Close Your Forum Sales Threads

Elliot Silver
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4

I don’t list many domain names for sale on domain forums, but I think they can be good venues to sell domain names that are priced well. I’ve bought and sold on DNForum, NamePros, and Domain Boardroom, so I know first hand that all of the forums have active buyers and sellers. Sellers may outnumber buyers, but there are many buyers looking for deals on forums.

Sometimes, I’ll list a domain name for sale and reduce the price once if the domain name isn’t sold. On occasion, if I don’t want to reduce the price, I’ll simply edit the post and remove the information from the sale thread so nobody contacts me about it after. Oftentimes, I’ll forget about the sale listing, and it will stay up indefinitely, and therein lies a problem.

If someone does a bit of

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Taking Less Money is a Difficult Decision

Elliot Silver
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7

When I am in the process of evaluating a domain name to buy, I will “appraise” it in my head. This appraisal is very basic and consists of two numbers – what I think I could get for it should the right buyer come around and what I am sure I could get for it if I wanted to sell it quickly.

I’ll give you a quick example to illustrate how I consider the value of an acquisition. I think I could sell Drafting.com for $75,000 if the right buyer comes around, and I am very confident I could sell it at this moment for $18,000 if I wanted to liquidate it for some reason. You may have a differing opinion, but these numbers are what helps define my personal risk tolerance when buying a domain name, and we all have various levels of tolerance based on our businesses.

One issue most of us face is that sometimes the best and most obvious buyer for a domain name inquires about it, but he (or the company) doesn’t have the ability or interest in spending close to the value you hold for the domain name. For instance, a major CAD software company might want to buy Drafting.com, but the most they will spend is $30,000.

When this happens, I need to consider a few things to determine whether I should sell the domain name to this company for their best offer, or if I should hang on to the domain name and hope that a company with deeper pockets inquires or the company decides to up their offer at a later point.

In a situation like this, there are several things I consider:

  • Do I want the  cash instead of the domain name?
  • What are the tax implications of selling?
  • Can I improve my domain portfolio by selling this name and replacing it with another domain name?
  • If I see saw this on DNJournal’s sales report, would I think “wow, that was cheap?”
  • How many inquiries have I had on this domain name?
  • What are the odds that someone else will want to buy it for more money in the future?
  • Could I be wrong about my valuation of the domain name?
  • Have I already contacted other prospective buyers without any interest?

Although my business relies on the sale of domain names for the majority of its cash flow, I am probably not going to sell a domain name at a price I will regret in the future. However, there are times that it’s in my company’s best interest to sell a domain name for less than I think it’s worth.

Type In a Domain Name Before Making an Offer

Elliot Silver
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4

Every now and then, I receive an email asking if I’d sell the domain name of one of my developed websites. More often than not, the person inquiring has either used an email program to try and buy good domain names en masse or the person simply didn’t check to see if a domain name is being used for a business.

Had the inquirer visited the website first, he would have known an inquiry is unlikely to lead a domain sale or they wouldn’t have bothered to inquire at all, saving both of us time. I want to share a tip on how visiting a website can be beneficial to you in your efforts to acquire great domain names, both

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Selling Domain Names at the End of the Year

Elliot Silver
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4

Much like everyone else, many domain investors want to generate additional income at the end of the year to pay for various expenses or to increase their annual income. I think I see more excellent domain names put up for sale in the fourth quarter than at any other time during the rest of the year.

There are a number of reasons why the end of the year may be a good time to sell a domain name and an equal number of reasons why it may be a bad time to sell a domain name.  I thought it would be interesting to discuss why the end of the year is a good and a bad time to try and sell a domain name. I am interested in reading about your experience selling domain names at the end of the year.

Here are 5 of the reasons for each:

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Due Diligence is Necessary Even When Buying on Aftermarket

Elliot Silver
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3

Just about anyone can list a domain name for sale on various domain name aftermarket websites. If the seller can prove he or she has possession of the domain name, there isn’t much an aftermarket website can do to prove otherwise. This makes it somewhat easy for someone to list a stolen domain name for sale.

Before buying a domain name, whether it is a private sale, aftermarket purchase, or even an auction purchase, domain buyers need to

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Advice for New Domain Investors

Elliot Silver
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22

When it comes to domain investing, there are relatively few barriers to entry. All it takes is around $10 and a credit card or Paypal account, and a person can consider himself or herself a domain investor. Compared to investing in physical real estate or the stock market, the cost of entry into this business is very low.

One thing I’ve noticed is that people tend to not just buy one or two domain names when they are starting out. I’ve noticed that people seem to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on hand registered domain names without much experience. Chances are good that this will make the domain registrar rich rather than the domain investor.

My advice is pretty simple.

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