First, I would like to state loud and clear that NameFlipper lists will not make you wealthy overnight.  Using them correctly, however, will reliably earn you $500-$1500 within a very short period.

Many NameFlipper newcomers may wonder whether by “using them [the lists] correctly” we mean following an intricate set of guidelines to a tee.  The answer is an unequivocal no.  NameFlipper’s software performs 99.9% of the work required to pinpoint expired domains with strong end-user resale potential.  All that remains for you to do is select as many bargains from your already-tailored list as your budget permits, then pitch the domains you catch, consulting our tutorials to guide you if you lack prior experience dealing with end-users, and negotiate sales using some simple templates.  If you are already an experienced end-user salesman, you’ll secure plenty of sales from our lists without having to read any additional materials.

To illustrate how easy it is to reel in $1000 off NameFlipper list data with merely 4 hours of effort, we here provide two case studies of users who accomplished roughly that: one of a pre-release list purchaser who earned $1037.00 in profits within 3 weeks following his list’s pre-release date, another of a deleting domain list buyer who scoped up $824.98 3 weeks after he secured the listed domains that became available.  We present here these users’ lists, which domains they chose to grab (and whether we agree/disagree with their picks), which domains didn’t sell, which sold, and how much cash each domain sale raked in. Don’t believe our figures?  You can pull up a full history of each of these domains’ whois using the DomainTools Domain History Tools and contact the before & after owners to verify every claim we make here.

NOTE: If you like to learn more about NameFlipper lists and what makes them unique, we recommend you consult our What is NameFlipper? and FAQ pages.

I would like to emphasize that there is nothing extraordinary about these two case studies.  Users report earning approximately $1000 off each list within 3 weeks from their 3-5 hours of quick-flip work all the time. (Later, their coffers fill even higher with money received from passive, out-of-the-blue end-user inquiries on domains they failed to sell quickly.)

For brevity, we only review domains these users caught or won from their NameFlipper lists, not all names these users chose to pursue.  I should note that the lists we link to here are watered-down versions of these users’ original list, as you must agree to our terms of service and create an account to view complete sample NameFlipper lists.  Finally, as an anti-indexing measure for the sake of this blog post, we have replaced domains such as Keyword1Keyword2.com with Keyword1 / Keyword2 () com.

Case 1 – Liquid .COMs Releasing 3/15.  Total profits: $1037.00
>> View list

This user successfully won the following 8 domain names out of the total 15 he attempted to chase down:

• Blue / Corset () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Cheap to grab with zero bids on GoDaddy Auctions (until the final minutes), yet the website of this domain’s sole candidate, Blue / Corset / Co () com, was highly polished and interactive, with our domain being a distinctly more memorable version of theirs. They did not hold a trademark on the term, yet were able pull up their company’s revenue statistics on Manta.com and learn they earned $90,000/year, a fact which would help us price the domain appropriately should they express interest. One strong candidate such as this one is far preferable to five medicore sales leads. Furthemore, with over 100 monthly visitors and a search volume of over $1K/month on this domain’s keywords, the name would likely perform well in parking.
  • Result: Captured for $22.70 ($15 + $7.70 renewal fee) on GoDaddy auctions.
• Call / Concierge () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Probably because it was cheap, with commercially viable candidates. But had we been consulted, we would not have advised chasing this domain as none of its candidates go by “call concierge”. Call / Concierge () com is what we would label an expression fragment domain, similar to CareProducts.com (likely a fragment of SkinCareProducts.com) or LankaProperty.com (a fragment of SriLankaProperty.com). Expression fragments do erroneously slip into NameFlipper lists sometimes but are generally easy to recognize and avoid.
  • Result: Sniped for $12.70 ($5 + $7.70 renewal fee) on GoDaddy auctions, closeouts phase.
• Prestige / Sport () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Inexpensive. However, still not a domain we would have sanctioned chasing as half of its candidates go by “prestige sport horses”, not “prestige sport”, and the other half are country-specific. Selling .com domains to ccTLD holders, particularly non-English ones, is a feat unlikely to succeed.
  • Result: Sniped for $12.70 ($5 + $7.70 renewal fee) on GoDaddy auctions, closeouts phase.
• Link / Detective () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Inexpensive, and its single candidate (the .net counterpart) flaunted a strong Alexa rank. However, we would have advised our client against chasing this domain nevertheless because the .net URL was a portal site, and directories are extremely difficult to monetize.
  • Result: Sniped for $12.70 ($5 + $7.70 renewal fee) on GoDaddy auctions, closeouts phase.
• Miller / Solutions () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Three close-matching candidates — all exactly matching our keywords — in the well-capitalized fields of IT, commercial real estate, and HR consulting.
  • Result: Sniped for $69.00 on NameJet.
• Apex / Scaffolding () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Eight close-matching candidates specializing in the trades, and trade-type sales leads tend to be more receptive to purchasing domains than most other business types.
  • Result: Captured for $70.00 on NameJet.
• Diesel / Filters () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Highly generic term with decent search volume and PPC; one very well-established candidate whose URL consisted of our keywords plus “online”. The company behind our sole candidate, National Fleet Parts, achieved approximately $1M in sales annually. Moreover, our sales lead collecting techniques revealed a handful of candidates beyond NFP.
  • Result: Sniped for $79.00 on SnapNames.
• Event / Massage () com
  • Reason for pursuit: While we rarely give the nod to pursuing spa/salon-oriented domains as they cater to a modestly-capitalized industry. However, we an exception in this case because (1) The sales leads we listed all contained our keywords and were large in number, (2) “event massage” is a generic service, not a brand, and (3) Several of our candidates, including the one who ultimately purchased this domain from us, listed 6-figure annual revenue figures according to Manta.com/D&B.
  • Result: Captured for $70.00 on NameJet.

