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Is it worth trying to sell a domain on ebay ?

Discussion in 'New Domainers' started by wbmkk, May 27, 2013.

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  1. wbmkk

    wbmkk Member

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    As I already have a ebay account, it would be pretty easy for me to list domains there in the hope of selling some. I could easily make up a quick image, as obviously an ebay listing needs a picture to help with sales

    Does ebay offer a good service for domain selling ?

    Would I be better off, using a specialist domain seller ?

    Final question ... if I stick the domain on this forum, with a for-sale sign, what costs are involved.

    thank you
     
  2. Domain Forum

    Acorn Domains Elite Member

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  3. willbon

    willbon Active Member

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    Selling on here is free... but you will be selling to domainers - simply list it in the forum under the right section.

    Could try... domainlore, Sedo, Afternic etc etc...

    Ebay OK... give it a whirl... A few sales there, but there's a lot of really terrible stuff at silly prices so domainers tend not to bother..

    When selling a domain publicise widely on forums and sales channels...

    Really depends on what the domains are..

    What are you selling?
     
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  4. Edwin

    Edwin Well-Known Member

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    No, ebay's a waste of time.

    Put one or two of the best in the Appraisals forum here to get an idea of potential - that will direct the choice of sale strategy.
     
  5. wbmkk

    wbmkk Member

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    just as examples

    shopsinnewcastle.co.uk & shopsinnewcastle.com

    same with Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Southampton, Belfast etc etc

    most of the major cities (most with the co.uk, as well as the .com)

    also

    shopsinlondon.co (yeah, I know .. the '.co' option not very good

    onlinewill.co

    africanhairandbeauty.co.uk


    cheesestoyourdoor.co.uk

    sausagestoyourdoor.co.uk

    Energyefficientsolarpanels.co.uk

    Huskydogracing.co.uk

    Ineedacarer.co.uk

    myfavouritepothole.co.uk

    tyresnowsocks.co.uk

    windturbinesforhome.co.uk

    Buywintertyres.co.uk

    bestwintertyres.co.uk

    pedalwhilewework.co.uk

    stayhereforgolf.co.uk
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2013
  6. fscisum

    fscisum Active Member

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    I agree with Edwin. Ebay is a great market to buy cheap domains, but don't sell your domains there! You would not get profit by selling your domains there because even LLLL domains would be sold under $20 or even $10. I listed bulk domains there a few months ago, but no domain got sold at all. The most frequent "clicks" are only 82!
     
  7. mat

    mat Well-Known Member

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    To be honest, when I first started buying domain names I made some of my first proper sales on ebay.

    I sold 2 hand reg domains for mid-high £xxx each buy it now.

    I decided to list a few niche domain names with keywords in the title related to that niche. As an example I bought Wolfsburg /// co /// uk (Famous as the location of the headquarters of Volkswagen)

    "Perfect name for VW Camper, Beetle and Golf GTI owners" or similar in the title would help bring in people searching for these terms and not the domain name.

    It may have been luck, but some rich collector of all things VW ended up buying it off of me just to have it, he has done nothing with it since.
     
  8. Murray

    Murray Well-Known Member

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    Don't think there is any value in any of them :( sorry.
     
  9. nameholic United Kingdom

    nameholic Active Member

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    Good Luck

    IS IT WORTH TRYING TO SELL A DOMAIN NAME/S ON EBAY

    I agree with WILLBON .
    "Ebay OK... give it a whirl... A few sales there, but there's a lot of really terrible stuff at silly prices so domainers tend not to bother.. "

    Well I took the plunge and thought I'll give it a whirl and Opened an ebay Shop....
    listing Fixed price names fee is 10p p/m +10% commission if sold

    and to get a few more Views list a few in the ebay auction
    and if you are member of AcornDomains you can highlight it in the Auction Thread

    But you have to list your names at realistic Prices (todays Market Price )

    I sill list all mine on Sedo its Free to List/park and you have good landing page
    with a list of all potential end-users on the park page they pay to advertise there offer them that domain name

    Using fixed prices for name £**/£*** = 10% commission
    For £**** try MAKE OFFERS commison higher but you get chance to send to Auction (but not many get over 1st bid)

    See selling prices
    http://domainlore.co.uk/
    Domainlore has listing Fee your name has to be worth minimum £50 to sell The preferred place for good names
    Minamum for Sedo is £45 to sell
    Minamum for ebay is .01p

    "obviously an ebay listing needs a picture to help with sales"

    I used a template of a van then signed it and uploaded as jpeg photo fill


    "When selling a domain publicise widely on forums and sales channels..."
    Members get a TAG line.

