Huge profits in (the right) Cheap Names
Do you have to pay a big bucks for names to make big profits on them? No. Are the only good names already taken and do you have to bid them up at dropcatchers to get them? No. Decent names abound at low prices and can even still be hand registered.
To illustrate, in the last week, I sold seven names. All were purchased in the last year. Three were hand registered and four were picked up at tdnam for $5 to $15 dollars, plus registration fee. What did I gross on those names? $5,240.
That’s $92 turned into $5,240, less Sedo or escrow.com fees.
And, I didn’t have much risk with these names as they were so inexpensive. Don’t get me wrong, I do buy more expensive names as well, having paid up to a several thousand dollars for a name. And I’d certainly be willing to pay $50,000 - $100,000 or more for a truly great name. But, when names get into that price range, they are invariably on a major dropcatcher’s site and there are tool many fools there spending their money like it’s 1999 in the tech bubble stock market again. No way I’m going to hang on to millions of dollars of names in a market that could bust (or change) when you least expect it. And we could likely be going into a housing led recession by next year and that will effect all investment markets…but I digress. Am I missing out on making the million dollar hit? Of course. But I do that in other business ventures, not this little hobby.
There are many thousands of dollars to be made by thinking differently, not chasing keywords everyone is chasing, being well-read and opportunistic, being a good negotiator, and most of all using your intuition — if you have it.
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[…] Original post by Mark (the Rookie) and powered by Img Fly […]
Good post and reminder to not overspend. Would you mind sharing the domain names for the above post so one can get a better idea of what is inexpensive but still worthwhile? Thanks.
To put your post in perspective, you’d also have to outline
the domain ’stock’ you hold that did not sell, and the
re-reg fees per year that you have to come up with to keep them.
Could it be that the $5K+ gets eaten up by ongoing costs ?
Also the endless hours your spend finding the ‘bargains’.
Just lest the casual reader thinks this game is easy
[…] The answer is a definite and resounding yes. The Daily Domainer knows of many domains that were freshly registered in 2005 or 2006 and later sold for thousands of dollars. And DomainRookie just had an article on how he sold seven hand-registered domains for $5,240. […]
David, you’re absolutely right. There is a cost to holding unsold names, and there are names that will never sell. But that will also be a factor in buying expensive names that don’t provide an income to offset the cost of money invested. My point was really just to say there is money to be made in cheap names too.
As for the concept of holding unsold names, I look at them as holding stocks. I have negative cash flow purchasing them, yet I am holding balance sheet assets. Some pay dividends (parking less renewal costs), some are about neutral and some cost me to hold them.
I wasted tons of money on names I purchased the first six months of doing this. I’m letting a lot of names expire worthless. Now I am now more picky about what I buy and I have a strong feeling about their value.
You are also correct about the time spent doing this. To tell the truth I don’t know why I do it. It kind of drives me nuts sometimes. I make my real money elsewhere. Actually, I’m supposed to be relaxing in my early retirement from 10 years ago, but my mind won’t stop. So, I guess I categorize the domain investing business as a hobby. I like the hunt I suppose.
Kamal, sorry for the late reply. The names are:
EatSmart.us
MixingAudio.com
FreelancePorn.com
MyOwnArt.com
UltimateHuman.com
Zlinks.com
RoboAssistant.com
Mark,
Three quick questions for you:
1 - When selling your domains which sites do you sell most of your domains at? (Sedo/Afternic?)
2 - When selling at these sites, do you pay to upgrade your listing? (i.e. showcasing on the front page or featured in a specific category?)
3 - I believe you mentioned in this post of one of your others (sorry I’ve read a few tonight) that the description of the domain is very important. What type of information do you place in your description? (i.e. domain stats, keywords, etc.)
Any information you can provide for another domain rookie would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for your time and effort. Keep up the good work.
Gmoney:
1. 10-to-1 Sedo over Afternic. However, it may be because the names are parked at Sedo as well.
2. No. Showcasing has never worked for me.
3. I use the description to SELL. I i wish i had time to do this with every name, but I don’t. Although sometimes I think it would be better to stop buying names for a while and update each description. But, if I get an offer, or if I’m about to send a name to auction, I write up a great sales piece in the description. I offer all the reasons as to why the name is a great name.
It sure would be nice if on Sedo if I could group my names and then make a mass description change for the group. For example, I have hundreds of solar names and I could make one great sales pitch for solar names (and include all my solar names in the description as well) and apply it to them all; but to do each one by hand is too much work–especially if when I was done I wanted to make a change.
By the way, I also use the negotiation process to sell. I never simply write up a price with no comment, or pick one of the canned Sedo comments. I’ve really honed my negotiation skills and the process is a great time to sell.
Hey Mark,
you ever sold any domains through forum boards like namepros.com or dnforum.com?
Also, in Sedo, do you list a price with each domain, or do leave the price blank and wait for someone to make a blind offer?
I’ve sold some on the forums, but not many. They are all domainers looking for wholesale prices. They also do not buy names without OVT and I mostly sell names without OVT.
I usually do not put a price on a name at Sedo. I should put a high minimum, but with so many names, I would not be able to keep track of keeping them current.
Nice Post,thanks a lot!
When listing on SEDO, do you set a starting price? And once an offer has been made, do you thne place it in auction?
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