
Ask HN: Best way to sell a domain name? - jgrahamc
What's the best way to sell a domain name? I have some domains that I've had for years (such as usethesource.com) that I'd like to dispose of.
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cyphersanctus
A domain like usethesource.com will not be easy to sell. The audience of
possible buyers for a domain like that is quite limited. That being said, the
best thing you can do to sell it is put it on sedo and godaddy with a low BIN
price. You can also email site owners that could be interested in the subject
of your domains. Though again, a brandable domain like the one you posted will
most likely not be attractive for a person who has already established his
business. If you have generic domains, the story is quite different. A good
generic .com domain will give you great results in an auction. You can check
with the adwords keyword tool to see hou many exact match searches are done
for your domain keywords every month. If youre looking at anything below 10k
searches, its not a good domain. My personal expectation, being a long time
domainer, is to have more than 160k exact searches per month.

In my experience, the best results i´ve had have been through Sedo. I´ve sold
26k usd with just 6 domain sales. They were generics and I just put an "asking
for" price and let offers come through. You have to be patient though.

~~~
white_devil
I hope you someday want to start a business and find out the domain _you_ want
is held hostage by a squatter.

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ohashi
Interesting choice of words - 'held hostage' - as if you have some prior right
to it and it was taken from you. That's a pretty self centered world you're
living in.

~~~
white_devil
So you're a domain squatter then?

~~~
ohashi
I made a living from buying/selling domain names. I don't have qualms about
paying money for a better brand name for my businesses. I don't have a problem
with buying low and selling high. I don't think the world owes me anything and
I certainly don't believe other people are holding things hostage from me when
I never owned them nor had any rightful claim to them.

Grow up.

~~~
white_devil
_I made a living from buying/selling domain names._

Well that wasn't too hard to guess, huh? -Sad.

~~~
ohashi
How I made my living has no relevance to the stupidity of your statement that
you are somehow entitled to something you never owned or had any right to.

There are a lot of legitimate arguments but yours isn't one.

~~~
white_devil
A legitimate argument? Do we really need to go through why domain squatting is
bad? It's quite obvious, but alright then.

    
    
      - You have a business idea.
      - You come up with a great domain name for your company.
        One that's relevant to what you're doing, and clever too!
      - You go online hoping to buy that domain.
      - You find out it's been taken by someone.. 
      - .. but not for the purpose of actually *doing* something with it. 
    

He's just _holding it from you_ , hoping he can make you pay _dearly_ for it.

Bottom line: the domain name that would be perfect for your new business
_should_ cost you something like ten dollars. You'd buy it, and happily
continue getting shit done.

But now that the squatter has it, it costs you _thousands of dollars_ , just
because Fuck You.

That's Bad, mm'kay?

~~~
ohashi
There is this nice empty plot of land without a house on it. I should be able
to pay next to nothing for it because nobody is using it. Forget everyone else
who might have been interested in the past. Forget the current owner who
bought it legitimately. I deserve it because I want it and don't want to pay a
fair market price for it.

~~~
white_devil
Let's not forget that the actual market price for a domain is roughly 10
dollars. Whatever a scumbag squatter can _extract from a buyer in need_ is
another matter.

The market price for a plot of land is something based on the location and
area.

Will a land-owner accept the current market price for it, or will he demand..
say, _500 times_ the market price (or preferably 5000 times or 50000 times),
just because Fuck You?

