How To Buy A Domain Name In 3 Steps
Buying a domain name may seem like a daunting process. After all, there are so many domain extensions and domain name registrars to choose from, it can be quite difficult to know where to start. However, once you know what is involved in buying a domain name, the process becomes pretty straightforward.
There are three steps that you have to follow to buy a domain name:
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.
Hire A Domain Name Broker
Does all of the above sounds difficult or tiring? Well, I didnt say this was easy, did I? If you own a domain name with a significant value you can, and probably should, consider getting a professional domain name broker involved to help you find a buyer and facilitate the sale on your behalf. Most domain brokers work on a commission basis, meaning they are paid a percentage of the sale price. This no-cure, no-pay structure means most established brokers will only be interested in working with you on finding a buyer for your domain name if it has a value that is at least in the high five-figure range. It is very important that you make yourself familiar with the brokers policies and pricing structure prior to engaging the services. A written agreement clearly outlining all the nitty-gritty details such as commission and exclusivity is highly recommended. Below is a list of domain name brokers and brokerage firms with a good reputation and track record.
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The Best Forum Site For Buying And Selling Domain Names
Next is a forum site called Namepros, it is a place where all pros in the domain name business gather, sell, and buy domain names. You can buy some domain names for a cheaper price in Namepros, and you can also sell some domain names.
Selling domains in Namepros is free and you can list some of your domain names in different options, you can list your domains in fixed price, negotiable, or auction
One of the best features of Namepros is you can request an appraisal for your domains with real people, you can request an appraisal and some pros in the industries will appraise your domain for what they think is the best price for it.
Namepros is not just a place for buying and selling domains but it is also one of the best places to learn about domain flipping.
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Domain Flipping Is An Active Process
Domain flipping is never a passive process. In fact, it is an active process where you will have to put in your time and energy to buy good domain names and then actively seek out prospective buyers. You cannot possibly make good profits if you do not put in a few hours every day.
Domain flipping experts believe that once you buy a domain, it is considered hot property, which means you will have to go through the trouble of picking the right opportunities at the right time to seal the deal. To become a successful domain flipper, you need people with marketing expertise as well as research, negotiation and networking skills.
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Use Charm Pricing To Increase The Likelihood Of A Sale
Theres a reason many products on store shelves have prices that end in 99 or 98. This is called charm pricing and relates to retail psychology.
You can and should apply this best practice to your domain name pricing. For example, even though a domain name priced at $1,999 is only $1 less than a domain name priced at $2,000, the $1,999 domain will feel like a much better deal to many potential buyers.
Like most products with charm pricing, Domains have been statistically proven to sell much faster. I know this may sound crazy, but it works!
Cons Of Domain Flipping
The biggest downside to domain flipping is that its difficult to find good domains to sell. With over 350 million domain names already registered, finding domains that you can sell for a decent profit is hard. In fact, its very hard. Be prepared to spend hours and hours researching ideas.
Be aware that not every name you buy to resell will actually sell. Youll have unsold domains in your inventory thats just the price of entering the domain flipping world.
Another con for domain flippers is that your competition wont just be the average person out there trying to earn a living flipping domain names. Domain registrars that end up owning thousands of abandoned domains every month are in the business of monetizing unused domains too. These domain providers want to earn a profit and they have sophisticated algorithms that help them know which domains are likely to have profit potential. So, dont count on getting an easy win when buying a dropped domain.
Sedo is one of the largest domain marketplaces in the world.
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How To Sell A Domain Name On Godaddy
Domain flipping has become quite a lucrative business especially with hosting websites online each day and also changing domain names. If you are new to domain flipping and you want to learn how to sell a domain name on GoDaddy or any other domain registrar, this is the right article for you. Weve discussed the different techniques you can use to sell a domain, and why you need to calculate the domain value to know the best price to sell it.
How Can You Start Buy And Selling Domains
This is how you can do it. GoDaddy Auctions lets you sell domain names with Offer/Counter Offer or Buy Now listings.
With Offer/Counter Offer listings, you can let buyers submit their own offers for your domain names. When a buyer submits an offer, you can either accept it, submit a counteroffer, or push the listing to a 7-Day Public Auction using the buyers initial offer as an opening bid.
When you accept an offer or the buyer accepts your counteroffer, the sale ends. If you include a Buy Now option, the sale ends when a buyer accepts the Buy Now price, or when you or a buyer accepts an offer. There is no obligation to accept an offer.
How you can start
For more information about your listing options, see Understanding GoDaddy Auctions Listing Options.
What else can GoDaddy do?
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Focus On Local Domain Names
It is mind boggling how local search engine optimization has grown from a tiny market to a mammoth industry within a span of ten years or so. This is also one of the reasons why focusing majorly on local names is profitable. From doctors to pizza parlors to salons, everyone wants to see their business thrive on the first page of Google Search results with the help of target keywords.
The best way to pick winning local domain names is to search for them at places like GoDaddy and Namecheap.
How Hard Is Reselling Domain Names
The most difficult part of flipping domains is finding the right domain to purchase. This will often be the most time-consuming step. Once you have a system in place domain flipping can become much easier.
As you become more experienced with domain flipping, you should get a good idea of what domain names tend to sell for a higher price than others.
In general, however, flipping domains is relatively easy and can be completed from anywhere making it a perfect low-stress job.
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How Do I Check If A Domain Is Available
To check if a domain name is available, just type it in GoDaddy’s search bar and we’ll tell you immediately if someone else already owns it.
We also offer a Domain Backorder service, where you purchase a backorder credit to give you a chance to get the domain you want when it goes to auction.
