Here are seven ways to turn your domain names into cash quickly.
A lot of people need cash (or might need it soon) due to the economic shutdown. Here are seven ways you can sell your domain names quickly—at a significant discount to what you would demand from an end user.
DNWE – Domain Name Wholesale Exchange is a curated marketplace of domain names offered at wholesale prices. You can learn the ins and outs of it in this podcast. Sellers submit domains for approval and pay a 9% fee if they sell. The minimum price is $299. Listings last for 30 days. They are sticklers about what they approve. They’ve accepted one of my submissions so far but only if I lowered the price to $305. (I bought it in an auction for $670.) Another domain I bought in an auction for $5,250 was rejected outright. [Update: the latter domain wasn’t supposed to be rejected, just required a lower price. They resolved this issue. I should also point out that you could argue that the liquid value of these domains is less than I bought them for at auction many years ago.]
NamePros – Domain forum NamePros has a “for sale” category. As a forum, it’s a bit unwieldy. If anyone has had recent sales success on NamePros, please comment on your experience and best practices.
DomainCapital – DomainCapital lends against domain names and also buys domains. They are a good avenue to try if you have premium domains. Everyone has a different definition for this, so I don’t know what to tell you except that unless you have received multiple five or six-figure offers on your domain, it probably isn’t premium enough.
NameLiquidate – This is a service of domain name registrar Epik. It runs reverse auctions that start at $998 and decrease to $9 over 168 hours. Given that your name might sell for just $9, this is a service if you are truly looking to liquidate of a domain. [Update: you can set a reserve/minimum above $9.] In fact, the service lets you list domains that have already expired so long as they can still be transferred if someone buys it.
Sedo Auctions – Unless you have an active offer on a domain, you’ll need to pay to start an auction in Sedo’s primary auction system. It’s $59 plus the commission if you sell. So only list domains you are confident will sell. There used to be a site to “push to auction” at Sedo. People would list domains they’d sell at the minimum offer amount. People would place the minimum offer and then the owner would start an auction at Sedo. It was a good concept.
NameJet – NameJet still accepts private party submissions. Don’t put reserves on your domains if you really want to liquidate. I know many domainers ignore reserve auctions on NameJet.
GoDaddy – If you have tens of thousands of domains, it’s worth contacting GoDaddy. They are the only buyer I know of (publicly) that has purchased large portfolios.
And, of course, just letting some domain names expire is like getting paid the registration fee. If you realize some of your domains are real stinkers, let them go.
Nice piece thank you Andrew! Many of the liquidation and sales platforms in the past have faced some tricky obstacles at the start, as they try and mesh domain name owners with active buyers inside the industry. But often of more importance – the unexpected value comes from buyer participation that is also outside of the typical sphere of domain investors. It can require a layered approach of awareness and marketing to get the most benefit for everyone. The real advantages come from also bringing in qualified buyers outside of the domaining sector, and making introductions to ad agencies, marketing firms, and enthusiasts who can participate because of the great name flow. The more we can do to increase the spectrum and access to real buyers, the better the names become as owners can rely on a positive sales event.
From what I have seen so far from Epik, there is some great activity and introductions underway, to make sure that anyone listing their name can get the best result possible as an alternative to other pathways. I would note as well that any names being placed into the system can have their own individual reserve amounts set, so that NameLiquidate will not go below this minimum price during its countdown.
I like the part “making introductions to ad agencies, marketing firms”. A close relationship between ad agencies and the domain industry will help.
Nameliquidate.com by Epik looks interesting, but does anyone actually use the site? I only see 1146 domains listed. Is this a waste of time or are there results to be had here?
That discernment Alan is probably left to the individual. I believe the list is in part curated though various sources, so the low number in the short term should be your friend. There are enough platforms as it is that are ruined by automation and mass data dumps with no real care for visitor experience. I absolutely make it a priority to check a few times a week. In my experience, I have already picked up a number of great names there over this past six weeks. I’ve also had occasions where I didn’t buy quickly enough, and some amazing names were picked up before I could get to them. That is the whole point through of early curve adoption. I would normally never let another’s perception of what constitutes a “waste of time” to guide my own research and intuition for personal interaction. Plus there is great synergy for external cooperation and care for Epik, meaning every week that goes by sees their market presence compounding. It is what happens when executives at companies actually embrace “pay it forward” type mentalities towards supporting an industry and customer base they cherish. Versus coordinating widgets to ensure that services like expiry auctions keep padding stockholder reports. These companies that strip billions out of their shareholder strategies in high times, then cut affiliate programs to the bone, or position empty campaigns for public relations exposure, are sending a really clear message around the world. I want them to each know that it is unequivocally being heard.
