From my personal experience and from what I have been hearing from colleagues, the domain name sales aftermarket is on a tear, and it has been performing very well for the last several months. Although I don’t generally report sales, my company sold 6 figures worth of domain names in the first quarter of 2012, and I’ve already sold mid 5 figures worth of domain names this month.
This information is corroborated by a new report issued by Sedo  this morning. According to data from Sedo’s IDNX, the domain aftermarket saw its fifth  consecutive month of growth last month. The report suggests that the market has seen “a  full rebound from 2011’s financial crisis.” The report also suggests that the remainder of 2012 could be even stronger, although we should all keep in mind that Sedo distributed the report and so there may be some bias.
I have posted the full report below, but this is undoubtedly good news for domain investors who own very good domain names. It also could be a good time to invest in good domain names since there are plenty of owners who need liquidity and have priced their names to sell.
Press release is below:
Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and monetization provider, today announced record high prices in the domain name industry, based on the latest figures from IDNX, the Internet Domain Name Index. IDNX has shown consecutive growth over the past five months, indicating a full rebound from 2011’s financial crisis, and suggesting that the remainder of 2012 could see even stronger figures.
March showed an increase of +4.2%, which follows a similar during February. This growths exceeds the more modest upswing for share prices in the IT and technology sectors. In spite of strong increases, domains still show a strong correlation to fundamental factors in the market, proving that they are at a high without being inflated. Domain prices only slightly outpaced the prices of IT stocks or increases in advertisement revenues, and now rest just above the historical equilibrium.
Alongside higher prices during March, there was also a strong increase in the number of transactions taking place on Sedo’s domain market. This, along with the significant increases over the past five months, suggests that demand for domains has bounced back strongly.
There are more sales not reported from GOdaddy and other private sales like mine.
My sales are up already at 400%
People finally waking up that to reach the masses at a very low cost all it takes is a website or an app which needs a domain
so yer sayin’ domains are still a good thing…. right?
whew… i was startin’ to worry about that. with the end of the world comin’in less than eight months i was thinkin’ about just takin’ the cash and spendin’ it on stupid stuff.
@ Rat
LOL
Spending cash on stupid stuff is good… what else is the point in earning money if you don’t spend it on fun/stupid things?
I think the anecdotal evidence pointing this out has been quite strong since the beginning of the year. Sedo’s been selling around 7-10M dollars worth of domain names each month, which is a remarkable turnaround from its performance immediately following the 2008 crash.
The market has come back, I used the dips in 2009 to current, to buy strong. I have really stopped purchasing in the past month, as the wholesale values in the aftermarkets in some cases are touching upon end user resale. This would indicate to me as a good sign in the market to sell.
Names I would purchase for min bids, are selling in the xxx-xxxx range now in the same aftermarkets.
The end user buyers are a lot more aware, and price savvy than they were even 1-2 years back. Negotiations are more sophisticated, and usually require some historical sales data on past sales.
If you are holding solid names, negotiate hard, as once they are sold, there is no take backs. Hard to sell solid domains, with good forward revenue potential, so get the most for them.
I see it in the weekly sales figures, but don’t see it in my own portfolio yet. My domain inquiries are up though in the last two weeks compared to the rest of 2012. You never know when that sale will come. Hopefully this overall trend continues.
@Domains
You of anyone should not be worried, as you have one of the best portfolios online, could be your aggressive pricing, compared to someone like hugedomains.
I am seeing strong momentum and sales as well.
.tv market seems to be picking up momentum. The .com names are moving for me as well.
Congratulations Elliot and keep it up. Your one of the best flippers I know.
LOL
Yawn…full of hot air
What was the Profit, though?
Any idiot can sell Loans.com for $100,000
Well, definitely my strongest quarter since 2010.
It is much easier to sell a name at a reasonable price these days.
@ Aggro
If I told you my profit margin is around 50%, you probably wouldn’t believe me, so I won’t even mention it. In addition, 6 figures can be $100,000 – $999,999, so even that wouldn’t tell you anything really. My point of mentioning that vague number was to share that I continue to do well flipping names and the market is good from my perspective.
This is what I do for a living.
I admit I haven’t sold a damn thing yet this year.
People, please piss off Elliot. He has a habit of offering more insights when he is mad depending on the time of day. Haha
@ Uncle
I’m in a great mood:
Just bought TacomaRealEstate.com and ChelseaRealEstate.com and had two closings via Escrow.com yesterday and today. 😀
We’ve experienced an increase in sales during the past 2 weeks alone. It’s always a great feeling to know anytime end users realize the value of a quality domain name and how it can truly help their business model.
Elliot, congrats on TacomaRealEstate. You should have no worries selling that one.
@ Devon
You don’t know how much I paid though… Anyone can sell a $xx,xxx domain name for $x,xxx 🙂
TacomaRealEstate
Tacoma stinks!!
Elliot,
Glad You are in a good mood and having fun.
That’s what matters most.
@BullS – Tacoma stinks!!
Isn’t that.. where you live!?!
Kevin—nope
Live in the sunshine city-home of DomainTools,Starbucks,Marchex,Amazon, and many high profile Domainers
The air in Tacoma really stinks because of the …..
@Elliot, Naturally I don’t know what you paid for it, but I also know you wouldn’t be running one of the industry’s most popular blogs if didn’t know what you were doing. I know what the fair market value is for TacomaRealEstate.com. Real estate sales are strong right now. It would also be a great development project. I think the negative comments have you on the defensive today! It’s all good in the hood.. or in your case, in Central Park! 🙂
footnote to above*
DOMAIN related real estate sales are strong.
@Devon
You guys are so keen to say development is always the answer. Let Morgan hype this up to the newbie crowd. Or domainfest
Flipping is where the action is at. Direct navigation as well. Lots of domainers will get sidetracked and with these big visions.
I’m not saying development is a waste of time. I got some sites. But Elliot is unbelievable domain buyer and seller.
Just My 2 cents. In the meantime staying focused and being diversified.
I am true believer in the long-term value of domain names but the recent steep upward trend is worrisome. I can see a meaningful pullback in sales (and the US stock market) during late 2012/2013.
Here’s a very interesting stat from today’s Wall Street Journal:
During the history of the US through the year 2000, the US took on total gross debt of $5.6 trillion. 2012 is expected to end w/ $14.7 trillion.
Stated differently, in roughly 10 years since 2000, the US will have added $9 trillion – nearly 2x the total amount incurred in the previous 200+ years. If true (and I haven’t confirmed these #s) then it’s an absolutely incredible stat.
Maybe I’ve missed you say this in the past, but do you mostly do the selling yourself (finding buyers, pitching, closing), or you do you use a brokerage firm?
@ ORM
Almost exclusively on my own.
Thanks for the reply. That’s impressive. So research (for buyers) and all?
@yawn,
Flipping and brokering is 98% of my revenue. I haven’t and the time or the luxury to strictly develop.