Did they teach me wrong?

[ValeriaDomainer]

Hi,
I'm new to this forum and have been learning/practicing domain flipping for a few months now...

I started by learning one course by Millionaire Society (called "domain flipping"). The course was actually not bad, however (as I found out later) it supposed that ppl buy domains like crazy. So I went and tried to register a few domains and was able to sell one, it was WeddingElement.com and I sold it to the end user via Sedo for $290 in about a week after listing.

I was very surprised that it actually works, and then I was trying to sell the rest of domains :

EntireFinance.com

CashOnlineSecrets.com

MonthlyCashOnline.com

AllTradeJobs.com

FinancialServicesPhoenix.com

ClothingAndMakeup.com

I've been stuck with these domains for about two months now. I bought almost all of the courses which were suggested at theartofthename.com (at this page: http://theartofthename.com/domain-resources/

But most of them about domain-development, not actual flipping/selling. The thing with development is that I'm afraid it requires huge amount of time, which I don't really have and plus even though I have basic webmastering knowledge I think that it's going to be very complicated.

So at this stage, I mostly interested in speculative part of the business. Buying, then Selling for profit.

I admit that my domains might be not veerryyy great, but I still believe (based on certain criteria of course) they have some value. I'm sure these domains have a good potential for an end user market, but what if those end users will be found in 6 months or even longer? Meaning I can wait for ages before selling them, in the same time I wouldn't like to invest extra in other domains until I can justify investments I already made and proof that it can work on a regular basis.

With that being said, I would like to ask for your advise, considering your experience why do you think my domains don't sell on Sedo, Afternic, GoDaddy etc? What mistakes I made?

and how to spot valuable domains (apart from the basic stuff like no numerals, hyphens, pronounceable, etc.)?
And is it possible to acquire those if I don't have a thousands of $$$ to start with?

Thanks for your time )

 

[Biggie]

Hi

in domaining, you don't look to get taught....you try to learn, which is big difference

also, any names you own may take longer than 6 months or 6 yrs to sell

domain investors anticipate that, while flippers don't.... and that makes a big difference.


imo...

 

[ValeriaDomainer]

Thanks Biggie,
I can see your point, however what should flippers do than? How do they sell it faster?

 

[Biggie]

Thanks Biggie,
I can see your point, however what should flippers do than? How do they sell it faster?

in order to sell names faster, you have to buy better names or names that are in higher demand



"flippers/flipping" is a term most used by newbie's in domaining. cuz they think it's so easy to just register anything and sell it overnight.


but in reality, it ain't so


as you have come to "learn"

 

[Gerry]

For those domains for flipping...unreal expectations to think that you can rapidly register hundreds of domains and sell them all.

What to do with those that don't sell? First thing you have to do is determine if they are worth holding on to. There are two approaches to this: why didn't they sale and, importantly, are they sellable?

There is no easy way to determine either. You try to rationalize both of those questions and sometimes you end up convinced that it is not you or the name's fault.

Some names might be worth holding onto. But I would guess that if you created names or phrases on the fly (rapidly) just to sell then you may have simply wasted your money and time. Now you must determine whether you want to continue to waste time and money.

And I have a very strong suspicion that you may have been given bad and wrong advice from the onset. Perhaps from another forum.

 

[ValeriaDomainer]

Thank you for your help guys!

 

[PKumar]

Also, almost all the good domains are registered years before, you won't find any good domain to register and earn profit on this, except drop-catching..or new tlds etc..

If you want to earn some money from domain flipping then what I would suggest to buy one quality domains instead of registering several low quality domains..here you can buy at less and sell at higher prices, but you should have ability to price a domain name..

 

[amplify]

A flipper will generally be a trend follower with the intentions on the trend taking off. For instance, the speculation of cloud domains. They took off, but in reality, cloud is no more than hosting and burstable cloud is no more than upgrading your hosting package or moving to a dedicated server and adding RAID drives as needed or installing Citrix. I could have followed the cloud trend and made quick money over a year, but if the trend went sour, I'd have 100+ worthless names.

Flipping can be easy, but can also add misfortune as well. Trend domains are a gamble.

Best bet is invest in names you may be able to sell down the road and develop them in the meantime to increase value.

 

[Bill F.]

I think you are doing great. If I understand you right, you registered 7 names, and flipped one almost immediately for $290. That looks like over $240 (minus Sedo commission) on a $60 investment, for a nice 400% return in a week.

So what's the problem?

