The domain Autographed.net was originally purchased in December of 2009 for $1,750 via Afternic.com. It’s interesting because the new owner tried to setup a website on the domain but really that went nowhere fast. So he decided to flip it, by listing it for sale on DNForum.com exactly a month ago.

First time around, he was seeking offers and had a buy-it-now price of $3,000. That price didn’t get much action so he quickly lowered it to $2,100.That price still didn’t get the domain sold so additional cuts needed to be made.

So he went on to drastically reduce the price and even be willing to take a loss. The domain was priced at $900, then $800 and at last even for as low as $650. Still nothing. ..Nobody was biting. The domain was never sold. No buyers found at the reasonable price of $650!

I put in an offer to this guy exactly one month ago in private and told him I’ll give him $500 for Autographed.net. He wanted more. I could of upped my offer to $600 or 700 easily, or claim it at the reduced buy-it-now price of $650 which I did notice but at the end of the day.. I am hunting for bargains!

The five day eBay auction for Autographed.net just closed and the domain sold for $1,475. There was a total of 4 bidders who placed bids for more than $650 and three of the bidders went as high as $1,000. There wasn’t a bidding frenzy towards the end, but there was enough interest as you can see. It’s great having multiple back-up buyers, just in case something goes wrong.

Personally, I really do not like spending more than a few hundred bucks on a domain, no matter how great it is, unless it is in one of the specialty niches. I try to limit myself at $500. For $650 I could buy 10 or 15 great domains easily and my strategy has always been playing it lottery style. I want lots of domains and I want them cheap

The more domains you have, the better your chances are at scoring a lot more winners at the end of the day. This strategy has been utilized by me exclusively since 2003 and has worked lovely as part of the on-going mass development projects we launch daily and domain sales we are able to close here and there, both with resellers and end-users.

Is the domain worth more than $650 or $1,750? Yes. It can probably go for  a few thousand bucks, even on the reseller market as it has massive development potential and an actual standalone business can be setup on it later on but as you can see… Not even the best of the best domains can be sold on one of the most popular domain forum’s in the world.

What’s the lesson to be learned as a seller? You have to shop your domains around at multiple venues. Those who keep on trying and don’t give up will succeed. It’s difficult to sell a good domain for a good price within a day or a week.

You have to market it to the right audience and go at it until you get that magic number that you are happy with. There are still no guarantees at the end of the day that the domain will be sold even for one dollar, but you get what I am saying… Try to think outside the box, be creative, and keep putting it out there. It’s worth it at the end.

What’s the lesson to be learned as a buyer here? If you want to score a good deal, one after another and another you have to also look at as many places as you like. There are tons of domains for sale flooding the aftermarket daily. There isn’t a central listing system, so you have to put in the hard work. Browse around the most popular sites, day in an day out. It’s all about consistency.

My strategy is simple and straightforward when it comes domain acqusitions. I try to get the best of both world’s as far as getting quality domains cheap and in large quantities which is why I limit purchases at $500/domain.

It is impossible to do it on a mass scale x1000s of domains per week because the inventory isn’t there but slowly and surely the portfolio grows nice. The domains I pick up and which you too can pick up as well are up there for grabs.. You just have to look closely. All about research!

Don’t hesitate to wait out on some domains and get them at a reduced cost though because the market always sets the real price. If the demand isn’t there, prices get slashed. Value just isn’t there… Simple! Also don’t hesitate to put in your best offers and get a dialogue going with the seller.

You got nothing to lose and everything to gain really…  So have a simple business plan and a few rules to follow and you will do just fine when it comes to domaining. The business of buying domains and flipping domains is fun from whichever angle you look at it. The more you try, the more you succeed… Makes sense, right?