There is no question that domain trading can be a lucrative business model. In the last few years, however, a lot has happened on the domain market and so the question arises for many whether entering the world of domain trading can still be worthwile. In this blog post we will tell you the current situation on the domain market and how you can earn money trading domains.
The current domain market and the price development over the years
The golden days of domain trading are over. We hear such statements over and over again. Certainly there is also a little truth about it, because if you look at the price development of the most important domain endings over the last few years, a downward trend can sometimes be seen. Nevertheless, this is not the case for every TLD, with some the average sales prices even rise significantly. Here are a few examples of price developments in the domain market.
- Average price development .com: The golden age was clearly marked in 2010. Here, on average, the highest prices per domain sale were achieved. After several years of downward trend, an increase in sales prices for .com domains can currently be observed again.
- Average price development .de: The domain ending .de reached its peak in 2018. In general, .de has seen a steady upward trend over the past 10 years.
- Average price development .net: The value of .net domains has increased significantly again since 2017 after many years of downward spiral. This may certainly also be due to the fact that other important TLDs such as .com are slowly being exhausted and hardly offer any opportunities.
- Average price development .in: Domain endings from emerging markets such as .in certainly offer the best opportunities. The TLD .in has grown exponentially since 2009, even if it slumped in 2019, the upward trend has still not been broken.
- Average price development .ru: The TLD .ru has seen a similar development to .in domains. In our opinion, both domain endings are still very interesting.
Charts of the average price development from 2007-2019 in US $
In general, it can be said that the price development on the domain market can be extremely volatile. However, that should definitely not prevent you from investing in domains, because with the right selection of TLDs you can still achieve very large profits. One thing is namely fact: Each TLD / domain extension offers only a limited selection of meaningful domain names, the shortage of interesting domains is inevitable. This can make domain name trading a very lucrative business.
Why domain trading is still worthwhile
Domains are the land plots of the internet. Think of it this way: A company or a private person wants to build a factory or a house. This requires a plot of land that can be built on. It is exactly the same with websites. In order to create an Internet presence, companies, agencies or private individuals also need a publicly accessible address, the domain. Domains can therefore be compared in a certain way with real-world properties and are the foundation of every website.
In the offline business, real estate agents and major investors have often secured the best plots for themselves and earn a lot of money selling them to people who need them for building purposes. If you secure domains now, then you are a so-called domain investor who offers precisely these plots of the internet to interested customers at the best price.
Although there are now several thousand TLDs (top-level domain denotes the last section of a domain on the Internet and represents the highest level of name resolution) on the domain market, the really interesting domain endings and domain names are limited. For this reason, high prices can still be achieved for top domains today. This is roughly comparable to building sites in densely populated cities like New York, Hong Kong, etc.
But trading in rather average domain names can also be a lucrative business. This is all about the mass. For example, if you sell several domains for a few hundred dollars, that can add up quickly. By the way, low-priced domains are much easier to sell, as you not only reach large corporations, but also startups and smaller companies. They are often willing to invest a few hundred dollars in the perfect domain name.
So as you can see, trading domains can still be lucrative. Assuming you drive the right strategy and invest in the right domain endings and concise domain names.
How to trade domains – the most important tips & steps
Now that you’ve got a glimpse into the domain market, you’re probably wondering how you can get into the world of domain trading. In general, you don’t need a lot for this and the amount that has to be invested is also very manageable. In theory, you can make profits with just one registered domain. How you should proceed if you want to earn money with domain trading, we tell you here.
Start small or start full? The right strategy is important!
The nice thing about domain trading is the fact that you can either get off to a flying start and do it on a large scale or start with little time investment and without large investment sums.
So it is often worthwhile to enter the world of domain trading as a sideline, to familiarize yourself with the matter and to earn some extra money. It is important that you do not overestimate your time and financial possibilities.
An example: You can register a domain for as little as a few dollars a year. Domainspace.io offers a .COM domain for $ 1.11 per month. Even if you register 10 or 20 domains at once, the costs are still manageable and you can definitely cope with it.
If you manage to sell these domains for only 20 $ each, you have already made double your investment back. Not to mention the chance of a big hit – because the sale of a domain can vary from a few dollars to tens of thousands of dollars.
If you want to approach the matter more professionally, you can build up a decent portfolio with several hundred domains from as little as $ 1,000. Larger portfolios have the advantage that you can significantly increase the chances of a domain sale.
No matter how you want to get into the world of domain trading, both ways can be very lucrative. Think of your personal strategy and just give it a try.
Register domains cheaply
The most important thing in domain trading is buying the domain from a cheap domain seller. A good salesperson makes namely with purchasing everything right. Register your domains where you get the best conditions. We at Domainspace offer you extremely good conditions for more than 1,000 TLDs, just check our domain price list. This way you get the most out of your investment and can register more domains with less money.
