 Well-Known Member

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    #2
    I register 5-10 new domains at Godaddy, I make sure each of my domains are dot com only, 2 words max and easy to pronounce and easy to remember, then I list them on Afternic and Godaddy auctions and I make 5-10 times my investment, I rarely pay more than reg price and I've make 100x as well.

    It's a great business model and very profitable because of the large margins, my risk is $10 bucks per domain, just make sure to register domains that have commercial value and you'll do alright DO NOT get int the business of developing websites to then try t sell them because it's much harder... people who get it understand the value of a great domain name with commercial value.

    Good luck
     
    netmaster123, May 24, 2020 IP
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  3. qwikad.com

    qwikad.com Illustrious Member Affiliate Manager

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    #3
    Jumping into this game at this point will prove to be a waste of time.
     
    qwikad.com, May 24, 2020 IP
  4. radiusdanu

    radiusdanu Notable Member

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    #4
    It still works, not wasting time. Domain is an investment. If you can find good name, brand able , catchy, easy to remember.
    Buy domain at $15 and if customer interested with your domain, they will buy even for $15000. That's a huge profit.
    Buy the domain, set the page with contact form. And let the customer's find you.

    Sometimes, buyer want to buy domain but still stuck on idea. And this point used by a marketplace to sell domain complete with logo.
    Let's say brandpa. You can buy and sell your domains there. They also offering domains with logo.
     
    radiusdanu, May 24, 2020 IP
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  5. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #5
    JEET, May 24, 2020 IP
  6. Saputnik

    Saputnik Active Member

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    #6
    Blah, what a strategy...

    Why don't you buy used car for $ 1,000, and then sell it for $ 2,000, that's a huge profit, too? You need to convince a guy that it's worth 2 kilobucks, and you need to convince that guy there is no better alternative.

    Yes, there are domains that get sold for 5, 6, 7 or 8 figures; but they are long gone, and no way you can purchase them for $ 15! Domaining is increasingly tight game, especially since hundreds of new TLDs were introduced several years ago. In the beginning, new TLDs were confusing and not many people opted for them; but nowadays, with practically exhausted .com domain names, and their reselling prices ridiculously high, new TLDs gain in popularity, thus giving hard time to domainers. Check these articles about new TLDs: https://domainnamewire.com/2019/01/02/year-in-review-record-new-tld-sales/ and https://domainnamewire.com/2019/12/03/end-user-domain-sales-topped-by-a-new-tld/

    NameBio is one of the most reliable sources for domain name sales; here are the data for last two years, sorted in descending price order:
    https://namebio.com/?s==EDO3cDN3cjM
    Code (markup):
    It's topped by voice/dot/com at 30 millions. But filter price range you mentioned, ~15 k$, and check the names; do you own any name of similar quality? Or are they still available to register for 15$?

    Here is nice reading, a blog from full-time domainer, in category "domain sales" he describes in details painstaking process of acquiring and reselling domains: https://www.abdulbasit.com/category/domain-sales It is far from simple process you described, buy the domain and wait for customer to find it and pay whatever price tag you attach.

    From what I understand in that industry, it has become a game of numbers - as all good domains are gone, you must have a bunch of mediocre domains to stand a chance of selling any. Generally accepted sell rate is 1-2 % per year, i.e., out of 100 domains, you can expect to sell 1 or 2 domains; so full-time domainers have thousands, or even tens of thousands of domains in their portfolios. If you started a decade ago, you might still be in good position; but starting now in domaining is a no-no in my eyes; one can do it only if he/she has good eye to pick quality domain names, has outreach to end customers, and can finance XX,XXX $ for registrations/renewals in first several years, untill cash flow from regular sales is established.
     
    Saputnik, May 26, 2020 IP
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  7. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #7
    @Saputnik
    Those domainnamewire stats are actually real? Very surprising though.
    Abdul's blog was a nice read. Nearly 4k domains in portfolio, his annual expense itself is over 50k...
     
    JEET, May 26, 2020 IP
  8. netmaster123

    netmaster123 Well-Known Member

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    #8
    As you can see, there are 2 types of people.... the ones that just criticize any strategy and the ones who take action, the latter are business people, entrepreneurs who find opportunities and make money.

    A domain name is an investment, there is a market for good domain names, the whole mentality that all the good domain names are long gone is very ignorant.

    Just go to Godaddy Auctions and you will see that there is a market there, people are bidding on domains and willing to pay hundreds and thousands, all it takes is a little bit of time and research, find a domain name that did not get much attention and bid on it, spend a little bit of money and then put it back in the market and put your own asking price and sell it once the buyer willing to pay what you want comes to you.

    It is that simple... and yes, you can still make a ton of money buying and selling cars and motorcycles.

    There is a market for everything, I make money online buying and selling domain names, I trade stocks, Crypto and altcoins like Dogecoin.

