Buying Domains Just to Sit

47 replies
Does anyone buy random domains here just to sit on them in hopes of the names being worth something? With no intentions of actually building a site around it?

Also wondering what makes domain names valuable now. As all single words are pretty much taken.

would something like: fastweightloss.com be valuable or worth $10? I've always been really good at thinking of catchy names on the spot, I bet I could find some decent domains but I am wondering if they are all just a waste of money now.
#buys #domains #sit
  • Profile picture of the author NatesMarketing
    Just my own personal experience - of (probably) what not to do.

    I indulged in too many adult beverages one evening and thought domain sitting was a fantastic idea.

    Out of my jumbled thoughts - I purchased 10 domains I thought could be big - I used google trends to see what was going on. Picked what I thought (and still do ) are awesome domains.

    Haven't sold anything - still got six months.

    Did I do something wrong? Probably. I have never done "domain sitting" before. I didn't research it. I just did it. It's not at all interesting to me - was just a spur of the moment idea.

    There are people that make a living doing it - so it's obviously viable.

    Just, my recommendation - don't do what I did!
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    • Profile picture of the author fjk23
      Originally Posted by NatesMarketing View Post

      Just my own personal experience - of (probably) what not to do.

      I indulged in too many adult beverages one evening and thought domain sitting was a fantastic idea.

      Out of my jumbled thoughts - I purchased 10 domains I thought could be big - I used google trends to see what was going on. Picked what I thought (and still do ) are awesome domains.

      Haven't sold anything - still got six months.

      Did I do something wrong? Probably. I have never done "domain sitting" before. I didn't research it. I just did it. It's not at all interesting to me - was just a spur of the moment idea.

      There are people that make a living doing it - so it's obviously viable.

      Just, my recommendation - don't do what I did!
      I agree.. don't do the same mistakes, I suggest that you buy a reliable course on domain flipping and sitting, because it will really give you an idea of what to do and what not to do and give it a try and learn from your mistakes like we all do!
      hope that helped
      - Joseph Roberts
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      • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
        what I am leaning at is in particular........... .us or .co names

        particularly .us, there is many good 2 word domains

        Just wondering if this will increase in value soon.
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        • Profile picture of the author Pdomain
          Banned
          Originally Posted by AffiliatingAlan View Post

          what I am leaning at is in particular........... .us or .co names

          particularly .us, there is many good 2 word domains

          Just wondering if this will increase in value soon.
          I hope so, the value will increase in future as well.

          I managed to grab TrainTickets dot us
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        • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
          Banned
          Originally Posted by AffiliatingAlan View Post

          what I am leaning at is in particular........... .us or .co names

          particularly .us, there is many good 2 word domains

          Just wondering if this will increase in value soon.
          Some .co domains have sold for a fair amount, but I wouldn't touch a .us domain for investment. You probably won't get much for them, if anything.

          Don't just buy a bunch of domains because you "think" they'll be valuable. Do the research and learn domaining before investing the money, or you'll just be throwing it away and have a bunch of domains to let expire or renew.
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  • Profile picture of the author cjhoude
    I buy random domains every time I'm manic only to regret it later. I have never once profited from the sale of a domain name. I really wish I could stop doing this but I get so damn excited about some of the dumbest ideas in the world from time to time. I was lucky in that I stopped myself from buying another a few days ago. The only thing they do is sit around racking up yearly renewal fees if I forget to discontinue them.
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  • Profile picture of the author aurettemag
    I heard that someone is making millions just by investing on Domain name. Well, if you have a domain name like income.com, payday.com, bank.com .etc...
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Investing in domain names for future value is very much the same as investing in real estate for future value.
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    • Profile picture of the author Steve B
      Investing in domains (buying) is only half the puzzle, and the smaller half (to boot)!

      You need to be able to sell the domain as well and that is where the "domaining" skill comes to roost, in my opinion. Did you ever think to buy a domain with a plan to sell it for a profit after a certain length of time?

