I do both daily and there are so many ups and downs. A domain sellers dream, is getting that High Offer you have always been waiting for. That’s the second "UP", with the first one being excited when you were able to get the domain in the first place.

Then comes a couple downs (most of the time). I know most are like me and would like to get the process done ASAP. Securing payment, via Escrow, Bank Wire, Paypal etc. Then the push/transfer process. Then the follow up, thank you’s and the transaction can be considered done.

Sadly, this process can litterally take Minutes or it can take Months. This depends on who you are dealing with and if there is a 3rd party involved. Several downs can take place after a sale and the "waiting" for payment is one of the biggest. This can also happen in buying, after submitting payment and waiting on the transfer/push. This can even happen when you use Escrow.

With the newest craze of Live Auction events, this process is even taking longer! By the time you submit your domain for consideration to get into the auction, 1 or 2 months can pass before you even know if the domain made it. Then there should be about 1 month of promoting for that auction and advertising the domain names. That doesn’t always happen as there are times the lists only come out days before the event, but there should be that time allowed.

So now you are at 2-3 months in and auction time is upon. Approx 30 seconds is the attention your domain is going to get. In some cases, you get a bid or as you hoped for, Several Bids. If the domain sells, it’s likely you will be contacted with in a couple days to start the transfer process and getting paid etc. So now you wait for the buyer to pay the auction service and you have no control over this. You also wait on the auction service to let you know they got paid. The transfer of the domain is started and completed, which can take a week or more and that’s if there are no problems.

Then the auction service sends you payment, which again can take another week or so. To make a long story short, when you submit a domain into a live domain auction event (expo), you just might be waiting nearly a half of a YEAR to get paid! That is, even if the domain sells. If a domain makes it to auction, but doesn’t sell, then that baby is locked for a LONG time as well. 1-2 months for submitting, approx 1 month for auction to start, then likely a 60-120 after auction hold! That’s 4-8 months!

Something needs to change about this, as that is crazy! Looking for a faster sale method? Here are some I suggest.

eBay~This is one of the highest risks, but also the fastest to get paid. I would say 7-10 days tops. That’s for a 7 day listing, and leaving 3 days for payment and transfer/push. The problem is, eBay does not always carry the strongest "end users" so you might not see the highest price, but sometimes you see a higher price then you expected, due to buyers that are not educated on domain names. Payment is also a very large risk, as many scammers are on ebay. Becareful when accepting Paypal from a buyer, as paypal does not cover a seller for "Virtual Items". If the buyer has great feedback and checks out ok, then the risk is lowered,and you could be paid with in seconds of the auction ending. In higher $ sales, and even lower $ sales, an escrow service is always your safest bet!

Domain Forums~You might not get the High $ amount you are looking for, but if you need some fast cash, this is the place to sell. Domainers (people who buy and sell domain names) like to do things fast! Buy from a trader that has strong Trader Rating or a person who is a DNOA.org member and things should flow nicely! You could have a transaction completed with in under 20 minutes. From time of post, until the push/transfer! Now that’s SPEED!

Standard Domain Auction Services~This would include sites like Sedo.com & Afternic.com . Since the only way on sedo to get a domain to auction, is either threw an offer or threw a broker, this could take some time or it could never go to auction. Sedo’s payment/transfer process works fast, but this depends on who your buyer is. It’s really up to the buyer on the speed. If they take there sweet time to pay  (if they do at all) it could take approx a month to get your payment. Afternic is another waiting game, but seem to do well on the payment end.

TDNAM~You can set your auction length like eBay, but no matter what, you will NOT see payment for a min of 30 days, because GoDaddy holds the payment for that time period, no questions asked. I think this is for a sellers protection, to prevent chargebacks etc. Mainly domainers on TDNAM, but I do see end user prices often, so not the worst place to sell, but payment is no speedy thing! The push/Transfer process I do not like and is pretty confusing! BuyDomains.com~If you submit to sell your domains to BD, it will be about a week before they even look at them. It’s likely, if they are interesed in any, will send you a lower offer, so do some business and work on the price that you want to get! This process can be done in about 2-3 weeks.

Direct to buyer~If you have sold domains before, make sure to keep all your "buyers" email addresses! These are gold, as you know they buy domains!!! This process can be one of your fastest and easiest sales. It’s like talking to a friend and making a quick deal. Each situation is different, so be smart about the payment & push/transfer process. Jamie Zoch www.DotWeekly.com