Is the market still good for Buying and Selling Domains?

[PCmediaHost]

Yea. I am new to buying and selling domains...I have tried with no luck..except maybe $1.25 in clicks...But I am not sure whats the best way..

Buying and Selling.
Parking on like Sedo.
Creating an Adsence site.
or ??

I am not looking to make millions or nothing but I would like to make something for my time...I am starting to think that there isn't any money in this anymore. Can anybody out there who's made good money in this business throw me a bone and give me a lead..If your really good I may be willing to even pay you for your time if you can guarantee me that what you show me will lead to an income I can build on.

Thanks for your time..
Regards,
Jeff.

 

[Rehydrated]

Hi Jeff,
I am in the same boat. I have been buying domains for years, never sold any. Some of them I think are magic, and I get a few clicks on quite a few of them parked at Sedo, but pennies, and don't even cover my reg fees.

I think the best way is to try and develop them (mini sites, forums, ecommerce sites?) something like that, get some links, some traffic, a few articles, depending on sites etc. and then try and sell the sites on.

Ebay might get you some sales (I have bought names and sites from here before) and if it is quite a good name, Sedo and Godaddy SHOULD get you some sales, but I have never got any.

I have bought a few .CO's in the hope that someone might want one of my names. I am also going to try and stick a few mini-sites on some of my names, and I'm going to just use Weebly to do so.

I don't know much about it, but it looks like it is the type of business and game, where those that do won't tell you! lol.

Fair do's I suppose, as no one probably told them.

I think it's a bit sh!t to be honest, but then if you tell me or anyone else your name and ideas, what is to stop them using it and doing it, you see what I mean.

IF there is someone here who would be willing to act as my re-seller, or offer me advice on how and where best to sell names or sites, I WOULD ALSO pay them/give them commission.

I HAVE had some good help and advice from this site. I also listed a few names I have with a re-seller and we are working on a 10% commission, which I think is good and fair.

I'm sure there is other ways to flip and sell names (Flippa) but I personally have not had any luck. Maybe I am just buying sh!tty names, or I am not looking in the right place as well?

Rehydrated

 

[DNNinja]

Domain names are like fine wine. The age and its content brings in buyers so development is the answer. Of course if you have the big bucks then top premiums is the way to go. I usually get my ideas from the news and read magazines to keep updated as to whats the next big thing in all categories, technolgy, health, sports, etc.

 

[networkguy]

Some simple advice don't look towards three tier plus domains, stick to the .com .net .org and maybe .tv /others if you feel that they maybe worth it, say if they're single generic terms.
Never put your eggs in one basket,

ie don't get your hopes up tiring to sell domains on the one site. Explore the current market place where your selling/buying and weigh up the potential of arbitrage trade between it and another market place (pretty much the science behind flipping)

Always work towards a portfolio that holds desirable domains and don't be afraid to invest a few hundred or thousand in getting such domain if you feel that your getting them at market or less. NNNN.com's/net's LLL types etc.

These names will only rise in value as the others (two/three tier plus domains) gather virtual dust! :imho:

 

[nielsencl]

Some people don't talk about what works for them, but others do and I read a lot of great stuff here on NP. I will tell you soma main things that I have learned in the past 4 years:

1) Domains are generally easy to buy, but hard to sell.

2) The ones that are easy to sell generally will not be found for regfee, or if they are the price they sell for may not be very high.

3) Once in a while you can get a high price for a domain, but in most cases the offer you get will be close to what the buyer will pay. LEARN to tell what domains have more potential than others. Then you know what to sell for to make YOU happy and don't have to think about how much they buyer can pay. Thinking the buyer will pay more will keep you from selling more than anything I know. Better to sell a $10 domain for $50-$100 and make some profit than to now sell a domain and keep paying $10 a year to renew it. See #1, you can buy more if you sell some.

4) $10 a year is a cheap investment for something that may pay off big someday, but so is a $1 lottery ticket.

5) Most parking providers don't allow you to get traffic to your parked domain. If your domain doesn't already have traffic from links or type-ins you are going to make much money. You need to park with a provider like Noomle or WhyPark where you can work on getting traffic or develop some kind of site so you can do that.

