How To Sell A Domain Name At The Highest Price
Are you in domain flipping business and want to learn the art and techniques of selling a domain successfully and profitably?
Then this article is certainly going to help you.
Domains are like internet real estate and as a domain flipper, its crucial to learn the art of selling a domain name at the highest possible price.
There are domains that have been sold for millions of dollars.
Heres an Wikipedia article listing the most expensive domain names ever. Its true that people have paid that much to acquire just a domain name.
So you can imagine how much you could have earned if you were the owner of one of these domains. What could have happened if you registered such a domain on your name before it was sold.
You would have been a millionaire now.
But what made those simple domains sell for millions?
The fact is that the names may look pretty simple in your eyes. But the people who purchased the domains definitely saw something entirely different or they were made to see something different.
This is the art of selling a domain name at the highest price.
You need to learn the art of showing the highest possible value of your domain names in the eyes of buyers.
Thats what will make people buy your domain names.
A domain name is not just a name. But its so much more than this.
Every online business starts with a domain name. Its the first thing people would have to remember when they want to visit your site.
Domain Marketplaces Where You Can Sell Domains
A domain marketplace is an online forum where domains are bought and sold. Sellers list their domains on the marketplace and commissions are assessed when the domain is sold. Average sales commission rates range from 10% to 20%.
Domain flippers can choose from a wide variety of marketplaces to list their domains. The most successful domain flippers list their domains on multiple sites, though some marketplaces have rules surrounding when multiple-site listings are allowed and when exclusive listings are required. For example, if youre putting a domain up for auction, a marketplace might require listing exclusivity.
Popular domain marketplaces include:
- Flippa Marketplace: List your domain for $15 per month and pay a success fee of 5% to 15% when your domain sells.
- GoDaddy Auction: Sales commission fees range from 10% to 20% with a $15 minimum fee.
- Sedo Marketplace: Standard Sedo Marketplace auctions require no listing fee and youll pay a 15% commission for a successful auction sale. Direct auction setup fees are $59 and the Auction Events application fee is $10 the standard 15% commission is applied across all auction types.
- NameCheap Marketplace: Sales commission are a flat 10%. Domains sold must be registered with NameCheap domain transfer fees range from $8.88 to $28.88.
- Afternic: Domain sales commissions range from 10% to 20%. You can join Afternic for free.
Tell The World Your Domain Is On Sale
Your domain isnt going to sell if you dont tell anyone about it.
To do this effectively you need to list it in the right places. There are a few things you can do to get maximum exposure.
Create A Dedicated Landing Page Indicating That Your Domain Is For Sale
One of the first things a buyer will do when interested in your domain is type it into their browser to see if its available.
Creating a landing page to display when someone visits your domain is a great way to generate leads.
Make sure that you include all of the important benefits that make your domain valuable.
This includes:
- Any current revenue being generated
- Backlink profile
- SEO keywords in the domain name
- Brandability
You want to highlight the benefits of your domain which helps increase value in the buyers mind.
Register Your Domain On Domain Listing Sites
When selling your domain name, you never want to put all of your eggs in one basket.
Most people start looking for a quality domain name through domain listing sites. A good strategy is to register your domain on a popular domain listing site.
The best domain listing sites are:
Its not uncommon to use both domain listing sites and person-to-person sales through your landing page to sell your domain name.
In some cases, a buyer will see your domain on a domain listing site and end up contacting you through your landing page.
You have to meet the buyers where theyre at.
List Your Domain On Domain Auction Sites
Heres why:
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Determining The Value Of A Domain
If you want to be successful in domain trading, you must first find out what certain domains are worth. The first indication of domain value can be found in the URL. The well-known top-level domains like .com or .co.uk are much more in demand than new TLDs like .beauty. Short succinct domains are also better than longer, multi-word domains. Domains which consist of multiple parts and contain unusual words in particular, are the least likely to be sold and fetch very low prices.
Domains are also traded as SEO aspects. If the domain name already contains an important search term, the web address will most likely get a higher price.
To get a better idea of the market, you can use online tools like Namebio, which show the sales price of similar domain names. It allows you to determine roughly what price you can charge for your domain. Of course, you want to get as much out of your web address as possible, but a price that is too high will surely deter buyers. It is important to find a good middle ground.
