Should I sell my (parked and "unused") niche domain?

13 replies
I have a niche domain that I'm not really in love with... I was going to monetize it for click thru revenue etc. It is currently parked, and has never been used by me, so I don't have any stats or anything. Recently someone offered me a couple thousand dollars for it. I figured I might be able to get it making money some day.
I've never even sold a domain before, so I don't know how to do that!

Domain is terminaltackle.com ...What would you do?

ps: If you suggest selling, may you please tell me how or point me to an article on the Warrior Forum that tells me how?
#domain #niche #parked #sell #unused
  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hlatky
    If you aren't really in love with it and someone offered you a couple thousand dollars, why wouldn't you sell it?

    With a transaction of that size, I would recommend using https://escrow.com/

    It's really quite easy to sell and transfer a domain. Buyer sends money to Escrow, you send domain to buyer, Escrow sends money to you.

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    It is not uncommon to get unsolicited offers on mediocre (or downright bad) domains that end up being a scam. The scam is that they dangle a large offer in front of you, but before they solidify the offer they want you to pay for an appraisal.

    Typically, they'll give you a couple of expensive options and one cheaper one. Guess which one they have a financial interest in?

    If you happen to fall for it, you can expect the buyer to disappear once your payment clears.
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    • Profile picture of the author JaxLen3
      Thanks very much for the input fellas. I will likely sell it... I think it may not be such a great idea for a niche site in the first place, and after a few emails back and forth with the potential buyer, I gather that he wants it for other reasons. He'd have a helluva battle climbing search engines with high competition if he wasn't already established.

      Mike, thanks for letting me know a safe venue to handle the site. I've never sold one, so I was quite skeptical on a safe way to exchange money for a domain without a trusted third party. I just didn't know who I'd use.

      I did a few of those free domain estimates. Not sure how accurate they are, but I liked the prices they shot me for the domain. Twice what he offered! I can't help it. I blame it on the ex-used-car-salesman in me... I will likely counter offer the buyer with a higher price than his original offer. If he bites, then I'll make another 2 large, and I won't feel so guilty thinking I let go an opportunity to make a lot more than $4500 by selling this domain.
      Thanks again fellas, and thanks Warrior Forum, for the opportunity to access this pool of marketing gurus with my mediocre questions. Being a green pea newbie, I didn't imagine I'd get even one reply much less two quality responses from you guys. Much appreciated.
      Respectfully,
      Len in Jax
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  • Profile picture of the author isadoregregory
    if it is parked and unused, you will do best to sell it and make money out of it rather than leave it as it is. think of it as an investment and now you are ripping the fruits of your labor!
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  • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
    Banned
    Originally Posted by JaxLen3 View Post

    Domain is terminaltackle.com ...What would you do?
    I'd be very careful and not get my expectations up too high, fully expecting that this will turn into the "domain appraisal scam", when you replying expressing potential interest in a sale and they promptly invite you to have the domain valued by a specific appraiser, for a fee. If it's that, run.

    If by any chance it really isn't that, I'd sell it to them, for sure, but it's a real stretch to imagine that this name can be worth $2,000 to anyone, so I'm very highly suspicious. Sorry.

    Anyway, you have to start by replying and showing potential interest, I think, without actually implying that you'll take $2,000 for it.
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    • Profile picture of the author JaxLen3
      Here's where it stands now...
      I counter offered the guy, not expecting him to respond if he wasn't truly interested... I bumped him up from the 2Gs to 4500... He said it was a little out of his reach still, and said his original offer still stands should I still want to sell it. I discovered (thanks to Mike Hlatky) that escrow.com will do the transfer for about $270, so I'm thinking of countering again with the cost of the transfer in mind. Maybe he is a real buyer, who isn't able to throw a bunch of money into a domain name? If he offered 2Gs, then I know he has more. I may go ahead and drop my best and final offer of 3Gs and he pays fees or 35, and I will pay.
      Alexa, I appreciate your input, and I'd like to ask you why you think the name is such a loser? I'm not offended, but how did you come to that conclusion? I am fairly new to this so I want to learn as much as I can. What makes a domain name either 'good or bad' worth? Thanks in advance for your response.
      Thanks again to all of you, for giving me your professional opinions.

      (I don't know yet how to officially 'give thanks' as it shows under each user's identity, or I would.)
      Len in Jax
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      • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
        Banned
        Originally Posted by JaxLen3 View Post

        Len in Jax
        Ah, I've got it, now: "Jax" is for Jacksonville ... ok. I was wondering.

        (From my perspective, it could have been a contraction of the name Jadzia Dax, but that probably relates only to my perspective and not to the real world at all ).