TOTAL SPENT: $348.00

Of these 8 domains, our user received interest on 4 of them successfully sold 3. Here’s how the attempted sale of each domain name played out:

• Blue / Corset () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Blue / Corset / Co () com
  • Result: Not sold. Our sole candidate agreed to a $300 sale but later withdrew for reasons unknown.
• Call / Concierge () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • One / – / Call / Concierge () com
    • Beck / N / Call / US () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Prestige / Sport () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Prestige / – / Sport () eu
    • Prestige / – / Sport () pl
    • Prestige / Sport () pl
    • Prestige / Sport / Horses () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Link / Detective () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Link / Detective () info
    • Brother / Soft () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Miller / Solutions () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Miller / – / Solutions () net
    • Miller / Solutions () co () uk
    • CB / Miller / Solutions () com
    • Miller / Solutions () net
    • O / Casio / miller () com
    • Purple / Leopard () co () uk
    • Mash / Production / com
  • Result: SOLD to the owner of Miller / Solutions () co () uk for $195. We originally proposed $450 and he responded no, but we immediately requested him to make his best offer. He stated $100, we countered with a $195 “final offer”, and he agreed.
• Apex / Scaffolding () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Apex / Scaffoling () co () uk
    • Apex / Scaffolding () net
    • Apex / Scaffolding / And / Roofing () co () uk
    • Apex / Scaffoding / UAE () com
    • Apex / Scaffold () co () uk
    • Scaffoling / Oxfordshire () com
    • Scaffolding / – / Manchester () com
    • Apex / Scaffolding () org
    • Apex () Whatevertech () com
    • Scaffoldings / Windon () com
  • Result: Not sold, likely due to the preponderance of non US-based candidates.
• Diesel / Filters () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Rosedale / Products () com
    • Schroeder / Biofuels () com
    • Fleet / Filter () com
    • DPAUSA () com
    • Diesel / Filters / Online () com
    • Premium / Diesel / Oil () com
    • DCL / – Inc () com
    • Diesel / Retrofit () eu
    • DPF / Regeneration () com
  • Result: SOLD to DCL / – / Inc / com for $745. We stated this as our asking price and they immediately agreed.
• Event / Massage () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Event / Massage / Services () com
    • Event / – / Massage () com
    • Orlando / Massage () net
    • New / York / Chair / Massage () com
    • Refresh / Event / message () com
    • Infinite / Massage () com
    • Event / Massage () co () nz
    • TX / Event () com
    • Houston / Event / Masage () com
    • Chair / Massage / Las / Vegas () com
    • Atlanta / Event / Massage () com
    • Doorstep / Day / Spa () com
    • USA / Event / Massage () com
    • Event / massage / TN () com
    • Vegas / Event / Massage () com
    • KC / Event / Massage () com
    • 5 / Minute / Angels () com
  • Result: SOLD to Infinite / Massage / com for $445. We asked $545, they countered with $375, we laid out a $445 “final offer”, and they agreed.

