Newbie Questions

[Ozzy33]

Hello all,
Just joined this site after lurking for a few days. thank you to all who have contributed to this site and made it a great source of information
i have a few questions that I couldn't find in all my research so i thought i would post here.

1) As I am just starting and have limited capital, I have only bought expired domains for the reg fee. I am currently using cheapdomainreg for $8.99/year. Is that the industry standard? When buying in bulk, even a few cents can make a difference so I just want to make sure I am not overpaying (i know godaddy is $2 more) Is there any benefit to using a more expensive registration service (i always figured Godaddy was a brand so they just added on the $2)

2) I plan on using short term and long term strategies, in terms of flipping certain domains i pick up, parking a few, and also developing a few holding on for passive income. my question is: in terms of developing a site for passive income - what does one typically invest to get it from a domain name to a passive income website. i understand its relative and one can spend $10k or whatever, but im talking more about building these sites up in bulk and therefore a minimal investment possible that may yield the best return - i.e. invest $500 and start earning $50/month (i have no idea if this is possible)

3) i know there are services such as elance, as i have no coding background myself, are there any other places one would recommend finding development partners for your domains

4) Flippa - I have read on here that a lot of people sell their websites on FLippa. I have also read that the industry standard is a site cost 6-12x its monthly earnings. (this is extremely cheap in any other world) Is this accurate? I find it crazy that you can buy a site for $1,000 that is earning $100 a month and be in the green after 10 months. I find myself cautious and wonder if there is a way to know if the earnings will drop off after you purchase it and you are left with a worthless site. Are there any cautionary tales or suggestions to avoid this happening? Are there a lot of scams on flippa?

I am also interested in having a tutor for a few hours via skype or e-mail to answer some more questions I have. If anyone is interested please shoot me a PM , i will of course compensate hourly.
I look forward to the responses and getting to know everyone,
Thanks

 

[JamesBooth]

Hi Ozzie,

1. $8.99 is pretty standard. I actually use GoDaddy because you can use the discount codes and end up getting the names for just a few $. There is a section on the forum where people post GoDaddy codes so I would recommend doing that. Also a large amount of people use GoDaddy so makes it easier buying and selling domains.

2. On this one I would recommend NicheWebsites, I would get in touch with Adam and ask him to give you a quote on getting all your sites that you wanted developed.

3. I use a friend for my coding but there are many people on the forum that do it. If you want my friends info just drop me a PM.

4. I have never bought a site off Flippa. I only use Flippa to sell higher end domains.

Add me on Skype (Jamesbooth190889) I will help you the best I can and you do not need to pay me.

Hope that helps,

James

 

[katherine]

1) As I am just starting and have limited capital, I have only bought expired domains for the reg fee. I am currently using cheapdomainreg for $8.99/year. Is that the industry standard? When buying in bulk, even a few cents can make a difference so I just want to make sure I am not overpaying (i know godaddy is $2 more) Is there any benefit to using a more expensive registration service (i always figured Godaddy was a brand so they just added on the $2)

Is this an accredited registrar ? I suggest that you use Icann accredited registrars only and avoid resellers or webhosts, or any unnecessary third parties.
$8.99 is not a bad price, you will find cheaper offers though, even without coupons but I don't think it's worth taking a chance with dodgy registrars if you own valuable domains. I always thought domainers are stingy

Please understand that domain registration is a volume business, the margins are quite low for the discount registrars. $8.99 means that the registrar is making roughly one buck in profit after credit card processing fees and misc overhead.
I personally think it's better to pay a little bit for good service than transfer every year or chase coupons just to save one dollar here and there (you have to make your time worthwhile). Yes the small amounts add up but unless you have thousands of domains it is not going to make a difference to your bottom line - at that point the renewal fees should be treated as business expenses