Making the first dollar in domain flipping... Hi everybody

[robertpaulson]

Hi everyone, just starting to get into domain flipping and have started heading down the road with the pinned "it looks easy..." forum topic (obviously it's not, but it's mentioned for us starting out to read). Holy moly, just in that thread there is a serious amount of info. I'm very excited at the opportunity to join up to the community and I hope to do good things and be able to contribute to the forum down the line once I have some proper experience under the belt.
I have recently, on a whim, just purchased a domain and I'm currently getting it listed (richovertime.com). So I actually bought it because I thought it would be good for perhaps finance people.

1. To the more experienced people on the site, was this a good choice now we're heading into 2024, or should I as a person trying to make my first dollar with domain flipping just stick to expired domain purchases?
2. Previously a lot of people would buy domains and then just build them out keeping them for the long haul. Is that still something you do or is that pointless these days?

Thanks in advance to anyone who gets the time to respond and I hope everyone is doing well over the holiday season.
Onwards and upwards!!

Meeeeeeeeeee

 

[Pusang Gala]

Hi welcome to NP!

 

[robertpaulson]

thanks very much. looking forward to getting better at this whole process!!

 

[internext]

welcome @robertpaulson

 

[A1EX]

Hey welcome! Continue looking at auctions, buy things that make sense, and be extremely patent!!! I have a small portfolio (under 100) I had 2 bigger sales in January (x,xxx), nothing but small sales (around $100) since then. It's easy to get down and say "I am done with this, I am not making any money" and think it's a good idea to wholesale, which can be fine if you need a little extra $$ for a better name, but I have learned that if you say "Man, I am glad I got that name, I think its awesome" then surely someone else feels the same way, so eventually... you may get a bite! Again welcome!

 

[robertpaulson]

thanks @Pusang Gala , @internext and @A1EX . It's nice for someone to respond so quick. A great indicator that the forum is nice and active instead of botfest2023 . @A1EX what would you expect to pay for a domain that you sell for around the $100 mark? (if you had to average out 100 purchase prices might a way to gauge it?)

 

[henry93]

Welcome to NamePros @robertpaulson .

If this is your first domain name, it's great. I am sure if you keep looking at the auctions and NamePros, you can find even better names. As @A1EX said - be patient too.

And yes the forum is great and there is a lot of educational material for everyone. Keep exploring the BLOG section too.

Cheers!

 

[A1EX]

Around $100 you can get for handreg's typically if you can find some good ones, eBay works well for this. I once handregged a name and it sold for like $350 on eBay a few days later, while its not a ton of money, that one $10 name got me 35 more hand reg domains, it's a good way to start small. Most hand reg's wont go anywhere, but I have found that you can typically at least make your money back on eBay, sell it at a 7 day auction and get $5-$10 bucks back. While many say to stay away from hand reg stuff, I like it for someone starting out, it's cheap, it can be fun, it gives you an idea of what people like or don't like, etc... For me, I like the hunt, I can spend my freetime searching for that one name that I can hand reg and turn for a small profit, and not care about making huge $$, but just enjoying the ride!

 

[robertpaulson]

@henry93 thanks for the positive message. Yeah just going through the blog and it looks to be huge with all the knowledge. I'm sure my brain will be broken over the next few days as I look through for all the good. Thanks also to anyone who pins and stacks the important threads into a single big post because that's hugely helpful. I can see why this is one of the preferred forums for domain flipping!

 

[robertpaulson]

@A1EX great info, thanks very much. Is there any point in trying to build it up with a basic website or does that not add any value these days? (not an expert at building sites at all, but maybe creating something like wordpress and then just posting some "rinsed" content just as filler over a couple of months. That's off the top of my head so i'm not sure how things work. Is that just a waste of time if the content isn't original?)

 

[A1EX]

Some like sites, I like dan.com, I had a site for awhile, after I switched to Dan I saw the guy post "I have been looking at getting this site forever and it was finally for sale legitimately!" I even posted all the info on my site about buying through escrow or dan, I spoke to him and he said he just felt safer directly though dan It's good to list on dan/afternic/godaddy/sedo because of reasons like, when someone goes to type the domain in at some registrar's, it shows that its for sale there as well. People don't like the fact that they take commission, but keep in mind they are hosting the site for you, doing some advertising, offering customer support, all for FREE until you actually sell the name, which I think is pretty cool.

