Domain auction sites are a great way for domainers to make money and the best place to sell domains. One can think of domain names as being the modern-day real estate of the Internet.
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A domainer is in the business of making money with their domains, whether it is developing the domain, parking the domain, flipping the domain or auctioning the domain.
If you are a buyer or a seller auctioning domains is a great avenue to liquidate your domain or increase your portfolio with names available for purchase that you can use at a later time.
Auctions provide a good indicator of the supply and demand for the domaining market. In this post, I will list some of the best places to auction your domains.
Top 4 Auction Sites to Help Domainers
Flippa - Charges a $9 listing fee for domains. You can select names by price, and they offer helpful articles for buying and selling on their platform.
Namejet - Namejet provides searches dedicated to Hot Picks, Last Chance and Open Auctions and Featured Auctions. You have to have a valid credit card on file and logged into your account to place bids. NameJet boasts that there are no hidden fees to create an account with their service. They charge only the final bid amount on domain name auctions where you won the bid.
Sedo - You can start an auction for up to 10 domains at any given time. Sedo will charge a 15% sales commission for a completed sale, and they offer free transfer service. Sedo offers many domain services such as domain parking, buying domains, and selling domains. Sedo offers three auction formats including Direct Auction, Marketplace Auction, and Great Domains Auction.
GoDaddy - Offers listing options for selling your domains. You can use a free, basic listing to list your domains. You can’t list domains expiring in the next 90 days. Go Daddy charges a percentage of the selling price, and you must pay a small annual membership fee to join their auctions.
GoDaddy Auction Fees - None for buyers, however, stipulations do apply. You can find out more at GoDaddy Auctions Pricing.
Multiple users can list or buy tons of domains simply and conveniently through the tools that are provided by the auction sites. Therefore, domainers have a higher chance of selling their domains to prospective buyers.
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Nevertheless, when you create an account with one of these auction sites, you can search for domains that are available. You can use the advanced search option to weed through the names that don’t meet your criteria to find the domains that do meet your specifications.
You will be able to see and monitor auctions
The highest bidder in any auctions wins. You can set your bid limit and use the automated bidding systems that most of these auction sites provide for your convenience. The automated bidding system is perfect because the systems will monitor the updates for you.
Although true, it is to your benefit to monitor the bidding during the final hour of the bidding instead of relying on email notifications.
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You will notice once you make your rounds to the different auction sites that they provide links to numerous escrow services to handle the transfer of funds and the domain won at auction between the seller and the buyer, which is helpful for both parties to ensure a smooth transition of the domain.
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Common types of auctions
The most common type of domain auction is a Public Auction. You have to bid on the domain and retain the highest bid of the domain to winning that domain. The seller will set a minimum starting bid, and this is the lowest amount that you can start bidding for the domain that is of interest to you.
The person with the highest bid wins the domain when the auction is over. The domain owner typically sets a time limit when bidding on the domain (such as days, hours, minutes). Do note that the seller can set a reserve price on the domain and that is the lowest price that he/she will accept for the domain that they are auctioning. Now if the reserve is not met, the seller doesn’t have to sell the domain name.
Switching from Public Auction to Buy Now Auction. This auction is used to give buyers the chance to purchase the domain at a set price by the seller. The buyer has an opportunity to offer a price that he/she is willing to buy the domain for and the seller will either accept the offer or submit a counter-offer.
If both parties agree on the price that has been submitted, the sale ends and the domain is purchased by the buyer. Do note that neither party is required to accept an offer or a counter-offer in regards to the buyer or the seller.
Now Reverse Auctions this is when the seller lists the domain for a particular price for the domain. The catch is that the longer the domain is listed without a purchase, the price goes lower. The price decreases until a person purchases that domain.
According to Elliot Silver
Make sure you choose a reputable auction venue. You want to make it easy for people to bid, and choosing a well known and trusted venue will allow you to make the most at your auction.
Domain name auction sites are there for people to buy and sell domains. If you list a domain name that is in demand and has tons of traffic, you can expect some high bids at auction.
Auction sites offer sellers a convenient way to find buyers for their domains and also a safe way for buyers to search the domain market for bargains and negotiate deals on domain names. Auctions help you sell your domains for more than what the public is willing to pay for the domain.
In conclusion, there are more domain auction sites for you to choose that are available to list your domains. It is all a matter of doing your research and finding the marketplace that suits your criteria when selling or buying domains.
What other domain auction sites have you used?