How to sell domain names?

[rellis]

Hello all.

I have several domain names (like customguy.com and localautos.net). I would appreciate some advice on how I should go about selling.

Specifically:

Where can I get an accurate appraisal of value?

What are the common places to post domains for sale? And, what do experienced domainers recommend?

What are some considerations regarding selling to the public or resellers? And, what percentage of retail will resellers typically pay?

Is it always advisable to use an escrow service, or is a PayPal transaction sufficient?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-ray

[draggar]

Appraisals - paid ones are usually very general. Your best bet is to post them in the appraisal section here. You'll get a wide variety of appraisals from experts. Include as much information as possible, traffic, stats, Google, PR, etc.

Places to sell, other than here there are many places to sell. Afternic, Sedo for example.

Who to sell to - that's up to you. End users are harder to reach (unless you can market well) but will generally give you more than resellers.

Escrow is usually good, but don't use Paypal unless it is a cheap domain. The reselling sites (Sedo, Afternic etc..) usually offer their own escrow service.

[theinvestor]

1. You can get an appraisal right here on this forum in the appraisal section. Don't ever pay for an appraisal because just about anyone can give an accurate appraisal.

2. You can post domains here on forum ..by requesting offers. Or you can list on sedo, TDNAM (godaddy) and many other places where you can also get offers. You can also list it in an auction format on these sites.

3. With the names you posted above you will most likely be better off getting end user sales.

4. I would recommend using escrow for all transactions above $200. If you want to use paypal make sure you know the member very well. As it is very easy for a user to file chargeback (keep your domain and get refund on what they paid you).


P.S. draggar always beats me to responses

[tldrental]

edited

[Johnn]

Originally Posted by tldrental

I know one way to start, you can list your domains at my website for rent or for sale,
xxxxxxxxxx, PM me if you have questions.

Do not promote your website in this section.

Thanks,

[tldrental]

I pulled this for you from estibot.com, these are two great domains not worth much yet, build traffic for them and you will be paid much more money. Consider domain parking possibly with Parked.com or WhyPark.com. Earn money while you sit on the domain. Anytime you put your domain on the market, the buyers want to see a history of traffic. The more traffic the more inflated the purchase or rental value becomes for the domain name. Really the more organic traffic the better. Again if you have any questions please PM. Sorry for the infraction "Johnn", I appreciate the slap on the wrist.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[ck89102]

Originally Posted by rellis

Hello all.

I have several domain names (like xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx). I would appreciate some advice on how I should go about selling.

-ray

You might find my old post on selling names interesting:

http://www.dnforum.com/f31/mass-emai...ad-245766.html

Best of luck.

[Johnn]

Please listen to what the OP asked.

Do not promote your domain name or website here.
Infraction/point will be given. No more warning.

Thanks,

[biggedon]

Originally Posted by rellis

Hello all.

I have several domain names (like customguy.com and localautos.net). I would appreciate some advice on how I should go about selling.

Specifically:

Where can I get an accurate appraisal of value?

What are the common places to post domains for sale? And, what do experienced domainers recommend?

What are some considerations regarding selling to the public or resellers? And, what percentage of retail will resellers typically pay?

Is it always advisable to use an escrow service, or is a PayPal transaction sufficient?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

-ray

Hi

before you can sell domains, you have to have domains that others want to buy.

you need to know when to sell. as some will sell when funds are short for another purchase, but imo this is best time for a buyer.

you should have confidence in the value of your domain.
if you get an inquiry, will you know what price to quote?


you should always be honest, professional, and expedite the transaction asap.
explaining any hold-ups immediately to the buyer.


your domains should have "valid" email and phone contacts.
60% of my domain sales this year have come from unsolicited phone calls or emails.

a percentage of domainers choose to use "privacy protection" on their names for various reasons which i understand, but this can be frustrating for end-users to make quick contact.
i steered a deal thru sedo from a phone call received during a lunch break. it resulted in a 5 figure deal for a 26 letter domain.

saying that to emphasize that, you don't have to "push it" to sell names, you can sit back and wait, and sell domains.

what i do is...

any domain i get, i list it first on sedo for visibility and accessibility.
if any visitors come, they can easily click the offer link and the negotiations can begin.
in the meantime, i can gather stats if any,which will enhance it's market value. moving the name around to other ppc's if necessary to gauge a variety of performance measures.
if you can acquire domains that produce revenue, not only will their values increase, but it allows you to operate from a more comfortable position.
with a steady income stream, there is no rush to sell any domains!!

for appraisals, if they come from experienced domainers then they can be useful. if they are automated, then...

it's best to already know the value of your domain or have a pretty good idea of it's range and potential.
you find the most accurate going rates for domain groups at the reseller level, by reading thru the "domains for sale" sections. here you can see what sellers are asking and what buyers are paying.

some domain groups values appreciate faster than others, like they way LL, LLL and LLLL have recently.
do you sell now or hold longer to get an expected higher return?


just something i though would be useful

good luck!

[teatime]

These are all very helpful ideas.
Anyone have an opinion as to which one gives your the most exposure for little or no money?
That is, listing a domain for sale among Sedo, TDNAM(godaddy), and Afternic?

We always list ours on Sedo, but the response is underwhelming.
Have sold a few on Afternic.


These are not premium domain names, but moderately good 2-word domains.

Auctions:
Have sold a few on Ebay, but fees are high & too many don't sell.
Any recommendations on best auction method - forums, ebay, godaddy?

[Rockefeller]

How much do you want for localautos.net?

[Banned: SonnyBurnett]

Buy low, sell high.
Focus on few good domains only.

[Astroman]

I've only ever sold one domain before, at Godaddy, which went quite well. As a buyer I do look at domains for sale everywhere, here recently (just joined), Digital Point is very busy but less secure than here I think, Sedo is safe but a good portion of the sellers are out of their minds, thinking their domains are worth $30,000 when they're not; Godaddy is also pretty safe and very busy, so you have to pay more to become a featured listing etc if you want to get more offers. I haven't tried Afternic before. I have bought the odd domain from sales on little forums, like the one at Dnscoop if it's still there, and even at the forum for osDate (a free dating script) - but I wouldn't recommend it unless it's very cheap and you don't care too much if you lose your money, which I didn't but I could have done.

If it's only a couple hundred dollars or less you may as well try Digital Point. It's very busy on there but I always get the impression about 80% of the users are teenagers spending their pocket money, intermingled with a few shroud business types in disguise.