Help! Never sold a domain before... where to start?

[DeeG]

I was bitten by the domain bug a few years ago. Bought many over the years with intentions to develop most into sites or products. Others, I bought because I "thought" they were pretty cool.

Truth be told, I've never sold a single domain. I've read a couple of domain flipping products but sometimes it's hard to know who to really listen to or follow. That's one of the reasons I joined DNF ... hoping to finally find "live" direction toward becoming a "profitable" domainer.

In other words, I'm at the point where I want to learn how to sell some of what I have, and going forward, learn how to invest a lot more wisely.

So my first order of business is to liquidate some of my domain stock. But how do I find/place a value on them?

And where/how should I sell them? At auction? If so, how do I fix a price, BIN or determine other details?

Need advice . . .

[randomo]

One idea would be to post a few of your better domains in the Appraisals section, so we can help you figure out what type of value they have and which sales venue[s] would best fit your portfolio. (Or, if you want to just list some or all of your portfolio here, that would work too.)

[Skinny]

I agree with randomo.

It might be good to get some of it appraised (of course these will be estimates), but at least it will be good to know if it has any potential.

Often new domainers will register many domains they think have value . . . most of it turns out no to be.

My advice is that you take a step back and read as much as you can about domains, how they are valued, etc.

You will find about different types of domains (generic, product, short, etc) and how these are valued.

The more you read, the more you know, and the better decision you can make to buying a good name.

Skinny

[Maxwell]

Well, it's my opinion that you're wasting your time trying to sell domains here.

I agree with randomo, ask for appraisals. This community has unparalleled expertise and can determine whether a domain is any good or not, and in turn, whether it's worth putting effort into getting sold.

The reason why I discourage trying to sell domains here is because I've been here nearly two years and I can tell you that I've only ever sold six domain names here, not one over $175. I stay here more for industry advice than I do for sales.

To answer your question with respect to how to get sales, list them for fixed prices on sedo. That's the passive approach. But if you're looking for the right-here-right-now results, I'd recommend making some calls or sending some emails to end users.

[Mark Talbot]

I would suggest finding out if you can get into DNcollege run by Adam here.
You can learn alot more in a short time than just trying to figure out on your own.

[DeeG]

Thanks for all of your responses, thus far. I will begin to get appraisals here in DNForum just to get a feel for what some of the names "might be" worth. However, I had no real expectation to try to sell many of them here.

I would suggest finding out if you can get into DNcollege run by Adam here.
You can learn alot more in a short time than just trying to figure out on your own.

Smirkley, I couldn't agree more which is why I registered for DNCollege a couple of days. From what I read of the course outline, that's really what I want/need. However, no one has gotten back to me yet. I hope to hear from someone soon. If not, is there another way to reach Adam?

In the meantime, I will begin the process of sorting through my domains and coming up with a short appraisal request list to be posted in the appropriate area of the forum.

Again, thanks all . . .

[dotFame]

I feel your pain. I am also a newbie prospector who has registered twice for DNCollege, but have yet to get any response. I know I must be blind to many of the ways this forum works, especially, when it comes to a newbie reaching Adam trying to pick his brain. Any advice on the appropriate protocol will be greatly appreciated. I have over 700 domains bought from GoDaddy in my portfolio that may contain a few diamonds I would like to cash in on. You never know what beginners luck will turn up.

[DeeG]

I feel your pain. I am also a newbie prospector who has registered twice for DNCollege, but have yet to get any response.

So . . . we will hold our breaths together . . . let's hope we get a response soon re: DNF College.

[eeedc]

It looks like a half-dozen people have already said what I was going to say when I say the title of this post: go to the appraisals section.

There are often differences of opinion there, but if NOBODY thinks a domain name has value, chances are it has no value; cut your losses.

Because of the bad economy, it's a bad time to sell domain names or most assets.

[dcristo]

Don't register domains that can't be developed, so even if you can't offload the domain for a nice profit, you can always develop it. Sure you can speculate with some domains, but for the most part, they should have clear development potential.

[DeeG]

I sure appreciate the tidbits of advice all of you have shared . . .

[Dopa.com]

If you have numeral or China related domains, then list it for sale on Dnbiz.com. And if you haven't figure out the price of them, just list in Make Offer format first on domain trading platforms! Good luck to you!

[nicot]

I, too, have been trying to make my first sale. I've had my domains appraised, I've listed them in sites like sedo, and finally I've written some emails to end-users. Hopefully, I will get an offer soon. Any other suggestions as to what else I could do?

[urlurl]

Don't register domains that can't be developed, so even if you can't offload the domain for a nice profit, you can always develop it. Sure you can speculate with some domains, but for the most part, they should have clear development potential.

This is a good way to decide if a name is worth buying, think to yourself "would i or could i use this for myself" if the answer is no, maybe a good idea not to buy it.

[tt9000]

Well, it's my opinion that you're wasting your time trying to sell domains here.

I agree with randomo, ask for appraisals. This community has unparalleled expertise and can determine whether a domain is any good or not, and in turn, whether it's worth putting effort into getting sold.

The reason why I discourage trying to sell domains here is because I've been here nearly two years and I can tell you that I've only ever sold six domain names here, not one over $175. I stay here more for industry advice than I do for sales.

To answer your question with respect to how to get sales, list them for fixed prices on sedo. That's the passive approach. But if you're looking for the right-here-right-now results, I'd recommend making some calls or sending some emails to end users.

He is right, if you wanna drop the names it might works here, but if you look for a decent offer, I guess it's a bit difficult.
I sold a name at TD recently for mid $xxx, which there several forum members offer me for $20.

[urlurl]

not always true - i have had some succesful sales on this forum ranging from $xx - $x,xxx. It all depends on who is buying the names: keep in mind there are also end users on this forum too.

[DeeG]

Just wanted you all to know that I really appreciate your perspectives.

Dee