Selling Domain Names on GoDaddy: How to Make The Most Money
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Are you looking for more ways that you can make money with your GoDaddy account? For some, selling domain names on GoDaddy might be just the solution you want. It can be a steady source of income for you or can make good use of domains you no longer need.
What should you know about how to enter a domain into GoDaddy auctions?
Let's take a deep dive into why and how you can get the best price for a domain in a GoDaddy auction.
Contents
Why Should You Consider Selling Domain Names on GoDaddy?
Before we get into the details of how a domain sells on the marketplace, you need to decide if this is the right move for you.
The sale of domain names on GoDaddy can be a lucrative business, side hustle, or just a way to get back some of your initial investment in a website you no longer maintain.
Here are the two main reasons why you might want to sell your domain names.
Cash Out for Domains You No Longer Need
Maybe you started a niche site that you no longer want to maintain. Maybe you forgot to cancel an auto-renew on your domain name.
The reasons why you might no longer need a domain are plentiful, but they all boil down to one core problem: you paid real money for those domains, and now you're stuck with them for another year.
Get some of your investment back by marketing it to potential buyers.
Even if they aren't highly desired domain names that you will list for sale, you might be able to at least recoup your initial investment.
Domain names can sell for $20 or $20,000, so it might be worth taking a risk to sell a domain you are no longer using to think about cashing out.
Make a Career Out of Domain Flipping
On the other hand, selling domains on GoDaddy could be the start of a brand new career for you. Many people turn to domain flipping as a way to buy and sell digital assets.
The goal is to scoop up several low-priced domains and sell them for higher sums, which can be a solid business model.
You might be surprised how much money domains can fetch — if you're good at spotting high-value names.
If you decide to list domains on GoDaddy regularly, you may want to consider starting an LLC to protect yourself and your business.
A domain name can sell for a lot of money if you're good at this and if you're lucky in the names you select. Don't put your business in jeopardy.
For more information on how you can get started with domain flipping, see our complete guide.
You can also listen to this podcast with Sean Markey on buying, flipping, and building sites with an expired domain.
How to Start Selling Domain Names on GoDaddy
With that out of the way, it's time to turn our attention to how you can get started with the transaction process. Here are all the steps you need to take to get noticed and turn a profit with your list of domain names that you no longer want or need.
Get an Auctions Membership
The first thing you need to do to move forward with selling domains is to pay for a GoDaddy auction membership. In terms of dollar amount, this is relatively low. Especially when you factor in what your domain name could be worth, their $5.49 per year price tag is minimal.
In exchange for their membership fee, you get lots of benefits like:
- Low commission fees when selling your domain name to a buyer
- Monitoring for up to 100 domains to see when they become available for you to buy
- Search tools to help you build a list of domains to buy and sell
- Exposure to a list of about-to-expire domains.
Unlike some businesses that require tons of startup money, this model is easy to try. You can likely get back your initial investment after the sale of just one valuable domain.
And then you have the rest of the year to try out selling domain names for free.
Sign In and Select Domains for Sale
With that part of the process taken care of, it is time to move on to how to use their tool to list domain names for sale. Log into your GoDaddy account and navigate to your domain portfolio section.
From here, the landing page will show you all the domains you own.
You can check the box to the left of each domain you are interested in selling. In the action menu, you can select "List for Sale" before doing the research on what this category of domain names will sell for.
Your domains won't be listed at this stage, so don't worry. It's just a simple way to start thinking about what someone might offer you for listed domains. Let's take a look at the next section to think about the sales process.
Get an Estimated Value and Set Your Price
GoDaddy doesn't leave you on your own when you want someone to think about buying your domain name. They know that pricing matters.
If a domain name is listed too high, it might sit stagnant on the list of domains for sale. If the price is too low, you might be leaving money on the table.
It's a delicate balance.
If you don't have any idea what your domains might be worth, you can utilize their Estimated Value tool. All you have to do is click the button for the "Use Estimated Value" to get an idea of what someone may realistically offer you for this set of domains.
You're always free to set your own price if you have a head for marketing. This is just a guideline to get you started if your LLC for domain flipping is relatively new.
Learn more about these valuation tools in our Flippa review here.
List Domains for Sale with Afternic for Better Marketing
GoDaddy is serious about helping turn a profit in every category. This is why they partner with Afternic to list your domains for sale.
You could stand to benefit from a much larger audience by selling domains on GoDaddy and using the Afternic tool to turn a profit.
Afternic is the largest reseller with an extensive list of domains and a long list of hungry buyers who are eager to be your next customers. Check out our Afternic review for more info.
GoDaddy integrates with Afternic and gives you the option to open an account with them before listing your domains for sale.
For those who have sold through this platform before, you just have to log in to finalize the landing pages for your domain sales. Quickly make an account if you don't have one, and you will be ready to sell.
From here, all you have to do is click "Publish Listing" to get your domains listed and launch your business to a sea of waiting customers on their website.
Make Sure Payment Information is Valid
Your domain name has sold, your business is booming, and you have customers lining up to pay you real money in exchange for your auction.
Most people want to know how they can get paid for the sale of a domain name. This is arguably the most important part of the transaction.
Customers who are ready for the sale of a domain name have a few different ways they can pay. Once a domain is sold, you can opt to be paid via:
- ACH
- eCheck
- Paypal
- Wire transfer from Afternic.
The good news is that there is some protection for you if you sell high-value domains of $5,000 or more at auction. GoDaddy will escrow the funds and then release them upon completion of the sale, which protects your personal account information.
Remember that you should never take your sale off the broker's platform (Afternic or GoDaddy, in this case). Buyers shouldn't have your personal information or banking details, even once the domain is sold.
Be smart about what you share with a buyer who inquires about your sale. It's easy to get scammed online, and these platforms exist to protect you.
Final Thoughts: Make More Money Selling Domain Names on GoDaddy
Are you ready to start selling domains via your GoDaddy account? It can be a lucrative way to make a living if you have an eye for spotting a sought-after domain that you can turn around and sell.
It requires very minimal money upfront to facilitate a sale. While it isn't free, that $5.49 price tag isn't likely to set you back too far.
So, if you've got digital real estate you no longer require, get your domain ready to sell with these easy-to-follow steps to help you get organized and make money from expired domains today!
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