      If you don't plan to use the domain yourself, I would suggest thinking about the reasons why others might want your domain name. I think we all tend to fall in love with our own domains - but if no one else finds any value in the name, it's going to be yours until you drop it.

      You must show others why the domain is a good buy and that usually means promoting it to them in some way that will plant ideal uses for the domain in their heads.

      The best to you,

      Steve
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  • Profile picture of the author Shane12
    I've never bought just random domains, but I've spent plenty of money buying domains that I think I may potentially want to develop a site around at some point, then never get around to it for years. Now I'm letting all of those go one by one. If I don't have an immediate reason for a domain, I'm not bothering to renew any more.
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    • Profile picture of the author koreancowboy
      Originally Posted by Shane12 View Post

      I've never bought just random domains, but I've spent plenty of money buying domains that I think I may potentially want to develop a site around at some point, then never get around to it for years. Now I'm letting all of those go one by one. If I don't have an immediate reason for a domain, I'm not bothering to renew any more.
      Same here Shane...I used to have over 20 domains at any given point in time, but slowly, I'm letting them go as I concentrate on just two niches.
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    • Profile picture of the author PhilippaWrites
      Originally Posted by Shane12 View Post

      I've never bought just random domains, but I've spent plenty of money buying domains that I think I may potentially want to develop a site around at some point, then never get around to it for years. Now I'm letting all of those go one by one. If I don't have an immediate reason for a domain, I'm not bothering to renew any more.
      I'm exactly the same. I have a range of domains that I bought because I had a 'brilliant idea' that I have never had the time to actually bring to life. I annoy myself a lot with this stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author GarrieWilson
    I do. Not a lot but some. I mainly get domains that sound cool. Some I have sold ($500 was the most, $200 average) others I haven't.

    Garrie
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  • Profile picture of the author armysmoke
    I buy domain names from godaddy with a coupon so the most I pay is $3.13 for a .com domain name. I can usually pick them up for $2.17.

    I then make a decent ad and list it on ebay. I usually double (sometimes quadruple) my money after paypal and ebay fees.

    I won't get rich this way but it keeps me busy.
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  • Profile picture of the author PongSet
    One thing for sure is always do your research on the potential buyers before you make any purchase.
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  • Profile picture of the author datingworld
    I do lots of domain buying and selling. Though I am not very experienced in it but I do make decent income from domain selling. I do lots of research before buying any domain name. If I am unable to sale in within first year of registering it, then I let it die in a peace and dont renew for second year.
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    • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
      Originally Posted by datingworld View Post

      I do lots of domain buying and selling. Though I am not very experienced in it but I do make decent income from domain selling. I do lots of research before buying any domain name. If I am unable to sale in within first year of registering it, then I let it die in a peace and dont renew for second year.
      what research determines a good name?

      im particularly interest in two word near emd's in .co, .us, and .org ie. cheaptables.us....softwarereviews.us

      and catchy names in .com...ie celebsecrets.com totallytuna.com, dollardomains.com

      is there any value in these types of names? how would you know
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  • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
    im convinced past 2-4 letter domains and obvious 2 word hits that there is no system and its just luck...

    big example.... greendot.org sold for $4000.....yet bluedot.org is available for 12$/yr
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    • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
      Originally Posted by AffiliatingAlan View Post

      im convinced past 2-4 letter domains and obvious 2 word hits that there is no system and its just luck...

      big example.... greendot.org sold for $4000.....yet bluedot.org is available for 12$/yr
      It has nothing to do with luck. There is a reason one had a ready buyer while the other did not.
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      • Profile picture of the author Nuno
        As Gene said it has nothing to do with luck, but the research you did before you acquired them... I wasted thousands of dollars before doing it right.
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      • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
        Originally Posted by Gene Pimentel View Post

        It has nothing to do with luck. There is a reason one had a ready buyer while the other did not.
        By luck I was getting at that I assumed the buyer had that name in mind before he knew it was taken. Or he just heard it and decided he had to have it.

