Advice About The Selling Process...

[TeeDot]

Hello good people,

I recently got into domaining 2 weeks ago after being in internet marketing and sales for a few years. I've also been a blogger and have known about many areas concerning the interwebz.

So I have built a 'portfolio' of about 60 domains this week. I had them all checked by 3 domain auto appraisers.

100% have an average value of 350 and over. About 40% of those are quoted $500-$1000 and over. I have about $1,000 and over.

I've been researching and rolling domains about 6 hours a day. They're not crap, I researched keywords for years so I'm not a noob, just to this model.


I want to either sell them or develop them. Many are niche though, good niches.

Anywyas, to cut to the chase, which are the best places to sell them?

Sedo? (just as domains)

Flippa? (as developed sites)

DM Forum?

Are there any others I should know about? I want to dump most of the portfolio and reinvest.

I'll figure out the HOW part of it just need the 'where' part.

 

[mis_chiff]

There are so many threads here with people asking
the same question.
Such great advise throughout the forum.Check it out.

As for Sedo - I guess unless you market them or it is
a highly desired name - they could sit there a long time.

I've used Flippa only once - successfully.

The marketplace here at Namepros is quite busy
especially for the right names

Good Luck.

 

[Corey]

why not develop the names...earn some $'s with adsense + affiliates and create PageRank & age ...whilst you learn about domaining.

Cheers
Corey

 

[SmokinJoe24]

End User sales are the best in my opinion. Especially if you have a little sales experience.

Here is a link to the finding End User thread. http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/68798-how-to-find-potential-end-users.html

Good Luck

 

[Name Trader]

If these names are so good, why do you want to dump them? FYI a name valued by estibot is unlikely to sell for 10% to a reseller. If you are looking to dump them you should probably sell them in auction here on NamePros. Start $10 Increments $1, Auction close 72hrs after the last bid. If these domains are any good, they will sell, and you will be rid of them.

 

[Erdy]

So I have built a 'portfolio' of about 60 domains this week. I had them all checked by 3 domain auto appraisers.

I don't want to upset you but this sound really bad. It is a typical newcomer mistake to register a lot of domains shortly after getting into domaining. If you can recover the money you have spend this would be a success.

Those 60 domains you have registered, where they by any chance available domains to hand register? Hopefully you picked some of them from expired domain auctions, did you?

Sedo is a good place to sell domains. If the domains are registered at godaddy, namecheap or dynadot you can also use the marketplaces on those sites. There might be some other registrars that have their own marketplace.

I want to dump most of the portfolio and reinvest.

This is a good way of thinking. This way you won't continuously pour in money.

I think 70% of new domainers lose money and quit domaining within two years after they have lost between 300$ and 2000$.

 

[TeeDot]

why not develop the names...earn some $'s with adsense + affiliates and create PageRank & age ...whilst you learn about domaining.

Cheers
Corey

I want to, but some of these sites are highly niche and I don't know if I can develop all those sites. Especially by hand. I feel like I would need an outsource team or automator.

Seems overwhelming. Advice?

---------- Post added at 05:36 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:30 AM ----------

Those 60 domains you have registered, where they by any chance available domains to hand register? Hopefully you picked some of them from expired domain auctions, did you?

Thanks for the reply,

Yes they were all hand picked. Most keyword based, and NOT longtail. Most very niche (niche tech, niche hobby, niche industry, niche learning)

I haven't found an expired domain process or list alert site yet. The domains from the few I've looked at SUCK. The worst of my domains beats their 'premium' domains.....no joke.

Any suggestions?

---------- Post added at 05:55 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:36 AM ----------

There are so many threads here with people asking
the same question.
Such great advise throughout the forum.Check it out.

As for Sedo - I guess unless you market them or it is
a highly desired name - they could sit there a long time.

I've used Flippa only once - successfully.

The marketplace here at Namepros is quite busy
especially for the right names

Good Luck.

Apologies if it has been asked many times. I tend to ask specific question for my specific needs and not be too broad.

In my HONEST opinion my names are better than many I've seen. Like I said, I'm new to domaining but did keyword research for years for marketing and sales. Not just some college kid who wants to be a "zomg domainurrr!111".

You used Flippa once? Once because it sucks? Or once because you just haven't used it?

 

[Erdy]

I haven't found an expired domain process or list alert site yet.

You don't need to look too far. You can try my website namecatch which is free and has bulk search and email alert for 10.000 domain terms. If you have your own lists, bulk search can be very handy. Link is on my signature. But this thread is not about my website. Therefore if you have any comments about my site please post them here.

