WHAT IS DOMAIN FLIPPING
Domain flipping is the business of registering or buying domain names at a low price and reselling them at a higher price for profit. Domain names can be fresh, expired domains or bought from a third party but the ultimate aim is to resell for higher value. It is a very profitable business that anyone can do. The start-up cost can be little or large, depending on individuals or organizations.
One advantage of domain flipping is that you can do it from anywhere. You can be in Nigeria, Ghana, United States, United Kingdom, India, Kenya, South Africa or anywhere at all and make money flipping domains. You can access the market across the world.
A domain name is simply a web address. For example, biohost.co.za is a domain name. Google.com, Facebook.com are all domain names.
HOW PROFITABLE IS DOMAIN FLIPPING?
Domain flipping is very profitable. You can register a domain for R79 and sell it for R79,000. You can sell it for hundreds of thousands if you get the right domain at the right time.
In 2015, a Chinese company bought 360.com for R238,4 Million ($17 Million). CarInsurance.com was sold for R697,1 Million ($49,7 Million). Imagine for a minute if you were the owner of this domain. How it will change your life forever.There have been many publicly known domain names that sold for big money. But some of the most expensive sales are not publicly known.
For example. Godaddy reports that the the most expensive domain name ever sold is cars.com for R12,2 Billion ($872 million)! To put that in perspective the guy who bought that could of used the money to: buy a island in the bahamas, buy Queen Elizabeth II’s Balmoral Castle or take a 5 month vacation to the National Space Station(IN SPACE)! Must have been a difficult decision but a wise one at that
In the interest of the most expensive domains ever flipped, here are some of the top candidates:
- CarInsurance.com sold in 2010 for R696,8 Million ($49.7 Million)
- Insurance.com sold in 2010 for R499 Million ($35.6 Million)
- VacationRentals.com sold in 2007 for R490,6 Million ($35 Million)
- Privatejet.com sold in 2012 for R421,9 Million ($30,1 Million)
- Internet.com sold in 2009 for R252,3 Million ($18 Million)
- 360.com sold in 2015 for R238,3 Million ($17 Million)
- Insure.com sold in 2009 for R224,2 Million ($16 Million)
- Fund.com sold in 2008 for R182,6 Million ($13 million)
- Sex.com sold in 2005 for R196,2 Million ($14 million)
- Sex.com was resold in 2010 for R182,2 Million ($13 Million)
- Hotels.com sold in 2001 for R154,1 Million ($11 Million)
- Porn.com sold in 2007 for R133,1 Million ($9,5 Million)
- Shoes.com sold in 2017 for R126,1 Million ($9 Million)
- Porno.com sold in 2015 for R123,3 Million ($8,8 Million)
- Fb.com sold in 2010 for R119,1 Million ($8,5 Million)
- We.com sold in 2015 for R112,1 Million ($8 Million)
- Business.com sold in 1999 for R105,1 Million ($7,5 Million)
- Diamond.com sold in 2006 for R105,1 Million ($7,5 Million)
- Beer.com sold in 2004 for R98,1 Million ($7 Million)
- Z.com sold in 2014 for R95,3 Million ($6,8 Million)
- iCloud.com sold in 2011 for R84,1 Million ($6 Million)
- Israel.com sold in 2008 for R81,2 Million ($5,8 Million)
- Casino.com sold in 2003 for R77 Million ($5,5 Million)
HOW TO MAKE MONEY FLIPPING DOMAINS
Follow these steps to make money flipping domains:
1. REGISTER A NEW DOMAIN NAME
Your first step is to register the domain name that you intend to flip. We obviously recommend that you use us namely Biohost to register your domains as it is easiest to manage and we have good customer support to help you.
Make sure the domain you choose is a name worthy one. One that people will be willing to pay good money for. Don’t just register random domain names. It will be a waste of time and money. Here are a couple of ways to identify good candidates for domain flipping.
FOLLOW TRENDS
Trends will help you understand what people will likely want. When you keep tap on what is trending, you may be able to grab the next big ideas before they become really big. For example, imagine when Bitcoin was in its early stages and people heard about it but didn’t understand it yet.
You came across it, saw the potential and registered a couple of key bitcoin domain names like Roger Ver the multi-millionaire did in 2014 when he acquired the domain bitcoin.com. If this was you, you would be very wealthy today.