        Either way I dont see how you can have a pre-determined plan for domains like 2450.com...I can see a clothing line or something like that but 4140.com would work just as good.
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        • Profile picture of the author Nuno
          In fact the example you gave is a great one. All NNNN.com domains are valuable, anyone selling a 4 number .com domain for less than $1000 doesn't have a clue. They have huge demand on China, I've refused hundreds of offers for my best one (2386).
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          • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
            Idk I still think if you dont own 2-4 letter or good single or double words. Basically all the ones that have been taken for years now, that essentially its about being at the right place at the right time for the right person.

            sam2.com $2,500
            mcdlc.com $2,471
            my-tapestry.com $2,025
            imii.com $3,988
            genusspur.com $4,488
            aalighting.com $2,600

            I see no value in the ones above. Anyone can slap a bumper sticker on something, but at the end of the day the names still suck. There is still tons of .coms available that you dont have to settle for other peoples made up words. You can go and make your own.

            So i'm assuming all of these domains had profitable sites already on them for the price tags to be justified.
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            • Profile picture of the author Nuno
              Everyday many domains sell for those prices, without any websites or revenue. Most are acquired by businesses, or entrepreneurs, that want to use them to launch their ideas and that is the name they want, not any other variation.

              imii.com is a good one.
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              • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
                Originally Posted by Nuno View Post

                Everyday many domains sell for those prices, without any websites or revenue. Most are acquired by businesses, or entrepreneurs, that want to use them to launch their ideas and that is the name they want, not any other variation.

                imii.com is a good one.

                So then its what I thought, timing, person, place...luck. Except for the obvious good domains which are few and far between now.

                I dont see anything good about imii.com
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                • Profile picture of the author Nuno
                  You need to know the market to recognize the value of some like imii.com , and have the right contacts to properly sell it.
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                  • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
                    Originally Posted by Nuno View Post

                    You need to know the market to recognize the value of some like imii.com , and have the right contacts to properly sell it.
                    I really think its irrelevant as I see zyro.com sold for 22$ but names like zylom.com for $2200. They both suck, infact zyro seem better to me anyway.

                    "and have the right contacts to properly sell it" this makes sense sense
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                    • Profile picture of the author Nuno
                      There are many factors, but sometimes things don't make sense.
                      Zyro.com for $22 ? Are you sure, isn't it a mistake? Where have you read that? Zyro is a trademark in the UK and the .com is an established website.
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                      • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
                        Originally Posted by Nuno View Post

                        There are many factors, but sometimes things don't make sense.
                        Zyro.com for $22 ? Are you sure, isn't it a mistake? Where have you read that? Zyro is a trademark in the UK and the .com is an established website.
                        Actually your right to be exact.

                        zyro sold for 400
                        zylom sold for 3500GBP
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                        • Profile picture of the author Nuno
                          I went to check and Zyro.com was auctioned, and reached a top bid of $5208, in 2011.
                          I double checked, as I do with any info online.

                          Where are you reading those $400?
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  • Profile picture of the author Stefan Shields
    I wouldn't personally ever buy a domain that I didn't have a plan for.

    It makes you fall into the trap of spending money that you never get back.

    You're better off sticking to a plan of action rather than impulsively buying domains in the hope you can sell them to a mystery buyer someday.
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  • Profile picture of the author MTwrites
    Just bought oWriter.com a few minutes ago for cheaps.... hoping to build it into something worthwhile...
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  • Profile picture of the author wizardergel
    im so excited...........
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  • Profile picture of the author mfarg
    I've bought a lot of names over the years, but I bought them to develop and perhaps sell later. Each one represented some business idea. I don't buy them just to try and sell.

    That said, I still think there are good and potentially valuable names out there. I would stick with .com because a decent .com seems to have better value than shorter domains with newer extensions.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nuno
    Don't trust every reported sale, believe me. I've seen a lot of errors, especially at expired auctions, because many domains are renewed but are reported as sold at the top bid before the renewal, which is untrue. I'm almost positive it didn't sell at 2010 for that price.