You can buy expired domains for as low as $5 extra on top of the regular registration fee. Check the Godaddy Closeouts which is one of the available categories.

It looks like you have spend 8x60= $480 USD for you domains during the last few weeks and I hope you succeed with that strategy. However if I were to invest that money for domains I would buy 480/20= 24 domains for $20 each from Godaddy Pre-Release.

It doesn't mean you will fail with hand registered domains. A few weeks ago I hand registered a domain and sold it the same day. It is possible to find available quality domains. But instead paying $8 for an available domain I prefer paying $13 for a Godaddy closeouts domain or $20 for a Godaddy pre-release domain.

 

[Domainace]

I have to agree with Erdinc here. If you can hand reg 6o decent domains after just 2 weeks of domaining, you are the next Frank Schilling. Congratulations.

However, automatic appraisals mean nothing by themselves. If you can't sell or develop the names, then they are a liability. Put some up on the forum for sale, offer them at Sedo, other forums, or Bargain Domains. Offer them to Epik to develop or for Epik bucks. Send emails to possible end-users.

You don't know what your domains are worth unless you can get feedback in the form of cash buyers (or unless you can develop them). And before you buy domains, you should know what you are going to do with them. Otherwise you'll get stuck with 100s or 1000s of little liabilities.

I suspect you are making the classic mistake (as I and probably every other domainer did when they got started) and buying way too fast. Try to get your money back, decide what you want the names for, and start again.

At least that's my advice.

 

[TeeDot]

Thanks,

Yeah I'm stuck right now between DEVELOP or DUMP. And you're talking about .co release? I've thought of it but.....I dunno.

As far as hand reg names, I did research for years for clints, friends, my own business, etc. I've probably logged 10,000 or more namechecks in my life by hand LOL...I enjoy it.

I break out the pen and pad, keyword tools, find sub niches, etc. I actually approach it like a sleuth, a treasure hunt. I find about one 'premium' domain name an hour. I keep getting these alerts from domain companies in my email "You have this awesome domain, it's going in our database"

What's that about? I feel like I'm some sort of domain freak with some secret skills.

Anyways, I may develop some, I may not.

About the Godaddy closeout, never knew that was there, thanks.

I feel like I don't need a dropoff or closeout list, finding good names seems to be easy for me, so I feel weird when people say they use those lists, I don't get it, but I guess I should look into it.

Just signed up for SEDO right now and reading through their stuff.

And you're right about the money. I should take a break but I feel like I'm finding diamonds for 7 BUCKS!!! Sorry if I sound like a braggart, it's probably unbecoming.

Thank you everyone for your input, it is most appreciated.

---------- Post added at 06:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:53 AM ----------



---------- Post added at 06:53 AM ---------- Previous post was at 06:43 AM ----------

I have to agree with Erdinc here. If you can hand reg 6o decent domains after just 2 weeks of domaining, you are the next Frank Schilling. Congratulations.

However, automatic appraisals mean nothing by themselves. If you can't sell or develop the names, then they are a liability. Put some up on the forum for sale, offer them at Sedo, other forums, or Bargain Domains. Offer them to Epik to develop or for Epik bucks. Send emails to possible end-users.

You don't know what your domains are worth unless you can get feedback in the form of cash buyers (or unless you can develop them). And before you buy domains, you should know what you are going to do with them. Otherwise you'll get stuck with 100s or 1000s of little liabilities.

I suspect you are making the classic mistake (as I and probably every other domainer did when they got started) and buying way too fast. Try to get your money back, decide what you want the names for, and start again.

At least that's my advice.

Thanks for the input.

I agree, that's why I am recalibrating now and stepping back to ask. Before I jump in too far with no PROVEN profit.

It's just that when all the auto appraisers tell me that this one is worth $860 and this one is worth $900 this one is worth $1300...on the hour every hour...I feel like something is either very wrong or very right.

And yes, these domains can be developed. Mainly ebooks and tech industry niche products.

I am probably making a mistake because I have that "this is too good to be true" feeling, and I don't want to be a sucker.

I also don't want to list them publicly, I'm afraid someone will 'get' my methods which I developed over the years. LOL

I will try to sell some and see what the true market value ends up being. Who knows.

Thanks so much for the honest input.

And who is Frank Shilling?

 

[Sparhawke]

And who is Frank Shilling?

He is one of the better known domainers, his portfolio is one of the largest in the world.