        Originally Posted by JaxLen3 View Post

        Alexa, I appreciate your input, and I'd like to ask you why you think the name is such a loser?
        Subjectively and perhaps mistakenly! I didn't actually say I think it's a "loser"; only that I found it a stretch to think that it's worth $2,000 to anyone. But hey, if it's worth $2,000 to your buyer, then it's worth $2,000 to you.

        I've bought and sold 200+ domain-names over the last few years, and this is isn't one that I'd have wanted. But maybe I'm missing something, there.

        Originally Posted by JaxLen3 View Post

        What makes a domain name either 'good or bad' worth?
        The reality is that domain-names have no real value above and beyond their registration-fees. What they're "worth" depends simply on what you can sell them for. The amount of money they produce, on sale, normally depends on the skills of the person selling them at identifying, approaching and negotiating with potentially interested parties However, in this instance, you didn't need to do that, because someone approached you. Nine times out of ten, that turns out to be "the appraisal scam". But of course I can be wrong, too, and this might be the tenth time.

        Originally Posted by JaxLen3 View Post

        I don't know yet how to officially 'give thanks'
        The "thanks" button will appear in people's posts after you've made 5 posts yourself (posts in "Off Topic" and "WSO's" don't count toward the total).

        By the way, I'm not trying to sound like any kind of "expert" on this subject: $2,000 is well out of my league. So far. I never pay more than reg-fee for a domain, rarely manage to sell one for more than $250 and I send out a lot of emails to do that (or one of my VA's does, anyway!).
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  • Profile picture of the author keyon
    Please keep us posted on what happens -- good or bad. This will be a good case study for others facing the same situation.
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  • Profile picture of the author JaxLen3
    Alrighty then... I have yet again made another counter offer, while the original bid is still on the table. He emailed me a reply and told me that the counter I gave him was a little more than he could pay right now. How bout this?... After some searching, I found this guy owns just under 300 domains currently. He also owns one with a very similar name to the one I'm selling. Ah ha! I now know why he wants it. Hmm... Supply and demand...how does that work again?? Who an I kidding?? If he came in with an offer of 3Gs, I'd pull the trigger and give him the keys to the domain.

    FYI - If you've ever been or know anything about fishing in salt or fresh water, Terminal Tackle is used on every single lure. Such as: hooks, weights, swivels, and snap rings. Fishing line is considered to be Terminal Tackle as well. Recently, Columbia began to produce a line of clothing called Terminal Tackle too. My point here is simply to give you the reader, a little more clarity about the domain name, and why I feel its worth more than the reg fee. I feel like the value of the domain, even in a niche market, is based on the potential of the name. How much competition, and how is the actual name? Does it contain the words that are getting searched for. Not just that, but the prospective buyer currently owns a domain similar.
    I even did an estimate on one of those domain estimators, and I was blown away with the results. It's gotta be based on the key words, because the site is sitting idle at NetSol...its parked.

    Keyon, I'll keep y'all informed. I agree, there is something to learn here.. Thank you all for your input. I'm learning. ...the only thing I'm wondering, is if I should just build a friggin WP Zon store, and try to push TerminalTackle.com up the SEO hill. Any suggestions there?? Thanks in advance.
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    • Profile picture of the author PhilB13
      I would check for some comparable sales DN Sale Price- Domain Name Sales Price and History
      find sales with the same or similar keywords you can use this as bargaining power , also the domain is 15 years old and has some way back records with back links in google
      it's worth as much as someone is prepared to pay for it on the day ! I have been here before and had an offer on a domain, but I had my expectations to high and lost the sale and no more offers since !
      keep this in mind good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Gordon
    Good for you. You got off your butt (well, technically you didn't...) and did some work. And that work gave you some actionable intel that puts you in a considerably stronger position.

    It sounds like you don't need the money right now, and there certainly does seem to be some good potential with the domain. I think it makes sense to set your price expectations high enough that you effectively take it off the market for a while (or get rich for selling it).

    Use that time to contemplate its future. The only thing that concerns me a little bit is the potential for trademark conflicts with a company like Columbia. You may want to do some more research to make sure that can't cause you trouble.

    Congratulations and good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author lunarninja
    Get some hosting and do something with it if it has volume. Or sell it and make some income if your not wanting to do the work required to get traffic.
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  • Profile picture of the author JaxLen3
    Yet more good advice... Thanks y'all! I mean it.

    I have hosting, I just haven't put this domain into play yet. I'm in agreement to what someone said above, in that I don't need the money right now, so I don't have to push for the sale. Honestly, I am really interested in ways to make more money with it than the quick sale price, anyway. That's why I started this thread. So, if you happen upon this thread, and as long as the Warriors leave it open, please make a suggestion. If the thread does happen to close, get a hold of me through a PM. Thanks in advance.
    If something changes, again, I will keep everyone posted.
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