There are several different paths which might lead you to the domain aftermarket – that magical place where you can purchase already-registered domain names. These can include domains currently in use by other people or names that are actively for sale on a marketplace like GoDaddy Auctions or DynaDot Auctions.
Maybe you’re looking for a perfect website address for your small business and the domain name you want isn’t available for new registration – so you head over to the aftermarket. Or perhaps you’ve decided to dabble in domain investing and you’re ready to build your investment portfolio – you’re destined for the aftermarket.
With countless strategies, many marketplaces, and tens of millions of domains represented in the aftermarket as a whole, it can be challenging to narrow down the best way to find valuable domains. Listed below are some helpful tips for mining valuable domain names in the aftermarket.
Building A Domain Investment Portfolio
If you’re working to build up a portfolio of investment-quality names, begin by focusing on domains you know will have value. Once you identify your niche and the keywords you want to buy around, head over to the different marketplaces and begin to narrow your search by keyword, TLD, price and age. Pay particular attention to these factors when reviewing the results of your search:
Age Of The Domain – In general, the older the domain the better, as it’s probably been off the market for a longer period of time. While you can still register great domains today, many of the best names have been registered for a long time already, so searching by age can help narrow this down quite a bit.
Top-Level Domain (TLD) – Some TLDs sell better than others in the aftermarket. For instance, it’s typically easier to resell a .com than a .biz domain. This isn’t always the case, but it pays to aim for more popular domain extensions.
Price Range – This is all about your budget. If you have $1000 to spend, why waste time looking for names price above $1000?
Buying Format – There are a few key auction types with different rules which you should understand when you’re searching through the aftermarket:
- Buy It Now: If you want the domain, you simply purchase it for the “Buy Now” price.
- Timed Auctions: The names are put up for sale with a certain time frame for the auction. The highest bidder when the time is up wins.
- Offer/Counter Offer: These domain auctions are won through negotiation between the buyer and seller. The seller lists the name for sale with a minimum offer they are interested in accepting to engage the potential buyer. Once the initial offer is received, the seller can accept, ignore or counter the offer. The buyer can then accept, reject or counter the seller. This process continues until both parties come to a price they can agree on for the domain.
Think Like A Domain Buyer
As you sort through domain aftermarket results, put yourself in a potential buyer’s shoes. Would you buy the domain if you were in their business? Honestly, how much explanation would it take to make sense to the buyer? The more you have to explain the domain, the harder the sale.
Tips To Narrow Down Your Domain Search
Once you have what you consider a list of strong names for investment, take a few additional steps to further narrow it down. Here are a few tips to narrow down your domain search in the aftermarket:
Buy What You Know – If you’re an expert in a particular subject or trade, and the domain makes sense to you, then it’s probably a good domain name to buy.
Check Archive.org – In many cases, archive.org will show you what has been developed on the domain throughout the years. It might signal low demand for the domain if the website that was attached to it was continually for sale. With this tip, you are not looking to see if there was a business operating on the domain that you could sell it back to. You are simply looking to see if other people in the past thought this would be a valuable domain as well.
Look At Previous Sales – Use sites like NameBio.com and DNPric.es to research previous domain sales. Check out the typical sales price range for your target keyword to ensure that your purchase price makes sense. It’s always important to check the current market. Prices and popular segments change over time, so it’s good to stay informed about what is selling in the market and the current pricing you should expect.
Finding a winner in the domain aftermarket doesn’t have to be stressful. With a bit of research and legwork, you can successfully mine the domain aftermarket for those hidden gems!