He can be found here:

http://domainnamesales.com/sevenmile/blog/

 

[floname]

Hey Tee,

based on what I've read here, you seem to have an edge over the average Joemainer just starting out with your background in marketing. While I understand your concern in exposing your strategy, you might consider a second opinion on the quality of your domains. It may save you a considerable amount of time if in fact you decide to sell and wind up with little or no success. There are Domain Consultants who can evaluate your portfolio and give you an objective evaluation on what your next move should be.

My signature links to my blog, which outlines a few considerations (Rules of Registration) that my help you further decide where to go next.

Welcome to the industry and best of luck to you!

 

[TeeDot]

Welcome to the industry and best of luck to you!

Thank you Sir/Miss

I will consider this all. I agree I have an 'edge'. I am a song writer, have been a political blogger,marketing and net research, etc for years.

I love the process of "wordsmithing". I just never thought it could be profitable.

I am finding out that my marketing and keyword research experience is helping, but with domains I find doing the OPPOSITE of the conventional process is getting me high quality niche names. And when I say that, I mean specific search terms which are undeniably related to a product, hobby, business, skill, process.

Just this hour I found two $1300 (give or take) names.

I keep getting emails from these companies though that are coming at me out of nowhere in my inbox. Who are these guys?

Anyways, I'm just a little excited. I hope it's justified. It would be embarrassing if I was wrong about my names.

Thanks for the info.

ETA:

I read your blog, very good advice and I agree. All my domains follow the 'guidelines' you state. I wouldn't purchase a domain any other way.

Clear intent, clear joined keywords, traffic, searches, audience, potential for development (niche being my favorite), consistent with today's market, useful, flowing in sound (big bonus)

I don't think I'm the average 'domainer'. Not to sound snobby but all these things are second nature to me, so I think that's why I feel this is easy (???) Also the fact I have worked in many industries and read too many books for one person to admit...

I dunno, this is just weird.

 

[Erdy]

I keep getting emails from these companies though that are coming at me out of nowhere in my inbox. Who are these guys?

Just watch out for the appraisal scam. There are scammer who target newly parket domains. They monitor nameserver changes. They send an email to all domains that have changed their nameservers to sedo. They show interest in your domain with the condition that you agree to a paid appraisal. You pay for the appraisal and you are scammed.

 

[Domainace]

You have more skills than most domainers, so by all means keep at it. Just slow down until you know what you're doing or getting cash feedback.

Also, please forget about the automatic appraisals... they are a bit of a joke. They are useful for sorting large lists, but not as guides to value. There are too many variables for even human appraisals to be of much worth. If you are a marketer, you should have a better idea of the value yourself.

You haven't mentioned what you are after, but if you plan to resell domains, try to stick to .com. For development, as you already know, there are some fantastic .org and .net names to be had. Good luck.

 

[Corey]

why not post these names and get opinions & appraisals?

Cheers
Corey

 

[TeeDot]

I just signed up for Sedo and these messages were coming before that.

I just have domains with Godaddy and Namecheap. But with the ones on Godaddy I didn't pay for Whoisguard...so the crap is public lookup.

It's just companies that are telling me that my names are premium and asking if I want to join THEIR "premium" namedrop lists. Most of their names suck though and I've filtered them all on spam.

I still don't know what they 'do' though. Like a name database

why not post these names and get opinions & appraisals?

Cheers
Corey

Because most of them are subniches and niches with similar trends and my own brand of wording. And I'm not about to publicly share my methods to be deconstructed on possibly copied. And I'm not done with the niches yet.

you all seem like swell people, but I'm new here and I gotta feel out what's going on before I share with the class. No offense

You have more skills than most domainers, so by all means keep at it. Just slow down until you know what you're doing or getting cash feedback.

Also, please forget about the automatic appraisals... they are a bit of a joke. They are useful for sorting large lists, but not as guides to value. There are too many variables for even human appraisals to be of much worth. If you are a marketer, you should have a better idea of the value yourself.

You haven't mentioned what you are after, but if you plan to resell domains, try to stick to .com. For development, as you already know, there are some fantastic .org and .net names to be had. Good luck.

Yeah, I stopped buying names. I was having too much fun there.

I don't really know what I'm after now, that's a good question. I pondered development of half and maybe developing half.

They can be developed, hell, many are in fields I trained in or things I know of.

But I don't know HOW to really develop a site without grinding it out like a dog for hours a week. I could go with some guys offshore to ad "content" (oh brother) but Google knows better. If development is going to be done I want it real, yet I don't have the time.

