Should I Keep Weekly Brokerage Listings?

Just about every Wednesday afternoon, I share a list of domain broker submitted domain names that have recently gone on the market. The genesis of these weekly articles was that I wanted to know the great new domain names coming on the market each week, and I figured others did as well. At some point, I allowed readers to submit their own sale listings, with similar requirements to broker submissions.

In my opinion, the quality of the submissions was not on par with the broker submissions. In addition, many people didn’t follow the simple submission rules, and it has become annoying for me to moderate these weekly posts. I know there have been sales as a result of the listings (both brokers and readers), and I have also bought at least one name from the listings.

That said, I am thinking about no longer publishing this weekly post. I know there are between 30-60+ submissions each week, but I also know there are many other readers who don’t post anything. I want to know what people who read this blog think about me stopping the weekly post. Please vote in the poll below and feel free to leave a comment.


Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

69 COMMENTS

  1. (Sometimes) I enjoy your listings, but I hate listings in comments – it is junk. You should probably do some “The gems for sale” listings, where you list selected high value domain names for sale that you believe are interesting.

  2. When you open for submissions without any quality filter, obviously you will also find a lot of junk domains … 🙂
    That said, if it has become too annoying for you to moderate the weekly posts, stop publishing it, at the end it’s your blog and your time.
    I think someone said that it’s a place where you can find some interesting quality names to purchase, but if you can’t bear it anymore just drop it.

    • “if it has become too annoying”

      Not sure I get the annoying part business wise. The blog is here for a reason. If it’s of value to the readers then it shouldn’t matter if it’s annoying to Elliott but only if it’s a turnoff to readers. Elliott has a reason for publishing the blog he doesn’t do it only for the good of others. He makes money in various ways from it.

      Many of the names are junk for sure. But there are sometimes gems and I’ve bought 1 or 2.

      I’ll tell you what annoys me. People who post their domains and then say “thanks Elliott”. What are they thanking him for? Nobody writes a comment on a blog and then says “thanks” each and every time they write a comment.

    • “Thanks, Elliot.” That is a bit annoying to me, too.

      The most annoying aspects are:

      – When I wake up and see 5 posts from people who don’t follow directions and link to a Sedo offer or Flippa auction page.
      – When people post a list of 10 names for sale.
      – When people make comments about other people’s listings.
      – When someone posts a follow up.
      – When someone posts a crappy name with a ludicrous price.

      The later is especially annoying because it happens almost more often than not, and it should be common sense that the target audience of domain investors aren’t going to spend 5 figures on a domain name that needs to be explained by its owner

      🙂

      PS: I’m glad the Pats won today or that might have been a longer rant.

      PPS: Time to go back outside to the swingset!

    • Larry,
      It was Elliot saying “and it has become annoying for me to moderate these weekly posts.”, not me.
      Personally I appreciate the Weekly Brokerage Listing, sometimes you can find good or great names 🙂

    • Andrea Paladini: “When you open for submissions without any quality filter, obviously you will also find a lot of junk domains”

      Elliot: ” – When someone posts a crappy name with a ludicrous price.”

      Andrea, you get the point?

  3. My suggestion would be to keep the broker listings but post them on a bi-monthly basis. This way we could still learn about NEW broker listings but it isn’t a weekly event.

    Might also be interesting to have your comments on the new broker listings. Not sure if you want to dip into that pool, but it would be interesting to see someone with your expertise comment on what is being offered in the broker marketplace.

    As far as the junk in the comment section. My opinion would be to eliminate this. There are plenty of other avenues for this.

  4. Elliot,

    It’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who owns ” crappy” domain names.It’s a bit comical,maybe even a little sad to see what people honestly believe their domain(s) are worth.What brings an additional chuckle is when posting the name with a multi thousand dollar asking price they state the buyer pays the escrow fees.If for no other reason then a quick laugh,I vote to continue the posting

    • I agree with Andrea, if its a bother for you to monitor the list, then stop.
      But i get a kick out of some of the comments above saying, get rid of all the crappy listings in the comment section, like all the domains they own are STELLAR.
      I have said before, another man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
      I think we have all looked at a domain that has sold for good money and wondered, who in the hell would pay that kind of money for that junk.
      It’s your site and your call Elliot, i just want to thank you for letting us post our domain’s all this time and giving us another platform to try to make a sale.
      Thanks.