$1 Domain Names
If you really want to get into domain trading, i.e. you want to buy and sell domains regularly, you should always keep track of pricing. Observe how the market behaves over a longer period of time. This allows you to estimate where the trends are going and which domains are worth investing in.
Tips For Selling Domain Names For Profit
Here are some tips to point you in the right direction when trying to buy or sell a domain name for profit:
- Identify the domains niche. Before selling a domain name, understand its niche. Generally, industry-specific domains are easier to sell as they cater to specific audiences.
- Pick a strategic selling platform. If your domain is listed on a well-known platform with good ratings and reliable resources, buyers are more likely to purchase your domain. Before deciding on a marketplace, due your due diligence and look for user reviews on platforms like Trustpilot.
- Use psychological pricing. Apply a psychological pricing strategy to entice buyers. For example, price it at $399 instead of $400.
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Is It Easy To Sell Domain Names
The good news is that it’s not actually so difficult to sell domain names on your own, though it requires some measure of technical knowledge. Your advantage is that the perfect customer is already looking for you, and all you need to do is put in a bit of effort to help them find you…. read more
Best Places To Sell Your Domain Names
Got a good domain name? What about making some money selling it out? the domain bird-cage.com was sold for $1800 and the person who bought the domain re-designed the website and sold it for $173,000 after 2 years!! Pretty interesting business huh? So how can you make money selling your domain names? What all are
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Can You Make Money Flipping Domains
Some people have earned millions flipping domains, though thats rare. Successful domain flippers can earn $30,000 to $100,000 or more flipping domains. Domain flipping can also be a lucrative hobby or part-time job for those who enjoy the process of creating new domains or finding existing domains to sell that have resale viability.
Purchasing The Right Domains
Knowing which domains have the potential to become profitable requires some luck, but you can get a better idea of what you should be looking for by having a basic grasp of Search Engine Optimization. Its easier to obtain valuable domain names when you have some idea of what people are searching for. Keep in mind that the types of domain names that are optimal for todays search engines may not be a few months down the road. In the early 2010s, very general domain names such as artgallery.com or localmovingcompany.com were indexed high on Google because they closely matched common search terms. In 2012, Google launched the Exact Match Domain penalty for sites that have a generic domain but very little in the way of quality content. This can be bad for a domain value, as youre usually only purchasing the domain itself, not a fully-functional website. Recently expired domain names may be profitable because they can still have active back-links that help index them higher in a search engine. Back-links are links to the domain on other existing websites.
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Sell Via A Domain Name Broker
When selling a highly sought-after domain, a professional broker might facilitate the sale and help you sell your domain name for the best price. MediaOptions and Grit Brokerage, for example, are well-known domain name brokers with solid reputations.
In most cases, domain name brokers work on a commission-only basis, meaning they get paid based on the final sales price. Thus, before entering into a contract with a domain broker, check the terms and conditions and whether there are upfront fees.
However, note that the domain broker might refuse to sell your domain name if its potential price is not high enough or they dont think theres great demand for it.
Is It Worth Selling Domains
Domain names can be extremely lucrative, and companies are willing to pay top dollar for some of the premier names. For example, a domain with a name like sidehustles.com might be worth significantly more than another domain. Typically, shorter domains will be worth much more than longer domains…. see more
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Never Sell Right Away
Domain flipping is not always about making quick cash. Sometimes you have to spend days in research before you make a profitable sale. Remember, it is better to wait for several months or years in order to sell a domain name for a greater profit than settle for normal profit. Think of domain flipping as more of an investment.
Use Different Sales Strategies
You can apply many strategies when it comes to flipping domains successfully. The three most common strategies are set price, auction, and make an offer.
- You can set a particular price for domain names you have to offer when you are not in a rush to sell them. Those who have a huge portfolio usually adopt this strategy.
- GoDaddy and Namecheap follow the auction strategy and you can too. Sell your domain to the buyer with the highest bid.
- When you have a niche domain, you can make offers to various prospective buyers who may be interested in buying.
Another point of concern is to flip websites and not domains only. This is because many times a domain is worth far more with an established website than on its own. Building a website has great potential because it has SEO value, potential and much more to offer to its prospective buyer.
