I’ve been busy submitting some of the names I own to several of the live domain auctions. It’s been a journey and I’d like to share some of what I’ve learned along the way to make your auction submissions a little easier.

I felt that a live auction is a more active selling forum and would provide some more potential that just listing your domains on a web based for sale list like Sedo could provide. The difference, when trying to get your names in a live auction, is that you don’t just list your domains for sale. It’s a two step process. The first step is to submit the domain names you want in the live auction to the auction house. Then an auction selection committee goes through the submitted names and chooses the ones that are actually part of the live auction. Because of the limited time during a live auction there are only a limited amount of domain names they can accept. This can be a pretty considerable hurdle. For instance for the Snapnames Internext and DomainFest auctions they had over 100,000 submissions. From those submissions only about 5,000 names were selected. So its important that the names you submit are both good quality and priced right or they won’t be selected by the committee for inclusion in the auction.

When you list your names you want to make sure you pay attention to the terms and conditions that you are agreeing to. Most auction houses have a period of exclusivity in which you cannot list or market your names anywhere else and if you do happen to sell it through another means, say for instance privately, they are still due the commission.

It’s important to pay attention to the fees and commissions you will be responsible for. One of the conditions for the Snapnames auction is that all names have to be registered at Moniker. If they are not you need to start the transfer process so that it will be completed by the time of the auction so that it doesn’t impede the transfer process. Anyone who has transferred any domains knows that glitches almost always occurs and it usually takes more than the five days they say the transfer will take. If your names are not transferred over Snapnames/Moniker will charge you an extra $100.

Part of the reason for this is to make the transfer process smoother since Moniker handles the whole transfer process through their escrow and only one registrar is involved. The escrow process protects both the buyer and seller. When a domain is sold you transfer your domain to Moniker’s domain escrow account. The seller then transfers the money to Moniker. Once Moniker has the money from the seller it transfers the domain to the seller and send you the money less their commission.

Another part of the reason for requiring the transfer to Moniker is probably a brilliant marketing strategy. If you have 100,000 submissions and you are telling all of those people they need to transfer to Moniker or they get charged an extra hundred bucks it probably results in a lot of new customers and a big chunk of change.

Other live auction houses don’t force you to transfer your name name around. For instance one that I spoke with said they maintained escrow accounts at a dozen of the major registrars and they could work with whatever registrar the seller was using.

Another one of the conditions you should be aware of is what happens if you make a mistake. What happens if you mistype and enter a domain you don’t really own? It happened to me. Since the template for the Snapnames auction would not accept my excel file (I’m told the problem has since been fixed) I was forced to use the web based form which involved some cutting, pasting, and typing. Somehow I mistyped a domain name leaving out an s. That name, a name I did not own, was chosen for the auction. When I checked the catalog and noticed the error I called the company immediately to correct the problem and was informed by the terms and conditions I was liable for $119 fee.

That’s bad but not as bad as it could be. In one of the terms and conditions forms at one of the other auction houses it said that if there was an error made you were liable for the full commission AS IF it had been sold. So if you were selling mybigdomain.com for a reserve of $10,000. and the auction house charged a 20% commission you could be on the hook for $2,000 big ones.

Now that you know what to look for and have the basics of listing your names at a live auction my next post will give you some hints on getting them accepted by the auction selection committee.

All the best,
Ted Sudol
The Domain Hunter

Maniac.US - [Keyword .US Domain Name] US $15.01 (12 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 2:57:28 PDT Add to watch list

GrillPlan.com - Domain Name - Rare - NR US $4.25 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 2:58:31 PDT Add to watch list

MROBNOXIOUS.COM Premium Domain Name US $4.99 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 3:32:53 PDT Add to watch list

HomestyleDinners.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:42:08 PDT Add to watch list

WEBGNAT COM NET ORG Domain Name Series VirtualK9 US $3.32 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:42:12 PDT Add to watch list

CameraFinds.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.58 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:59:15 PDT Add to watch list

TvFreebies.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 9:00:39 PDT Add to watch list

ForexMarketGuides.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 9:03:59 PDT Add to watch list

GetFirstPlace .com Internet Website DOMAIN NAME - SEO US $5.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 10:31:30 PDT Add to watch list

YPVP.com 4-Letter LLLL PvP Domain Name RPG LLLL.com US $10.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:24:27 PDT Add to watch list

HHLJ.com 4-Letter LLLL com Short Domain Name LLLL.com US $10.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:26:53 PDT Add to watch list

0FY.com 3 Character CCC.com Domain Name (Zero) llll.com US $149.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:30:15 PDT Add to watch list

YBMY.com Rare Brandable LLLL.com Domain Name WNR US $10.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 14:31:57 PDT Add to watch list

Zavna.com - Brandable Website DOMAIN NAME For Sale NR! US $20.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 15:00:24 PDT Add to watch list