  5. I think you should keep it. Though I never post myself, I do read all of the names that are listed for sale. It think it adds to the site. Of course most of the domains aren’t the best quality domains, but once in a while a decent name gets posted. I enjoy checking them out, and look forward to going through the list. I look at it as it doesn’t take anything away from your site, so why remove it? Just my opinion.

  6. I see the “keeper” votes are ahead of the dump it ones. I just voted to dump it. I think it’s important to factor in a certain “selfishness” discount against the keepers and in favor of the dumpers. I can tell you in 100% honestly that while I like visiting your blog virtually every day, when I see that broker thread I’m not only not interested, but I virtually have never looked at it, perhaps only a few times at most. That’s because of seeing all the junk domains. So I would say either dump, or for anyone who posts here about a significant revision I could also agree with that, but a *very* significant revision.

  7. I DO submit quality domains!! and all my domains are good quality.

    Heck, I love reading the domain listing , so I know who the dumb ones and who the losers.

    Go Hawks!!

  8. You provide a great service for brokers who are looking for some additional exposure. It lends additional credibility to your blog as well as the industry when you have good brokers listing high quality domains.

    With that said, I think the comments can detract from that a bit. While there are often some very good domains and good prices listed it can just as easily turn bad.

    There is definitely a wide spectrum of quality as well as prices paid in the industry and I would agree that what may be valuable to one may not be to another.

    I think the issue is when there are clearly superior domains listed at decent prices next to clearly horrible domains listed at the same or even higher price.

    In my opinion, I think that’s when it may make someone who is unfamiliar with the industry question things a bit and detract from the overall credibility of the post.

  9. Hi Elliot,

    I did not vote, because I think that this have to be your decision – this is your time and your blog. I have read your article about how to post a domain name for sale on your Weekly Brokerage Listing – it was so simple – domain name, contact details and price. It is so simple!
    But few days later – on the listing the situation was the same as always – some people continie to post their long post with explanations…

    For me the Weekly Brokerage Listing was interesting because you can post free a domain name for sale – and you can see some domain names that are for sale by professional domain brokers.

    Whatever you decide I will continue reading your blog.

  10. My feeling is many of the broker names are overpriced and I would wonder if a broker can actually tie a domain to a post here. Some are total pie in the sky actually. (Some seem fairly priced..)

    I see it more as a free ad and PR for the broker that they get to list a name here.

    I’m sure many people (myself included) own domains as good or better than some of the listed ones and would be glad to have those mentioned. But then again since it seems that most of the people who read this aren’t end users maybe that wouldn’t actually be of much value.

    Suggest another feature: If you can document that you’ve personally sold a domain for more than $50k you get to have another domain you own mentioned here.

    Or if you’ve hand registered a domain within the last, say, 2 years and sell it for more than $5000 something like that. (Proof by escrow.com etc.) Amounts are years are arbitrary.

    • Well, I guess you need to ask yourself whether any infinitesimally rare exceptions are worth it. But “Anon” down below really made me LOL. I can also honestly say I feel slightly bummed when I see that weekly brokerage thread at the top upon a visit – and yes I still don’t look at it anymore. But that’s just me of course…

  11. I used to find the Weekly Brokerage more interesting when you could like or dislike a posting. It offered a quick (and often brutal) appraisal on a wide variety of domains. Now my interest has dwindled since these days it seems to make a mockery of the domaining communities ability to value their own assets. I’d put a $1000 limit on all domains listed, as the 5/6 figure asking prices are a complete waste of space.

