Here is a Question and Answer from a user submitted reader on the Domain Flipping post that I did earlier. If you have a question about the domain industry, feel free to email me and I will do my best to answer it and post it on my blog to help out others.
When you were flipping these 10-30 domains a day I assume most were on eBay. If this is the case were these domains dropped domains IE fresh reg? And if so were these beign bought for about $7 a piece? Im just thinking of the risk of selling a domain for .99 that cost me $7
Yes. Most were on eBay, but I always kept the fees in mind, so I would lean off eBay as much as I could. I started using my email list as much as I could when it was up to about 100 people. So be sure to save any Personal Name and Email Address with any domain name that you sell. When sending out my emails, I never sent more then 2 emails a week because I didn’t want to be pushy. I also hit forums. 99.9% of the domains that I got were using my system explained on www.Redrops.com . So nearly all were $6-7 fresh registations, but better then the average fresh reg domain. I always listed the domains for $0.99 and no reserve on eBay or priced them for a "good deal" via my emails.
Are most domainers scared off by fresh reg anyway? I know age comes into play but why would someone pay say low to mid $XX for a fresh reg?
I do not think the buyers on eBay really even look at the "age" of the domain name. The most important factor is the Quality of the domain and how you do your write up. Stay generic and let the customers think of the "uses" for the domain name. When you do have an aged domain, just like any other benefit the domain brings, that is something that you want to make very clear.
Can you please explain what you were flipping on eBay. Meaning fresh dropped names or tdnam names or anything else?
Most of the domain names that I sold on eBay were 4 Letter .com’s, but again it was still the time when you could get them for reg fee. I would also sell 3 character .net’s with LLN and NLL always doing the best. I would get them for around $6 and flip them for $18-$40 each. It is always important to watch Trends on eBay and see what’s hot. Many times the shorter the better. 4 Letter .com’s, Clear pronounceable 5 letter .com’s, Common Term (call to action) type domain names and domains that just simply made sense. The quality of the domain is always the main factor but you can offer domains that fit current trends also. To see trends, I would type Domain Name into the search box on eBay and hit enter. Then on the left side, click the box by Completed Listings and search. I would always look at the domain names that are selling for the most and the most often.
At times I would sell domains that I picked up from TDNAM or SnapNames, but they would have to be a good "eBay domain". I also think the registrar is a factor. Mainly people use Godaddy, so if your domains are with some odd registrar, that will hurt you. Godaddy or Moniker were always the two registrars that I used. Always stick with 2 word .com’s domains or less.
Another tip and will take a little extra time, but always include the domain name in your Picture on ebay. The more people can see The Domain, the better. I used Adobe Illustrator to do this, but I’m sure many other programs work as well.
For $15.95 a month, you can have an eBay Store. I would always use my live auctions and promote what I had listed in my store. Set up the "Best Offer" option, which seems to work as well. The listing fees are much cheaper in your store, so use the more expensive auctions to promote your eBay store.
Jamie Zoch