If you want to stick to the flipper model, which so far has been working like gangbusters for you, simply dump the other 6 names if they don't sell within the year. The only way you can lose at this point is if you start renewing too many names. Go buy another 7 names, sell one, dump the unsold names when renewals come around, rinse and repeat.

Most domainers sell only a small percentage of the names they register - the profit margin makes it work. The trick is in learning which names to buy, which names sell, and having the discipline not to register or renew too many names. I'd say that as long as you are making money, you're doing fine. As you learn more, you'll figure out which are the keepers and which aren't. Forget about the names you "think" are great. If they're not attracting offers, and they were hand regs, they're most likely not worth keeping around. (Unless you are into catching future trends, which can get expensive quickly.) If you want to flip, buy names that people want to buy now, not in 5 years maybe.

 

[ValeriaDomainer]

Hi Bill,
I know that I will sell the rest domains from my list, but it will definitively much longer than I thought... in meantime, as you said:

"If you want to flip, buy names that people want to buy now, not in 5 years maybe."

But how do YOU know what kind of domains ppl want to buy? How would you define that? Where wold you look to find those in demand domains?

Thanks

 

[Gerry]

Also, almost all the good domains are registered years before, you won't find any good domain to register and earn profit on this

In theory I agree. In practice I disagree.

May 2013 has been back-to-back the largest sales for me in all the years of domaining. And 2013 already has been the most profitable year for me.

Both names less than three years old and hand regged. Both names were pulled from the news in 2009/2010. And I would classify both as being in a highly overlooked field of "new generics".

Sometimes you have to let the news (be it healthcare or tech) catch up with the rest of the world to where these terms become mainstream. And when they do become mainstream and household lingo, the end user will com looking for you.

The problem is most domainers do not want to sit on names until they become a generic household term. So this technique is not going to work for "flippers" (did I mention I own iFlippers dot com?) or for those seeking instant gratification.

 

[Biggie]

If you want to flip, buy names that people want to buy now, not in 5 years maybe.

Bill reinterated what i was stating previously, on the differences between a domain flipper and a domain investor

But how do YOU know what kind of domains ppl want to buy? How would you define that? Where wold you look to find those in demand domains?

i often advise members to read thru domains wanted section.

 

[amplify]

i often advise members to read thru domains wanted section.

Good place to look for ideas on what to invest in, however, you need the capital to do so. Most of the time people are seeking generics, geos, LLL, NNN, CC, etc. .com's. Unless a flipper has a good line of credit or a lot of cash on hand, he won't be able to get a grip on those domains at reseller prices to flip them for reseller prices... it would more or less be a long term investment for an end user.

Once in a while you'll see weed domains, gambling domains, etc. that still have a large amount of good hand regs. However, those come up much less than the above mentioned for domains wanted.

 

[Biggie]

Good place to look for ideas on what to invest in, however, you need the capital to do so. Most of the time people are seeking generics, geos, LLL, NNN, CC, etc. .com's. Unless a flipper has a good line of credit or a lot of cash on hand, he won't be able to get a grip on those domains at reseller prices to flip them for reseller prices... it would more or less be a long term investment for an end user.

Once in a while you'll see weed domains, gambling domains, etc. that still have a large amount of good hand regs. However, those come up much less than the above mentioned for domains wanted.

hi david

to me, that area has always illustrated the 'basic' categories of domains names, that are or will be, in demand.

it also shows that individuals or reps of corps, will, ask for what they want.

but if you divide and match categories of names 'sold' everywhere (dnjournal, sedo, traffic, gd, nj,snap, etc) then you'll see they all will fit within the same 'basic' categories of demand...that are requested for in 'domains wanted' sections.

of course, demand fluctuates for some groups, while demand is always there for others.


while new ideas, trends, tech, and other one-off'ers all fit in group by themselves


the amount needed to start investing in domain names, is not as important as knowledge of what to invest in, prior to.

for instance, i got a geo + insurance keyword for < $70 a few months ago, (backorder) and it has already made back "renewal fee" for another yr.

if i was a flipper, for sure i could turn it for 10% profit

(while seemingly low, that margin is still higher than average 401 k earnings)

imo...

 

[Jack Gordon]

Valeria,

I will say bluntly what the others should have, but didn't.

Your domains are poor investments. I would attribute your first sale to beginner's luck. Most newbies fail miserably, and with names like yours I don't expect you'll be succeeding at this anytime soon, first sale notwithstanding.

I am sorry for the harshness, but people need to understand that this is not an easy business. For newbies, it is almost always defined by long periods of waiting for something to happen, punctuated by the occasional lucky sale.