  12. As someone who works on the buy side (for clients) in addition to sell side
    (for myself) I’d like to see a feature where you highlight
    “want to buys” but only for end user or near end user pricing.

  13. Why don’t you charge to list the name? Every broker has to pay $20 to the Ronald McDonald Fund per name. Every reader has to pay $1 to list their name. I know the Ronald McDonald Fund is one that you like and each week you could potentially give them between $200-$250. Simple Paypal button to pay.

    I agree with some that the like/dislike button added to the fun. Maybe only activate it for the Brokerage listing each week.

  14. I’m continually amazed at the junk people put in the comments for sale. It would be cool if there wasn’t the mondayweeklycouponforchiropractorsinlosangeles.com junk people think others will buy

  15. I’ve said it before, but I’d actually appreciate the opportunity to get feedback on listed domains. I’m more of a hobbyist, and admittedly still learning A LOT, even after playing around with buying/selling for years. I believe that a forum for honest feedback, in addition to a possible, occasional sale would be fantastic. Although I always disliked the thumbs up/down method, because it was so arbitrary, at least there was SOME interaction, some feedback. But truly, what in the world could one possibly like/dislike? It’s anyone’s guess and could be one of countless things, so it always just seemed silly to me. Once you took that feature away, I became only an occasional reader of the listings. If I could get feedback, and see the feedback others receive, THAT is valuable to me. It seems to me that you are in a unique position to help, in whatever small way, to shape the industry. Allow willing participants to post names and receive feedback and criticism. If it lowers expectations, that can be good for everyone, and the industry. We all have the same goal in mind, a sale. What’s the harm in providing a forum that may educate and encourage more of those?

  16. I voted to remove it, for those who want to know Why, When your offering a product where over 95% of it is CRAP that nobody wants, it’s time to remove it from the shelf.

    Let’s face it, the majority of domainers are bottom feeders who wouldn’t dare pay over a thousand for a single domain name, instead they peddle in hand regs and attempt to sell them to other domainers, What they post here is the same crap they post on the forums.. As for the minority, their trying to unload their unwanted domains, their “regrets” because renewal time is just around the corner.

    No professional domainer in their right mind is going to post quality names on a Venue where the majority of readers are other domainers, because they know how CHEAP they can be.

  17. Most of the Broker listings are decent quality but usually priced as unrealistically high as the Joe Domainer listings. Nothing wrong with that as all the high end brokers do the same thing.

    The Joe Domainer listings are always incredibly hilarious. I look forward to the weekly LMAO entertainment they provide.

  18. I have to agree with Jamie! I think if we could get feedback on our listings, that would only help us more. I vote to keep it, but with more interaction/feedback.

    I also agree with the fact though, that someone’s garbage is another ones treasure, and maybe someone can see the potential in a name that others can’t. I’m not talking about “myfungarbageisyourtreasureocean.com”…I mean decent names that may mean something to a different country, or a trend we are unaware of in a certain industry, etc..
    However,I still lean towards Jamie’s outlook on it, and vote to keep, but with feedback.

    • Everyone likes the idea of feedback until someone else tells them that their domain name sucks and shouldn’t have even been hand registered. The last thing I want to deal with is people complaining that others were too harsh, especially when I agree with those harsh comments.

      IMO, if someone wants feedback about their domain name, they should ask for it in a domain forum appraisal thread rather than in a sale post.

    • Melanie, do you really think your going to get professional feedback from people that call others noobs and bottom feeders.
      Look at every comment made here, these people have told every person that lists a domain on the weekly brokerage list, that there domains are crap. Like they have a portfolio over flowing with fantastic domainzz….
      I think we should get Michael Cyger to get these people on the domain sherpa show because they seem to be the experts on domains.
      Better yet, why don’t each one of you give some money to charity.
      Contact Michael Cyger and lets all watch the guys on the show give us there opinion on all your GREAT domains.

    • I don’t think you need a good portfolio to know what a valuable domain name is…. Hotels.com, Cars.com, CarInsurance.com, Love.com, Games.com, EZ.com, 123.com…etc.

