How to Sell a Domain Name [Easy-To-Follow Guide for 2024]

If you’ve recently decided to create a domain to sell (or bought one) and decided to resell it for the first time, the final steps might be unknown territory to you. This article addresses how to sell a domain name, from pricing to listing and receiving payments.

How to Sell a Domain Name Steps

If you’ve got a website domain and want to sell it, the process is not as hard as you think. You simply need to go through a few necessary steps.

Price

Nailing the selling price of your domain can be the hardest step to take because it’s essential to do it correctly. What makes any domain unsellable is overpricing, which can thoughtlessly be done without proper research. So if you’ve decided to list a domain for sale and set your selling price, you first need to consider all aspects of what makes a domain name valuable.

A valuable domain name must have the proper length, a top-level domain (TLD), and correct spelling. And something that might add a false sense of added value is the amount of time you’ve owned a domain. Creating a domain and just sitting on it does not add value. Instead, try to gain traffic or create space for branding opportunities before selling domain names.

One option is to use free appraisal websites to compare domains similar to yours so you can create a general idea as to how much your domain could potentially sell for. But this is not the most fool-proof option. Instead, contact a professional appraiser if you wish to gain valuable insight into what your domain should be priced at. Experienced appraisers with years of experience can readily tell you your domain’s market value and save you a lot of time.

Domain Listing

Create a domain listing template, making it easier to list your domain name for sale on your site of choice. When making a domain listing, some sellers wrongfully think that it’s enough to simply upload the URL. When listing, always make sure you add as much information as possible to make the domain more attractive.

A few of the things that you could add to your domain listing include:

• Existing traffic
• Domain’s age
• Existing authority (if any)
  (If your price appears high for a potential buyer, the price can be justified by these three factors.)

Where to Sell Your Domain Name

After creating a domain listing, it’s time to list it. There are options on selling a domain, but the most popular and safe alternatives are via domain listing sites, auction sites, and person-to-person sales.

Domain Listing Sites:

1. Flippa

Flippa is one of the world’s most widely-used domain marketplaces where you can buy and sell domains, websites, and apps, as well as SaaS and Amazon FBA. With more than 2 million open domain listings and 200+ million dollars in sales, this website has a strong reputation. But the website does require a listing fee of $15.00 per month, no matter the type of business you’re listing. It also charges commission fees on the amount you are selling your domain for.

• $5.00 fee for $1 million to $5 million+.
• 7.5% for $500,000 to $1 million.
• 10% for $1 to $499,000.
• 15% if a broker partner.

2. eBay

eBay is one of the world’s most popular marketplaces that also provides domain listings. It offers listings for fixed prices and auctions. If you plan to register as a seller and are ready to sell domain names, you can list up to 50 free listings.

But if you plan on selling more than 50, it’s advisable to get an eBay Store subscription, which goes for $19.95 per month for a yearly subscription. If, however, you plan to register as a buyer and are not interested in selling domain names, you can buy any domain with a free account.

If you are selling as an auction or fixed price listing, the commission fee is %10, with a cap of $750.00.

3. Afternic

Afternic is an excellent site for selling domains because it ensures that their listings also appear on other sites that sell domains—more than 100 additional partner sites worldwide. Creating an account is free and, in addition to selling, it also offers buying and parking services. With Afternic, you can set a Buy Now price or a Floor and Minimum price (lowest acceptable sales price). Afternic also offers a Fast Transfer/Premium Network to increase your exposure by 10% to 15%.

Afternic’s sales commission to sell a domain name includes:

• 20% commission on sales of $0 to $5,000 ($15.00 minimum).
• $1,000 +15% of the amount over $5,000.
• $4,000 +10% of the amount over $25,000.

4. Sedo

Through Sedo, you can buy, sell, and park your domains. If you’re wondering how to sell domain names on Sedo, it’s straightforward and user-friendly. This platform offers free registration, parking, and transfer service. In addition, you can list your domain names for free. You do, however, need to pay a commission on each domain sold. The type of commission paid depends on the kind of listing and the TLD.

