Maybe you’re thinking that physical real estate is going crazy so maybe domain flipping can be very profitable. I’ve been at it for a few years, so I wanted to share my experience.
Domain Flipping is Legit and isn’t dead, but can take time and there is a learning curve!
Keep reading and I’ll share the 2 main ways to earn money from domains, 5 tips for quick flipping them, what software helps you find domains, where to find expired ones, 5 places to list them, 5 tips for Godaddy Auctions, and 2 mistakes I made when trying to earn money from this business.
2 Ways to Earn Money from Domains!
You might be thinking why is a domain important? There isn’t a lot of things you can own online. Your Youtube channel or Twitter profile is owned by someone else.
A domain name is something you DO own. You could think of it as real estate online.
It also helps with credibility. This is another reason why I only deal with .com names because some people look at a .xyz extension and it looks shady.
Maybe this will change in the future and this is something I’m always thinking about (that I can be wrong) and adapt to the times.
Also .com domain names are just less risky and sell for more money than other extensions. There is also only 1 .com name in the world and this helps with (supply and demand).
When it comes to earning money from domains there are 2 ways to do it. The first way is to buy and hold until someone makes you an offer.
Since that person is coming to you there is “much” more money in this technique. The problem is you have to wait. This is the way I have “much” more experience in and I’ve sold a few domains where I purchased them for $8.85 and sold them for $999 to $1,999 each.
Another advantage with this is if you hold a domain for over a year you pay less in taxes.
If you want to learn how to do this I would recommend this post HERE that I created.
The second way is to auction the domain. This way can be quicker, but you will not earn as much money. You also pay higher taxes and higher fees to the place where you sell the domain.
When you quick flip a domain you buy a domain for $8.85 and resell it for $99- $299.
5 Tips for Quick Flipping Domains
Tip 1
When it comes to domains one lesson (I learned the hard way)
In a nutshell, don’t get too greedy. You have to price your domains fairly. The price is going to be different for retail (long game) or quick flip (short game).
For a retail price (the long game) pricing your domain for a little less than what Godaddy appraises it for is a good idea. Some domains can be priced higher if there is a “good” reason for it.
For quick flips then you probably want to list your domain for $99-$299. Godaddy does charge 20% of the fee. If you sell a domain for $99 then it’s $79.2 in profit. Minus $8.85 for registration, it’s $70.35 in profit.
You also have to pay an annual membership to Godaddy of $5 a year. Also, to buy the domain at the $8.85 price you need a “Godaddy Club Membership and that is $240 a year. The club does have other perks that you can learn about it HERE.
I know what you’re thinking “I don’t want to spend $240 a year” well another option is to go to this register HERE and then transfer it to Godaddy to sell. You still have to pay $5 a year to use Godaddy auction.
According to them, it’s $9.13 to register a .com domain name.
Without the Godaddy club membership price then the .com name would be $18.99 a year.
You could invest in another TLD such as a .org or .net domain name, but it should be “insanely” good. Domain names that are NOT .com names are riskier.
Tip 2
The second tip is to have a “buy it now” button on the domain.
If you’re trying to market “anything” including a domain you want to make it as easy as possible. If you were interested in buying a domain and had the option to buy it 1 NOW or make an offer on 1, which would you choose?
You probably don’t want to talk to anyone and just want to buy it at a fair price.
Domains that have a “buy it now” option sell 3 times faster according to Sedo. Sedo is probably the second largest domain site.
For a quick flip, you could have the buy it now for $99 or $299 if you’re bullish and for retail “if it’s a good domain” maybe $999 if Godaddy appraises it for that much.
Tip 3
The third tip is to find “really good domains”. When it comes to investing I like the saying “you make your money when you buy not when you sell.”
Finding good domains can be the hard part. One way is to go to Godaddy search and start searching. This blog post I wrote here has some more ideas on searching for domains.
Another idea that I have used is software. This software HERE can help in finding domains. I would recommend only getting this software AFTER you have made a profit in domaining.
It’s easy to spend yourself out of business! Put yourself “in profit” as cheaply as you can then reinvest to make more money.
Another idea is to get an expired domain. Some people don’t renew the domain and you could pick it up and resell it for a profit. A popular place that lists these expired domains is this one HERE.
Tip 4
The fourth tip is before you buy a domain to see if similar domain names are selling. The best place to do this is this site HERE. Maybe, you are seeing a website called lanscapebee.com.
You know landscape sells, heck you could type landscape into the search and see all the domains that were sold with the name and for how much.
Maybe you’re not sure if other niches with the word “bee” sell. With this site, you can put “bee” in the search, choose placement “at the end” and see ALL the domains that were sold and for how much.
This tool can help you determine if the domain is a good buy or not.
Tip 5
The fifth tip is to post the domain on as many FREE marketplaces as you can.
The first place is Afternic (which works with Godaddy), Sedo, Uniregistry, and Namesilo. Flippa is another popular place to sell a domain but it costs $10 just to list the domain. Then when the domain sells there are fees to pay.
The more eyeballs that see can potentially see your domain the BETTER. Also, remember it’s free to list, but you pay if the domain sells.
You’re paying through your profit and that is good.
Bonus Tip
A bonus tip is you can always make a Youtube video that puts the domain name in the title. Then make a short video that shares some ideas on what someone can do with the domain and put the link to where someone can buy the domain in the description.
This can help you get traffic from Youtube to sell the domain.
5 Tips to Godaddy Auctions
I’ve sold a few domains at auction and one of the domains I sold I listed for $1 with NO reserve. I thought ALL kinds of people would bid on it and drive the price up.
I was wrong!
1 person purchased it for $1 right before the auction closed. Have a reserve price that you’re comfortable selling the domain for.
The second tip for Godaddy Auctions is you can have an offer, counteroffer, and buy it now option.
This gives the option for someone to buy the domain now, but also negotiate.
The third tip is when it comes to the description put any SEO data you have. This includes monthly searches, Cost Per Click of the keywords.
You can find this by going to this website HERE. This website does cost money, but a secret is you get 2 free searches a day. Don’t pay for the service, but instead get the SEO data on 2 searches a day.
The fourth tip is Godaddy tries to sell you a bunch of addons. I recommend not doing this unless it’s a “REALLY” good domain.
The fifth tip is if someone makes you an offer instead of accepting it you can push it to a 7-day auction. The worst case is after 7 days you accept the offer the best case is someone else is interested in the domain and you could get more money.
Conclusion
When it comes to domain investing, one of MY mistakes was buying too many times when I first started. I was WAY too positive and bullish. I thought if the domain was available then it was a great buy. I wanted to buy it before someone else did.
I purchased a shit ton” of domains and lost a lot of money.
I would recommend starting SLOW! Be insanely picky about buying a domain. Only if you have a HELL YEA feeling about it and you’re positive it’s a great buy.
Also, this should be FUN. You are almost like a gold miner in the old names sifting through sand to find the gold!
If I haven’t scared you off yet, and you’re still interested in domain investing then you can get more ideas from this post HERE I made.
I hope this post on is domain flipping legit was a little helpful to you. Bye for now.