Is land so cheap that anyone can start just grabbing hundreds of plots all
over the world, on the off chance that someone might someday need one of them,
planning to then extract 5000 times the market price from the buyer if he
happens to need it bad enough?

~~~
ohashi
So you DO understand location/area and how they are correlated to value. Thus,
you must recognize some names ARE better than others and are worth more.
Therefore, the market price ISN'T $10, you are simply lying through your teeth
to get what you want. The market price of UNCLAIMED land may be $10, and there
are definitely unclaimed lots out there worth more. It's a whole business to
go out and look for them. The market value of a CLAIMED piece is what someone
is willing to pay for it and whether it meets the owners selling price. That
is how markets work, there are at least two participants a buyer and a seller
and the price is agreed upon by both parties.

Your wording is still silly, 'needs' as if you suddenly can't live without a
domain name someone else registered before you because you 'had a great idea
for it.' You and anyone else are welcome to buy as many domains as you like
that nobody has registered. You can use them for whatever purpose you damn
well please as long as you keep paying. If someone else wants them from you,
they need to pay enough to convince you to sell it to them.

It's capitalism, if you can't handle it maybe you shouldn't be here.

~~~
white_devil
_Thus, you must recognize some names ARE better than others and are worth
more. Therefore, the market price ISN'T $10_

You're twisting the meaning of "market price" to suit _your_ view, while
accusing me of doing the same.

There's a marketplace out there where anyone can go pick up a domain name for
roughly 10 dollars. That _is_ a domain's market price, but someone may
consider a specific domain name worth more based on his personal
circumstances, such as being about to start a company that the domain would
suit well, and that's exactly what you and other scumbags are counting on.

ICANN and the registrars don't price domains according to how desirable they
think they are, and that's why they're all the same price.

But you do. You buy ones you think _other people would want_. They're worth
more than ten dollars _only when someone else actually wants them_.

The domain you're "holding hostage" would _still_ be worth only ten dollars to
almost anyone else besides the guy who wants it. It's not the same as a plot
of land, because there's no general consensus on the market price.

There are lots of people who have thought of various good names for a product
they're making, just to find out that they're all squatted. I'm one of them.
You're a squatter. We're bound to not get along.

~~~
ohashi
You are simply ignoring reality. It's not a matter of twisting anything.

"The price of a commodity when sold in a given market."

There are two markets. There is a primary (unregistered) and a secondary
(registered) market. This is a fact.

The price of a domain in the primary market is ~$10 (we'll ignore the fact
some registries DO charge based on name quality - see .tv for an example of
this). The price in the secondary market is whatever is agreed upon by the
buyer and seller. There is NO set price, it's a normal functioning capitalist
market.

Nobody is holding anything hostage in the secondary market. It's simply supply
and demand. The domains are worth what someone is willing to sell them for and
what someone else is willing to pay. There is no morality involved, it's
capitalism in its purest form. You aren't owed anything and you don't owe
anyone anything. There is a near infinite supply in the primary market for you
to invest in. By using the secondary market you're acknowledging the value
someone else has recognized before you in the primary market.

As far as it would still be worth $10 argument, that's laughable. As someone
who has owned over a thousand domains and made a living off it, I've had
domains earning thousands of dollars per month just being parked. You think
those are still worth $10? That's idiotic. As far as the "besides anyone else"
portion of your argument. Also stupid. Of course you will see a downward
sloping demand curve for ANYTHING. That doesn't mean its worth the lowest
value on the curve. Supply AND Demand. There are two sides to this simple
equation. The supply for domain names is unique in every circumstance. You
can't get another uniquename.com. You can get something else, but there is
only 1 uniquename.com. So the owner is more than able to try and go for the
highest point on the demand curve. (S)He only has the opportunity to sell
once.

You're upset because you didn't/don't get what you want for an irrationally
low price. You probably think its unfair someone else did get it, and that
their time, effort and investment aren't worth anything. Well, I think your
product is stupid and a waste of time, effort and investment should I get the
domain instead of you after you own it? Would that be fair?

We may not get along but your argument is nonsensical. I will probably never
change that line of thinking because people who think things are always unfair
are bound to constantly look for someone or something else to blame. People
who get shit done simply recognize the rules of the game and play to the best
of their abilities.

~~~
white_devil
Oh you're still at it?

 _The price in the secondary market is whatever is agreed upon by the buyer
and seller. There is NO set price, it's a normal functioning capitalist
market._

Well, your "secondary market" consists of only _two people_ \- you and the guy
who would actually use the domain you're hogging. It's not much of a Market,
but of course you'd call it one in an attempt to scrape together some
semblance of legitimacy for your point of view.

