Domain buyers and sellers have several options to choose from when it comes to online auction sites and marketplaces. In fact, there are so many marketplaces out there some have even closed down due to all of the competition. The fact is, when it comes to marketplaces both buyers and sellers are mainly focused on a couple of things. First would be the number of listings out there. Buyers and sellers (especially resellers) want to visit marketplaces which are constantly being updated with fresh listings. If a potential investor visits a particular marketplace a few times and never comes across anything new then they’re obviously going to stop going there. Secondly, both parties will always be paying close attention to commission. One thing that sets domain and website marketplaces apart from one another is the amount of commission (fees) they charge and whether or not they offer Escrow services. Thankfully, over the years several marketplaces have really established themselves and become what I would consider must list websites for any domains and/or websites you want to sell. Below I’m going to list some of my favorite for buying and selling internet real estate. I’ll also explain a little bit about each marketplace and why you should use them!
Domain Marketplaces
Afternic – Afternic has been around for years now and one funny thing I’ve found with this website is that the layout has never really changed. Not even after GoDaddy purchased the site and took it over a few years back. Anyways, being owned by domain monster GoDaddy really boosted the Afternic platform and the marketplace is responsible for several thousand domain sales each year. Listing your domains there is fairly easy and they charge a 20% commission ($15 minimum) for sales on both the Standard Network and Premium Network.
Bido – Unlike traditional domain sale platforms which operate like Afternic, Bido is an auction-based domain marketplace that lets people list their names free of charge. Sellers will pick a price they want to list at and the domain will only enter a “live auction” status once the BidoPrice has been met. The unique BidoPrice feature also makes it easy for buyers to quickly see filter and scan through better quality domains listed on the site. They charge 8% sales commission if the name is parked with Bido and 12% if it is not.
BrandBucket – BrandBucket is another unique domain marketplace because the website focuses solely on brandable domains. Brandable domains tend to be short in length and have no real meaning which is exactly why they’re called brandables. Think about popular sites like Eneba or Skype. These are short domains with no real meaning behind them, until they were branded into something. BrandBucket is a marketplace full of nothing but brandable domains like the ones I just listed. This can be a hard one for sellers to use, though. They have a strict review policy and charge for listing your domain there.
Undeveloped – This is one of the newer domain marketplaces out there. Still, Undeveloped has had their fair share of large domain sales in the past. Similar to Afternic and Bido, it doesn’t cost you anything to list your website on Undeveloped and because of that I highly recommend doing so.
Domain & Website Marketplaces
Sedo – Very much like Afternic, Sedo lets you list domain names along with websites. They charge a fee of 15% for the highest amount bid if the reserve price is reached and the domain is sold in a Direct Auction. Sellers can also list their domains with Buy It Now prices to skip the auction format if they wish. This company is one of the oldest and most established in the world of domain sales. Sedo has been responsible for millions of dollars in previous domain sales.
GoDaddy – They’re one of the most well established companies in all of domain names. So, of course GoDaddy would have a domain sales platform on their site, right? Well, they do and best of all it’s linked with Afternic’s network now! Sellers can also list websites for sale when using the GoDaddy marketplace directly on their website.
Flippa – Much like Sedo is to domain sales Flippa is to website sales. Buying and selling websites on Flippa is great because they provide in-depth analytics and detailed user information about sellers. It isn’t just websites that sell on Flippa, though. The auction site is responsible for millions of dollars in domain name sales as well. They charge a 15% commission fee for domain, website and app sales.
