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, it’s 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.
Here’s an Wikipedia article listing the most expensive domain names ever. It’s 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.
That’s what will make people buy your domain names.
A domain name is not just a name. But it’s so much more than this.
Every online business starts with a domain name. It’s the first thing people would have to remember when they want to visit your site.
It doesn’t matter whether your business is a million-dollar business or a small online business, you need a domain to start.
People dream of certain kinds of names for their businesses. If your domain name meets their expectations or if it’s exactly what they want, they wouldn’t mind paying hundreds of dollars for it.
So how would you sell your domains at the highest possible price?
Brandable Names Always Sell More….FACT!!!
Brandable domain names are sold so much than any other types of domain names. These are domains that sounds like a great brand and can easily be associated with any businesses.
Big businesses spend thousands of dollars to build their business.
They wouldn’t mind paying you that much money to acquire a great domain name that you own.
Don’t believe me? Visit BrandBucket and see how much most of their domains cost just because of their great brandability.
It’s one of the most visited online marketplace for creative and brandable business names. Most of their domains are sold for thousands of dollars.
And yes! People do purchase these domains.
So if you are into buying and selling domains, buying brandable domain names puts way ahead of the game and ensures your success.
See How Iain Sells His Domains for Thousands of $$$
Branded Logos with Domains Are Quite Important
When you are selling a brandable domain name, it’s crucial to have a custom logo with it. You can hire logo designers to make creative logos for your domains to make it look way more nice at the time of selling.
Below are some awesome domain names with custom logos.
Creating a custom logo doesn’t require a lot of money to be spent and it increase the chance for your domains to be sold at the highest price.
Although sometimes it gets expensive to hire high quality logo designers, most of the times you find people to do it for you for mere $5 or $10.
One of my favorite place is Fiverr. Here you can hire high quality designers paying just $5 per logo design.
You can even design your own logo yourself with a Logo Generator.
However there are many other places online where you can hire people to do it. So I don’t think that it should be a problem for you.
Please note that it doesn’t guarantee that your domains would be sold. But it increases the chances exponentially.
How to Sell Your Domain Name in 5 Simple Steps
In this guide, we’ll take you through each step to successfully sell domain from start to finish. From valuation and pricing to marketing and transferring the domain name to the buyer, we break it down for you step by step.
Here’s a glimpse at each step and what we’ll cover below:
• Step 1 – Determine the domain’s value.
• Step 2 – Set a price for the domain.
• Step 3 – Put the domain name up for sale.
• Step 4 – Sell the domain.
• Step 5 – Transfer the domain.
Of course, the process isn’t as simplified as this, so let’s dive into the nuts and bolts of each step.
Step 1 – Determine the domain’s value.
When learning how to sell a domain name, let alone how to sell a domain name for profit, the first step is determining the actual value of the domain name you want to sell. Unfortunately, this can be easier said than done.
A domain’s value can range anywhere from $10 up to $100,000 or more! If you have a new domain with little to no domain authority, you can expect the selling price to be on the lower end of this spectrum. Conversely, if you have a great domain with age and a high domain authority, you may be able to get a lot, lot more.
The true answer to how much your domain name is worth is that it’s really worth whatever someone is willing to pay you for it. However, here are a few factors to consider:
• Traffic – When selling domains, one of the main influences on their price is the volume of traffic they receive. In other words, the number of people who visit domains via Google searches, links on other sites, and so on has a huge impact on their value.
• TLDs – Top-level domains, or TLDs, are domain names ending with a .com. These are much more valuable than domain names ending in .net, .biz, .info, and the like.
• Simplicity and Length – Aside from ending in a .com, the most valuable domain names are simple one or two-word English language domains that are easy to read, memorize, and pronounce.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s move on to actually getting a solid valuation of your domain name.
Begin by having a look at comparable sales. A great place to see these and get an idea of the going rate for domain names similar to yours is NameBio.
At NameBio.com, you can search through a huge database of sold domain names to see what domain names like yours have sold for in the past across a variety of domain name marketplaces.
When learning how to sell the domain name and get a figure on its worth, another great tool is Estibot or the GoDaddy GoValue domain name appraisal tool. Each of these tools utilize complex algorithms to determine a domain’s value based on several different factors, such as:
• Domain extension
• Domain length
• Keywords
• Cost per click
• Number of monthly searches
If using these tools, just remember they are completely automated and can’t actually account for every single factor that may affect the value of your domain. Despite the advancement of our society into the digital age, valuating a domain name is still more of an art than it is an absolute science.
If you don’t want to use any of the tools above or just want a more definitive domain name valuation, you can also ask an expert for their opinion. This is also a good idea if the tools above gave you a high valuation. A trusted domain broker will be able to give you a pretty clear picture of what your domain name is worth.
You can also visit NamePros and check out the “Appraisal” section. While not everyone who responds will be an expert, they can certainly shed some light and help you narrow down a figure.
Step 2 – Set a price for the domain.
After you have a good idea of what your domain name is worth, the next step in how to sell the domain name is setting a price for potential buyers. Many aftermarket domain sales fall in the $2,000 range. Some sell for more, but the majority sell for under $5,000.