    There is money to be made out there, are you the one who will constantly complain and find a flaw in every single strategy or will you be the one taking action?
     
    netmaster123, May 26, 2020 IP
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  9. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #9
    @netmaster123
    I get your point, and I understand also.
    I was reading one of the blogs that @Saputnik posted.
    Says that rate of sales is about 2% to 3% for those guys, like if they own 100 domains, they are able to offload only 2-3 an year.
    Since you have also been doing this (I think for a long time), would like to know approx. how many domains do you sell, and how much do you own total?
    Just trying to get an estimate of investment I might need. Of course it will differ from person to person, but trying to get a rough idea.
    Thanks
     
    JEET, May 26, 2020 IP
  10. Jerry Peres

    Jerry Peres Greenhorn

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    #10
    Flipping hand-registered domain names for a huge profit is quite possible, but keep in mind that you cannot make a profit of more than $300 by doing so.
     
    Jerry Peres, May 26, 2020 IP
  11. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #11
    @Jerry Peres
    Why not over $300
    I don't think there is a limit on the amount you can resell the domain.
     
    JEET, May 27, 2020 IP
  12. Saputnik

    Saputnik Active Member

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    #12
    Sure, yes, you're right.

    The one takes the action and purchases a hundred domains. One year later, several domains might be sold; a dozen more od domains received some inquiries, but either fake or lowball offers that didn't convert, while two third of domains did not show any activity, so with several domains sold, finances are just break even. Tough decision is to be made: invest in renewal fees for another year, or drop them altogether.

    I've been there, I've done that.

    If I failed, it does not mean that everyone will fail - of course there are successfull domainers; but not everyone who takes the action will become a succesfful enterpreneur; I said before that generally accepted sales rate is 1-2 %; I strongly believe that the same percentage applies to what you wrote above, not only to domaining, but to any industry: out of all those who try, barely few percents will succeed; others will either break even and leave it alone after some time, or bankrupt sooner or later. Finding the opportunity and taking the action itself is not sufficient.

    I don't say that domaining cannot be profitable; what I say is that margins have become tighter than ever, so you need to have clear vision what to do with domains you purchase, you need to know who might be interested in purchasing them from you. Otherwise, if you just start purchasing domains and listing them on marketplaces hoping that someone will purchase them, it's sure way to bottom.

    Or even worse case; that enterpreneur from our story above researches available domains, and let's say, he/she finds that "TheLittlePrince / dot / com", "AberdeenAirport / dot / com" and "NOCN / dot /org" are available to register (or are offered for sale by fellow domainer for price he/she considers a bargain).

    Wow, what a great domains!, he/she thinks to himself/herself, and all happy, registers those domains and lists them for sale in their favourite domain marketplace, expecting quick an nice money.

    But few days or few months later, he/she receives a notice from lawyer or another legal entity, which claims that those domains infringe on their copyrights or personal properties, and require to surrender domain to them. He/she needs to either hire a lawyer or defend themself, but the ultimate decision is on World Intelectual Property Organization, WIPO. One to three panelists under WIPO's Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) decide that he/she indeed must surrender all three domains I mentioned above; read here why: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/text.jsp?case=D2019-1106 , https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2004/d2004-0717.html , https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/decisions/html/2005/d2005-1085.html

    I selected those three domains randomly from the list of domains where domain transfer to complainant was ordered; you can check all the cases here: https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/domains/search/legalindex/results.jsp?ids1=15420&ids2= , or just google UDRP.

    One of my favourite cases, which shows all the flaws of our systems, is Nissan case; the guy whose last name was actually Nissan owned Nissan / dot / com, and one would think he is perfectly entitled to own that domain. But car maker Nissan liked that domain name, and their army of lawyers managed to hijack it from its legitimate owner.

    So, in (unlikely) case of big corporation lurking your domain name, feel free to kiss it goodbye, mere mortal citizen simply cannot fight them.

    Of course there is no imposed limit, you can sell domain for as much as you want - provided that you can find someone willing to pay that money!

    In my previous post I mentioned so-called new top level domains. Untill 5-6 years ago, you were limited to a half of dozen of top level domains (com, net, org, info, biz, maybe few more, I don't remember now), and country level domains. If your prefered domain was busy, you either had to pay for it, or to use some obscure country domain where it was free.

    But then ICANN launched literally a hundreds of new top level domains from any niche you can imagine - technical, IT, finances, beauty, marketing, all that stuff. Response in the beginning was mild, people found them confusing; but they started getting traction and are becoming more popular.

    Let's say I want to launch credit card service "My Own Credit Card"; owner of "MyOwnCreditCard / dot / com" asks 5,000 $ for that domain, while "MyOwn / dot /creditcard" is available for 100 $. Why would I go for first option, when second option is 50 times cheaper, and better suits my niche, .creditcard becomes by digital signature?
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2020
    Saputnik, May 27, 2020 IP
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  13. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #13
    @Saputnik
    Thanks for these links, very informative.
     