What Not To Do
Heres what you DONT want to do: Target prospective buyers based on their perceived economic status, without any insight into the industry youre targeting. Lawyers seem to do well, you think, maybe I should start selling names to them. So you rush out and buy a bunch of domain names you think would appeal to the law firms youve identified as potential buyers.
Without knowledge of the space, you may not know that the American Bar Association and other industry-specific organizations set rules that govern some aspects of legal advertising. Youre not going to strike gold selling names your target buyers cant use.
You can keep a domain for 10 years and still sell at a considerable profit. While you are waiting for it to sell you can monetize the domain and throw in some SEO, which in turn can justify the cost to the buyer.
Most domains end up paying for themselves so your portfolio wont really cost you any money out of pocket.
Remember to focus on the areas you know well and you will be much more successful than buying and selling domains you think would benefit someone in an industry you know little about.
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Godaddy Launches List For Sale To Sell Domains
The goal of List for Sale is to simplify the cumbersome process of selling a domain name online. And according to Paul Nicks, Vice President at GoDaddy. List for Sale gives customers an easy and simple way to earn a profit by selling their domain name for a valuable sum. And of course, the sum depends on the name of the domain as well as how much someone else wants it.
GoDaddy says the average sale price for a domain name on Afternic is $2,000. Since the beta launch in January, the highest sale for a domain on Afternic through the List for Sale tool is $57,500.
Afternic is a GoDaddy company and the worlds largest domain marketplace. When you are ready to sell, it includes your domain in search results on over 120 top registrars and reseller websites collectively. Being on Afternic gives your domain name exposure through its reseller network. This network has over 75 million monthly search queries from prospective buyers around the world.
Making these domains available in List for Sale has also made it possible for hundreds of thousands of names to enter the domain marketplace. The service supports the most common extensions including .com, .net, .org, .info, .edu, .gov, and many others.
Top 5 Websites For Buying And Selling Domain Names In 2022
Who doesnt want to earn a profit while doing business? Everyone wants to taste profit and success. But many get stuck, follow the wrong track, and end up in a disaster. The same is the case when one isn’t aware of the business of buying and selling domains.
If you are new to buying and selling online domains, here are some points you need to know before getting your hands dirty.
- Best places to buy domains from.
- Best places to sell domains.
- The domain transfer process.
- The price at which you should sell domains.
- Trademark issues while buying and selling domain names.
This post will further deal with the best way of buying and selling domains, how you can find domains, how can you make money by selling domains, and the best places to sell domains.
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List Domain Name With A For
When someone thinks of a domain name and wants to see if its available, what do they do? They type it into their browser. And if you dont have a crystal clear this domain is for sale message on your domain name and an easy way for a potential buyer to contact you, youre losing out on the biggest opportunity to sell your domain name.
A For-Sale landing page will let any visitor immediately know that your domain name is available for purchase and how to get in touch. There are several ways to create a For-Sale landing page for your domain name.
If you have an existing website you can simply redirect each domain name you own and want to sell to a landing page on that site with an inquiry form. Or you can use a For-Sale landing page from one of the domain marketplace sites such as Sedo or Afternic.
The disadvantage of using those pages is that they often display advertising that can confuse visitors. And when you sell your domain name through a marketplace you have to pay them a commission for the sale, ranging anywhere from 10 up to 30% of the total sales price, even when your buyer came directly through the domains own landing page.
Last but not least, you can use a commission-free, domain name sales platform like Efty. Efty does all the updates, keeps your For-Sale landing pages up and running, and their pages are optimized to help sell domain names.
Is The Distribution Network Strong
The potential to get your domain name in front of the right buyer is vital.
Listing in a distribution network such as Afternic can get your domain name in front of millions of potential buyers each month. Afternic is owned by GoDaddy and it will automatically list it with GoDaddy as well as over 100 other companies such as Network Solutions or Register.com.
Do you know people who could benefit from the domain name? Why not reach out to them and see if they have any interest in using the domain? If you are working in an area of the domain space you are familiar with, you should be able to convey the value proposition of your domain name for the potential buyer.
Keep it short and only approach people you know and think would be interested in the domain for their business.
You do not want to start sending spam emails. You want to have conversations with people you know would appreciate the ability to own the domain.
Letting a great name you purchased at a fair price to make a profit sit in your account, instead of getting it in front of the right buyer, is like finally finding that pirate treasure map but framing it to admire in your living room instead of following it to the booty.
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How To Sell A Domain Name For Profit
CEO of VPN.com. We help brands, entrepreneurs, politicians and athletes acquire premium domain names for their vision.
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The first step in selling a domain name is owning a valuable domain. You might pick up great domain names at less than their market value at an auction, or you may have old domain names that have no more use for you. Alternatively, you might seek out premium domain names with the hope of making five-, six- or even seven-figure profits. Either way, you’ll only be able to make the sale if you own a domain name that someone, somewhere wants to own.
Own Domain Names That Offer Real Value
Understanding the value that a domain name has is one of the keys to evaluating it properly and giving yourself a shot at making a sale. While putting a value on domain names can be difficult, you can use the concept of brandability as a guiding light. In short, how easy is it for a company to use in their marketing? How memorable is it? Is the name simple for customers to type into a search bar if they only read it once or briefly hear it? An otherwise perfect domain name might become worthless if there’s a spelling problem that results in potential visitors forgetting it.
If your domain names are good, then you can hold onto them and make a sale in time. However, the opposite is also true there are millions of domain names that no one would pay anything for, and you should admit it to yourself if your domains fall into this category.