 _As someone who has owned over a thousand domains and made a living off it,
I've had domains earning thousands of dollars per month just being parked. You
think those are still worth $10? That's idiotic._

Cute. The market price for a domain itself _is_ , in fact, that $10. Whatever
money you happen to manage to scrape off of unsuspecting (and likely idiotic)
visitors to your sleazy malware/bullshit-laden parked domain pages is
irrelevant.

 _that their time, effort and investment aren't worth anything_

Your time and effort is worth only as much as you manage to extract out of
your victims. You're not "adding value" to anything - quite the contrary.
You're a parasite.

I'm not going to waste any more time arguing with you. You claim you've done
nothing wrong, but any non-scumbag would disagree.

------
tucson
Here is how I sold a domain for >$4,000 -> If the domain has SEO potential
(exact match to search term), what worked for me was to create a one-page
static website explaining the domain name is for sale, and explaining the
major benefit of the domain name. Important is to optimize the title and meta
tages for SEO. Put the site up, wait a few months and see if anyone comes to
you. If your site starts ranking in google you will get people's attention.
What is key is to know if your domain has value, and if it does to know how to
negotiate.

------
ankeshk
1\. Do a google search for any keywords in the URL. Or any related keywords.
Find the advertisers. And send a pitch email to the advertisers. These are
guys who have already shown that they will spend money behind particular
keywords. Show them the SEO benefit and they'll pay more than folks on flippa,
sedo etc.

2\. For domains like use the source, its hard to find advertisers. So hit the
social networks and forums. Find someone who runs a Star Wars forum and ask
them if they are interested in buying the domain.

3\. If that too doesn't work, then list the domain up on sedo, godaddy and all
the other networks out there. But private sales will almost always lead to
more money than a sale from a marketplace. So try private selling first.

------
udp
John, it's a real shame news.usethesource.com never took off. I liked (and
still like) the idea of something similar to HN but just for programming
news/commentary.

------
hackerboos
It depends on if you already have a buyer.

I've sold a few domains through Sedo and it's a pretty painless process,
however their fees are really high, especially if you list your domain in
their marketplace.

You can save money by finding a buyer outside of Sedo and then using them
purely for escrow.

Since most people are going to find your domain by typing it in or through
Google, that might be the best approach.

------
richo
Full disclosure: I work downstairs from them.

Flippa.com

Online auctionplace, some significantly sized sales recently.

~~~
propercoil
He will be crushed there. If the domain doesn't have a revenue stream (and
isn't generic, EMD > ~3600/m) then maybe he will get $50 or maybe $100 tops.
add $30 fee + 5%.

~~~
richo
Good to know. In truth despite being close to them I don't know a great deal
about their business model, beyond that they seem to be quite successful.

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turshija
Can anyone tell me how much would a domain 1337.us cost ? :) I own it for a
month maybe and someone told me I could sell it for a bunch of money if I
wanted ...

~~~
tucson
> "someone told me I could sell it for a bunch of money if I wanted" This
> reminds me of a common scam in domain names: I once received an email saying
> I had a very valuable domain. I got really hyped. Turns out the guy was
> ready to buy it... but he needed a 3rd-party appraisal from a company I had
> never heard of. Basically this appraisal company was scamming for $30
> appraisals. Just FYI.

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amac
Sedo. Given it's status as the largest marketplace for domains, it's a good
bet.

Like any other asset, you'll get the most value by holding onto it for as long
as possible.

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nyodeneD
You may be able to sell through or to <http://www.namelayer.com/>

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moepstar
Besides Sedo there's also flippa.com, although i'm not entirely sure if that's
for domains-only...

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Greynum
Flippa.com has good volume. Dedicated Exchange for domain names.

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SebMortelmans
Put them up for sale on sedo.com doesn't hurt for starters

