Selling domains on ebay

lesurf · 09-08-2005, 12:14 PM

I have been considering selling one of my better names on ebay for a while now. However, I have been put off due to previous experiences that I have had with ebay whilst selling computer equipment, mobiles etc.

My main concern with selling a domain is that the buyer drops out. If, say, I listed a domain on ebay and it was bid up to £1,000 and the buyer failed to complete on the sale would I still have to pay the fees to ebay for the sale?

I know in the past when this has happened to me when selling mobiles on ebay, I have generally got the fees back straight away (if the winning bidder is "no longer a registered user") or got the fees back after a while provided the buyer agreed that the sale was not completed.

I know ebay is not the best route to sell domains but with this particular domain I think it could prompt my prefered buyer into action.

What is the experience of other users selling domains on ebay and do other people have similar concerns?

bb99 · 09-08-2005, 12:44 PM

With eBay sales, if the sale does not complete (for whatever reason) you can always get the fees back.

It's maybe worth putting in your auction listing that you want a £250 (or whatever) deposit within 48 hours of the auction closing as that will help to separate the serious bidders from the "idiots"!

lesurf · 09-08-2005, 01:49 PM

thanks for that, I was pretty sure that this was the case. However I had heard a horror story from a colleague whose colleague listed a domain that finished at £3K but the sale never completed. He had to pay the fees as the buyer did not respond to verify that the sale did not complete. I guess this is the only way that you could lose out?

I suppose to avoid this you could put other safeguards in place like only accepting bids from users with a feedback rating of over x or only allowing bids from those with paypal a/c's?

Does anyone else have any experience of selling domains on ebay (good or bad)?

Edwin · 09-08-2005, 03:02 PM

I would say that 99.95% of all domains listed on eBay are "junk" - probably 99.5% not worth the reg fee and the other .45% not worth more than about 30 quid. The problem comes because once in a blue moon there is a genuine BARGAIN so although it's not unlike rummaging through a virtual cess-pit, I feel compelled to check the listings every couple of weeks or so in case I happen spot that elusive bargain.

So eBay is probably the least credible venue you could choose to sell a name (in the eyes of domain insiders), but it's the only one where normal non-domainers might stumble across it...

lesurf · 09-08-2005, 05:20 PM

Thanks for your input Edwin, much appreciated.

I'm with you on ebay being a less than credible route to market. With the domain that I am thinking about putting on ebay though, I think throwing it open to the public might force the hand of my prefered buyer who up until now has been silent.

Also, what do I really have to lose aside from a listing fee?

I know this is slightly outside of the realms of my original thread but what methods have other people used to pro-actively market their generic domains. I tried some good old fashioned telemarketing a while back with mixed results.

Anyone had any joy with anything else?

aquanuke · 09-08-2005, 10:23 PM

http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/ia...er_policy.html

Ive filled a number, never had any problems.

lesurf · 10-08-2005, 10:12 AM

Thanks again, my fears are gone now about listing the domain on ebay, although I am still dubious as to whether it will be worthwhile or not.

For those with good generic names what is this best way of actively marketing domains? Sending out an e-mail to people who may be interested, sending a letter? Or even picking up the phone?

aquanuke · 10-08-2005, 10:19 AM

Well pop.co.uk sold for a very respectable figure couple of weeks ago. Check the completed auctions page if you didnt see it.

Trouble with an auction is it only runs a short while and domain names are quite selective. So theres an element of luck if you can find two or more bidders who will get the price up.

Still ebay keeps putting the fees up .. which really kills profits.

bb99 · 10-08-2005, 10:25 AM

You could use Google adwords to advertise the name for sale.

Firstly you could just have an advert linking to your ebay auction or sale page that comes up when related keywords are used.

Secondly you could look at who is paying to advertise on Google (etc) under the key words related to your domain and then email them to let them know about your auction/sale.

I think I originally read that tip on here though so I'm just repeating what someone else has said. Never tried it myself.

lesurf · 10-08-2005, 10:57 AM

Regardless of whether it's been said before it's a good tip as I'm guessing if someone is bought into the marketing power of the net enough to pay for Adwords they would see the value in a decent domain.

Also, I guess they would also be likely to see your "for sale" Ad as they if they are using Adwords they would also be looking to see what other listings were around from their competitors for their keyword.

My only problem is my keyword that relates to my generic domain costs £5.73 pc if I want position number one on Adwords!

I have been trying different techniques of late to proactively market. I have used the technique of e-mailing but with no joy. My feeling, as with all such marketing, is it needs to be targeted.

For example, if I was to send an e-mail to sales@ or marketing@ I would be far less likely to get a response than if I sent the e-mail to joe.bloggs@ (providing Joe Bloggs is the man who makes or influences the purchasing decision). Getting these contacts takes time though but I think it would pay off?

Perhaps it would be best to get these targeted contacts by phone and then send a professional letter inviting offers?