TOTAL REVENUE: $195.00 + $745.00 + $445.00 = $1385.00

TOTAL PROFITS: $1385.00 – $348.00 = $1037.00

Case 2 – Liquid .COMs Deleting 3/27.  Total earned: $824.98
>> View list

This user successfully caught the following 11 domain names out of the total 25 he attempted to chase down:

• Skyline / Entertainment () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Large number of candidates, all containing these keywords.  While event entertainment is not an especially well-capitalized industry, the relevance an quantity of sales leads, plus the fact these keywords are registered in 5 TLDs, made this name worth a $9 backorder.
  • Result: Caught for $8.99 via GoDaddy backorder.
• Opportunity / Enterprises () com
  • Reason for pursuit: A questionable choice given the preponderance of .org candidates, but the strong search volume on these keywords made this domain a solid grab at $9.
  • Result: Caught for $8.99 via GoDaddy backorder.
• Carol / Carpenter () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Four candidate sites owned by women with this exact name.  Two of these women were seasoned realtors, another one a business consultant.
  • Result: Caught for $8.99 via GoDaddy backorder.
• Baseball / Necklace () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Generic term with strong search volume.
  • Result: Caught for $8.99 via GoDaddy backorder.
• Email / Template () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Excellent marketing-oriented keywords with high search volume and PPC for a dropped domain.  A steal at $69.00.  One of the 3 candidates was particularly well-established.
  • Result: Caught for $69.00 via NameJet backorder snipe (uncontested).
• Orchid / Electronics () com
  • Reason for pursuit: High tech-oriented candidate.  Not a particularly strong pick as this sales lead was a tiny shop based in Southeast Asia.
  • Result: Registered manually for $8.02 (Moniker).
• Hindu / Priest () com
  • Reason for pursuit: Keywords with strong search volume, corresponding to a well-known term, and a Wikipedia entry.  However, we would not have sanctioned pursuing this name as domains with religious overtones are virtually impossible to flip.
  • Result: Caught for $60.00 via Pool.com backorder (uncontested).
• Chilli / Factory () com
  • Reason for pursuit: 3 sales leads, one well-established at “the” + our keywords .com.  If we were consulted first, however, we would have wagged our finger at this pickup as all but the largest players in the food/bev industry are extremely difficult to sell domains to.
  • Result: Registered manually for $8.02 (Moniker).
• Native / Jewels () com
  • Reason for pursuit: 2 candidates with domains very distinctly inferior to this one.  A questionable pickup, however, as jewelers rarely respond to domain pitches.
  • Result: Registered manually for $8.02 (Moniker).
• Sigma / Pens () com
  • Reason for pursuit: 3 candidates who all referred to their businesses as “sigma pen”, but also not a pickup we would have endorsed as the owners of .co.uk domains typically scoff the possibility of buying the .com equivalent.
  • Result: Registered manually for $8.02 (Moniker).
• Antenna / Testing () com
  • Reason for pursuit: The generic, high market-cap, service-oriented nature of this term makes this domain a strong pickup despite the relatively low search volume on its keywords.  The two candidates’ URLs, representing this domain’s .net and hyphenated counterparts, respectively, are the two types with the highest sell-through rate.
  • Result: Caught for $8.99 via GoDaddy backorder.

TOTAL SPENT: $215.02

Of these 11 domains, our user received interest on 4 of them and successfully sold 3.  Here’s how the attempted sale of each domain name played out:

