Selling Domain Names on Ebay = Risk

Yesterday, I had some time to spare so I decided to check out the domain name auctions going on over at Ebay. I must admit, it has been some time since I last checked out that marketplace since I vowed awhile back not to sell/buy any domains there due to escalating scams and such.

While searching, I noticed a few things that haven't changed since the last time I visited Ebay:

1. Crappy domains with one good keyword selling for upwards of $15 million dollars.

2. Few decent domains with a "buy it now" price upwards of $5 million dollars.

3. And a plethora of typo/hacks promising "high-traffic and clicks".

4. All of the above had no bids.

Believe me when I say I literally sat there in front of my Mac screen and laughed.

Is the Ebay marketplace dead for domain names?

Is anyone actually buying these "premium" domains for those obscene amounts of money?

Is www.forsalebyownerok.com actually worth the $21,000,000 (that's million!) asking price?

The answer is "no" to all 3 questions.

The Ebay domain marketplace is not dead, no one is buying those crazy priced domains and there wasn't one domain currently in auction even remotely close to being valued anywhere near $21 million.

The reason I say the Ebay domain marketplace is not dead is because there about 4000 active domain auctions in progress. Other than that, it's dead to me. But just because it isn't dead doesn't mean it isn't risky.

Over at Dot Com Domain Names, Craig recently posted an article about not being able to reap the true value of a domain name during a 10-day Ebay auction because you simply don’t get enough traffic from the right buyer during such a confined period of time. I tend to agree.

Other than a few LLLL.com's, most domain auctions have zero bids and ridiculous asking prices. The few LLLL.com's that are being sold are selling for a little less than what they would probably get over at a domaining forum or Sedo. So why are people still selling their premium domains over at Ebay. Who knows. Maybe they are feel if they can sell a used "haunted" toaster for 10K then they could sell a crappy domain for $1 million.

Either way, Ebay is not a place I suggest to sell your domain names. I see it as a place to basically pawn off your not-so-great domains to a unsuspecting chump or to undersell your great domains due to a limited customer base and timeframe.

Do yourself a favor and either list them for sale at a reputable marketplace or simply stop buying worthless domains. Both will save you time and money.

Also check out this post at Fka200 about the recent and controversial COQL.com auction that ended over at Ebay.

Stay informed.

-Rudy