Compared to the competition, Domainspace offers extremely competitive prices across the market. We have domains for as little as $ 0.13 per month. You also have access to exotic domain endings with us – so you can easily manage your entire portfolio with one customer account.
Choose the right domains
Choosing the right domains is essential for success in domain trading. It is best to focus only on a few TLDs – the most important ones! The endings .COM, .DE and .NET offer the best opportunities for beginners. But TLDs from emerging markets such as .IN or .RU can also be very interesting. It is important, however, that you also have knowledge of the market and, ideally, are able to speak the language in order to come up with particularly concise and valuable domain names.
In general, the shorter the domain, the better. Therefore, keep your domain names short and without numbers or special characters. In addition to customary terms such as auto, home, etc. You can also try to fancy names and puns. Here is an example of good and bad domains.
Bad domain names
- Car-Parts-24.com
- Crypto-Stock-Exchange.com
- Travelinsurance-24-7.com
- …
Good domain names
- Carparts.com
- Cryptoexchange.com
- Travelinsurance.com
- …
Think outside the box
As you will surely notice over time, it is extremely difficult to get hold of usable domains for the current top domain endings. Therefore, you should definitely think around the corner and consider markets and domain endings that are still untapped. Here you often have the greatest chance of selling a domain with enormous profit.
Market domains properly
The best domains won’t do you any good if you don’t market them properly. You should therefore always advertise your domains through multiple channels. We have summarized the best options for marketing domains below.
Set an entry in the public whois directory
The whois directory is the internet phone book. Here everyone can see who owns the domain. If you only want to offer a domain for sale, then you should disclose your WHOIS entry. In the Company or Name field, you can add a small note such as “For Sale” or “This Domain is for sale”. This way, potential buyers can see immediately that this domain is for sale.
Make sure you create a separate email address if you are working with an disclosed whois entry. Otherwise you will unfortunately receive a lot of spam to your regular email address.
Park your domain / create a landing page
As soon as you have registered your domain, you should either park it with a domain parking provider or create a landing page yourself. On this landing page you can show potential buyers at a glance that this domain is offered for sale. If possible, write the landing page in English or the language of your target market. This increases the chances of a sale.
Offer domains on marketplaces
Domain marketplaces are the best option to offer domains to a large number of buyers. The largest marketplaces are SEDO, Flippa and the GoDaddy Marketplace. However, the disadvantage with these providers is the fact that you can offer domains for free, but in the event of a sale, high commission fees are due on the sales amount. So you have to share your profit with the marketplace operators as a percentage.
Another marketplace without big commission fees is the Domainspace domain auction system. Every domain registered with us can be put up for sale just with a few clicks in your customer interface. Other Domainspace clients can then find your domain via our auction platform and bid on it.
Which option is more interesting for you, you have to weigh for yourself. In general, however, we recommend placing the domains on as many sales platforms as possible. This greatly increases the chances of a sale.
Consult a domain broker
In the case of particularly valuable domains, selling through a domain broker can also make sense. Domain brokers have a large network of customers and can often sell premium domains quickly. Domainspace and SEDO offering a broker service.
Sell domains on Ebay
Ebay has its own category for domains. Even if domains on Ebay are often overpriced, with a little luck you can definitely find a buyer here. Be sure to set the prices here realistically in order to stand out from the many dubious offers.
Our Domainspace Domain Appraisal Report gives you a good overview of the actual value of your domain.
Contact potential interested parties directly
Doing your own research can also pay off. Make a list of potential buyers and contact them directly to offer them your domain. Potential buyers could be domain dealers or advertising agencies in the area of affiliate marketing, for example. In addition, companies could always be interested in buying a suitable domain name.
Patience is an important virtue in domain trading
No matter how you market your domains, patience is an important virtue in trading domains. Usually it can take months or even years before you can sell a domain for a reasonable price. So don’t expect that you will register a domain today and that it will be sold tomorrow.
Depending on your marketing efforts and your desired price, it can take a long time to find the right buyer. If you have little patience, you can also try to sell domains at low prices with little surcharge. Inexpensive domains often sell much faster and still bring you good profits. However, it can so naturally happen to you that you lose a big fish. In general, domain trading is always a bit of a poker game about the price.
Take advantage of rising opportunities in domain trading
In general, you can not only make money selling domains. Rather, you should also use the opportunities that may arise from your portfolio. Park your domains whenever possible and place advertisements on them. In this way, you can earn income with domains even without selling them.
However, it is better if you develop an entire web project at the same time. This gives you the chance to generate income with the project until the domain is sold. Often domains with projects also sell significantly better – because the potential buyer does not only acquire a name here, but a complete website with possibly ongoing income.
Regardless of which path you want to take with domain trading, with Domainspace you have a reliable partner at your side. We look forward to welcome you as our customer.
Such an insightful post