6) For parking to work, you need to work at optimizing your domains for the traffic they are getting. Think about it and try different keywords and designs to see what works. If nothing works and you are getting traffic, try the domain at another provider until you find one that works.

7) Some people make money with different TLDs but I have not. Now I only buy .coms or a few .nets. Look at the different sales here on NP and see what is selling and at what prices things are selling for. You can buy some nice cheap domains here if you look hard enough, but if you plan on selling them here you are a newbie. Save your money.

8) If you have some money and decide to try domaining, remember that if you buy 1,000 domains, even at a sale price like $0.99, in one year you will have to pay at least $7,000 to renew them all. You have to ask yourself if a) I can afford to renew, b) if the domains are worth renewing, and c) if a) is not true, can I get each of these domains to earn $1 a month so they pay for themselves?

9) If you have just a few domains and a little money, you can be an investor and not worry about revenue. But if you have a lot of domains, you should treat it as "business" and not an investment. This means that your investment should be positioned in a way to support your business. If your business is profitable then things are ok. If your business is breaking even, then it's not such a problem depending on how you feel about that. But if your business is losing money, then it's not a good business UNLESS there is some certainty you will make money later, AND you can afford to support your business for some time.

Good Luck!

 

[Kate]

How to make money with domains ?

Parking will pay peanuts, unless you have a lot of traffic.

Buying domains to resell them is the obvious option, but you need to pick the right domains. 99%+ is junk that nobody wants. Remember, there are approx. 90 millions domains registered just in .com...
There is limited demand and too much supply. But there is always demand for premium names (that is, less than 1% of the 'supply').
You need to focus on quality, not quantity.

You will not make millions with handregs either, the most coveted domains are long gone. They are to be found on the aftermarket + expired auctions. Be prepared to invest good money. We are not talking about 10$ a pop here. It's more in the hundreds and thousands, but that's how it works today.

Development ? Maybe, but the rewards will depend a lot on the effort you put in it. Development is quite different from domaining. In fact, a good domain can help but it's not a must-have...

PS: if you buy .co domains or [insert overhyped extension here] you will very likely be left holding the bag. Almost nobody outside domaining circles knows about .co, and there is a little demand. In fact, it's already hard enough to sell .com domains. Worse, most of the best .co are gone too. People are just picking up the crumbs that are left.

It's a tough business with little room for dreamers. But the opportunities exist :talk:

 

[nielsencl]

Parking will pay peanuts, unless you have a lot of traffic.

Well, that's mostly true, but if you get domains with high-paying keywords you can make regfee with a single click sometimes. While I have many, many domains that are paying me little or nothing each month, I have some like one that got 2 clicks this month for $4.63 each. It's an insurance domain and I wish I could find more.

Development ? Maybe, but the rewards will depend a lot on the effort you put in it. Development is quite different from domaining. In fact, a good domain can help but it's not a must-have...

This is VERY true if you know about web marketing and SEO. While a domain can help, a good domain is only curcial for type-in traffic. After that any domain can be developed and earn money if you put enough effort into it. My best earning site has my very worst domain name.

 

[Dorkside]

I think the last couple of years have been a buyers market. I believe the domain industry will still be viable for at least the next decade.

What kind of domains have you been buying? Lots or hand regs. and/or low cost domains? I really think you would be better off buying just one or a few of the best domains you can afford. Better domains seem to appreciate in value better and be more liquid to sell.

I would rather own one really good domain than 100 mediocre domains. If you have 100 domains, you're looking at $800 or more in renewal fees every year which is something a lot of people starting out in the domain industry seem to overlook.

 

[Dotmainer]

Why do you want to go into Buying/Selling ?

Just because you heard its easy / or that reported big sales ?
Or are you good in selling ?

If you are good in selling, then yes there is money. If not there are lot other opportunities -> design, development, programming etc.

 

[Corey]

development is the key, it brings many options for revenue i.e. adsense, affiliates, paid links etc.

Cheers
Corey

 

[biggie]

Yea. I am new to buying and selling domains...I have tried with no luck..except maybe $1.25 in clicks...But I am not sure whats the best way..