    JEET, May 27, 2020 IP
  14. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #14
    I picked a couple of domains, which I think are good. Where do I list them now, and is there a fee involved at listing time?
    Neither is registered with godaddy by the way.
     
    JEET, Jun 1, 2020 IP
  15. Saputnik

    Saputnik Active Member

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    #15
    Well, there are various domain marketplaces:
    Dan.com (previously Undeveloped.com; this one is my favourite, clean and easy interface, support team quick to respond)
    Sedo.com, my second choice
    Uniregistry.com
    NamePros.com/marketplace/sell-domains

    The latest one is for resellers, therefore low prices. As a rule of thumb, for hand-registered domains (domains registered at regular registry prices, not on auction, closeout, etc.), you can hardly expect to reach three-digit price in $.

    Some registrars have their own marketplaces, including GoDaddy; apart from them:
    Epik.com
    Namesilo.com
    Dynadot.com

    For sure, there are more, but I can't recall now...

    In all of them, you can choose between Buy It Now price (i.e., you set the price, and whoever may buy at that price, no negotiations), Make Offer price (you set the minimum offer you're willing to accept, and then negotiate) and Auction.

    Interesting option is NameLiquidate.com, which operates under Epik, and works like dutch auction, oposite to "regular" auction; instead of lowest price, it starts at maximum price, and then it drops gradually over several days, untill someone purchases it at current price, or auction expires when it reaches the minimum price you're willing to accept, and nobody wants to pay even that lowest price.

    None of these sites include any fee for regular listing. You can add any domain you want, but you have to verify ownership of the domains, usually by modifyng CNAME or TXT records of the domain, or by pointing the name servers to those marketplaces.

    For so-called brandable domains, i.e., domains that have no specific meaning, but can be used as brand, there are dedicated marketplaces; the biggest ones BrandBucket.com and BrandPa.com; first, they have to accept your domains, you cannot list any domain you want, and they require a fee for listing a domain; there are additional fees for logo, if you want them to create the logo for your domain. Also, they require exclusive listing, you cannot list domain for sale with them if it is listed elsewhere - you have to point nameservers to them, and if you change it afterwards, they will detect it pretty quickly and warn you.

    You will have to explore yourself what works best for you, so many options to cover them all... :) Good luck with your venture, let us know how does it go! :)
     
    Saputnik, Jun 1, 2020 IP
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  16. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #16
    @Saputnik
    Many thanks for this info, appreciated! :)
     
    JEET, Jun 1, 2020 IP
  17. dcristo

    dcristo Illustrious Member

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    #17
    True all of the valuable .com's are taken but you can look at registering domains in new markets.
     
    dcristo, Jun 1, 2020 IP
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  18. JEET

    JEET Notable Member

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    #18
    @dcristo
    If you dig really deep, can still find something ok enough in .COM itself.
    Not as good as a 4-6 char domain, but easy to remember English words, near 10 chars.
    Like I got this domain the other day, MoneySIP.COM (Money SIP), will put up a stock finance website there as soon as I get some time.
    SIP is short for Systematic Investment Planning, a term very popular in my country amongst stock market traders and investors.
    And both words are regular English words, so its a very easy to remember domain as well.
     
    JEET, Jun 2, 2020 IP
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  19. radiusdanu

    radiusdanu Notable Member

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    #19
    What a talk here. I think @sputnik think domain name like a potato chips or abandoned super car in dubai?
    Domain is an asset, think if you know about how to build brand from zero, godaddy.com just a domain
    worth no more than $20 at 10 years ago, but now? can you valuate the price of godaddy.com just the domain?
    Its more than $1B i guess. That's just a domain.

    I am selling hosting few years ago, using indowebspace.com domain name. i do everything from a to z.
    Guess what? i leave it run as is until i forgot to renew the domain name and i leave it.
    Mind blowing, DomainMarket.com sell it for $39,888 USD. Just open the domain name, you'll see it.

    Domainers should have few step ahead of mindsets to catch all of the idea.
    Buy some domain, and let the customers find you ;)
     
    radiusdanu, Jun 11, 2020 IP
  20. Saputnik

    Saputnik Active Member

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    #20
    Would you care to explain, please, I don't understand your point?

    Exactly, they sell it; they have not sold it yet. And you know when will they sell it at that price? Never, and maybe not even then! Except if US$ inflation makes that amount worth 100 $ of today value in near future, which, given recent events and trends, is not as unlikely as it may seem at first.

    Do me a favour and go to Kryts.com; I have just set its price to a bit short of one million EUR, do you see?! Whoa, I sell my domain for one million EUR! Does it make me a millionaire now?! :)

    Seller can set whatever price he/she wants, my friend; I can ask $39,888 USD for my cherry red 2011. Volkswagen Golf 1.4 petrol engine, it is not illegal, as far as I know. But what a buyer is willing to pay (if there is a potential buyer at all), that's quite different issue.

    kryts.png
     
    Saputnik, Jun 11, 2020 IP
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