Bit of inspiration for you....

figleaf007 · Feb 20, 2012

I mostly sell domains on here, but in trying to sell more than I buy, I decided to start trying the end user route. Couple of Saturdays ago I picked one of my domains, googled it, ignored the first three natural results and pimped it out to a dozen or so companies either doing ppc or lower down the organic order. I got one bite, but he offered a tenner less than I bought it for, so no dice.

Weekend just gone, I gave it another go with a domain I bought off a member here for £50. Exacts were 290 on Google but it was a nice name. So I did the same process, no more than half an hour finding 12 or so websites that I thought would like the name. Within 24 hours I had received the cash and transferred for a profit of £100, not bad for all in less than an hour's work.

There was nothing special in my communication, a simple email saying hello, got this name, thought you might like it. One thing that did strike me was that the buyer ran some checks to see if I was a fraudster. I do have a central website for my domains and used that email address, I think if you ever use a hotmail or yahoo address to send out sales emails, you will hit a bit of a brick wall.

I know it's tough out there, but that also means people are looking for an edge over their competition and touting a domain name as that edge is a key selling point. So get out there today and see what you can sell, you may be surprised...best of luck people....

boxfish · Feb 20, 2012

Nice one figleaf, reminds me of this post on selfmademinds

http://selfmademinds.com/200902/200-per-week-for-every-reader/

accelerator · Feb 20, 2012

Nice one. Always good to have a bit of inspiration. I also agree about the value of having your own e-mail address and domain portfolio site.

Rgds

AuthorityDomain · Feb 20, 2012

Nice one

You've got to put the effort in to get the rewards. Too many domainers expect people to come to them with offers.

Did you include a price in the original mail?

Also pricing the domain to the target audience has to be right otherwise you'll not get the interest.

pbryd · Feb 20, 2012

Ok I just tried this

selected a product
reg'd a domain for it
emailed at least a dozen suppliers offering domain

I've asked £50 in the email and updated my domain list to show the new domain on offer.

I'll let you guys know if I get any takers.

damainman · Feb 20, 2012

Nice one figleaf. Thanks for sharing

figleaf007 · Feb 20, 2012

Thanks for the comments guys.

Yes, I did put a price in and there was no negotiation on the buyer's part. I felt it was realistic and seemed to work.

Best of luck Pbryd, let us know how you get on....

Edwin · Feb 20, 2012

You may find that at £50 it's too cheap a proposition for most companies to take you seriously. There is a genuine time value involved, since a decision-maker there will need to consider the proposal, authorise payment, take care of the transfer - or get the IT department to do so, etc. and that effort's not necessarily lost on the person you contacted, who may think "Can I really be bothered to do all that for something worth £50?"

Because that's what you're effectively saying (paraphrased): "Hey, I have this great business-changing thing for you and it's worth £50!"

figleaf007 · Feb 20, 2012

I think that's a fair point by Edwin but it does also depend on who you are pitching to. The companies I was going for were run by individuals or at most a small group, so I figured the price needed to be realistic. However, if I was approaching GlaxoSmithKline with a domain, it would probably need to be pitched at a higher leve....

pbryd · Feb 21, 2012

Good point Edwin, cheers.

I'll take into the consideration the size of the business and adjust the asking price accordingly in future.

If I do get a buyer, then I'll use the £50 to buy 7 more domains and repeat the process.

blackmountain · Feb 21, 2012

Thank you Figleaf, your post has inspired me to get out and be more proactive with my non-selling domains. They are listed on Sedo, but I have found it to be rather useless as far as promotion is concerned.

Would you recommend that I keep them on Sedo, for the convenience of its escrow service, while I embark on the kind of marketing exercise you have described?

websaway · Feb 21, 2012

Edwin said:
You may find that at £50 it's too cheap a proposition for most companies to take you seriously. There is a genuine time value involved, since a decision-maker there will need to consider the proposal, authorise payment, take care of the transfer - or get the IT department to do so, etc. and that effort's not necessarily lost on the person you contacted, who may think "Can I really be bothered to do all that for something worth £50?"

Because that's what you're effectively saying (paraphrased): "Hey, I have this great business-changing thing for you and it's worth £50!"

Always love your input Edwin.
I think the point to this is more the quality of the domain than the price.
A company however large will buy it if they see it as a bargain, and there is less red tape if the price is very low, an MD or CEO can buy it himself on behalf. I think if a domain is being sold to the end user market at £50 then the name is not worth an end user buying it or the seller is shortening his domaining career by giving away his main assetts. I suppose like antiques it's what makes the industry so interesting, an eye for a bargain, a missed opportunity and all that stuff.

websaway · Feb 21, 2012

pbryd said:
Good point Edwin, cheers.