I cannot emphasize enough that it is practically impossible that you will make anything resembling a good income with the caliber of names you are registering. I am trying to save you a lot of frustration and money. You will do what you choose to do with this advice, but I am sharing it in the spirit of trying to be helpful.

My advice for someone trying to break in is to stop looking at this as a way to get rich quick, and think of it as a legitimate business. Would you start a "legitimate" business underfunded, undereducated or underprepared for most contingencies? I certainly hope not. It is the same with domaining. Think of it as a business, and spend the time to do your homework. Read thousands of posts. Participate. Ask a lot of questions. Observe sales and follow auctions. Save up your money to buy better domains, then learn how to market them directly to end users. Sedo hardly ever makes anyone rich.

Finally, realize that there is no such thing as a domain market. Domains are unique. You are not buying and selling domains. You are buying and selling ideas and dreams. The only people who buy a domain for the sake of buying a domain are newbie domain investors, and they don't pay enough to make it lucrative.

Forget the people who sold you this particular dream. They took you for a ride. If you are going to make money at this, you are going to have to invest a hell of a lot more time and money than you already have.

I wish you the best of luck.

 

[ValeriaDomainer]

Valeria,

I will say bluntly what the others should have, but didn't.

Your domains are poor investments. I would attribute your first sale to beginner's luck. Most newbies fail miserably, and with names like yours I don't expect you'll be succeeding at this anytime soon, first sale notwithstanding.

I am sorry for the harshness, but people need to understand that this is not an easy business. For newbies, it is almost always defined by long periods of waiting for something to happen, punctuated by the occasional lucky sale.

I cannot emphasize enough that it is practically impossible that you will make anything resembling a good income with the caliber of names you are registering. I am trying to save you a lot of frustration and money. You will do what you choose to do with this advice, but I am sharing it in the spirit of trying to be helpful.

My advice for someone trying to break in is to stop looking at this as a way to get rich quick, and think of it as a legitimate business. Would you start a "legitimate" business underfunded, undereducated or underprepared for most contingencies? I certainly hope not. It is the same with domaining. Think of it as a business, and spend the time to do your homework. Read thousands of posts. Participate. Ask a lot of questions. Observe sales and follow auctions. Save up your money to buy better domains, then learn how to market them directly to end users. Sedo hardly ever makes anyone rich.

Finally, realize that there is no such thing as a domain market. Domains are unique. You are not buying and selling domains. You are buying and selling ideas and dreams. The only people who buy a domain for the sake of buying a domain are newbie domain investors, and they don't pay enough to make it lucrative.

Forget the people who sold you this particular dream. They took you for a ride. If you are going to make money at this, you are going to have to invest a hell of a lot more time and money than you already have.

I wish you the best of luck.

The most valuable and helpful reply so far! Thank you Jack

p.s. and don't worry about "harshness" I always welcome useful criticism

 

[Jack Gordon]

Well, with that kind of attitude, you are bound to improve.

The best advice for someone trying to break into domaining is to pace yourself. Understand that in most cases, if a domain is unregistered there is probably a really good reason for that. With more experience, you'll learn to better identify opportunities that may appeal to human desires. But, honestly, besides identifying new trends there is very little left to be mined out there in new registrations.

The most common mistake you can make is to go on a buying spree, then try to figure out how to unload all the crappy names you just bought. In your case, you got a lucky strike which mitigated any loss from the others. You are way ahead. Recognize that, enjoy it for a moment, and methodically calculate your next move .

I wish you the best!

 

[Gerry]

I will say bluntly what the others should have, but didn't.

Please don't assume that you speak for me or on my behalf.

And please don't allow others to assume that you speak for me.

It is quite spelled out in my first sentence.

 

[Jack Gordon]

Please don't assume that you speak for me or on my behalf.

And please don't allow others to assume that you speak for me.

It is quite spelled out in my first sentence.

lol, ok

To Whom it May Concern,

Let it be known far and wide that I do not speak for Gerry.

Furthermore, let it be known that any similarities in our posts are completely coincidental, and should not be construed by any third party as any sort of representation of Gerry's actual thoughts.

That is all. Please move along now.

 

[katherine]

Nowadays any get-rich-quick scheme relates to the Internet in some form.
This is just a variation of the ebook seller.
I will tell you how to become rich, just buy my book and do as I say - not as I do.

I only speak for myself, of course.

Edit: I'm not responsible for the forum making up those referral links lol