      The problem many people have is that they do not have the financial wherewithal (or confidence perhaps) to spend 4, 5, 6, or 7 figures to acquire a great domain name.

    • “Better yet, why don’t each one of you give some money to charity”

      I’m willing to bet that all the money domainers wasted on crappy domains, that money could have been used to feed over a Hundred Million malnourished children in the world, but instead it went to the Registries.

      “these people have told every person that lists a domain on the weekly brokerage list, that there domains are crap”

      NOT every person, but MOST

      I actually feel bad for the minority of people who post quality domains here, Would you want your best domains mixed in with a pile of crappy ones? I know I wouldn’t.. Not to mention gTLD’s flooding the aftermarket, this a whole new wave of crap that I’m sure Elliot doesn’t want on his blog, and I cant say I blame him.

    • I was only agreeing with what Jamie had said in regards for it helping people, and I wasn’t talking about the whole community giving feedback, I was talking about Elliot. But then he made a great point about how that might rub peeps the wrong way, and I completely understand that!
      So why are we singling me out here?
      I think Elliot should most definitely do what is less stressful for him, and I think we should support him on whatever decision he makes whether to keep it or lose it.
      I know he made a poll for it, but in all honesty, I don’t think it’s up to us, I think it’s up to him..
      Also, as far as having your “quality” domain pooled in with a bunch of crappy ones around it, I think on the flip side of that coin would just make yours stand out more, and probably end up in a sale. As was for mentioned that there have been some good sales on here, so I don’t think it hurts anyone.
      Also, if Elliot doesn’t like a domain that’s listed, or thinks it’s not up to par, then he could just delete the ones that he doesn’t think are worthy…That’s another option.
      But I was only agreeing with someone, so please don’t single me out. I just thought it could help other domainers to get feedback, and help the industry more..I wasn’t thinking about how Elliot felt about it. Nor was I thinking about how many cruel people there are out there that like to bash on each other.. Therefore, that is why I said, I think it’s his decision to make, and we should all stand behind whatever decision he decides upon.

    • If it annoys you, then why keep it?
      If it’s like a bad relationship of being with some whiney girl that you know isn’t right for you, it’s time to break up..Or a fly that keeps buzzing around you, and you can’t catch it, but it bothers you all day…
      If it doesn’t make you happy, and doesn’t bring in any kind of fulfillment in life, then get rid of it. You only live once, and my advice is to enjoy what you do! Whether it’s eliminating stress, drama, or even annoyances.
      We domainers have plenty of places to sell on marketplaces, and plenty of resources for end users to sell to.
      I say, just do what your heart tells you, and put your focuses on more positive things other than things that annoy you….But that’s just my opinion.

  19. I can definitely understand the issues you face at your end and the additional effort and time it takes you to maintain the listing page.

    Personally I find the section quite useful to starters like me who are new to the industry. Trying to get a grip of how pricing works and how each domain is valued. Actually just a couple of weeks back I bought a domain listed on the weekly listing and it was a smooth transaction. So for me this section has been a great learning curve on how users value domains and how investors rate the domain values.

    I also feel that rather than weekly it could be fortnightly or monthly listings so that the efforts at your end reduce and at the same time readers of this blog can still understand the market better.

  20. I can definitely see your point Elliot, and hear you! I am all too familiar with owning a site, and experiencing the stress coming out of it from just trying to help others. I had even started having heart issues over it. I finally was just done with it, and my heart issues have calmed down A LOT! I honestly think it’s up to you on what you do.
    If it’s too much stress on you, then I say, most definitely get rid of it! If not, I think if people “stick to the rules, or be banned” type of situation could come into play somehow, then may be a bit less stressful.?…?…
    I don’t know where your stress level is at, so it’s really hard for anyone to say, but I think all of us would agree with me, (Unless completely selfish) when I say it’s all up to you. I also don’t think anyone is going to leave your blog for it either, as you already have a lot to offer to the domaining community.
    On whatever you do decide to do, just be sure that you will enjoy it! 😉

  21. Its not just that people resent honest feedback. Its that it becomes a circle of fools giving feedback to each other.