However, if you’re sitting on a premium domain, domain investors may be willing to pay a lot more, perhaps even five or six figures. If this is the case, we highly recommend setting a realistic buy-it-now price. Research from Sedo, today’s top domain name marketplace, suggests buy-now domains are 300 percent more likely to sell than domains with a “make offer” listing.
That said, if your domain name is a good one and you don’t mind a little negotiating, it may be worth going the “make offer” route instead. Doing so will allow you to receive multiple offers on the domain, perform a little due diligence on potential buyers, and see how much they’re willing and able to pay for it.
With a lot of potential money on the line, this is one of the most important and exciting steps in how to sell a domain.
Step 3 – Put the domain name up for sale.
With pricing all sorted out, the next step in how to sell your domain name is to put it up for sale. To do so, especially if you’re interested in how to sell a domain name fast, you need to create a For Sale landing page.
Why? It’s simple. When someone is looking for a domain name to buy, they usually type it into their browser to see if it’s available. If you have a large message saying “This domain name is for sale” along with your contact info, the potential buyer will know it’s available and be able to reach out to you.
It may not necessarily be the best way to sell a domain name as you might have better luck listing it with the domain marketplaces like Sedo or Afternic, but in situations like this, it could keep you from losing out on a great selling opportunity.
There are a number of ways to create a For Sale landing page. You can create your own using any landing page builder software, or you could use one of the For Sale landing pages available at Sedo, Afternic, or one of the other domain marketplaces.
Just know, if you go the latter route, you’ll have to pay a 10-30 percent commission on the sale price of the domain, even if you acquired the buyer directly from the landing page and not the marketplace.
Another option is to use Efty or another commission-free domain selling platform. The landing pages on these platforms are specifically optimized to sell domains.
On a side note, if you aren’t sure about selling your unused domain right at the moment or think it may take a while to sell, domain parking might be worth considering. A domain parking service will provide you with advertisement-focused landing pages, allowing you to earn a little money while waiting for the right buyer to come along.
Step 4 – Sell the domain.
Now on to the good stuff – actually selling your domain. So, how do you sell a domain name?
When learning how to sell domain, you’ll have a variety of options available to you. You can:
• List your domain on a domain marketplace
• Sell it at auction on GoDaddy, Flippa, or another auction site
• Hire a domain broker
• Find a buyer directly
We’ll go over each of these, but first……
It’s Highly Important to Choose the Right Place to Sell
Although there are so many different places online to sell domain names, it’s important to stick to the best ones always.
One of my favorites is Flippa. Once you list your domain on Flippa, you may buy some targeted traffic to advertise your domain listing page.
Read Where Should You Start Your Domain Flipping Business?
The above article describes some of the best online platforms to sell a domain name. Hopefully you would make a profitable sale.
But still you should remember to write a great description that focuses on the value of your domain and why someone should purchase it.
Write a description that answers all the questions that an interested buyer might have in mind. Be realistic and don’t make false promises.
Visit Flippa and read the descriptions of some of the recently sold domains.
This will help you write your own descriptions.
Selling domain names? Here’s a few more domain marketplaces for you.
Afternic
Sedo
Flippa
Maker Monikers
Aftermarket.com
Godaddy
Namecheap
4.cn
eBay
Cax.com
Brand Bucket
Hunting Moon
Your own website
List Your Domain on a Domain Marketplace
Many domain marketplaces attract repeat buyers who search through domain listings each and every day looking to find new domains to add to their domain portfolio. Several marketplaces also utilize domain name distribution networks, allowing them to partner with registrars and increase the visibility of your domain listing around the world.
One of the largest and most popular marketplaces for people to list domains with is Sedo. With nearly 19 million listed domains, it’s the world’s biggest domain marketplace. It’s free to list your domain name with Sedo, but they take a commission of 10-20 percent whenever your domain sells.
Afternic is another popular domain marketplace. Founded in 1999, it handles nearly 80 million domain name searches each month. Since it’s owned by GoDaddy, domain names listed on it also show up as premium domains at GoDaddy.com as well. Like Sedo, it’s free to list a domain on Afternic, but they take a 20 percent commission on the sale.
NameCheap is another good option. Founded in 2000, it has over three million customers and is home to over seven million domain names for sale. Unlike the other two marketplaces, it only charges a flat 10 percent commission rate for all domain name sales.
Sell it at Auction
Whether you have an expensive domain or a domain on the lower end of the price spectrum, if you want to sell it quickly, auction sites can help close a sale in just a few days.
Similar to eBay, these sites let you create a domain listing, minimum opening bid, and reserve price. Some even allow you to set a buy-now price.
The best domain auction sites are:
• GoDaddy Auctions
GoDaddy Auctions is a popular marketplace for people and companies on the hunt for quality, soon-to-expire domains. It attracts upwards of one million domain buyers monthly, and as the top registrar in the world, your auction listing will gain plenty of valuable exposure.
If you’re wondering how to sell a domain name at GoDaddy Auctions, there are several options to choose from: You can set a fixed buy-now price, allow buyers to make an offer, or opt for a seven-day auction.