 

[A1EX]

If you do make a site, for landing page I 100% can recommend this...
https://themeforest.net/item/domain-broker-2-landing-page-to-sell-domains/12578919

For a site that list's names easily and is really clean I recommend this...
https://codecanyon.net/item/foliotrader-domain-portfolio-seller-script/17690221

Both have great documentation and support.

 

[Mister Funsky]

Hello and welcome to nps! Continue to read and learn here...stay away from hand regs for now and concentrate on expired and auction buys. Go SLOW until you learn.

 

[robertpaulson]

Thanks again to @A1EX and also now to @Mister Funsky (won't you take me to... funsky toooown ).
Right, time for this dreadnought to crack through the icey planes and make his way to the secret vault of hidden domain knowledge in the north pole (i know that's where it's all stored fellahs)
Onwards and upwards!

 

[biggie]

domain flipping

Hi


best to delete that phrase from your mind and vocabulary.

why?

the only people who are flipping domains now, are the registrars and drop catchers.


imo...

 

[robertpaulson]

@biggie No problem. What is the term for buying then selling domains now?

 

[cooljub]

What is the term for buying then selling domains now?

"Slow cooking".

Welcome to np, good luck

 

[King]

Welcome, happy learning. My advice is to not use GD, their auctions are always inflated too. Try Sav, Dynadot, etc.

 

[OmarVG]

 

[namegulf]

Like any investing, make sure you thoroughly research your niche before making that 1st investment, all the best!

 

[robertpaulson]

Thanks guys. All awesome notes which I'm taking onboard.

 

[Foxtrot Mod Team]

Hello,

Welcome to NamePros!

Here are some links that may help you navigate the forum.

We have many resources that are designed to help you get started:

• Domain Beginners section contains lots of valuable information and FAQs.
• Popular Content for Beginners is a list of some of our best threads for beginners.
• Meet and Greet section is a great place to meet other domainers and mentors.

Domain Name Discussions is the most popular place in the entire industry to discuss domains with domainers and ask questions.

Additionally, the following guides will help you navigate the marketplace to sell your domains:

• The Marketplace Guide will help you with listing your domains for sale on NamePros.
• The Domain Name Listing Guide will help explain the different sections on NamePros for domain sales and how to use them.
• The Auction Guide will help walk you through starting an auction on NamePros.

Last but not least, please check out our brief welcome guide that shows you all the great resources we have on NamePros:

NamePros Resources Guide

Please feel free to contact us anytime if you need anything. I'm always happy to help and answer any questions that you may have.

I look forward to seeing you around!

 

[Yanosh]

Hello , welcome to NP

You’re in the best place to start learning.

Good luck !

 

[robertpaulson]

Thanks again @Foxtrot Mod Team and @Yanosh . Currently looking through all materials to see what I can absorb into my tiny brain currently

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Welcome to NamePros!

There are great resources in the post above by @Foxtrot Mod Team - I highly recommend starting there.

I would not so much concentrate on the mechanics of where to look for domains, auctions, wholesale acquisitions here at NamePros, closeouts, hand registrations, etc. can all work. Rather I would concentrate on the following:

1. Is this name something multiple possible buyers would legitimately want? They have literally tens of millions of names to choose from, will they choose this name? Lots tied up in that question, about how the name could be applied (the sector or niche), aesthetics on how elegant it sounds, memorability on things like ease to remember correctly and making an impact, how pronounceable is the name, length, is it not too similar to a well known brand yet similar to the types of names in a general way that businesses have chosen in the past, etc.
2. An easy test of sort of the same thing is to ask would I personally start a business on this name?
3. Before you decide whether to acquire a name, decide how you would price it. Yes, really! Get familiar with NameBio and DNPric.es. Learn to separate which names were sales to end users, versus expired auction acquisitions. You should only acquire when your acquisition price is well below what you thing legitimately the name will sell for, because each name is unique, and even strong names may not sell for a long time.

There are tools to help you with these and other questions. This article will get you started on some of the most basic ones: https://www.namepros.com/blog/free-tools-for-quick-domain-research.1209548/

Best wishes for success, and once more, welcome to NamePros! It is a fantastic community, and there will be someone willing to share expertise on almost any topic that you can imagine.

-Bob