30 replies
What's your strategy when it comes to selling domains?

I have several domains that I listed on Godaddy auctions tonight. I hesitated about listing them without having had developed them first. All are over a year old and one is more than 3 years old. They all have good keywords in them and should be valuable to someone.

The only domain I have ever sold was through a forum post signature (not this forum - gasp).

If you sell domains do you monetize them first and report that they are earning monthly income?

Do you wait until the domain is of a minimum age?

Do you have a strategy or do you just buy a good domain name and turn around and sell it?

Not sure I want to get into domain selling on a regular basis, just needed to get rid of some good domain names I had sitting around and never got the time to develop them.

Just wondered what strategies other warriors had when it came to selling domains and if maybe there was a way to sell my domains that would bring in more money than listing them on Godaddy or if where I have them is the best way to bring in top dollar for them.

Thanks for any input in advance.
#domains #selling
  • Profile picture of the author hustlinsmoke
    Now your stating domains, but you sound as if domains with websites. Completely different to sell each one.
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    • Profile picture of the author Marketing Fool
      I've never been able to sell a domain that didn't have an established website with a proven income track record....people just don't care unless you can show that the site has made X dollars in the past...
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      • Profile picture of the author Centurian
        Originally Posted by Marketing Fool View Post

        I've never been able to sell a domain that didn't have an established website with a proven income track record....people just don't care unless you can show that the site has made X dollars in the past...
        Indeed. To demand the best prices a domain should be developed, much like real estate commands higher value if developed instead of selling raw land.
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  • Profile picture of the author Domainate
    I just gave these tips to someone that asked within my WSO thread:

    Here are some free tips for selling domains:

    - List them on Afternic.com and Sedo.com, the two major domain marketplaces. Those listings permeate through many top registrars such as GoDaddy.
    - Additionally, you can get a GoDaddy Auctions account and list domains on auction there.
    - The best forums to hit in general for domain selling are DNForum, NamePros, DigitalPoint, WebhostingTalk, AcornDomains and V7N.
    - If you focus on a particular niche, see if there are webmaster/affiliate forums in that industry. Example: PokerAffiliateListings Forum has a marketplace for poker domains.
    - Indicate the domain is for sale in its whois information (add it to what's already there) assuming you don't use whois privacy.
    - If not using the domain, use a "for sale" page with a form where visitors can submit an offer. Many possible buyers, especially end-users, will visit the domain as a means of checking if it's available.
    - If focusing on a particular niche, network in communities within that niche and have your domains for sale as an afterthought (the equivalent of participating with relevant posts in a forum and advertising in your sig)

    There are other means of selling domains but those would be the most recommended means for most domains. Flippa is popular for selling websites but not so much for selling domains without websites. I wouldn't recommend selling domains from any kind of available domain list on Flippa unless you were essentially doing a group listing of them and taking individual offers/sales.

    One last thing to note - you don't always need a website on a domain to sell it. Looking enough through Flippa might make one assume that, but I've almost never had a website associated with domains I've sold, and I've sold thousands of domains over the years for up to $60,000 per.
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  • Profile picture of the author olalinks
    Banned
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  • Profile picture of the author svensky
    Are there members who can sell our domains for a commission?

    I have 3 I'd like to sell shortly:

    persuaded.biz
    siestas.org
    housed.co

    Thanks,

    Sven
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    • Profile picture of the author James.N
      I've found that unless you have a really rare or really short domain - especially .com its rather tough to sell. Most people that would buy a domain are in the same situation as us. They already have more domains than they know what too do with. Most IMers come up with some great idea, then buy a domain but never see it all the way through.
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  • Profile picture of the author carrot
    If they are truly valuable commercial terms, stick em on sedo.
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  • Profile picture of the author jerzykaz
    Hi,
    I have sold quite a few domains so far. My domains are usually 2 word domains and the words have a high volume google search, and also the words in the domain have AdWords advertising when yo type them in the search engine.
    You can sell them on Sedo, it shows you how many hits your domain is getting per month or you can contact someone directly, someone who has a business and your domain name relates to it, thats how I sold y most valuable domains.
    The age is not that importat as much as key words in your domain, e.g if creditcards.com was avalible now and was created 2 hours ago, it would be super valuable regradless of the age.
    Thanks
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    • Profile picture of the author joyfulwraps
      jerzykaz,

      Glad you mentioned keywords in the domain name being more valuable than age. I need to research again because my domains are 1 - 3 years old but I believe they contain valuable keywords. Since someone else posted the domain names here on the thread I guess it is OK for me to do so too LOL.

