Read in several threads here on NP about how to get started in with domaining. Most members here (myself included sometimes) recommend newbies to read, read and read before spending any money - makes a lot of sense, for sure (in theory).
But it is a bit like telling your kids to not drink before they are of legal age isn't it?
I believe you should get your hands dirty and make a few bad buys, that is how you learn. You do not learn to ride a bike by reading the manual for half a year. And if you (without giving up due to the boring nature of not practising) do read that manual you will most likely not be able to ride a bike anyway.
I believe you need to handreg/buy on auction or acquire names early on to learn. There is no other way. But I also believe you should aim at selling wholesale. I will explain why further down.
But first, a question to all seasoned domineers here, who know way more than me about this. How did you get started? By reading everything there was to read or buy buying and selling small scale learning for every step you took? (I can guess the answer is the latter in most cases)
Back to my own learnings. I went back in the inbox and looked at how I got started. I started out in March 2021 spending roughly 500$ on names. After buying them I started realising that liquidation was not something I given that much thought. I had them listed on GoDaddy as well as Afternic and that's it. No sales for a week, a month, I started looking for new outlets - found NamePros and started reading and learning more and more. Summarised my buys and sales below for the first 500$ I spent (currency changes since I purchased made some numbers be a bit of but it paints an OK picture).
What did I learn from my start?
It is unavoidable to not handreg names when you get started, you will simply not have the energy nor motivation to learn without any "stake in the game". You can argue against this but this is my strong belief.
My first names made me learn a lot about liquidation of names, it made me discover NamePros, later invest in XYZ and also made me find Squadhelp.
Today this first lot of names and the sales "profits" (rather net loss) from them has netted me a portfolio of 100 names on Squadhelp and 200+ other names in my portfolio and furthermore above the initial amount in my account. I would never have gotten here, wouldn't been for my initial crazy handreg spree of crappy names
What could I have done differently?
Selling mostly to other investors early on is a great way to learn (I have sold almost only to other investors).
Will I make a lot of money on it? No.
I however will learn what others pick from me and be better at spotting names. Being good at something is all about repetition and domaining is no different. How do you achieve repetition then with limited budget - turnover. By selling to other investors you can focus on turnover, turnover, turnover. I am always looking at liquidating names I buy, no matter who the buyer is. I am at holding many of my names for 3 months maximum. Turning over names makes me money and with money I buy more names and so on. I learn in the process. Over time I have built a portfolio of names on the side for keeping but I still focus on high turnover in sales towards other domainers - it keeps me learning, earning and building experience (I need to accelerate n/o names sold to learn from to catch up and be able to compete)
So my best recommendation for a newbie: You need to buy names eventually, no matter if it is on auction or handreg. Make sure to have focus on high turnover rate and reinvestments. You will need to buy and sell thousands of names before you can master this and there is no purpose in waiting for those sales to happen retail. Focus on learning but combine it with getting your hands dirty.
But it is a bit like telling your kids to not drink before they are of legal age isn't it?
I believe you should get your hands dirty and make a few bad buys, that is how you learn. You do not learn to ride a bike by reading the manual for half a year. And if you (without giving up due to the boring nature of not practising) do read that manual you will most likely not be able to ride a bike anyway.
I believe you need to handreg/buy on auction or acquire names early on to learn. There is no other way. But I also believe you should aim at selling wholesale. I will explain why further down.
But first, a question to all seasoned domineers here, who know way more than me about this. How did you get started? By reading everything there was to read or buy buying and selling small scale learning for every step you took? (I can guess the answer is the latter in most cases)
Back to my own learnings. I went back in the inbox and looked at how I got started. I started out in March 2021 spending roughly 500$ on names. After buying them I started realising that liquidation was not something I given that much thought. I had them listed on GoDaddy as well as Afternic and that's it. No sales for a week, a month, I started looking for new outlets - found NamePros and started reading and learning more and more. Summarised my buys and sales below for the first 500$ I spent (currency changes since I purchased made some numbers be a bit of but it paints an OK picture).
