Domaining (UPDATED)

  • Posted by Allen
  • March 5, 2007

I promised March would be an even more exciting and interesting month here at AlleNation, and even though a leap into the domain market wasn’t planned, I found myself spending about $180 on 5 domain names since the beginning of the month.

When you first hear about someone spending “so much” on domain names you’d probably think it’s rather crazy than exciting or interesting; many people have hundreds of domain names in their portfolio with minimal reselling or developing potential, which makes their domaining experience futile.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case for me until now; out of the 5 domain I bought so far I parked one and put it for sale at Sedo on March 2nd, and yesterday -merely two days after- I received an inquiry about it.

Basically the guy who contacted me worked as contractor for a big corporation and was looking to resell the domain as well, I asked for a price which I though was a little high but justified considering the domain is a .com one and is only two words.

To my surprise, he accepted the asking price, but also asked for an official appraisal from a trusted company. To be honest this got me a bit worried since I thought the domain might be appraised at a lower price then the one I asked for, I guess I underestimated it myself.

After talking to some more experienced guys about this (including Nate) I was told the domain may be appraised at an even higher price, the potential buyer said he will pay accordingly.

If this domain gets sold for somewhere around the price I’m looking for, we’re talking about 1500% ROI! I don’t know if this is a matter of luck or a coincidence, but maybe I’m discovering a new instinct..a domainer instinct.

I’ll keep you posted on this, when negotiations are over - I’ll hand out more specific figures and details.

Important update: Jeff from commented saying:

Allen, you might want to Google “domain appraisal scam” before you waste any money.

He was right, this “offer” was a fraud attempt..more on that later. Thanks for the warning Jeff!

Next on AlleNation: The thing all of you have been asking about - my biggest earner.

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March 5th, 2007
13 Responses
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Comment Number:
1
Written by:
Jeff
Posted on:
March 6, 2007 at 1:21 am

Allen, you might want to Google “domain appraisal scam” before you waste any money.

Comment Number:
2
Written by:
Mike
Posted on:
March 6, 2007 at 1:56 am

If the person knew about buying domains and their value they probably wouldn’t need an appraisal. I have only heard bad things about domain appraisals. A domain is only worth what another party is prepared to pay for.

Comment Number:
3
Written by:
oscarsito
Posted on:
March 6, 2007 at 2:01 am

2 days, that was a fast response. Seems march is turning out well :]

Comment Number:
4
Written by:
Gregg
Posted on:
March 6, 2007 at 3:49 am

That’s great, glad to hear of your great fortune Allen :D Since the summer, I’ve spent close to 400 on domains. I’ve got a few great .mobi and many great .com names. Over the summer I’m going to try to sell most of them. Best of luck with your future endeavors!

Comment Number:
5
Written by:
Gregg
Posted on:
March 6, 2007 at 3:51 am

Also, I agre with Mike. I’ve done quite a bit of research on “domaining.” The domain is definately worth what the buyer thinks that it’s worth. If they really want the name, they better be willing to possibly fork up some money. That’s what’s great about domaining, you never know when someone is going to desire the domain you own and possbily offer a great deal of money.

Comment Number:
6
Written by:
Frank
Posted on:
March 6, 2007 at 3:53 am

I’ve been trying to learn a bit about domaining recently and have just put a few unused domains into a parking program. The lure for people (myself included) is the relative lack of followup that needs to be done. Of course we’d all love to live the fictional ‘Domainer’ lifestyle of sitting on a beach somewhere while typos make you millions.
Keep going, I’m interested to hear how it gets on.

Comment Number:
7
Written by:
Allen
Posted on:
March 7, 2007 at 1:20 am

Thanks for your comments everyone, but this post has been updated with somewhat frustrating news, I’ll have something to say about this later on.

Cheers,
Allen

Comment Number:
8
Written by:
Jeff
Posted on:
March 7, 2007 at 4:17 am

Glad you saw the comment in time, and sorry I had to burst your bubble. A few months ago, I almost fell victim to this scam as well. What a let down!

Comment Number:
9
Written by:
oscarsito
Posted on:
March 7, 2007 at 5:35 am

Ill search for domaining scam myself, Isn’t it supposed to be he pays you then you fork over the domain, don’t see any scam in that, Unless he refuses to pay or whatnot. Anyways I’ll go google it

Comment Number:
10
Written by:
Nomar
Posted on:
March 7, 2007 at 3:00 pm

Yup, Great Scam, I had the same email..

I hope you have bought some good domains buddy ;)

Comment Number:
11
Written by:
Stew
Posted on:
March 8, 2007 at 8:02 pm

My friend almost got snagged by the exact same scam. The guy was looking to buy the domain for a ridiculous amount of money, so long as my friend got the domain professionally appraised, which costed 300 bucks. He almost fell into the trap but I stopped him :)

Good luck with the domaining. Are you able to release some of the domains you own, or is that a risky move in the business? (I’m not sure since I’ve never been in the business..)

Cheers
Stew

Comment Number:
12
Written by:
Armen
Posted on:
March 13, 2007 at 4:42 am

Whatever next?!

Good job you blogged about this - well spotted Jeff!

Comment Number:
13
Written by:
John
Posted on:
March 14, 2007 at 8:16 am

How much do you plan to profit on them Gregg? I’ve never messed with domain flipping.