Regardless of which route you take, when you sell a domain at GoDaddy Auctions, you can expect to pay a commission of 10-20 percent.
• Flippa
If you’re new to domain selling and how to sell a domain name, chances are Flippa is new to you too. However, with two million monthly visitors, you may be one of the few.
Despite being a popular place to buy and sell websites and online businesses, Flippa is also a popular destination for people looking to buy and sell domain names. An auction listing costs $9, and there is a 15 percent “success” fee or commission on top of that.
Hire a Domain Broker
If you have a valuable domain or don’t want to do the work above, you might want to consider using a professional domain broker. A domain broker can help find you a buyer and take care of the sale, so you can literally just sit back and collect your funds.
Like domain marketplaces and auction sites, the domain broker will simply take a percentage of the sale as a commission. This means, most brokers will only work with you if your domain is worth five figures or more.
If this is the case, make sure you receive a written agreement clearly stating the commission structure and other important details.
Here are a few reputable domain brokers with good track records to check out:
• Evergreen
• Media Options
• NameCorp
With a little research, you can find and vet several more worthy of working with. Just make sure to do your due diligence and use a professional escrow service to handle the transaction and transfer the domain and funds.
Find a Buyer Directly
If you want to take the opposite approach and be as hands on as possible, you can always try to find a buyer directly as well. This approach often works if you have a niche-specific domain name with a lot of potential end users, such as ArizonaLawyer.com or OrlandoGym.com.
If this is the case, you can increase your chances of selling your domain at a good price by being proactive and reaching out to any and all relevant businesses who may be interested in your domain.
You can do this via phone or email after doing a little research and gathering a targeted list of leads. With tools like Clearbit Connect and LinkedIn, you can find the names and contact info of the Chief Technical Officer, Chief Marketing Officer, or anyone else in charge of technology or marketing.
If it’s a small business, then we recommend contacting the owner directly with a personalized email that’s short, sweet, and to the point.
Here’s an example:
Subject: Selling OrlandoGym.com
Dear Matt,
I own the domain name OrlandoGym.com and I am contacting a few companies in the health and fitness industry here in Orlando to explore the possibility of selling the domain. Would owning this domain name be helpful for your business?
Regards,
John Doe
JohnDoe@gmail.com
(111)123-4567
You get the idea. By keeping your email to the point and ending it with a question, you will be more likely to receive responses. If your domain is valuable, you should get a few responses inquiring about the price.
Regardless of which these routes you take, if you receive an offer for your domain, make sure to respond quickly. The longer you wait, the greater the chances of losing the buyer.
However, don’t be shy about negotiating the price. If you know your domain is worth a certain amount, don’t settle for a lower price. Provide detailed information backing up the domain’s worth and let the buyer know why it’s priced the way it is.
Step 5 – Transfer the Domain
After you have sold your domain, the last step is to receive the funds and transfer it to the buyer. For this, we recommend using an escrow service.
A licensed escrow service will minimize risk for both you and the buyer. The service will guarantee the buyer will receive the domain and you will get paid.
Each of the domain auction sites and marketplaces discussed above all have free escrow services built into their platforms. When using one of these platforms, there’s nothing more you have to do after the domain sells.
If you’re using a broker or selling it directly, then you will need to find a licensed escrow company to process the transaction. Two of the most popular escrow companies for the sale of domain names are Payoneer Escrow and Escrow.com.
Don’t Keep Unrealistic Expectations
Although many domains are sold for thousands of dollars, it’s not realistic to think that all similar sounding domains can be sold at such prices.
You domains may not even be sold if the asking price is pretty high.
However if your domain name is highly valuable and a fantastic name, it might hit the big figures. The domain should deserve to be sold at high price.
To give you an example, OLED.COM was sold for $56,100 USD.
It had whopping 178 bidders. They were all bidding to acquire this wonderful domain name and was ready to pay right away.
At last, it was sold for $56,100 USD.
How much you could have earned if you registered this domain for $10?
Although the story is not always same, it can be depending on how well you choose your domains and how effectively you promote it to the right people.
Below is the description used to sell OLED.COM
No doubt that the listing was highly successful.
So you can see how much people are ready to pay to get the right domain name. This is what makes domain flipping business highly profitable.
Although you may not always be able to sell domains for thousands of dollars, but you can always make high profits selling a domain name.
It’s not uncommon for a $10 domain name to be sold at $100 or more.
You can literally turn $100 into $1000 quite easily with the right methods and right guidance. However, success cannot be guaranteed.
But the possibility is very very high.
If there is any business online that can make someone a millionaire, domain flipping is one of the best ones. I am sure you have now realized its potential.
To sell a domain name at the highest possible price is certainly an art. But the above three reasons influence a successful sale the most.
Please note that there may be many other factors that might help you sell. But I don’t believe those are very important.
With experience you will slowly learn the art and techniques.
But as a beginner, you should mostly focus on these factors only.
You need to buy the right domain which is brandable, make a high quality logo for the domain and make people see its highest value at the best platform.
That’s how it’s really done. For step by step guidance in domain flipping business, I highly recommend you to see this.