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More About Domain Flipping
The domain name industry is quite similar to the real estate industry in a lot of aspects. There are end users, brokers, consultants and domain flippers or domainers. Domain flipping works similarly to buying a house, renovating it and then selling it again at a higher price point.
The gist of it is: youre purchasing a domain name and betting it is worth more than you paid for it.
If youre right, you get a nice paycheck and move on. It isn’t uncommon at all to get several hundred dollars a pop when selling a domain name. The right domain can sell for tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars or more.
Those who make a living out of this just rinse, repeat, and scale.
Quick And Easy Tips For Buying And Selling Domain Names For Profit
Looking to buy or sell a domain? Get a free consultation today.
Thinking about buying and selling domain names for profit? It can be such an exciting process! Youve probably heard stories about domains that were purchased 30 years ago for maybe $100 and is now being sold today for millions. Sounds amazing, but is it really as low odds as winning the lottery? Or is it easier than that? If you want to get in on the action of what it takes to make money buying and selling domains, youve come to the right place.
Here we go over some tried and true tips you need to help you start making some money in this digital world. Lets get started.
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Flipping Domains Wrap Up
Professional domainers usually have dozens or hundreds of domains under their belt at any given time. Theyre constantly buying and selling domain names to maintain momentum and cash flow. This is usually how the full-timers do it. Thats who you can eventually become if thats your cup of tea.
There’s a lot of power that comes from learning a new skill, even one like domain flipping.
You now have everything you need to get your feet wet and sell your first domain. For your first step, we recommend purchasing your first domain through NameCheap. As the name suggests, they offer very inexpensive domain names of all kinds. It’s the perfect hunting ground to start your business.
Be Wary Of Trademarks
Buying a trademarked domain name could get you into a lot of hot water. Best case scenario is for the trademark holder to force you into handing the domain over and call it a day. Worst case scenario is you get into a legal battle and end up spending an arm and a leg in a fight you will almost certainly lose.
This is why it might be a good idea to use the United States Patent and Trademark Offices website to check for trademarks if youre unsure about a domain name.
Flipping Expired Domains
So the above was one way to find good potential domain names and register them for $10 bucks. As discussed earlier, theres also another way thats often used by the experts: buying expired domain names.
So what are these other strategies anyways?
In order to maintain ownership of a domain, you must renew it yearly with a domain registrar. If you dont, it expires. An expired domain goes through several stages before being released again for general registration.
The process differs slightly from one registrar to another but its more or less the same.
GoDaddy explains what happens to domains that expire with them here.
Most registrars put their expired domains up for auctions when the grace period ends and the owner is unable or unwilling to renew the domain. These auctions can often be goldmines for several different reasons:
Its not all rainbows and unicorns though, there are some caveats:
So Where Do You Find Expired Domain Names?
Doing Your Due Diligence
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Transfer The Domain Name To Its New Owner
Once the escrow service has notified you they received payment, its a green light to transfer the domain to the new owner.
Each domain transfer process will be slightly different depending on who you are selling the domain through.
It can take up to 1 week to successfully transfer the domain depending on how responsive you and the buyer are.
Your domain service will have documentation of how they handle transfers or you can contact support.
Thats it! Congrats, you have successfully sold your domain.
If you need help with buying and/or selling a domain name, consider hiring a domain broker.
Tips For Selling Domains
Now that you know how to find domains that could make you a profit when you sell them, you need to learn what, exactly, will help you sell them for that profit!
Here are some tips to consider:
Consider Building a Website First
Theres nothing in the domain flipping world that states that you have to build a website on the domain you buy before you sell it.
You can simply buy a non-used domain and resell it the exact same way you found it.
With that said, it can be much more profitable for you to build up a domain first before flipping it, just like you usually would if you bought furniture, a car, or a home to flip.
The more a domain can offer someone, the more they could be willing to pay for it.
For instance, if a website thats been around for a few months already had a large audience and was making money on its own, someone would be much more willing to pay more for that full site than they would a blank domain.
Of course, building websites takes time, and that might be time you dont have or want to spare.
But as you build up a portfolio of domains and get into the swing of buying and selling, you might want to occasionally consider building a site on a profitable domain.
Monetize it in some way, like through ad placements and affiliate marketing, to give it an income stream.
When you do this, its possible to get thousands of dollars from a site rather than the hundreds you can get from domains alone.
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