Buying and Selling.
Parking on like Sedo.
Creating an Adsence site.
or ??

try all of the above and some


there are still plenty of very good hand-regs out there

maybe not for short domains, but if you go the three,four or five word route, the pickings are good.


read posts from older members


stick with com

learn basic html @ w3schools.com

then build mini-sites in notepad using adsense

"list" all your domains at sedo, but try all ppc's


remember, most sucessful domainers hold their domains for a few years or more before they get the big roi.

so you have to budget for long-term

buy a revenue portfolio or buy 1 revenue producing domain at a time to build an income stream.


more later...

 

[rickmci]

development is the key, it brings many options for revenue i.e. adsense, affiliates, paid links etc.

Cheers
Corey

Are you talking development with the intent to sell later or hold for the affiliate, adsense revenue and other revenue?

Also would you develop a site differently if you intent is selling it

 

[networkguy]

try all of the above and some


there are still plenty of very good hand-regs out there

maybe not for short domains, but if you go the three,four or five word route, the pickings are good.


read posts from older members


stick with com

learn basic html @ w3schools.com

then build mini-sites in notepad using adsense

"list" all your domains at sedo, but try all ppc's


remember, most sucessful domainers hold their domains for a few years or more before they get the big roi.

so you have to budget for long-term

buy a revenue portfolio or buy 1 revenue producing domain at a time to build an income stream.


more later...

"What a load of BS!" :zzz: :great: ​

1/

there are still plenty of very good hand-regs out there

maybe not for short domains, but if you go the three,four or five word route, the pickings are good.

They're not registered for good reason, If you reg these from a domain investment point of view and not as a web dev, you'll end up a year later tiring to ditch them and wondering why no one came knocking on you door to buy one.


2/

read posts from older members

As the old adage goe's: "never judge a book by it's cover"
don't fall into the mentality trap believing that 'older members are wiser' as not all members here (or in any other forum) are necessary 'wiser' or successful in domain investing or making money online in general.

You need to weed out members that just enjoy spending their life online as 'forum posters' from those who actually post advice based on common sense and original insight/success.


3/

stick with com

"list" all your domains at sedo, but try all ppc's

As the old adage goe's: "never put your eggs into one basket!"


4/

learn basic html @ w3schools.com

then build mini-sites in notepad using adsense

web 1.0 died 10 years ago! learn to master open and paid CMS (content management systems) like wordpress, joomla, drupal and many others. These communities are well supported templates are a breeze to install, security support, and general flexibility is good too.


5/

remember, most sucessful domainers hold their domains for a few years or more before they get the big roi.

I just consolidated a domain sale for $2.5k (via sedo escrow) and only purchased it from a reseller about 6 weeks ago for $120, This is only the tip of the iceberg. Other brokers are probably doing a hell a lot more than that.

Fact: this industry is not predictable, profitable nor scalable by any means - some people will succeed doing such, others may not!

Reason? those that do succeed have made 'connections' to brokers, media companies or similar end users via previous sales to them and or by chance, communication online and in person is definitely your friend here.


6/

buy a revenue portfolio or buy 1 revenue producing domain at a time to build an income stream.

Well 'which' 'witch' is 'which'? conflicting advice is best left to politicians and door to door salesmen. Someone wanting to invest into this industry would do this anyway after they learn the ropes, your not telling them anything new here.

 

[biggie]

"What a load of BS!" :zzz: :great: ​

1/



They're not registered for good reason, If you reg these from a domain investment point of view and not as a web dev, you'll end up a year later tiring to ditch them and wondering why no one came knocking on you door to buy one.


2/


As the old adage goe's: "never judge a book by it's cover"
don't fall into the mentality trap believing that 'older members are wiser' as not all members here (or in any other forum) are necessary 'wiser' or successful in domain investing or making money online in general.

You need to weed out members that just enjoy spending their life online as 'forum posters' from those who actually post advice based on common sense and original insight/success.


3/




As the old adage goe's: "never put your eggs into one basket!"