Name | Purchase price | Sold for (net) | Net profit/loss | Sold at |
g----e.com | $14 | $14 | $0 | GoDaddy |
g----e.io | $87 | $6 | -$81 | GoDaddy |
g----e.io | $87 | $9 | -$78 | GoDaddy |
y----e.com | $15 | $24 | $9 | GoDaddy |
p----p.com | $15 | $24 | $9 | GoDaddy |
s----y.com | $15 | $24 | $9 | GoDaddy |
t----d.com | $15 | $9 | -$6 | GoDaddy |
t----l.com | $15 | $10 | -$5 | GoDaddy |
s----e.com | $15 | $9 | -$6 | GoDaddy |
g----e.biz | $13 | $1 | -$12 | Namepros |
s----s.ninja | $13 | $1 | -$12 | Namepros |
s----s.partners | $26 | $1 | -$25 | Namepros |
a----o.com | $15 | $30 | $15 | GoDaddy |
l----o.com | $15 | $34 | $19 | GoDaddy |
f----o.com | $15 | $24 | $9 | GoDaddy |
b----d.com | $15 | $34 | $19 | GoDaddy |
s----r.rocks | $58 | $200 | $142 | Afternic |
t----n.online | $2 | $0 | -$2 | Namepros |
s----n.online | $2 | $0 | -$2 | Namepros |
t----n.online | $2 | $5 | $3 | Namepros |
t----g.online | $2 | $0 | -$2 | Namepros |
r----s.online | $2 | $0 | -$2 | Namepros |
r----t.online | $2 | $0 | -$2 | Namepros |
w----p.net | $40 | $5 | -$35 | Namepros |
Net | $502 | $464 | -$38 |
What did I learn from my start?
It is unavoidable to not handreg names when you get started, you will simply not have the energy nor motivation to learn without any "stake in the game". You can argue against this but this is my strong belief.
My first names made me learn a lot about liquidation of names, it made me discover NamePros, later invest in XYZ and also made me find Squadhelp.
Today this first lot of names and the sales "profits" (rather net loss) from them has netted me a portfolio of 100 names on Squadhelp and 200+ other names in my portfolio and furthermore above the initial amount in my account. I would never have gotten here, wouldn't been for my initial crazy handreg spree of crappy names
What could I have done differently?
- Stayed away from GoDaddy as a registrar for handregs (expensive as h**l and adds VAT for many countries)
- Do not handreg expensive extensions like .io (focus on cheaper ones)
- Study NameBio sales before handregging odd extensions
- Do not head to auctions to early (my first auction buy was a 4L .net - learned that 4Ls is something good and found the first "cheap" one on GoDaddy auction - again GD expensive and me having no clue what is good and bad resulted in a poor buy)
Selling mostly to other investors early on is a great way to learn (I have sold almost only to other investors).
Will I make a lot of money on it? No.
I however will learn what others pick from me and be better at spotting names. Being good at something is all about repetition and domaining is no different. How do you achieve repetition then with limited budget - turnover. By selling to other investors you can focus on turnover, turnover, turnover. I am always looking at liquidating names I buy, no matter who the buyer is. I am at holding many of my names for 3 months maximum. Turning over names makes me money and with money I buy more names and so on. I learn in the process. Over time I have built a portfolio of names on the side for keeping but I still focus on high turnover in sales towards other domainers - it keeps me learning, earning and building experience (I need to accelerate n/o names sold to learn from to catch up and be able to compete)
So my best recommendation for a newbie: You need to buy names eventually, no matter if it is on auction or handreg. Make sure to have focus on high turnover rate and reinvestments. You will need to buy and sell thousands of names before you can master this and there is no purpose in waiting for those sales to happen retail. Focus on learning but combine it with getting your hands dirty.