EatOnly.com - COOL Cooking/Dining Domain Name For Sale US $10.50 (10 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 16:31:08 PDT Add to watch list

InsertCode.com - NIFTY Programming Website Domain Name US $19.50 (13 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 16:35:28 PDT Add to watch list

Mubug.com 5 Letter Premium Domain Name 4,3 US $3.75 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 17:50:51 PDT Add to watch list

QWWE.com LLLL 3 Premium 4 Letter Domain Name, Augt 2011 US $30.00 (12 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:12:59 PDT Add to watch list

Established 'GOLF TIPS' Website & Domain Name For Sale US $15.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:15:40 PDT Add to watch list

'INTERNET MARKETING' Website & Domain Name For Sale US $20.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:27:10 PDT Add to watch list

Hi,
I have some exciting news. Brian Johnson has just released his ebook and video course “Revenue Domains Exposed” Brian has developed a method to take an inexpensive domain and transform it into a continuous source of revenue. His course takes you step by step through the same process he has used in taking a domain that cost him $40 and has earned him $4,146.77 so far and is still earning money every day. Another domain he purchased for $65 is currently earning about $7 a day.

Brian currently has his system down to a science and can launch a new Revenue Domain in a few hours. It doesn’t take his domains a long time to reach profitablitiy either! By selecting the right domains they often become profititable within weeks or months.

What if you had ten revenue domains each earning you $7 a day? What if you had 100 revenue domains each earning you $7 a day? That’s the power of this method. You put up a revenue domain relatively quickly, find another one, launch that and before you know it you have an empire of lots of revenue domains each earning you money.

Brian’s “Revenue Domains Exposed” method isn’t a get rich quick scheme but a solid detailed step-by-step method of developing a continuing source of income from the Internet. You know I don’t recommend a product unless I have personally used it and I’ve been working with Brian on a prerelease copy. I can recommend it whole heartedly.

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All the best,
Ted Sudol
TheDomainHunter.com

One of the things that’s exciting to me about domain names is there are so many ways to profit. There are also some ways to lose money. I don’t want you to be like the guy yesterday who auctioned off his portfolio of 383 names for $40.99. That’s about 10 cents a name on his investment that was originally about $3,800 (depending upon the registrar he was using).

So what do I mean by plan B? Whenever you are looking to buy a domain name you need to purchase with the end in mind. Buying is the easy part – you just click your button on the shopping cart. Now that you have it what are you going to do with it?

Whenever I’m considering a domain name I like to consider what I’m going to do with it – am I going to auction it? Is it an orphan? Am I going to develop it? I like to have two or three strong options. I chose the one that offers the most profit potential and see it which one meets the timeframe I want – quick profit or longer term revenue. That way if the first one falls through I go to Plan B.

Let me give you an example. Here’s the 20 second explanation of the orphan method of domaining. Basically what it means is you buy a .com domain and then offer it to the .net owner for a profit. You may have all of the reasons why .the net owner should buy – .com is a stronger extension, it might be getting existing traffic, easy low cost way to boost their business, etc. It might make all complete sense to you. But remember the business owner might not be internet savvy and it just might not make sense to the .net owner. I was trying to sell an orphan domain to a business owner of the .net name. Even though the .com equivalent of the name was both DMZ and yahoo listed, had traffic, etc. the .net owner wasn’t interested in any price.

But at the price and with the statistics it was a bargain I just couldn’t pass up. The orphan strategy didn’t work so I went to plan B. The first thing I did was go to Google and search on the domain name. Remember with the Internet the world is your oyster. So a business owner with this exact name, in this particular town in California wasn’t interested in purchasing. So what! I didn’t waste any tears. A Google search showed thousands of businesses around the country with the same exact name. Hear a no? Just think next! Go to the next one in line or to Plan B.

Be open to possibilities. One of the things I did a while back was to flip cars – buy used cars and resell them for a profit at auctions. (If you know what you are doing its a good way of making a signifcant income.) When people have to sell their car they often need cash bad and they need it NOW. So one of the names I picked up was www.carcashfast.com. My original idea was just to sell it at auction. But when I mentioned it to the partner I had on some of the past car flips he flipped. Knowing the business, he knew the potential and what he proposed is that we become partners. I handle the web and marketing and he handles examining the cars, and setting with the auctions. Perfect fit. I’m already doing that so web and marketing won’t be a problem for me and I’l certainly get a lot more as a parner in a business than I would by parking or other types of monitization.

So remember when you are considering a domain name start with the end in mind. What am I going to do with it if I get it? – how am I going to turn it into a profit? Have a couple of alternate plans so if one doesn’t work out you can go to plan B. Make sure you have a viable plan B before you start. In the orphan domain example I gave above I checked and found out first that there were many other businesses with exactly the same name that might be interested. But remember to stay away from trademarked names or known company brands. You don’t want any legal complications – and besides their pockets are probably a lot deeper than yours. Well that’s it for now. Let me know what you would like to hear more about. My next post is going to be “How to know if you are going in the right direction!”