I don't know of any good consultants to talk to to slap some content on them all in a hurry. If I did I would maybe sit them all and get some rev from them collectively.

And I STILL don't know how parking works. If I did I'd go after different genres of URLs.

I'm going through a course right now on quick development of sites with Ryan Deiss. Hoping I learn something. I can put wordpress sites up in 15 minutes but with domains I don't know what's going on.

1) I don't even know how to transfer a Domain to another party.

2) I JUST found out letting a domain get some attention adds to it's value on the market.

3) Adsense or CMS? I could do both. But I feel like I need a helper elf to just put the content up and I HATE site development.

Sorry so long winded here but I am a total noobcake.

And if someone could tell me the best way to respond to people individually here, please do so. These 'tree' format posts aren't the way I'm used to responding.:bah

 

[Erdy]

I still don't know what they 'do' though. Like a name database?

We don't know either because you didn't say which sites those are.

Because most of them are subniches and niches with similar trends and my own brand of wording. And I'm not about to publicly share my methods to be deconstructed on possibly copied. And I'm not done with the niches yet.

There are people here to start domaining and then spend a lot of money on worthless domains and never make any money at all. I have seen people who couldn't stand the stress anymore and wanted to sell all their portfolio for peanuts money but still nobody would buy because it is worthless.

I have also seen guys whose families came to edge of collapse because of money they wasted in domaining. Domaining is addictive and the same story happens quite often. I too registered 30 rubbish domains when I started domaining.

I guess people are just trying to warn you that your domains might not be worth what you think they are and maybe it is better to do more research first.

Newcomers don't realise that there are maybe 20.000 active domainers and it very hard to find any valuable domain that is available to register.

I don't really know what I'm after now, that's a good question. I pondered development of half and maybe developing half.

Development and adsense will not bring you any money except maybe a few dollars in a year. You could easily spend 20 hours and keep the site up for a year and make only $4 with adsense at the end of a year.

By the way, parking is dead. You are not going to make any morey from parking except maybe one or two USD in a month for all your domains. It is a waste of time.

 

[mis_chiff]

On the right hand side you have 4 icons in every post use the little one next to the QUOTE icon.
Click it in the post you want to respond to, then click another if you want to respond to that one
as well.

when you have clicked all the ones you want to repond to, hit the big Post Reply
button on the left and there you go - all the comments in one thread
and you can respond to each one in one swoop.

Hope that helps.

 

[TeeDot]

We don't know either because you didn't say which sites those are.

I looked, it's just one called "newdomain.com"

There are people here to start domaining and then spend a lot of money on worthless domains and never make any money at all.

As I don't think this is the case with me, you could be right and I could be a total fool.

I have also seen guys whose families came to edge of collapse because of money they wasted in domaining. Domaining is addictive and the same story happens quite often. I too registered 30 rubbish domains when I started domaining.

I told myself to stop until I see results and I am.

I guess people are just trying to warn you that your domains might not be worth what you think they are and maybe it is better to do more research first.

I am....I do..thanks.

Newcomers don't realise that there are maybe 20.000 active domainers and it very hard to find any valuable domain that is available to register.

I'm new to domaining. I've been online in sales and research since 2003 and have 3 net businesses previous. But yes, there's a chance I could be sitting on worthless domains that are 'premium' in name only.


And if Parking is dead, and development is worthless....then I guess the only alternative is flipping them...correct.?

 

[Erdy]

And if Parking is dead, and development is worthless....then I guess the only alternative is flipping them...correct.?

If you own a dot com and the dot net version is not taken by somebody else don't expect to find any buyer for that domain anytime soon.

Parking is not dead if you get lots of type in traffic but this is almost impossible with a newly registered domain.

Development is not worthless and you could make some money with affiliate sites but again this requires a lot of work and research. If you own a domain like LondonHotels.com you could build an affiliate site and make some money. However I doubt this idea would work well with a domain like cheaplondonhotels.com.

There is this issue of brandability and uniqueness with domain names. Just because a domain could be good for a project doesn't make it valuable. The so called project domains are worthless in my opinion because they lack the indispensability factor. It is not enough that a domain is good for a project but also other domains shouldn't be as good.

By the way, if other new domainers are reading who have $500 lying around and wondering what to do with that money another good idea (besides the godaddy expired domains idea I mentioned above) would be to buy one or two domains in expired domain auctions.

This is actually very easy. You just go to namejet.com or snapnames.com or auctions.godaddy.com and sort the auctions according number of bids. Then you join auctions that get a lot of attention by many domainers. This way if you spend a few hundred dollars on a domain there is a good chance you will end up with a domain that will get some offers.

