I covered the subject of flipping domains in another post a little bit but here’s one dedicated to the topic. If you’re slightly experienced, you probably won’t find this useful but it’s always good to have a written (typed?) guide somewhere, if only so that I can refer people to it (as I get a lot of domain related questions). :)

Domain flipping really isn’t that difficult – think of it as selling property, but without the hassles. Of course, domains definitely are valuable – sadly, I haven’t purchased or been lucky to own anything worth more than a few hundred, however top domains are selling for millions of dollars (hot, one word dot com domains).

You probably won’t come across one of those anytime too soon, but if you do make sure you send me a cut to thank me for this post :razz: . Seriously though, you can easily make a few hundred extra monthly off domain flips – nothing major, but enough to get you that vital start up income that every entrepreneur needs.

There are three types of domains you should flip.

Dot com domains.

Dot net domains.

Dot info domains.

Of course, you can make money flipping .ORG, .BIZ, .IN and .CO.UK domains (amongst others) but generally, you’ll find the quickest return on those three.

Of course, I recommend .COMs as they’re the best known TLD and will (generally) sell for more than others.

I wrote a short post about using Name.com for cheap domain names – .COM domains cost only $6 there and considering you can sell them for a hundred dollars or more if you’re lucky… it’s a worthwhile investment.

There is no easier way to double your money within a week than by flipping domains.

I’m talking small amounts here, but it’s the easiest way to do so.

If you have $60 at the beginning of the week, you can easily make it $120 by the end of the week just by flipping simple domains. Enough money to pay for hosting, and a few other things too.

Me waffling on won’t make you guys any money, so let’s get started.

Domain Ideas

To buy a domain, of course you need to think up possible domains to register.

First off, let me state that you will be looking for two / three word .COM domains, with a hyphen allowed if it’s two words. Of course, you want them to be related to each other (so you don’t get something like ViagaraCrocodile.com). Try and avoid longer domains with words that begin and end with the same letter for flips, as people can get confused (even though this would be a good domain, an example would be sportsstar.com)

Here’s where you get ideas:

1. Current events. Especially names of actresses / models / pornstars / sports chicks that are starting to get popular. Sadly for us males, women related domains tend to sell for more :)

Do not go so indepth and do keyword research etc for a domain flip (for example, I recommended MileyCyrusShower.com for a developed site – that wouldn’t work well for a straight flip) but use your common sense – domains like GirlNamePics or GirlNameBlog could sell for more than double registration fee (which is only $6).

2. Large Niches. Although they’re saturated as hell, good domains in large niches will sell. Music, technology, sports, make money online… all of those are niches where if you pick up a good domain with the features I mentioned, you’ll make money.

Try throwing on common words to the end of keywords – ‘updates’, ‘news’ for example, or even to the beginning – ‘the’, ’star’, ‘pro’.  You get the idea, I hope. Just take common keywords, and common prefixes and suffixes and keep playing around – you’ll find something usable sooner rather than later.

3. Expired domain lists. These will not be fresh regs most of the time, as they’d have been dropped or dropping; they will sometimes also cost more than registration fee. The good thing though is that sometimes they’ll come with Pagerank, existing backlinks or traffic, and even better they may be completely sick domains that someone has just let slip.

You can find expired domain lists at NamePros (there’s a section called Available Domain Names, which only registered members can access) and domain blogs like DNXpert (sign up for his newsletter, it’s decent). For dropping domains, you can use services like TDNAM (costs a $4.95 yearly fee to use but is worth it).

Checking and registering domains

Of course, you have to check whether your ideas for domains are actually available to register. For this, I recommend using Instant Domain Search or Moniker’s Bulk Registration tool.

The place to register your domains is Name.com – you can however also use GoDaddy if you like it, it does cost $1.15 more for a .COM though (with the coupon code OYH3).

I would personally register five domains at a time, and then try and sell them in one go. If you are new to domain flipping, feel free to check with a friend about the quality of the domains you’re looking at – it will save you a chunk of time and money (as I found out too late…).

Also make sure to check for typos, TLD (to make sure you’re getting a .COM instead of something like a .BZ) and end price.

Places to sell

1. Digital Point

One of the best places to sell, although it has been dying of late… costs nothing to list and they have a domains section specifically for sales. Things like trader rating and post count / reputation are looked at favourably there, so build a solid one and you’ll be trusted enough to make sales easily.

2. Name Pros

Domaining forum, which obviously has a sales section. You’re more likely to sell a valuable domain here than Digital Point, as users tend to be smarter and more clued in on a domain’s value.

3. Sitepoint

Costs money to list, so only do this if you have a top quality domain. The best thing to do is list on the first two forums, and if your domain is getting a lot of interest, then put it up on Sitepoint.

You can also try other webmaster forums like V7N, Webmaster-Talk etc

4. eBay

People have had a lot of success on eBay – I haven’t done much domain wise bar a couple flips, but it’s a solid place to sell stuff.

5. Sedo

Premium, top class domains only.

6. Kjijiji

Doesn’t cost you anything but time, however don’t expect to make a sale unless you offer a killer deal and promote really well.

7. Private buyers

If you have buyers that have bought from you before and offer them a good deal, they’ll be interested.

Of course, a developed – even if just slightly developed – domain will sell for more than a plain one. However, for those without a lot of time and energy, domain flipping can provide the funds needed to move onto bigger and better things.

Do not get discouraged if your domains do not sell instantly – I have around 100 or so, a lot of them complete and utter rubbish, mainly because I bought them at the beginning when I got caught up in the hype. However, if you follow the above steps, you’ll do more right than wrong… and that is the ultimate goal online, isn’t it? :)

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