4/


web 1.0 died 10 years ago! learn to master open and paid CMS (content management systems) like wordpress, joomla, drupal and many others. These communities are well supported templates are a breeze to install, security support, and general flexibility is good too.


5/


I just consolidated a domain sale for $2.5k (via sedo escrow) and only purchased it from a reseller about 6 weeks ago for $120, This is only the tip of the iceberg. Other brokers are probably doing a hell a lot more than that.

Fact: this industry is not predictable, profitable nor scalable by any means - some people will succeed doing such, others may not!

Reason? those that do succeed have made 'connections' to brokers, media companies or similar end users via previous sales to them and or by chance, communication online and in person is definitely your friend here.


6/


Well 'which' 'witch' is 'which'? conflicting advice is best left to politicians and door to door salesmen. Someone wanting to invest into this industry would do this anyway after they learn the ropes, your not telling them anything new here.

if you know what you are doing, then just bypass my advice

 

[a2zdotcoms]

Jeff & Rehydra

I found this site two weeks ago after buying a few domain hacks that I needed to sell them.

After reading your post and others I see that I am not alone. I bought with intent to sell. This was to suppliment my income. Keep that in mind.
It's like panning for gold.

You are right about those who do make money not wanting to share secrets. I have been developing sites since 1998 online. I can tell you that the number one way to make money is by development. Think the name google would be worth much if it did not get developed. A name is what you make it.

If you use a tool like estibot or valuate and plug in words freindfinder.com for example it will tell you its opinion. These are based on search value to advertisers. Target words for purchase that a surfer will input in engine.

A great name is worthless too. I thought this name "airfairway.com was beautiful but estibot did not like it.
It is easy to fall in love!!!!

My last advise is PORN. Yes PORN. I may get booted for saying that on here, who knows.
When I started back in 98 it was porn.

Today it is still the number one search choice for viewers. Over 25% of all searches are adult realted. Sex is the number one search term and no other business will generate an income instantly or more consistantly than it.
It was a good way to get my feet wet and paved the way to other domains.

Development and SEO are the tools to success along with good old fashioned time and effort. Lots of hours and trial and error.

Here are the most recent buys,
bluesjerseys.com
sidneycrosbyjersey.com
sexswing.in
registerdoma.in - this last one here was only registered on NOV 11 this month. Already has a site generating traffic and income. Development is paramount. Took less than a few hours. Now comes time for seo.

Hope this sheds some light or ideas.

Just my thoughts

Prosperity and Success
Good luck to all who domain.

Want to talk about development or would like info on the adult side of net shoot me an email or
icq 360140531
http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=95146831&trk=tab_pro

John

 

[DavidH]

If you are buying or registering names with the purpose of selling them for a profit, IMHO 80%+ of the whole process is getting the name right in the first place.

Have some idea of potential buyers before you even get the name and think about it from their point of view - what benefit can the name give them to cause them to want to part with hard cash for it?

If just starting, stick with dot com names in niches that you know best. My background is in the marine industry so boating and shipping names are the obvious choice for me.

My main area of domain name sales is in keyword rich commercial, industrial or business dot com names - very boring and unglamorous, but profitable (at least for me!).

I prefer to go for expiring names with some age that I can get for <$20 and sell for low $xxx.

Dont expect to sell every name. Using the above approach I try to sell for 20 x purchase price or more to give a reasonable profit taking into account not every name will sell.

Be patient. Dont expect to get a name today and sell it tomorrow - many of my sales are names that I have had for several months or often several years. Have faith in your judgement and be prepared to wait if necessary. I have just turned down offers for two names yesterday at $400 and $1000 because I believe the names are worth more.

Some names you get will be for immediate sale at a reasonable profit, whereas other names may be for a longer term hold.

Be patient, have faith, and NEVER give up.

 

[lothos]

My last advise is PORN. Yes PORN. I may get booted for saying that on here, who knows.
When I started back in 98 it was porn.

John

John,

that was true in 1998 but today the adult market is hurting and adult domain sales are down.

 

[a2zdotcoms]

John,

that was true in 1998 but today the adult market is hurting and adult domain sales are down.