    ——–
    “Haha, yeah, that guy is such an idiot for registering NFLFootballPlayers.info… What a noob! He doesn’t even understand trademarks! I don’t understand why anyone buys such garbage when there are real gems out there on the drops! Why just last week I registered mdiammond.com, for like, a mobile site that wants to brand itself with the word ‘diammond’. I’ve already had multiple four and five figure offers but I’m sitting tight for the right one”.
    ——–

    The user for sale listings are just reflective of the broader dumbass-fest that domaining has become. 2009-2011 was seriously the last chance to get in, when the economy was on life support, parking was dying and large portfolio holders were culling en masse. The door is now closed and will never be open again. What remains are a lower caliber operator than is seen on any given ‘overnight riches working from home’ internet forum

  22. Oh yeah, and don’t forget… They’ve all been doing it ‘since the mid 90’s’ yet every domain they own is a .99 cent .info registered in the last 3 weeks.

    You have to walk a fine line between maintaining ‘the audience’ but not letting them diminish the credibility and reputation of your blog with their embarassing noob nonsense. Not an easy path.

  23. For the most part people are well behaved, and those who aren’t shouldn’t ruin it for everybody else. I’m glad to find out that you don’t want us to thank you so I can curtail that. I for one, have bought a name or two from the list, and I find the posts and comments interesting. Domain investors are used to wading through nonsense to find gems, but it would be nice not to have to. That being said, I wish the abusers would rethink their propensity to look like idiots among more knowledgeable investors. Know the audience, follow house rules, be selective of what you post, … it all boils down to respect.

  24. Elliot Silver said:

    “IMO, most casual readers will just peruse the broker listings and ignore the comments”.

    I’m still boycotting Elliot and his blog, but I’m here to say to Domainers who post their domains here, have some respect for yourself, don’t take the insult from Elliot, let him and his elitist brokers have it all; stay away from this weekly listing; it’s the only thing Elliot’s got and it’s because of you that anybody shows interest on his blog, if he is going to insult you, and talk down at your names, and comments, why are you still here?

    The rest of his blog inputs gets at most or 4 comments. Let him have his elite friends blog with him!

    • You’ve always been a good example of someone operating without the slightest clue of what you’re doing. His blog is a full 5% better off by your absence alone.

    • @Anon,

      I don’t think one should know what they are “doing” to be successful in this business.

      Take a look at Godaddy.com! It’s the most stupid name anybody can acquire or hand register; as a matter of fact, most people, including myself, will NOT pay .99c to hand register Godaddy.com, but it’s probably one of the most successful brands in domain business.

      This is also true for Yahoo, and Google. So get off your high horse, with your know-it all brokers.

  25. Elliott,

    I’m not sure why you moderate what your readers write; if they are stupid, the buyers are not. It helps your advertisers with more clicks and shows others that you are not selfish using your blog for your own benefit, but for the benefit of your readers also.

    • I only moderate weekly brokerage listing comments when people do not follow the rules. For example, I delete listings that have more than one domain name for sale or listings that do not have a price.

  26. Everyone knows what a great domain is but not every domain that sells is a great domain. What Elliot may think sucks can sell for 20 grand and also may never sell. Look at these names below that were all sales from the past couple weeks from Sedo. Would any of you think these names are even worth registration costs? Doubtful.