 

[NLP]

I If Parking is dead, and development is worthless....then I guess the only alternative is flipping them...correct.?

I don't think you're going to find anyone who says "development is worthless." It's not, and in some ways it's your best bet (if you have a solid business model and a lot of time on your hands). It's just incredibly time consuming isn't something I'd recommend unless you have a great product that many people are searching for and are willing to buy online (or similarly, content in a highly sought after niche that will drive traffic to your site), or if it's something you're interested in.

You're going to get a lot more mileage out of development if it's an area you're familiar with, and already have contacts in. Kind of like how everyone says, "Write what you know." Well, develop what you know. It can be done the other way around, but if you are passionate about the subject, it will be WAY easier.

I'm sure your sales experience will come in handy in flipping names - but this can be time consuming, too. It all depends.

When I first started, I got a portfolio evaluation from an expert (who's presenting at TRAFFIC this week), which gave me an idea of the better names to keep, and which to drop. I then went through a phase where all I did was read "appraisal" threads, until I figured out that they're pretty much worthless (as are most of the valuations provided by automated appraisal sites).

Like you, I avoided a few of the newbie pitfalls - I didn't register anything I couldn't pronounce, stuck to industry-specific keywords, etc. People will tell you all sorts of things, but it really depends on the quality of your names. I made some decisions relating to hand-regged .DE names that have panned out very well, although at the time, people would have advised me against that. Once I started getting offers, I realized where there was demand, so I bought several more.

I've seen those hand-regged names sell, and I've also seen much better names "pass" at auction or be declined after being shopped around to endusers.

Reading DNJournal helps as well, to figure out what's selling.

 

[TeeDot]

Erdinc,

So what now?

I have some very good domains that are very niche which can be developed. A few are just good 'names' with intrinsic value.

I gather from what you're saying that development is a headache and parking is good with type in.

I only have one misspell. I don't like misspells I go after singulars and plurals in deep niches.

85% of my sites can be monetized but they would take effort. And I know for a FACT the products, services, tech, downloads they would point to are big ticket items.


But again, I thought developing a site makes the DOMAIN itself more valuable on the market (SEDO for instance).

Where am I wrong? Please correct me.

Is "aging" a site or letting it sit parked different than "developing"? That's where I'm stuck. Where's the line drawn? I guess what I'm saying is in marketing I never knew domains have value after 'sitting' for a while, yet I don't know if that means being parked or something else.

How does one make their domains better without fully developing them or Adsensing them or Clickbanking them?
That's really what I'm getting at.

Please advise.

---------- Post added at 10:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:50 PM ----------

I forgot to add that some of my Geo sites have great potential for end users. I got some whoppers already. The MOST work I would do is finding and end user offline though. So I may keep the workable GEO sites, slap some WP premium theme on and get some end users to give me an offer.

 

[Erdy]

I have some very good domains that are very niche which can be developed.

Pick one of your best domains and do the following:
1. Open this page:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
2. Type your domain term as words. If your domain is dogtrainingbooks.com then type dog training books
3. expand advanced options and select all countries and all languages
4. press search
5. on left side uncheck "broad" and check "phrase".
Now you can see number of monthly global searches on google. This should give you an idea whether the domains are really good.

Developing does not make domains more valuable in itself. Just because you have developed a domain to a website doesn't mean anything expect you have wasted some time. If you manage to get traffic and convert this traffic to money (with affiliate links or adsense links) then the domain is valuable.

I think you could easily waste 3 years trying to make money from a website and you could make less than $10 a year.

I forgot to add that some of my Geo sites have great potential for end users. I got some whoppers already. The MOST work I would do is finding and end user offline though. So I may keep the workable GEO sites, slap some WP premium theme on and get some end users to give me an offer

Good luck with that.

 

[TeeDot]

Erdinc,

I thank you for the advice but I usually do those things BEFORE I buy a Domain. In fact it's a must. been doing that method since 2005 my friend. No offense.

In fact I have different methods which involve my trusty journal, online thesaurus, and multiple windows with other various goodies I have.

Only after everything is checked and I do my mental checklist , do I run it for an average value.

Like I said, no offense but the stuff you're telling me is NET101 keyword research, of which I am 10 times beyond.

Can you please answer my questions above and help me with that specific area I'm having an issue with?

---------- Post added at 10:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:17 PM ----------

P.S. I will NEVER post in the NEWBIE section again. I've learned my lesson.LOL