Sales are down across the board. Adult sales are still the fastest way to make money hand over fist, no punn intended. Niche markets are what still produce the best results.

 

[lothos]

Sales are down across the board. Adult sales are still the fastest way to make money hand over fist, no punn intended. Niche markets are what still produce the best results.

No, in my experience adult domain sales are in the toilet right now. Lots of people will say the same thing.

 

[tech4]

No. Unless you want to lose money. 99% of people enter and lose out only 1% makes money.

 

[a2zdotcoms]

No, in my experience adult domain sales are in the toilet right now. Lots of people will say the same thing.

Obviously you are not in the adult business. Sales of subscriptions are down. These are the sales I am talking about. Not buying and selling adult names.

My point orignally was and still is that it is the only business on the net will contiunally prove to be a learder in the money making business of net profits. Still number one search, still billions spent yearly by surfers. Billions are not being made buying and selling domains by newbies! That is what the post was about.

 

[Domainace]

This thread is a microcosm of the whole forum. There's some great advice and some absolute crap advice. What a minefield for a newbie. So read it all, but think for yourself. Even successful domainers can give bad advice, let alone those who can't pay their rent.

Ask yourself where the value in a name is. Sounding cool is not a value. Can you imagine a serious company using the domain? Look on Google, are companies using some variation of the domain? Does the domain make sense? Does it clearly suggest a business, service or product? Are there any searches for the name (only exact searches matter to start with - stay away from reverse phrases such as "car used" or unnatural plurals such as "computers repair."

I don't buy this stuff about secrets. There is plenty of great free info to be gotten here and at blogs, but you have to separate the good stuff from the garbage yourself.

Don't go with the herd. They're broke. I once read a thread with 2 or 3 long time Namepro members discussing a name that available to hand register that had a huge search volume according to Google. They were discussing how Google sometime gives the wrong info (true) and how this name couldn't possible have those numbers (maybe true-maybe not). They were all too smart to risk $8 to register the name, so I went a got it myself. I later sold it to another domainer for around $600, and he was very happy with the purchase.

This is not something you can learn overnight. There's no magic formula, though some people seem to figure it out very quickly (not me). If you've been at it for 2 years with no sale, there's really no excuse for that. Sell them on Ebay if you have to. Without sales, you'll have no idea whether you're buying crap or good stuff - and you'll end up kidding yourself that your domains are an "investment."

Read and study all you can. And sell stuff, even if you're not getting top dollar at first. You need to get in the game.

Last point - if you're just in this to make money and don't actually enjoy reading expiring domain lists and sales listings to find those jewels until your eyes are crossed, don't bother. And if you want to sell, you have to active, not passive. Or pay someone to help you (if your names are good enough).

Do everything right, and after a couple years you will see bigger offers coming in. Domaining does require patience. But patience does not mean just parking a name at Sedo and waiting. Read the thread in how to sell to end-users. Go to ebay. Use Bido. Don't try to get rich right away, just try to turn a profit at first. You'll learn by doing.

Last- Don't pay anybody money (or attention) to someone who "guarantees" you an income. Save those scams for the Warrior forum (which ironically was where I bought a $7 ebook on how to make money in domains - the book was junk, but it got me hooked).

 

[lothos]

Obviously you are not in the adult business. Sales of subscriptions are down. These are the sales I am talking about. Not buying and selling adult names.

My point orignally was and still is that it is the only business on the net will contiunally prove to be a learder in the money making business of net profits. Still number one search, still billions spent yearly by surfers. Billions are not being made buying and selling domains by newbies! That is what the post was about.

actually yes I deal quite a bit with adult, that's what "in my experience" means. Yes subscriptions are down, and so are sales of adult domains. The point of this thread is the market for buying and selling domain names. And the market for adult domains isn't very good right now.

 

[VirtualT]

Ask yourself where the value in a name is. Sounding cool is not a value. Can you imagine a serious company using the domain?

Best advice in the whole thread

 

[SiberForum]

If you decide to go Buying and Selling, I suppose that you are experienced enough webmaster and will do your best to sell the domains you bought for much higher price.

Good luck.