Robert, it might help if you provide data on the sell-through rate at Intelliname.
I think most of the industry may be surprised. Intelliname itself is only the beta architecture for a front end we published to highlight 400 sectors we have operated in or provided direct services to. We interact with roughly 6500 ad agencies, in addition to the proprietary software and a back end environment I had recently introduced to participants of the DNAcademy social call. We have a few videos being shot that may be helpful to domain investors across the board that I have been encouraged to share in an effort to help the industry. I will keep you posted Andrew if you want to be an outlet to feature them. It allows for pipeline tracking of RFQ’s, RFP’s, and nearly every dollar spent across every medium utilized, In short, a platform that tracks 100,000 brands, 250,000 decision makers, and 14,000 ad agencies, where all of the coordination between companies and requests for creative and expenditure tracking is recorded and used for collateral submissions.
The domain industry itself tends to be rather insular and secular, as it sees domain valuations overall and the leaders it chooses to elevate and recognize. Most investors do not even participate in the real upside potential where key domain names become central campaign anchors to larger agency spends. In part because the industry encourages the use of machines and robotic automation to literally suppress portfolio values right in front of our eyes. Or watches in a haze as companies use hundreds of millions of dollars in public money to buy massive domain portfolios, then slashes prices overnight with no thought of consequence or impact on the other domainers who hold similar domain names as investment assets. I would encourage all domain name owners to remember that there are companies who spend $500m to $3 billion yearly on their branding and marketing campaigns. Look beyond the industry’s narrow perception to unlock the real value of your digital assets. If you can visualize a positive application for your domain name that makes life better, it makes it much easier to figure out who to pitch it to. Taking the time to see the various advertising budgets of the top 10,000 companies, and then learning who manages them on their behalf is a great first step to empowerment. Have a blessed and amazing day!
I’m speaking specifically of the sell-through rate on NameLiquidate. It might spur people to list domains there.
Thanks for covering NameLiquidate.com. We think it is a pretty exciting project.
I think we are going to add a public stats dashboard in a few days. We’ll show a trend of:
– Domains Listed
– Domains Sold
– Sell through rate
– Average selling price
Anything else?
Great idea, Rob! If people see that domains are selling, they are much more likely to list their domains. Maybe median selling price instead of/in addition to average.
NamePros is a fast way to sell domains at reseller prices. I have tried there.
It is free , easy and fast. No reserve auctions only get good response.
I have quickly sold a domain for $250 in just a day which I bought it for just $69 on Namejet.
Hope it helps..
DNWE.com has been working well for me. Since April 8 through today April 15, I’ve had 18 names rejected, 22 accepted, and 3 of those sold – 1 one word .com, 1 two word .com, and 1 one word .org – each for less than $1,000.
That’s great. I’m very happy with my purchase — MoralSupport.com for $1,500.
I’ve routinely liquidated domains at Namepros 4 going on 5 years in their auction section. Usually I sell domains there that I have a more difficult time selling and don’t want to renew. Almost completely hedges my “losses.” It’s easier to list a bunch all at once instead having to individually list at other sites. I’ve sold a few domains through the buyer request section on short notice. Liquidation game is easier/more fruitful if the names aren’t complete junk, though 😉
-Lee
According to my experience, NameSilo is the easiest place to sell the domain and I have also really good deal.
In response to Robert Davis comment – April 15 at 9.57am (above).
Thank you for that thoughtful and considered response. It is informative and reassuring. I’m a relatively new domainer (just the last couple of years with serious intent). I have only 5 domains with Epik but their combined value is around $25,000. I have a larger portfolio held elsewhere.
It is a byzantine industry to learn and the question of what is a domain worth seems to be very much how long is a piece of string. I’m pretty smart and I’m learning that much that goes on in the industry is often unregulated – which allows the big companies to mess with and impact on all smaller investors.
From an investors point of view, it strikes me that any other industry which “boasts” a sell through average rate of 3% would be regarded as an abject failure. It’s certainly not conducive to encouraging investment and long term success.
It’s quite stunning to learn that building partnerships and links with ad agencies and large companies is a work in progress (by some companies such as yours) and not standard industry operating procedure. That strikes me as downright stupid.
In any event, your comments above are helpful and give a struggling investor like me – who has some great names and can’t understand why they are not selling – some hope and direction. Warm regards, Julie (Australia) PS: I also hold some rubbish – the learning curve.