Keep watch on trends and see whats new and what is likely to explode. You can use tools like Google Trends, Twitter hash tags and more to see what people are interested in.
USE KEYWORD PLANNER
Use key word planner to find popular ideas. The most popular and credible planner is definitely Google Keyword Planner.
The key here is to type your ideal domain name and see the search volume. If there are many people searching for it then it is worth it.
Let’s say I want to register gotosleep.com. I will go to keyword planner, type in go to sleep and see how many people are searching for that keyword.
Another way keyword planner can help you register a good domain name is to give you suggestions. Let’s assume I want to register a domain name related to Bitcoin. I know that Bitcoin.com is already taken. All I have to do is type Bitcoin in keyword planner, and it will give ideas of popular entries that people search for relating to bitcoin. This will give me an idea on a good domain name to register.
USE EASY TO PRONOUNCE NAME
The domain name should be one that is easy to pronounce and memorable. Don’t use complex names unless you have a very good reason to.
STICK WITH POPULAR EXTENSION UNLESS IT IS PREMIUM
There are so many domain name extension these days but the most marketable is still .com. Your best bet is to register a .com domain. .org and .net are also good choices. If you are registering any other extension, make sure it is a top class premium name.
SEARCH DOMAIN REGISTRAR
That’s us! Play around on our websites domain registration page to find domain names that are available. You may just stumble onto gold.
2. REGISTER EXPIRED DOMAINS
There are some very good domains that have been owned by people and somehow got expired. When you buy a domain name, you renew it every year. If you fail to renew, after a certain period it become expired. Meaning other people can register it.
This happens a lot. For so many reasons, some valuable domains may become expired. Look for them, register them for about R79. And you can resell them for R790 or even big amounts if you can find a good one.
When buying expired domains, look for how good the domain authority and page authority is. You can find expired domains at expireddomains.net and justdropped.com
3. BUY DOMAINS FROM OTHERS
This is one of the best ways to make money flipping domains, buying domains from others. This method is capital intensive.
All you need to do is go to domain market place like Flippa and Sedo. Look for very marketable premium domain that is on sale. Bid for it and try to buy it at a good deal. You can later resell it.
Most of the big domain deals go through this circle. For example, privatejet.com was reportedly bought for R421,9 Million ($30,1 Million) in 2012 on these platforms.
4. FIND BUYERS
Once you have registered the domain, the next step is to find buyers. The first thing you need to do before you look for buyer is to write down the importance of your domain.
This will help you pitch to potential buyers and get their attention. Your pitch should include things like how simple and brandable the domain name is. The number of search queries targeting the domain keywords. The relevance of domain to a particular industry if any.
HOW TO FIND BUYERS
There are many ways that you can find buyers.
1. WRITE TO POTENTIAL BUYERS
You can write directly to potential buyers. Let’s say your domain is BuyFastFood.com, you can write to organizations that is focused on fast food and let them know how the domain name can help their business find customers online.
2. USE DOMAIN BROKERS
You can use domain brokers. Domain brokers are middlemen who help sellers find buyers and vice versa. You can use a reliable and reputable domain broker to help you sell. Especially if you have a premium domain.
3. SELL IN DOMAIN MARKET PLACES
You can also try selling your domain in domain market places. There are many but the most popular ones are Flippa and Sedo.
5. SELL YOUR DOMAIN
Once you find a buyer and agree a price, you can sell your domain. For security purpose, it is advisable to use escrow service for payment. What an escrow services does is to get the money from the buyer. After the money have been received from the buyer you will be informed. Then you transfer domain name to buyer. And Buyer informs escrow service that he or she has the domain. Then the escrow send the money to you.
from the buyer you will be informed. Then you transfer domain name to buyer. And Buyer informs escrow service that he or she has the domain. Then the escrow send the money to you.
That way you are protected.
FLIPPING DOMAINS IS PROFITABLE BUT KNOW THE RISK
While flipping domains is a very profitable business, you need to know that there are risks. When you are buying domain names that are already owned by popular brands, remember that it might have been trademarked.
There is no problem in registering general names and industry names but registering brand names can stir legal actions. Some brands may negotiate and offer some payment while some may want to use legal actions.
Also know that some times, You may need to hold domain names for long. Patience is important.
Flipping domains is a good business but do not be over excited. Have a good and realistic approach