    I do make money with domains, but I lost thousands when I was starting. I learned how to research by force.
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    • Profile picture of the author AffiliatingAlan
      Originally Posted by Nuno View Post

      Don't trust every reported sale, believe me. I've seen a lot of errors, especially at expired auctions, because many domains are renewed but are reported as sold at the top bid before the renewal, which is untrue. I'm almost positive it didn't sell at 2010 for that price.

      I do make money with domains, but I lost thousands when I was starting. I learned how to research by force.
      Ah ic, this is why I trust nothing anymore.

      Any tips for what you forcefully learned? Or is this all being saved for future WSO?
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      • Profile picture of the author Nuno
        I'm a member here for more than a decade and never sold a domain's WSO (or any at all), just gave free info
        In life I rather have partners, not just customers.

        I learned by negotiating domains over more than a dozen years, by investigating many hundreds of sales and by owning a few dozens OF thousands of domains. I cannot share a magic secret here, the key is called experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author Samuel Adams
    If you can get some exact match domains (with highly search keywords), then this might be a viable idea. Though most domain buyers will want the domain backlinked from some sites, rather than just buying a name that has no clout with Google.
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  • Profile picture of the author Scott Ames
    I purchased a really nice 5 letter.com domain name and did nothing with it. I paid for the registration for years, then one day got bored and let it go. Now I find it for sale for $1,400 . That doesn't mean they will get it, but it hurts just a little to see that.

    That said I don't believe a domain name makes or breaks a site or an idea. Some of the strangest names are top sites. Yelp? FaceBook? Twitter? Go back to 1994 and suggest to someone that those would be the perfect name for a site and be laughed out of the room.

    People tend to think they need Pets.com , Weather.com , or Mortgage.com to make a concept successful. That helps, but in no way does that guarantee success. If you are selling domains those are the type that attract top dollar, but the buyer isn't guaranteed anything. They buyer had better have a lot more than just a good domain.
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    • Profile picture of the author Nuno
      Google, Yelp, FaceBook, Twitter and others had giant advertising budgets that could turn any made up word on something you remember. After that boost word of mouth takes care of the rest. For 1 case of success there are 100+ that fail. Traffic from good domains is the easiest sustainable one I got, and I've tried a lot of things.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Perfectly stated Nuno.
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  • Profile picture of the author TallCoolOne
    It's easy to accumulate a lot of domains that you think are really valuable, but not so easy to sell them. There are too many domains for sale at Sedo and other marketplaces and not enough buyers. Yes, there are people making good money at flipping them, but you really need to know what you're doing.
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  • Profile picture of the author BradVert2013
    I have a lot of domain names sitting around, but they're usually not random. Many are variations of my main personal website domain. Others I've made plans to use then never do. I just let those expire. Some I just like the name and I keep them "just in case."

    Only one time have I regretted letting a domain expire. It was perfect for my brand. Bought it in 2002 and let it expire 5+ years later.
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  • Profile picture of the author ednri871
    I flip domains every now and then, and have a lot of 3 letter .com's I'm saving.

    Flipped AY.com about 2 years ago for a very nice profit.

    Have 3DPrint.com right now. It will take a lot to pry that one from my hands as the industry is projected to grow 1900% in the next 3 years alone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Pdomain
    Banned
    The thing is before buying a domain name, you need to know where you can easily sell the domain name.....
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  • Profile picture of the author WilhelmR
    Half of my domains began like random thoughts. The other half I wanted to develop but never got around to do it.

    The only success I've had at selling them is in the local market (CityName+BusinessType .com). Many local businesses really have no idea such domains are available, so when you approach them with a good offer they're more likely to take it.

    This mostly work for companies without a huge brand marketing budget, so generic names help them stick on people's mind.
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