Selling Domain Names For Profit »

A fun way to make money online is buying and selling domain names. Most people think all the good domain names are taken, so “domaining” isn’t such a hot topic as it used to be. But the truth is, selling names is becoming even more profitable than ever and can only get better. The supply of good names is getting low, and the demand is increasing as new businesses and products crop up every day. It used to be that only the very big companies bought names, but now more people are willing to pay to get what they want.

The short one word names are thought to be the best and most are taken. (Sex.com sold for a record $12 million!) But there are still some uncommon words that haven’t been used, and it’s fun finding them or making them up. Google and Yahoo were not common household words until they hit the internet. Just get out a dictionary and plug a few words into the field to see what’s available. Two and three words strung together can have more meaning than just one word. They can be catchy and easier to remember than some one word names.

Always buy dot.com names because dot.org, dot.net, and the other dots are not as valuable as dot.com. To sell your names you might want a broker, so Google “domain name broker” (but you don’t really need one because if someone wants to buy your name, you will be contacted). Sedo.com, websitebroker.com, dotster.com and www.registernames.com are all good brokers but you have to find the best deal. Type the name you want into the field and it will say if it’s “available” or “make an offer”. If it’s available, buy it! If it says “make an offer, you can just move on to your next name, or if you think the name is valuable and you want to gamble on it, then become a buyer and make that offer and plan to resell. 

Think of new ventures, globally or just within your state or community. One of my friends just sold a domain name for $1,600 in less than 6 months! When he heard that a new mall was being built in his city, he ran to his computer and bought the name. Within a few months, a broker told him someone wanted to buy the name. It’s hard to believe the mall owners didn’t register their name on the web before building the mall, but it happens all the time.

Domain names are a good investment and they don’t cost much (less than $15 each!).  But as with any investment, the more you have, the better the chances of making money. Get in on it now, while there’s still some left. One of these days, everyone will have to “make an offer” to get a good webname and you could hit it big by selling yours.