In the meantime, for some practice go to HotDotAuctions.com Go through the list of names imagining that you were going to purchase a few. For each one come up with a plan A for turning a profit, a Plan B, and maybe even a plan C. How realistic are each of those plans? Do you believe that each one of you alternatives could be successful? If you are confident you have several strong plans for monitization and you’ve done the research to show you the value then this might be a domain you can turn a profit on. But for now we are just practicing. I want you to make sure you are going in the right direction. I don’t want you to end up like the other guy with a portfolio of 383 names no one wants. (Well someone wanted them for ten cents a name) That’s it until the next post tomorrow. Happy Domain Hunting.

All the best,
Ted Sudol
PS Don’t forget to practice and just in case you are in a rush here’s a few auction names for you to practice with.

Maniac.US - [Keyword .US Domain Name] US $15.01 (12 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 2:57:28 PDT Add to watch list

GrillPlan.com - Domain Name - Rare - NR US $4.25 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 2:58:31 PDT Add to watch list

MROBNOXIOUS.COM Premium Domain Name US $4.99 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 3:32:53 PDT Add to watch list

HomestyleDinners.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:42:08 PDT Add to watch list

WEBGNAT COM NET ORG Domain Name Series VirtualK9 US $3.32 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:42:12 PDT Add to watch list

CameraFinds.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.58 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:59:15 PDT Add to watch list

TvFreebies.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 9:00:39 PDT Add to watch list

ForexMarketGuides.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 9:03:59 PDT Add to watch list

GetFirstPlace .com Internet Website DOMAIN NAME - SEO US $5.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 10:31:30 PDT Add to watch list

YPVP.com 4-Letter LLLL PvP Domain Name RPG LLLL.com US $10.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:24:27 PDT Add to watch list

HHLJ.com 4-Letter LLLL com Short Domain Name LLLL.com US $10.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:26:53 PDT Add to watch list

0FY.com 3 Character CCC.com Domain Name (Zero) llll.com US $149.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:30:15 PDT Add to watch list

YBMY.com Rare Brandable LLLL.com Domain Name WNR US $10.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 14:31:57 PDT Add to watch list

Zavna.com - Brandable Website DOMAIN NAME For Sale NR! US $20.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 15:00:24 PDT Add to watch list

EatOnly.com - COOL Cooking/Dining Domain Name For Sale US $10.50 (10 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 16:31:08 PDT Add to watch list

InsertCode.com - NIFTY Programming Website Domain Name US $19.50 (13 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 16:35:28 PDT Add to watch list

Mubug.com 5 Letter Premium Domain Name 4,3 US $3.75 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 17:50:51 PDT Add to watch list

QWWE.com LLLL 3 Premium 4 Letter Domain Name, Augt 2011 US $30.00 (12 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:12:59 PDT Add to watch list

Established 'GOLF TIPS' Website & Domain Name For Sale US $15.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:15:40 PDT Add to watch list

'INTERNET MARKETING' Website & Domain Name For Sale US $20.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:27:10 PDT Add to watch list

One of the really exciting things about domain names is that you really do have a chance to take a $10 investment and turn it into $100, $1,000, $10,000 or even more if you are looking for a quick turn around. One of the people I learned from did just that.
The goal he set for himself was that he wanted to sell his domains within 24 hours of when he purchased them. He wasn’t holding out for that megabuck score. What he wanted was lots of sales each day that would net him $50 or $100 a piece. He put up a few names he purchased each day on some domain auctions and collected a nice profit on each sale. (Some brought a lot more) Within a few months he was able to quit his $40,000 day job and become a domainer (one who buys, sells and profits from domain names). If your goal is to develop a long term income stream you can do that too. Lots of people either simply park their domains. A parking company will place ads on a domain page they make for you. Everytime someone either clicks on an ad you get paid. Lots of people simply put up their parking page in an ongoing traffic stream and capture money from traffic that is naturally going to their domain. You can also develop it to sell your own products. Domaining is something the average person with some perseverance can do and becoming a successful domainer is within your reach.

It’s mainly a matter of learning the language and how to use the tools available to find the nuggets that you can turn into a handsome profit. Lots of people have called domain names virtual real estate – and that’s what it is. You are laying claim to a bit of cyberspace with that domain name and once you have it no one else can have the exact same domain name. Like in real estate or stocks your goal is to buy low and sell high. Or you might want to develop those names into sites that bring in a continuing source of income. I’ve even rented domains I own to businesses and get a yearly rent.

