3 Tips to Find and Flip Niche Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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5

I want to share something I’ve done in the last several months that has helped me close a couple of very profitable deals. These deals weren’t high value (around $1,000/each), but the profit margin was great.

First, a bit of background information. I searched NameJet pre-release names with bids in the closing minutes. I found one that I hadn’t seen before and backordered it. When it came to the auction, I was the winner at under $200. Within 2 months, I sold the name for mid-$x,xxx to a company that is a leader in this small industry.

This is pretty much an under the radar industry that has low search volume for its key terms, but when it sells its services, they are for thousands of dollars each. There are several companies actively marketing its services in this space.

Shortly after completing this sale, I spent a fair amount of time seeking out relevant domain names in this small industry. Some were hand registered and others auction wins. I then re-approached the company and worked out a smaller deal ($1k/name). I paid less than the first acquisition for these names, so it was profitable and a quick turnaround.

There are three pieces of advice here:

  • Seek out smaller industries and find the best cheap domain names that make sense. Approach the market leaders and offer the names for “fair prices.”
  • Once you complete a sale, find other names that are priced well. Set a NameJet and/or SnapNames email alert for specific keywords so you know when a good one is coming up.
  • Re-approach buyers and offer them good or better deals on subsequent domain names. Don’t price them too cheaply or you’ll lower your profit margin on subsequent sales.

Do you have any similar tips you can offer?

5 Downsides to Domain Name Leasing

Elliot Silver
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47

Although it’s not a new idea, it seems that more people are touting the benefits of leasing a domain name than ever before. I have leased domain names before, and despite the fact that I have no qualms about leasing domain names under certain terms, I do think there are a number of downsides that need to be considered.

I want to share some of the negative aspects of domain name leasing from the perspective of a domain owner:

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Interesting Article About Seller Financing

Elliot Silver
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8

During the last few years, I’ve heard about a number of people offering seller financing on their domain name deals. If a buyer can’t pay for a domain name purchase entirely up front, and he doesn’t wish to seek a more traditional financing option like Domain Capital (or doesn’t qualify), seller financing may be an option.

There are a number of advantages to self  financing  a deal, and there is also a fair amount of risk involved for both parties. Inc. Magazine has an article about seller financing, and I think it’s a good read if you’ve ever considered this option when selling a domain name.

I self-financed one deal, and it hasn’t turned out as great as I hoped. The plus side was that after the first payment was received, the deal was profitable for my company. The downside is that the buyer hasn’t paid off the purchase yet, despite passing the final payment date last month. The buyer is an end user who has a small business, and I felt guilty about demanding payment. He has promised payment in Q1.

Self financing can be a decent option to close a domain sale, but you should know the risks and weigh them against the advantages.

Thanks to Lonnie for sharing.

SchoolClosings.com: Nice Domain Name Not Used to its Fullest

Elliot Silver
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3

We received a decent amount of snow in Massachusetts yesterday, and of course, that got me researching some winter-related domain names. One such name that I wanted to share with you is SchoolClosings.com, a domain name owned by local NBC television affiliate WHDH.

When an area receives several inches of snow and/or ice, especially if it falls during the morning commute, many local school districts will close. Growing up, my city had a loud fog horn that was only ever used if school was cancelled, and on days we received snow, I set my alarm to 3 minutes before the fog horn to build suspense about whether school would be closed. I was superstitious and wouldn’t look out my window to see how much snow fell – I just waited in bed to hear the fog horn.

Generally, television stations in our area will have school closing listings scrolling alphabetically at the bottom of the screen during the newscast. If you just missed your letter, you could wait 10+ minutes to see if your school is closed. It’s a bit frustrating sometimes, especially if there are many school districts in the area that are closed.

It’s a smart move for a local television station to own SchoolClosings.com. However, WHDH isn’t exactly using it optimally. When you visit the website, there’s a message for users to enter user ID and password. I imagine this is for district administrators to inform the station of their status.

In my opinion, a better use for this domain name would be to actually have the school closings listed, making it easier for people to find them rapidly. They could still allow administrators to log in to list their closings, but why not actually utilize the domain name in a consumer friendly manner.

It’s a great domain name for a New England-based television station, but I think it’s underutilized.

The Money Won’t Always Be On The Table

Elliot Silver
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10

Just about every day, I spend some time reaching out to end user buyers to try and sell a domain name. Frequently, I will receive an offer for one of these domain names, either as an opening offer or a counter offer to my price. More often than not, the counter is less than the price at which I want to sell the domain name.

When this happens and the buyer won’t budge from his offer, I have a few choices:

  • Sell the domain name for less than the price I want
  • Keep the domain name
  • Use the offer as a means of extracting a higher offer from someone else

No matter what decision is made, it’s important to keep in mind that the offer that was made to you may not be there in the future. I like to think that offers that have been made, especially those that were solicited by me, would be valid for an indefinite period of time. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Some buyers may have money they are willing to spend at that point in time, and once the time passes, that money is no longer available. Others may have waning interest in the domain name after time passes.

When you have an offer on the table, it’s important to realize this offer will likely be pulled back in a short period of time, and that you can’t count on a buyer to follow through days or weeks later. As much as I hope that a rejected offer is followed up by a better offer, that’s not always the case and frequently isn’t the case.

Depending on your situation, it might benefit you to take a bit less than you wanted, especially if the responses are fewer than you expected.

Great NPR Episode on Negotiating

Elliot Silver
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2

I shared a few negotiation resources yesterday in my article about the importance of negotiating when it comes to domain acquisitions and sales. Arseny shared the embedded NPR episode, “An FBI Hostage Negotiator Buys A Car.” I listened to it and wanted to highlight it in a separate post because it has some solid insights and tips.

Have a listen:

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