Low Hanging Fruit & Domain Name Flipping Guide

I know everyone wants to know what fruit has to do with domain names, well right up front it has nothing to do with the Domain flipping business, but as we go through this article, the analogy will make a lot of sense.

When I first wrote this article, I was reading it back to myself and realized it was very generic, it did provide some great insight, but really didn’t explain how, so I decided to rewrite and give as much of a detail to buying and selling domain names for profit as possible, so for some this might seem a little tedious, but I remember when I stated and had no idea what I was doing, and I searched for hours trying to find something, where to buy, how to sell, how do you value the domain, so hopefully we can answer those questions for anyone trying to break into the business.

The art of flipping domain names for profit can be a great way to get into the virtual world of real estate, just like with real estate, the idea is to buy low and sell high, as the old saying goes, location, location, location, which is the case of virtual real estate, that would be .com, .net, .biz, lets not forget about buying a fixer upper and adding value to it before selling it, there are many ways to do that as well, so lets get into the details.

Getting Started:

We must first start purchasing and or creating domain names, there are many places to do this, Godaddy.com, NameSilo.com Dynadot.com just to name a few. Now for me when I try to create a new domain name, it’s tough because most of the good simple names are already taken, it doesn’t mean they are being used, just that someone has purchased them, waiting for their values to increase. To create we must get creative and brainstorm, think about a niche that you are familiar with, like clothing, well we all  know clothing.com is taken, but that gives us a starting point, you can narrow it down from there, until you create the perfect name. Now to purchase domain names there are many choices here too, you can buy from private parties selling their domains like Smart Choice Domains, or there is ebay auctions, flippa auctions, and one of my favorite places is godaddy auctions, using these methods I have purchased domains for as little as a penny, but on average about $5.00, still a good price if you can sell that domain name for $25.00 or more. Just to give you an idea, right now at GoDaddy auctions I can buy xpresscreditrepair.com for $5.00 plus one-year renewal and it has a current value of $1,002.00.

Adding Value:

Now we need to add value or create value for the new domain name we just created or purchased, there are several ways to do this but I am just going to go over a couple of them, it’s a little like putting new flooring and paint on a house before you sell it. So, in the same sense creating a logo and ideas of what the domain name could be, might be all that is needed to add the extra value or extra incentives to sell at the higher price. The other which takes a little more work and time, is to complete a full rehab on the virtual property, what I mean is to build a website or pay to have one built, you can find great simple websites builders on fivver or Upwork if you need. Please understand this is not a get rich quick internet business, there is a lot of work that goes into being successful at flipping domain names, and can take years before you see a profit, the days of buying candy.com for $10.00 and selling it for $1,000,000.00 have past us up, not saying the one couldn’t get lucky, but the odds have dropped. There is a little more work than putting up a "for sale" sign and waiting for the money to roll in.

Pricing Domains:

Now the most important part of the business, pricing the domain name for sale, how do you figure out what to price the domain? Its not like real estate where you have thousands of homes in the area that have previously sold, every domain name is unique. There are several factors that go into valuing a domain name, age, traffic, length, and popularity. There are several sites that help with the value now, like Godaddy Appraisal, FreeValuator.com, and Estibot.com just to name a few. In the end though it’s only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, the more attractive it is, the better the chances are for a higher price.

Where to Sell:

Where do you sell those domain names? There are many choices on the market today, if you have just a couple at a time, you could use ebay or flippa or a site like SmartChoiceDomains, pretty inexpensive options, as your business grows though you might want to consider your own platform like efty.com or dan.com. I tend to always forget to mention social media, as I just expect everyone to know this already, but social media can really help sell your domain names quickly.

Bonus Tips:

Don’t sell yourself or your product short, just because there is only a low offer on the table, does not mean that you have to accept it, unlike Real Estate the holding costs are relatively low.

Low hanging fruit, I said I would bring it back around to that, I call it that in all businesses, because you always have that quick and easy sale, might not be the most profit, but its like one of those guarantees, I call that the low hanging fruit, quick and easy everyone wants the quick and easy, so it creates more competition and typically increases the prices. My point is just because it may seem quick and easy doesn’t always mean that it will be, sometimes the more work you put into it, the greater the returns.

If you still have questions please do not hesitate to leave a comment below or contact us if you would prefer, info@smartchoicedomains.com