09-08-2005, 12:14 PM	#1
lesurf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London Posts: 259 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	Selling domains on ebay I have been considering selling one of my better names on ebay for a while now. However, I have been put off due to previous experiences that I have had with ebay whilst selling computer equipment, mobiles etc. My main concern with selling a domain is that the buyer drops out. If, say, I listed a domain on ebay and it was bid up to £1,000 and the buyer failed to complete on the sale would I still have to pay the fees to ebay for the sale? I know in the past when this has happened to me when selling mobiles on ebay, I have generally got the fees back straight away (if the winning bidder is "no longer a registered user") or got the fees back after a while provided the buyer agreed that the sale was not completed. I know ebay is not the best route to sell domains but with this particular domain I think it could prompt my prefered buyer into action. What is the experience of other users selling domains on ebay and do other people have similar concerns?

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09-08-2005, 12:44 PM	#2
bb99 Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,143 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	With eBay sales, if the sale does not complete (for whatever reason) you can always get the fees back. It's maybe worth putting in your auction listing that you want a £250 (or whatever) deposit within 48 hours of the auction closing as that will help to separate the serious bidders from the "idiots"!

09-08-2005, 01:49 PM	#3
lesurf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London Posts: 259 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	thanks for that, I was pretty sure that this was the case. However I had heard a horror story from a colleague whose colleague listed a domain that finished at £3K but the sale never completed. He had to pay the fees as the buyer did not respond to verify that the sale did not complete. I guess this is the only way that you could lose out? I suppose to avoid this you could put other safeguards in place like only accepting bids from users with a feedback rating of over x or only allowing bids from those with paypal a/c's? Does anyone else have any experience of selling domains on ebay (good or bad)?

09-08-2005, 03:02 PM	#4
Edwin Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Tokyo, Japan Posts: 876 Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 10)	I would say that 99.95% of all domains listed on eBay are "junk" - probably 99.5% not worth the reg fee and the other .45% not worth more than about 30 quid. The problem comes because once in a blue moon there is a genuine BARGAIN so although it's not unlike rummaging through a virtual cess-pit, I feel compelled to check the listings every couple of weeks or so in case I happen spot that elusive bargain. So eBay is probably the least credible venue you could choose to sell a name (in the eyes of domain insiders), but it's the only one where normal non-domainers might stumble across it...

09-08-2005, 05:20 PM	#5
lesurf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London Posts: 259 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	Thanks for your input Edwin, much appreciated. I'm with you on ebay being a less than credible route to market. With the domain that I am thinking about putting on ebay though, I think throwing it open to the public might force the hand of my prefered buyer who up until now has been silent. Also, what do I really have to lose aside from a listing fee? I know this is slightly outside of the realms of my original thread but what methods have other people used to pro-actively market their generic domains. I tried some good old fashioned telemarketing a while back with mixed results. Anyone had any joy with anything else?

09-08-2005, 10:23 PM	#6
aquanuke Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,782 Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 10)	http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/sell/ia...er_policy.html Ive filled a number, never had any problems.

10-08-2005, 10:12 AM	#7
lesurf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London Posts: 259 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	Thanks again, my fears are gone now about listing the domain on ebay, although I am still dubious as to whether it will be worthwhile or not. For those with good generic names what is this best way of actively marketing domains? Sending out an e-mail to people who may be interested, sending a letter? Or even picking up the phone?

10-08-2005, 10:19 AM	#8
aquanuke Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 1,782 Domain Trader Rating: (100% / 10)	Well pop.co.uk sold for a very respectable figure couple of weeks ago. Check the completed auctions page if you didnt see it. Trouble with an auction is it only runs a short while and domain names are quite selective. So theres an element of luck if you can find two or more bidders who will get the price up. Still ebay keeps putting the fees up .. which really kills profits.

10-08-2005, 10:25 AM	#9
bb99 Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 1,143 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	You could use Google adwords to advertise the name for sale. Firstly you could just have an advert linking to your ebay auction or sale page that comes up when related keywords are used. Secondly you could look at who is paying to advertise on Google (etc) under the key words related to your domain and then email them to let them know about your auction/sale. I think I originally read that tip on here though so I'm just repeating what someone else has said. Never tried it myself.

10-08-2005, 10:57 AM	#10
lesurf Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: London Posts: 259 Domain Trader Rating: (0% / 0)	Regardless of whether it's been said before it's a good tip as I'm guessing if someone is bought into the marketing power of the net enough to pay for Adwords they would see the value in a decent domain. Also, I guess they would also be likely to see your "for sale" Ad as they if they are using Adwords they would also be looking to see what other listings were around from their competitors for their keyword. My only problem is my keyword that relates to my generic domain costs £5.73 pc if I want position number one on Adwords! I have been trying different techniques of late to proactively market. I have used the technique of e-mailing but with no joy. My feeling, as with all such marketing, is it needs to be targeted. For example, if I was to send an e-mail to sales@ or marketing@ I would be far less likely to get a response than if I sent the e-mail to joe.bloggs@ (providing Joe Bloggs is the man who makes or influences the purchasing decision). Getting these contacts takes time though but I think it would pay off? Perhaps it would be best to get these targeted contacts by phone and then send a professional letter inviting offers?