      CandySnackSpice.com

      DogFoodSecretsreview.org

      Laptop-Money.com

      MyCashBlogs.com

      OrganicGardensGreen.com

      Preservative-Free-Food.com

      Originally Posted by jerzykaz View Post

      Hi,
      I have sold quite a few domains so far. My domains are usually 2 word domains and the words have a high volume google search, and also the words in the domain have AdWords advertising when yo type them in the search engine.
      You can sell them on Sedo, it shows you how many hits your domain is getting per month or you can contact someone directly, someone who has a business and your domain name relates to it, thats how I sold y most valuable domains.
      The age is not that importat as much as key words in your domain, e.g if creditcards.com was avalible now and was created 2 hours ago, it would be super valuable regradless of the age.
      Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author svensky
    Thanks for the advice on Sedo and all other comments everyone! I'll be sure to check it out.
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  • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
    Ditto to everything Steve said (Domainate) in post #5, but I'd add these tips.

    - When listing on Sedo, you'll immediately get a lot more attention if you list a buy price. A lot of potential buyers hate getting into the negotiation game. I wouldn't do this for a domain I considered much more valuable than most, but for the average domain name, listing a reasonable price gets the action.

    - Listing your domains for sale on domaining forums like NamePros or dnforum is good for quickly selling domains, but they must be priced for resellers. Meaning, a dime on the dollar. Again, unless it is an unusually stellar domain.

    - The quickest, most effective approach is still researching potential buyers by checking to see who is using the keywords in their Adwords campaigns. Search the keywords in quotes, and research each advertiser to see if their website/business would benefit from your domain, to get organic traffic. Do whatever it takes to get the email address of the decision-maker. Otherwise you're spinning your wheels. Email the decision-maker (on a personal level) and point out the benefits of owning your domain name.
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    • Profile picture of the author Domainate
      Originally Posted by Gene Pimentel View Post

      Ditto to everything Steve said (Domainate) in post #5, but I'd add these tips.

      - When listing on Sedo, you'll immediately get a lot more attention if you list a buy price. A lot of potential buyers hate getting into the negotiation game. I wouldn't do this for a domain I considered much more valuable than most, but for the average domain name, listing a reasonable price gets the action.

      - Listing your domains for sale on domaining forums like NamePros or dnforum is good for quickly selling domains, but they must be priced for resellers. Meaning, a dime on the dollar. Again, unless it is an unusually stellar domain.

      - The quickest, most effective approach is still researching potential buyers by checking to see who is using the keywords in their Adwords campaigns. Search the keywords in quotes, and research each advertiser to see if their website/business would benefit from your domain, to get organic traffic. Do whatever it takes to get the email address of the decision-maker. Otherwise you're spinning your wheels. Email the decision-maker (on a personal level) and point out the benefits of owning your domain name.
      All solid advice by Gene!
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      ===> COMING SOON: The Ultimate Guide to Finding the Perfect Domain. ***PM for details***
      Want to make a living with domains? Domain Boot Camp Online coming soon!
      Join the Doma.in Newsletter for special domain sales and free domain training!
      >> Have a list? Deliver more through our Listcast service or clean it to please your autoresponder with ELC.
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  • Profile picture of the author TestiVar
    If you have a brandable domain, I recommend BrandBucket or Nemeas. You can get at least $1,000 for it.

    If the domain isn't brandable, then it's only value is any residual traffic it may have. The market is so full of fraud (making up fake residual traffic) that most people will doubt any kind of traffic proof you might have.

    So, it is usually best to just keep it and monetize that traffic yourself.
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  • Profile picture of the author seoampsteve
    Originally Posted by joyfulwraps View Post

    What's your strategy when it comes to selling domains?

    I have several domains that I listed on Godaddy auctions tonight. I hesitated about listing them without having had developed them first. All are over a year old and one is more than 3 years old. They all have good keywords in them and should be valuable to someone.

    The only domain I have ever sold was through a forum post signature (not this forum - gasp).

    If you sell domains do you monetize them first and report that they are earning monthly income?

    Do you wait until the domain is of a minimum age?

    Do you have a strategy or do you just buy a good domain name and turn around and sell it?

    Not sure I want to get into domain selling on a regular basis, just needed to get rid of some good domain names I had sitting around and never got the time to develop them.

    Just wondered what strategies other warriors had when it came to selling domains and if maybe there was a way to sell my domains that would bring in more money than listing them on Godaddy or if where I have them is the best way to bring in top dollar for them.

    Thanks for any input in advance.
    Hi Laura.... Its not the NAME of domain which sells (exceptions are always there) BUT in general its the PR + Traffic + Market + Revenue = Sells.... If you can take some pain by setting up websites, do some IM and get some regular traffic then you can even sell 3 month old domains on pretty decent prices..... With all legitimate evidence (Buyers will ask for it) to the given factors you will get pretty decent bids...

