Sudden domain interest and keeping on top of your domain portfolio

Demand for domains is constantly changing, and so should your domain prices.

I’m sure many people reading Domain Name Wire have owned a domain that suddenly receives a lot of interest. It could be due to an announcement, a tech trend, or something similar.

But my experience with one domain over the past month was very unusual for me.

It was for a domain I acquired in 2021 for under $100 on a SnapNames auction. I probably had a few inquiries on the domain over the years. But last month, things picked up for a reason I don’t quite understand.

Just a day after receiving an offer from someone in Germany, I got an offer from someone in the U.S. After I quoted them $15k, they said they wanted to buy it, but asked if they could buy it later. I told them, sure, if it’s still around.

That’s usually an empty threat. How likely is it that a domain I acquired five years ago will suddenly be sold?

Then, a few weeks later, I received an offer from yet another person. This time, I asked for $25k. I also reached out to the previous person and told him I’d still honor the $15k, but only for the week. I didn’t get a response.

Meanwhile, I had increased the price of my Afternic listing to $30k. I also shortened the LTO period to below 12 months, given the high interest.

This week, someone bought it on Afternic for $30k with a short lease-to-own.

During the course of receiving these inquiries, I went back to see how interest in the name had grown. Since I acquired the domain, three different companies have sprung up using the same SLD on different TLDs. As best I can tell, at least two of the inquiries came from people unaffiliated with these companies.

This experience has reminded me that set-it-and-forget-it pricing can be problematic. Interest in a domain can increase (or decrease!) over time.

In recent weeks, I’ve started reevaluating pricing on my portfolio one domain at a time.

In some cases, I’m lowering the price. If the domain is in a category that has fallen out of favor, it’s time to mark it down. In areas related to technology or that could conceivably be used by an AI company, I’m increasing prices.

This year, I also plan to add some more “moonshot” pricing.

On DNW Podcast #577, Logan Flatt talked about moonshot pricing and selling his domain lonestar .bet at the $80,000 BIN. I told him I would never have sold the domain for that much because I wouldn’t have thought to price it that high.

While setting moonshot prices on all of your domains means you’ll sell very few domains, I think it makes sense for a percentage of your portfolio. If you can conceive of a high-dollar buyer, it might make sense. A local geo plumbing domain? Not so much.

Despite challenges in the economy, there are some sectors that are flush with cash. That is good news for domains related to those categories.