I have been involved in buying and selling domains in the last 10 years, and I can confidently say it is not the easiest business model but definitely one of the most financially rewarding businesses I have ever been involved in.
I have tried to sell domains on many platforms like Dan, Afternic, Godaddy, SEDO, ATOM, yes they all work and very reputable, as a matter of fact I have sold more domains on those platforms than any other place.
While many of us including myself assumed that sales only came from those SO-CALLED reputable platforms, as a matter of fact I depended solely on them for inquiries and ultimately sales.
Fast forward to sometime last year, I was invited to join a platform called wilio, they are a domain marketplace just like dan and co, I was eager to sign up because my domain sales had slowed down significantly all through the year, any marketplace that would help with my sales was all I was looking for.
I signed up with them and still had my domain names listed on other marketplaces like Afternic and SEDO. BUT I changed my name servers to wilio.com name servers, within a few minutes, I already had a sales page with description and others. Click here to signup on Wilio
My goal here is not to bore domainers but to let us know that there are other platforms where domains could be sold, aside from the likes of Afternic and SEDO.
I sold this to the client for $500 after series back and forth, he did not want to pay anything above my minimum offer, i had no choice when he said he will go to godaddy to search for other names.
Let me list some of the benefits of Wilio.com
Sign up process is very easy and straightforward
Adding domains and setting pricing is easy
You can choose any of their pricing models (Buy now, Make offer, or both at the same time)
Direct negotiation with buyers (means you can have direct interaction with the potential buyers)
Simple Sales Page (Just one simple landing page with multi color option to change layout)
Description Generation (it allows you generate description of your domain name) So long as you use their name servers
Page content (It generates 4 pages of content for each of the domains you add) So long as you use their name servers
Import leads- If you have reached a deal with a buyer, you can simply begin conversation on the platform, by sending a custom invite, I believe that was a feature on Dan loved by many Click here to signup on Wilio
Commission: 15% when you use their custom name servers,
20% when you simply post your domains on their platform and a buyer shows up.
10% when you bring in a lead using the lead import feature.
On ALMOST all the domains I have sold on Wilio.com domain marketplace, I used their name servers, as a matter of fact I found that most leads come from name server inquiry because you can tell on their marketplace WNS or WSP
I sold this for $1500 after negotiations, no much stress from him because he really wanted the domain, i pushed for more but he said 1500 was his max.
Types of domains they accept
I believe they accept all domains (premium or not), GEO domains etc, what I am not so sure of is if they accept is all extensions, I have mainly .com and a few .net
I have sold a few domains on wilio and I can say they are pretty good at what they do. I observed almost all buyers opted for escrow payment. I have not had any payments issues, the moment the buyer confirms they have received domain, funds are transferred to me.
If you are reading this, you are likely a domainer, not sure if that term is correct but we are all trying to achieve similar goals- to sell our domains for a fair price. We acquired the domain names with high hopes and great expectations, we assumed after purchasing domains, it will be sold as quickly as possible. Days turned to weeks, then months, then years, then come the dreadful part, renewals, we have renewed domains for many years and even tempted to let some of them go.
I was invited to join a referral program setup by Wilio, it is an invite only program that paid me when I refer someone, and their domain got sold, I was reluctant to join because I know the amount of work it takes and how long it would take for a domain to sell, in my opinion I felt it was just a way for them getting new users. Click here to signup on Wilio
I reached out to a few guys in the domain discussion group I joined back then, posted it and forgot about it. While I am not sure of how many domains they listed or how many of their domains sold or if all of them even used my referral link, I got about $550 in commission.
So, I am likely to get paid some commission if your domain is listed and sold on their platform, at least till the referral program ends.
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