• 10% for Parked & Buy Now.
• 15% for Buy Now & Make Offer.
• 15% for Domain Auction Sale.
• 20% for SedoMLS partners.

5. BrandBucket

A unique marketplace for buying and selling domain names includes BrandBucket—a popular option for using a seasoned and experienced domain selling service. BrandBucket focuses on unique and brandable domain names—all hand-picked.

Unlike other marketplaces, BrandBucket does not allow users to simply upload their listings and sell all domains. Instead, domains sold on this platform need first to be verified and approved by BrandBucket. In addition, BrandBucket suggests a selling price for your domain after reviewing it, which you can change within 20% of the given selling price.

Selling your domain on BrandBucket is a bit pricier than other marketplaces. The website charges $1.00 per appraisal, paid at the time of submission. Commission fees include:

• 30% for names below $10,000.
• 25% for names between $10,000 and $50,000.
• 20% for names between $50,000 and $100,000.
• 15% for names above $100,000.

6. Auction Sites

Auction sites allow potential buyers to bid on their desired domains. The domains listed on these websites generate bids—the highest bidder wins the domain. The most widely used website for this purpose is GoDaddy Auctions.
With GoDaddy Auctions, you have many listing options. The first option is to use a free listing, or you can opt to add specific features for more domain exposure.

Are you wondering how to sell a domain on GoDaddy? You can sell a domain (with or without website content) with any registrar. But it’s recommended to register the website on GoDaddy itself. You can list domains for either 7 or 90 days, depending on the type of listing, which can be:

• Offer/Counter Offer.
• Offer/Counter Offer with Buy Now.
• Buy Now Only.
• 7-Day Public Auction.
• GoDaddy’s commission rates are 10%, 15%, and 20%.

7. Person-To-Person Sales

Do you wish to know how to sell domain names without paying commission or membership fees? Person-to-person sales (private sales) are made without the need for a marketplace or auction platform. But this increases the chances of a scam, as there is no common platform controlling the deals, and no one is responsible for a failed payment but the seller of the domain. The same applies to the domain buyer.

The best way to sell a domain name without selling on marketplaces is to use an escrow service as an intermediary between seller and domain buyer. Both parties then know that transactions are safe and legitimate.

Receive Payment via Escrow Service

The most advisable way of selling a domain name and receiving a larger payment for your domain is through an escrow service, which is the safest way of receiving payments without the possibility of getting scammed. It serves as a third party that can hold payments from the domain buyer and deposits them to the seller.

Some of the domain selling platforms have a built-in escrow service for all transactions. If the platform doesn’t have such a service, you should find one that does. Although an escrow service takes a percentage of each transaction, you can be assured that the payment will not be fraudulent.

The best way to sell a domain name is by closing the sale through an escrow service. With an escrow service, if any of the sides do not deliver the requested funds, the service has all of the information needed for litigation.

Transfer the Domain

The final step is to transfer the purchased domain to its new owner. Although this process depends on many factors, a general outline (below) is given on how switching domain name registrars should go.

• Upon purchase, the end-user must obtain an authorization code (EPP or UDAI transfer code) for the transfer process to begin when buying and selling domain names.
• The end-user contacts their new registrar to transfer the domain name and submits the authorization code.
• The authorization has to be obtained from either the registered name holder or the domain’s administrative contact and confirm the transfer.
• The old domain registrar will get into contact with the end-user to confirm whether the request is legitimate.
• The old registrar transfers the domain authority to the new registrar.
• The end-user will be notified that the domain transfer has been completed and can use the domain on the new registrar.

Key Takeaways

Conclusion

If you wish to know how to sell a domain name, consider the five steps of the selling process. By selling highly profitable and clickable domain names, you can potentially have a very lucrative business. It’s essential to create a catchy domain and price it correctly, as it will be the first element that catches the attention of a potential buyer.