    Best of Luck ....
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  • Profile picture of the author akif
    Niche, Traffic, Audience, Earnings, Keywords etc etc
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  • Profile picture of the author Ryan Even
    Do you have an email list?

    I've had luck selling to people on my list (in the niche the domain is about).

    For example, if my domain is about horse training, I would email the list and tell them I want to sell the horse training domain and receive multiple offers.

    I've actually had better luck selling to people interested in the niche (and on my list) then selling to actual internet marketers.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayPeete
    I like locally targeted Geo domains because they are easy to sell to offline clients for a good price and they can be brand new.
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  • Profile picture of the author joyfulwraps
    Ryan,

    Great, thanks that is a good strategy. I will have to cultivate a list of responsive domain buyers
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  • Profile picture of the author danlew
    Just buy a local geo-targeted domain (location + business type, find targeted offline clients on Google map and contact them via phone or email. This is one of the basics though, but I think Sedo is much easier for you sell as many domains you want.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Chicas
    Does anyone know how much it costs to put a domain up for sale on Sedo? I was able to find the upsells for listing your domain, just wondering if there is a starting base fee just to list it. And is it worth it to get the extras?

    Since others posted their domains - the one I have for sale cheap is: 3DVisionGlasses.com
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    • Profile picture of the author Gene Pimentel
      Originally Posted by Christiani View Post

      Does anyone know how much it costs to put a domain up for sale on Sedo? I was able to find the upsells for listing your domain, just wondering if there is a starting base fee just to list it. And is it worth it to get the extras?

      Since others posted their domains - the one I have for sale cheap is: 3DVisionGlasses.com
      There is no upfront cost to list all your domains at Sedo. You only pay a fee if the domain sells.

      See: Price List*-*Sedo.com
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  • Profile picture of the author webchris
    I have sold a few domains on Sedo, but I went crazy and listed about 100 domains there and haven't sold anything since. It is a very easy-to-use site though, and you can bulk add domains.
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  • Profile picture of the author joyfulwraps
    Thought I would revisit this thread and let you all know that I decided to develop those domains so they all have content on them now. Once they have a good income stream going I will then do my best to sell them.

    Thanks for all the strategy discussion, I appreciate it.
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  • Profile picture of the author timtheman
    I am too looking to get into selling domain, but I'm not sure when yet. I like the large sum of cash i can get from selling a website, but I also like residual income.
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  • Profile picture of the author clicktechs
    The numbers of names listed on sedo or afternic is off putting. And Sedo takes $50 so you have to have a name worth..$100 to make it worth your time.

    Good names will always sell and will always be in demand. If they can see the whois on a really good name you will be contacted.

    short targeted its a fine business, but just like internet marketing...it takes work knowledge, a plan and perhaps a bit of luck
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  • Profile picture of the author imgeek2727
    I buy it, get it developed for DIRT CHEAP, wait a while, then issue press releases hyping up the word. Remember, the real value of domains is the CONCEPT behind the domain name. For example, if renewable tilapia gas (I just made that up) became popular, domains based on that concept shoot up in demand. The key is to goose up media attention to the concept.
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  • Profile picture of the author Rhiannon Beckham
    Any advice on .xxx?

    As in vidgina.xxx
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    **I don't always make it back to check on threads, so if you'd like me to elaborate feel free to PM me, I try to make sure to check my inbox regularly and am happy to help..

    I wouldn't have pulled a $9k week w/Teespring etc without the help of others, so it's time to pay it forward.
    I can make a little room in my life for that. ;)

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    • Profile picture of the author imgeek2727
      Originally Posted by Maryjane Burnz View Post

      Any advice on .xxx?

      As in vidgina.xxx
      If you plan to unload it onto adult webmasters, I suspect your chances are slim. .xxx is not very popular with them. If you want to play the adult domain game try the hunting moon service. Great adult domains inventory plus they seem to have a track record of selling domains that appreciate in value
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      • Profile picture of the author Rhiannon Beckham
        Wonderful!

        Thanks for the advice I just thought it was such a catchy play on words I bought it!
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        **I don't always make it back to check on threads, so if you'd like me to elaborate feel free to PM me, I try to make sure to check my inbox regularly and am happy to help..

        I wouldn't have pulled a $9k week w/Teespring etc without the help of others, so it's time to pay it forward.
        I can make a little room in my life for that. ;)

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  • Profile picture of the author rising_sun
    Banned
    Thank you so much DOMAINATE,for you information full description.

    It is not a matter of shame that I am a novice here,wanna know the meaning of WSO.
    You talked all about the selling criteria,but not the age of the site.But at the main thread I have read about the the age of the site by JOUFULWRAPES.Is not important?
    Once again thanks for mentioning DIGITALPOINT because I am a member of it.
    Now I feel confident.
    I have no confusion also agree with them who suggested SEDO .
    Thanks for everything.
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