Selling On Sedo
July 31st, 2010
My business model has never been about selling domain names, but rather than letting certain names expire, I recently added a few to Sedo just to see what happened really.
In each case, I included a low buy it now price. These are names that would otherwise have expired, so there was little point in specifying a bigger price, or using the auction.
The result is that I’ve now sold a couple of expiring names for up to £300 each.
Whilst I didn’t conduct a scientific study, I did place a batch of similar quality names at differing rates, starting at just £99. I think £300 is the sweet spot for domains on Sedo. Anything over that amount encounters resistance, probably because the audience is made up mainly of domainers looking for bargains.
Because they are probably buying up lots of names, they don’t want to go too mad on the price, but most recognise the value in a good keyword-rich generic name.
One I sold this week for £300 was a three word, .co.uk name containing 23 letters. It was a super name for development though and I am certain it will repay the new owner many times over, even if it is simply resold.
Of course, £300 isn’t much, but when the outlay is only £6 for 2 years, I suppose my total investment in the name was £12 – £18 and all it took to transfer it was entering an email address into the on-line form at Nominet.
I’ve looked back at a few of the domains I’ve let expire this year and most (though not all) have been quickly snapped up, which is good, because otherwise it would suggest that I’ve been registering rubbish for many years.
However, I’ve more than made up for those expired domains in the sales I’ve made at Sedo and Acorn Domains.
Domain Development Scores Again
The better news this week is that I finally managed to sell my Spanish apartment. If you think the domain market is slow, try selling property in Spain! However, I managed it without the help of any estate agent (who charge up to 6% of the sale price), just by developing a domain name, holiday-home.co.uk.
Just goes to show that there’s more value in domain names than you might think. This one has just saved me more than 6000 Euros and has resulted in a sale where many other identical properties remain unsold.
Anyone fancy a nice generic domain name for a few hundred quid?
Posted in Domain Names
“Of course, £300 isn’t much, but when the outlay is only £6 for 2 years, I suppose my total investment in the name was £12 – £18 and all it took to transfer it was entering an email address into the on-line form at Nominet.”
Your real outlay is on all those names you didn’t sell, not just the one you did. Your ROI then would look completely different.
Yes, that’s true. I sold a number of names though and they more than make up for the stuff I’ve let expire during the past 12 month, so in real terms all I’ve done is got my money back and made a nominal profit.
But for me, it’s not really about selling. One way or another, those names were going as they were surplus to my requirements and no longer fit my portfolio, since my focus has changed completely.
Names that don’t fit aren’t an investment, they’re a distraction that can cost far more in lost productivity than they ever will by being surrendered or sold at bargain basement prices.
Just so everybody is aware of it and to save you some $$ in sales fees at Sedo…
Setting a buy it now.. you might as well change DNS to SedoParking.com as well because then there is no Minimum sellers fee. If you list a domain for $300 and set a BIN and change DNS to SedoParking, your fee is $30. (10%)
Setting a BIN and not setting DNS to sedoparking, there is a $50 min charge (10% over min fee). So just by setting dns as well, you save $20! It all adds up, so knowing the fee’s and how they work helps.
Just an FYI
It’s nice to hear about your apartment sale.
Seems like you could be doing a killing on online real state brokering
That would be good, but one sale that took over a year to achieve, hardly makes a business. But then again, nearly all of the agents in the same area have failed spectacularly and few are still in business. Most are simply a web site and a hopeful ex-pat, so you might be right