    I haven't used mine as yet but I don't think its seen by none members
    My first post on acorn was buying is easy but selling is harder
    that has not changed ​


    ----------------------------------------
    www.MrCom.co.uk
    www.newlylisted.co.uk
     
    Last edited: Jun 2, 2013
  10. mrh United Kingdom

    mrh Active Member

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    Sorry but these are of no value (in my eyes)

     
  11. PaulGregory

    PaulGregory Active Member

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    I've sold a couple through eBay, but more through people finding the eBay listing after it expired.

    A significant downside is that it can attract people who don't know what they're doing. I have one that took 18 months to transfer out.
     
  12. jonbyrne United Kingdom

    jonbyrne Member

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    I sold one about 6 years ago, buyer paid, I explained the transfer process then I never heard from them again.

    I let the domain expire a few months later and it still is FTR
     
  13. Edwin

    Edwin Well-Known Member

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    Not very professional of you, given how cheap the annual renewal fee is, and certainly not something I'd boast of on here!
     
  14. PaulGregory

    PaulGregory Active Member

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    I didn't see that as a boast, and really it depends how much it sold for whether the renewal fee is cheap. The "professional" thing to do would be to email the buyer again explaining the urgency shortly before the renewal date. The "cowboy" thing to do would be to reg the domain again with another identity and registrar and sell it again. There's no evidence that keeping up renewals on a sold domain would be anything other than dead money.

    It's interesting to hear that I'm not the only one to get buyers that had no immediate plans for their purchase. I did try explaining the transfer process in the auction text but I think that may have put people off.

    On eBay, I feel you may actually have more joy selling a functioning website with WordPress login and recurring billing than just a domain. Either way, be prepared to offer more support than elsewhere.
     
  15. Edwin

    Edwin Well-Known Member

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    I've never given up on a buyer without kicking in a year's renewal if need be (only happened twice out of 1,000+ domains sold). That's assuming I've already got their money, of course. Even if it was a £50 sale a 1 year renewal won't break the bank in a pinch.
     
  16. jonbyrne United Kingdom

    jonbyrne Member

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    It was a cheap sale approx £20 if I remember correctly. I made plenty of effort to get the guy to sort it out but he made no effort to communicate or respond to anything after the first couple of days.

    There was no boast there at all and I am surprised you think there was, 3 or 4 months is enough time for someone to reply to an email / phone call and the guy was still active on eBay, so there was no issue there. I think it was buyers remorse, he admitted he knew nothing of domains or websites and I think he just cut his loses before paying the transfer fee. I felt I was being completely fair letting it drop, but each to their own.
     
  17. stellar73 United Kingdom

    stellar73 Active Member

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    Agreed. If you've made an honest sale (ie you've made the buyer aware of the transfer process, 5 day window to accept and £12 fee) then you've fulfilled your obligations to them and it's up to them what happens from there. Out of courtesy I would re-initiate the transfer a couple of times if they fail to accept it but you're certainly under no obligation to renew a domain that you've already sold and incur unnecessary costs in my opinion anyway
     
  18. PaulGregory

    PaulGregory Active Member

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    Indeed. And a 1 year renewal wasn't even an option 6 years ago!

    On the flip side, there is the risk of the buyer seeking their money back - although a few months is long enough for this to get difficult. But if the domain only went for £20, then that's not a great risk.

    Myself, I have renewed domains awaiting transfer, but again because the price they had paid covered it and wasn't worth risking. If Jon had kept renewing a £20 sale for 6 years, he'd be at a loss by now!
     
  19. julian United Kingdom

    julian Banned

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    what a cretinous site.. www.onlinewill.co :rolleyes:

    that alone should put anyone off buying from you forever
     
  20. inferlogic United Kingdom

    inferlogic Member

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    I've decided to try and sell some domains via ebay, but mostly because It's about 6 domains from the same sector that I want to sell on auction as a package, rather than individually. Given that most of the domains are not .uk, I'm not aware of any other auction marketplace which is specifically for selling domains? (domainlore and acorn are obviously more .uk. centric)
     
  21. PaulGregory

    PaulGregory Active Member

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    Don't forget to promote your eBay auction on here:
    http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/domain-name-auctions.html

    As for other auction marketplaces, there's always Sedo, and although Flippa is aimed at selling websites, it does has a section for selling domains. But neither are any good at selling a package of names.

    eBid is an alternative to eBay and has an Internet category but no specific domain name category and a quick search didn't pull up any domain names for sale (though plenty of templates with a reg included).

    There are three things eBay has going for it:
    1) easier to list packages
    2) cheaper to list than anywhere else (particularly if it's unlikely to sell quickly)
    3) can leverage trust from existing non-domain sales

    [While I'm posting... It reads a bit like Julian is addressing me when he slags off the cretinous keyword-stuffed will site. Just to clarify: that site is by an earlier poster.]
     
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