You have several advantages over investment in either real estate or stocks. The first advantage is a low cost to start out. You can start purchasing domain names for less than ten dollars each. I haven’t seen any property or buildings you can lay claim to for under $10. Any stock that you can find is for $10 a share is probably pretty risky – at this price we’re are not talking blue chip. Real estate too can be pretty risky. Just ask anyone mired in the current mortgage mess. If you have invested $100,000, $200,000 or $300,000 more in real estate there are costs for taxes, heating, lighting, security, etc that just keep rolling in while you are trying to sell it. With a domain name once you have secured it for as little as the $10 registration cost you can just hold on to it, or develop it, or put up a for sale sign for less than $10 a month for all the internet world to see.

The domain world change and move quickly and you have to have the latest information, tools and techniques to make sure you get the maximum profit. Please make sure to sign up for my newsletter to keep up with the latest. I hate spam as much as you do and your name will never be sold or rented.

Maniac.US - [Keyword .US Domain Name] US $15.01 (12 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 2:57:28 PDT Add to watch list

GrillPlan.com - Domain Name - Rare - NR US $4.25 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 2:58:31 PDT Add to watch list

MROBNOXIOUS.COM Premium Domain Name US $4.99 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 3:32:53 PDT Add to watch list

HomestyleDinners.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:42:08 PDT Add to watch list

WEBGNAT COM NET ORG Domain Name Series VirtualK9 US $3.32 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:42:12 PDT Add to watch list

CameraFinds.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.58 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 8:59:15 PDT Add to watch list

TvFreebies.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 9:00:39 PDT Add to watch list

ForexMarketGuides.com - Excellent Domain Name - NR US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 9:03:59 PDT Add to watch list

GetFirstPlace .com Internet Website DOMAIN NAME - SEO US $5.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 10:31:30 PDT Add to watch list

YPVP.com 4-Letter LLLL PvP Domain Name RPG LLLL.com US $10.00 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:24:27 PDT Add to watch list

HHLJ.com 4-Letter LLLL com Short Domain Name LLLL.com US $10.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:26:53 PDT Add to watch list

0FY.com 3 Character CCC.com Domain Name (Zero) llll.com US $149.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 13:30:15 PDT Add to watch list

YBMY.com Rare Brandable LLLL.com Domain Name WNR US $10.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 14:31:57 PDT Add to watch list

Zavna.com - Brandable Website DOMAIN NAME For Sale NR! US $20.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 15:00:24 PDT Add to watch list

EatOnly.com - COOL Cooking/Dining Domain Name For Sale US $10.50 (10 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 16:31:08 PDT Add to watch list

InsertCode.com - NIFTY Programming Website Domain Name US $19.50 (13 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 16:35:28 PDT Add to watch list

Mubug.com 5 Letter Premium Domain Name 4,3 US $3.75 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 17:50:51 PDT Add to watch list

QWWE.com LLLL 3 Premium 4 Letter Domain Name, Augt 2011 US $30.00 (12 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:12:59 PDT Add to watch list

Established 'GOLF TIPS' Website & Domain Name For Sale US $15.50 (4 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:15:40 PDT Add to watch list

'INTERNET MARKETING' Website & Domain Name For Sale US $20.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 19:27:10 PDT Add to watch list

UHSQ.com LLLL Godaddy 4 Letter Domain Name 3, Oct 2011 US $3.25 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 20:21:04 PDT Add to watch list

Dirdo.com RARE SHORT 5 LETTER CATCHY BRAND DOMAIN NAME US $22.68 (2 Bids) End Date: Monday Sep-06-2010 23:30:46 PDT Add to watch list

OPJL.com 4-Letter LLLL .com Short Domain Name LLLL.com US $10.50 (12 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 13:15:38 PDT Add to watch list

SIZP.com 4 LLLL Size Pronounceable Domain Name LLLL.com US $51.00 (14 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 13:17:39 PDT Add to watch list

UPKR.com Premium POKER LLLL.com Domain Name llll POKER US $10.40 (7 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 13:30:31 PDT Add to watch list

ClickyWeb.COM - Premium Domain Name - Rare - NR US $5.50 (5 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 15:48:41 PDT Add to watch list

How To Send A Fax.com DOMAIN NAME For Sale Web Online US $3.25 (3 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 18:44:11 PDT Add to watch list

Notebook Specials.com DOMAIN NAME For Sale Laptop Buy US $5.50 (6 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 19:02:34 PDT Add to watch list

OJNQ.com 4 Letter LLLL Website DOMAIN NAME For Sale NR! US $9.99 (3 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 19:07:38 PDT Add to watch list

Vuval.com RARE SHORT 5 LETTER CATCHY BRAND DOMAIN NAME US $9.99 (2 Bids) End Date: Tuesday Sep-07-2010 19:30:50 PDT Add to watch list