Back in June, I wrote about my first test with the Snapnames Seller Program. Because of the success I had in the first test, I decided to transfer 62 additional names for auction. The difference between this test and the first test was that I did not have any “premium” names listed. All of the names I submitted were generic names that I hand registered within the past couple of years and hadn’t developed.
Out of the 62 names I submitted, 42% of them sold. Although my first test had a sales rate of 63%, I would argue that there were better names in that lot. The only negative this time was that only 3 names went to auction with more than one bidder. One of the names sold for over $450 – not bad for a name that I hand registered about 6 months before.
Because I’ve realized that Snapnames can be a good revenue channel if the right names are auctioned, I have been registering many domain names with the intention of listing them after the mandatory 60 day registry hold period for new names. I have been evaluating the type of names that sold – especially the ones that went to auction during my two tests, and I’ve been registering similar names. Since many people search Snapnames using common high value keywords, I have been searching for these types of names.
Using the Snapnames service, the minimum sales price if only one bidder bids is $60, less 20% commission, yielding a total of $48 for the name. The cost of registering a name is $7 and the cost of transfering the name to Snapnames is an additional $7. The net profit for each name sold is $34. Based on that, I would need just a 38% sales rate to break even, and every one of those sales higher than the $60 minimum lowers the sales rate even more.
The new dashboard created by Snapnames is also very helpful. I can see if a domain name has bids, the date it ends, and who is bidding on the name when it goes to auction. I do have a couple of recommendations to improve the dashboard:
1) When a name is in auction, I would like to see the amount of time remaining rather than the end date. This would be similar to what is seen in the buyer’s dashboard.
2) Also, when names are scheduled, it would be nice to see how many bidders there are for the names that have bids. This could give me advance warning of whether a name is likely to sell for just $60 or if there are multiple bidders that will allow it to goto auction.
If you would like more information about the program, let me know and I will put you in touch with the director of the program.
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