Guide to making a buck in the world of domain names (Part 5)
August 15, 2009
This whole guide is meant to take you through the process, from buying your domain to selling it.
So let’s get down to it.
5. How To Sell Your Domain.
Selling your domain can be simple, if someone guides you through it. (In this scenario, I’m the guide) It starts with putting your domain up for sale, and then alerting people that your domain is ready to be bought. After someone purchases your domain, you have to transfer ownership to them.
There’s a few different routes to take when you sell domain names at auction. My first recommendation is to find a good auction site. Do a quick search engine search for ‘sell domain names online’ or ‘domain name auction house’. You’ll get a few big auction houses like SEDO or Afternic. It’s a good idea to stick to well known sites, and to stay away from other auction places like eBay. eBay can cause problems for both the buyer and the seller, but mostly the seller. Many people have transferred their domains to buyers on eBay, only to have a PayPal chargeback for the money they received. Unfortunately, a domain name is a digital good, and there’s no paper trail to prove that the domain ever really changed hands. Long story short: stick to auction houses meant for domain names.
When you’re putting your domain up for auction, you’ll want to, for lack of a better word, ‘embellish’ your site. Let the potential buyers know about all the hard work you spent doing SEO for your domain name, and how many people came to your domain while it was parked. If you haven’t done any SEO and don’t have a lot of visitors, it’s good to follow the old adage, “If you don’t have anything good to say, then don’t say anything at all.” Buyers only want to hear the good about your domain name, so don’t tell them the bad.
Another thing to think about when you’re auctioning your domain is modesty. Don’t go putting up a domain for $500,000 and expect to get that much. Most O.K. domains will go for around $100 to $500. If you think your domain is worth more than that, then go ahead and appraise your domain first. If you really DO have an $xxx,xxx domain, then you should try and list it for a little higher than you want. The incoming offers are always lower than what you put up, so plan ahead.
Once your domain is on an auction site, you should let people know that it’s for sale! Change your domain’s splash page to a big sign that says ‘For Sale’ and be sure to let visitors know how much. Go post in forums where people are looking for domains like yours. Even better, sell domain names that you own on edomaindeals.com and see what happens there. Get the word out by posting an add on craigslist or your local classifieds, do whatever you can to market your domain name. If nobody knows that your domain exists, how will they buy it?
After you’ve finally accepted an offer for your domain, it’s time to transfer ownership. On GoDaddy, it’s as easy as going into your account and clicking ‘transfer domain’. On other registrars, transferring your domain name may be more difficult. The bottom line is that there are different ways of pushing your domain through to someone else on every site. It’s a great idea to get in touch with your registrar either through phone or e-mail if you aren’t sure how to transfer your domain, or check their FAQ or Guides section. Do an internet search as well, it can’t hurt you.
Once you’ve sold your domain name, you should put 80% of your profits back into buying more domains, and keep the remaining 20% for yourself. If you follow this strategy, your profits will increase slowly (but surely!) over time.
This guide is only a dip into the huge world of domain names, and I have to recommend that you do a little more research before you really jump into it. This 5 part piece is far from a complete ‘How To’, and is rather (as the title suggests) a simple guide to give a general overview of the process.