I'll take into the consideration the size of the business and adjust the asking price accordingly in future.

If I do get a buyer, then I'll use the £50 to buy 7 more domains and repeat the process.

I just wonder where this is going, surely a domain has a particular value whoever the buyer is. In effect what your saying is you will inflate the price depending on the wealth of the buyer. That is possible starting from such a low base however it won't be long before the domains available at reg price run out.

pbryd · Feb 21, 2012

The value of a domain is whatever the owner thinks it is, or what any potential buyer thinks it is.

The price of a domain can have an impact on it's perceived value.

figleaf007 · Feb 21, 2012

BlackMountain - I've got about 30 domains on SEDO and never had a bite, but they are not top quality and you could get lucky.

What I did was to forward the domain name to my central selling name which matched my email address, that way there was no doubt about my ownership from the buyer point of view. They paid by bank transfer, no problem on that score.

Cheers

websaway · Feb 21, 2012

pbryd said:
The value of a domain is whatever the owner thinks it is, or what any potential buyer thinks it is.

The price of a domain can have an impact on it's perceived value.

Yes, I agree valuing domains is a very subjective issue.

My reservation of the model you've outlined is it's sustainability.
You have to be paid for effort otherwise it is a hobby.
You have to be prepared to hold or develop names, both of which is costly.
you cannot just register and sell names at will and if you do at the prices you quote, then the effort will not be financially rewarding.
So, anyone can use there skills to select domains and market them and then practically give them away in the belief that they are being successful, but that is not a success system.

Edwin · Feb 21, 2012

websaway said:
You have to be paid for effort otherwise it is a hobby.
You have to be prepared to hold or develop names, both of which is costly.
you cannot just register and sell names at will and if you do at the prices you quote, then the effort will not be financially rewarding.
So, anyone can use there skills to select domains and market them and then practically give them away in the belief that they are being successful, but that is not a success system.

Some good points. You need to crunch the numbers back to a notional hourly rate (including the time spent mining the names and finding the contacts, drafting the emails, taking care of questions and responses, closing the deal and looking after the buyer, etc.) to start to get a true picture of what a deal is "worth". A full calculation would also need to take into account the sales % and consequent renewal fees on the unsold names, plus original registration fees and any other costs incurred.

After all, £50 earned in 15 minutes is £200/hour (a good rate for all but the top legal and financial professionals). £50 earned in 10 hours is less than minimum wage. And so on...

BREWSTERS · Feb 21, 2012

Edwin said:
You may find that at £50 it's too cheap a proposition for most companies to take you seriously. There is a genuine time value involved, since a decision-maker there will need to consider the proposal, authorise payment, take care of the transfer - or get the IT department to do so, etc. and that effort's not necessarily lost on the person you contacted, who may think "Can I really be bothered to do all that for something worth £50?"

Because that's what you're effectively saying (paraphrased): "Hey, I have this great business-changing thing for you and it's worth £50!"

Agree 100% - and would like to add, that there is your own time to consider.

Start the clock from when you started either searching for a suitable name or saw it listed for sale. Even hand reg'ing names takes time - by the time you've bought the name you've probably spent a minimum of one hour / £25 at least in time alone. Transfering the name to a buyer adds the same, so you're looking at £57 before you even start to consider researching buyers, emailing them, handling responses etc.

I've hand reg'ed domains and sold them for low £xxx on Acorn in under an hour - the buyers knew the value in the name and that to find a domain with similar qualities could take them a few hours at least. These people know thier time has a value to it.

Edit: Hadn't read page 2 prior to making my post - seems I'm just echoing the posts immediately above.

pbryd · Feb 22, 2012

BREWSTERS said:
Start the clock from when you started either searching for a suitable name or saw it listed for sale. Even hand reg'ing names takes time - by the time you've bought the name you've probably spent a minimum of one hour / £25 at least in time alone. Transfering the name to a buyer adds the same, so you're looking at £57 before you even start to consider researching buyers, emailing them, handling responses etc.

I do agree with this, especially if the buyer doesn't have experience of domain transfers and you have to answer questions.

However at the moment I'm time rich, and cash poor.

Meaning I don't mind spending a bit time and asking a lower price if it can get a sale.

If I were time poor and cash rich, then it would be different and I'd be looking for higher value domains.