    I have sold 2 names that were posted on Elliots list for a total of $4,750. Most here only understand the obvious money when it comes to domains. Names that are not obvious winners sell too. So please continue to knock what you would consider bad domains and I’ll pick them up all day for 5 bucks and sell them for 2 grand. 🙂

    BEANGO.COM $11,000
    VETLOCITY.COM $7,000
    BOXFUL.COM $4,000
    SENDCHEER.COM $3,999
    FLEXPULSE.COM $2,869
    CODECORE.COM $1,750
    CAPISH.COM $9,265
    CLONIX.COM $8,000
    MAUIWHALEWATCHING.COM $5,900
    ILOVEBEACHTENNIS.COM $5,000
    BOXING247.COM $3,000
    SKILIKEAGIRL.COM $2,500
    FONTISM.COM $4,999
    MONKEYBINGO.COM $2,744
    STUDENTLOANGEEKS.COM $2,000
    KLEANR.COM $1,800

    • That’s another very good point! I have been studying all the names that are selling, and even on Namejet, then guessing what it is at before I click on it. Some of the names I just don’t get, while others I think are great, aren’t selling…
      “Things that make you go Hmmm”….

      Almost feel like I am stuck in mid-air between the learning process, and the doing aspects.
      Besides not knowing completely how to be proactive in my sales, as a second nature, I think this is one of the main things that is holding me back from buying anymore, and even selling.
      Would love to know how, and where you sold these!
      If these are accurate I think i could learn a lot from you, including “Howtobuythemostcrappydomainnameswimmer.com” and sell it…lol
      And no, I don’t own that…HA!
      Would just really like to learn how & where you sold these..
      Anyhow, you do make a good point.

    • I didn’t realize Elliot has the network that Sedo has.. This is blog that attracts domainers, it’s not a brokerage that attracts end users, end users have been known to buy domains that we see little value in, does that we mean we should register crappy domains like these and pollute Elliot’s blog with the hope a end user will buy it? It’s a ridiculous comparison.

      Most of the domains we see for sale here every week, domainers simply DON’T want.. Why is it so difficult for some of you to understand that?

    • I can see your point, but, there has been sales generated from it. I didn’t know that since it’s a broker listing that end users weren’t involved. I assumed, and I shouldn’t have, that since it was called a brokerage listing, that brokers were involved, selling to the end user.
      I do completely understand your point, but I still think it’s up to Elliot to make this decision, as sales have been made here, and have helped some, but on the other hand it is annoying for him to deal with.
      I personally think we should do what he feels is best, and respect it.

    • “This is blog that attracts domainers, it’s not a brokerage that attracts end users,”

      If that is true then why list Cabinets.com for $500,000, OnlineGifts.com for $120,000, iMobile.com for $90,000 etc… No domainer is going to buy those especially for those prices.

      I do agree that a lot of the names listed are garbage but who really cares. I get a good laugh sometimes and so do a lot of others. For those that don’t like the listings then don’t look at them and if you don’t want to be a part of the listing so be it. It just makes me laugh when I see people get the feathers all ruffled over such stupid shit.

    • I’ve seen domainers asking 100K for a premium name and settling on 10K, Asking and actually getting are two different things, you should know that.

      “For those that don’t like the listings then don’t look at them”

      That’s just the point, I stopped looking at them a long time ago and others have too, Let the traffic stats speak for itself, I doubt Elliot is impressed with the numbers and that’s one of the reasons the listing is on the chopping block.

    • “That’s just the point, I stopped looking at them a long time ago and others have too”

      Yup, and you made the point of comparing this to the forums earlier, which I had almost done too. Was already thinking how much it reminded me of them, and if I wanted the same experience I’d have been going back to them for more of that already. If you factor in the “selfishness discount” I suggested above, I’d say the adjusted “real” poll results are more like 90 against vs. 30 keep, so to speak…

  27. Why don’t you consider adding a flagging feature to your blog posts and after certain number of flags reached, the posting will be removed automatically. I think that will save your time moderating the postings since it’s done by your readers. Even though, I’m not listing my domains every week, it was a lesson for me to see what kind of domain names people holding and how they priced them. I read here some people don’t like to see this thread. My question to them is, who forced you to read? In my opinion, removing this listing might be hurt breaking to your readers and posters who obey by your simple posting rule. However, people who don’t love this posting, they always have the option just read your listing and leave.

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