• Skyline / Entertainment () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Skyline / – / Entertainment () com
    • Skyline / Film () com
    • Skyline / Entertainment / Online () com
    • Skyline / Tertainment () com
    • Skyline / – / Entertainments () com
    • TV / Skyline () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Opportunity / Enterprises () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Opp / Ent () org
    • OE / Runners () org
    • Dorina / Lanza () com
    • Opp / Ent / Inc () com
  • Result: SOLD to the owner of Opp / Ent / Inc () com for $200.00. He proposed this offer and we, seeing as none of the other candidates took interest in this domain, accepted it.
• Carol / Carpenter () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Carol / J / Carpenter () com
    • Carol / Carpenter / Watercolors () com
    • Carol / Carpenter / Homes () com
    • CD / Carpenter () com
    • Carol / Carpenter () co () uk
  • Result: SOLD to the owner of Carol / J / Carpenter () com for $345.00. She accepted our asking price outright.
• Baseball / Necklace () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Sports / Jewelry / 4u () com
    • Cool / Baseball / Necklace () com
    • Titanium / Necklace () org
    • Red / Rock / Designs () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Email / Template () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Email / Template / Pro () com
    • Email / Templates () com
    • Hot / Email / Templates () com
    • My / Emma () com
  • Result: Not sold. Because the interested candidate was unable to meet our user’s final offer price of $500, our user decided to hold on to the name.
• Orchid / Electronics () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Orchid / Electronics / Net
    • Orchid / – / Electronics () co () uk
    • Orchid / Tronics () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Hindu / Priest () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Hindu / Priest / USA () com
    • Hindu / Priest () me () uk
    • Hindu / Priest () us
    • NJ / Hindu / Priest () com
    • Hindu / Priest () be
    • Hindu / Priest () org () uk
    • Hindu / Priest () us
    • Hindu / Temple / Online () com
    • Sharmaji / us
    • Hindu / – / Wedding / – / Priest () co () uk
  • Result: Not sold.
• Chilli / Factory () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • The / Chilli / Factory () us
    • The / Chilli / Factory () com
    • The / Chilli / Factory () com () au
  • Result: Not sold.
• Native / Jewels () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Native / Jewels () biz
    • Natives / Jewels () com
  • Result: Not sold.
• Sigma / Pens () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Sigma / Pens () co () uk
    • Sigma / Pens / Direct () com
    • Fountain / Pens / – / Online () co () uk
  • Result: Not sold.
• Antenna / Testing () com
  • Candidates (italics = expressed interest):
    • Antenna / Testing () net
    • 360 / Antenna () com
    • JEM / Engineering () com
    • Etcal () co () uk
    • LSR () com
    • Applied / Radar () net
    • AEMI / – Inc () com
    • Digi / Field () com
    • EMScan () com
    • MESA () Jpl () NASA () gov
    • Antenna / Associates () com
  • Result: SOLD to owner of Antenna / Testing () net for $495.00. He accepted our asking price outright.

TOTAL REVENUE: $200.00 + $345.00 + $495.00 = $1040.00

TOTAL PROFITS: $1040.00 – $215.02 = $824.98

To rehash, these are two very typical cases of users who pitched NameFlipper-recommended domains, using our templates, to the lists of end-users we compiled and earned roughly $1000 apiece. We can cite you numerous others if you contact us.

Next steps:
* Read more about NameFlipper
* Browse our FAQ
* Register for NameFlipper

Listed below are links to actual transcripts of successful negotiations which took place between NameFlipper beta testers and the end-users they attempted to flip their NF domains to between late March and mid-April. All transcripts are presented in their original forms, except that identifying information has been sensored, domain names made largely unindexable (FirstSecondThird.com changed to First / Second / Third / com, etc.), and domain transfer instructions removed:

• Pinnacle / Direct / com => Pinncle / Direct / 1 / com – $750 (4/3)
• Blacklist / Check / com => Email / Tools / Online / com – $500 (4/8)
• Antenna / Testing / com => Antenna / Testing / net – $495 (4/15)
• ARM / Roofing / com => ARM / Roofing / net – $350 (3/25)
• Chili / Open / com => Chili / Open / org – $300 (4/8)

You are welcome to reuse and alter the templates within the above transcripts to facilitate your own negotiations; however, you may absolutely NOT disseminate, republish, or catalyze the republishing of the above transcripts — or any non-comprehensive alteration thereof — without the expresss written consent of our staff.None of the above domains posed any known TM conflicts at the time of sale and none of the corresponding sales were subject to NDAs. All of the above transcripts have been published on NameFlipper.com with express written consent from the corresponding beta testers (despite that we brokered many of the above sales ourselves). One of the above domains was won for $69, another for $17, and all the others caught for $10 or less.

We plan on adding 2-3 new transcripts per week to the above list, so be sure to check back often! Our plan is to build a repository of sale transcripts representing an eclectic variety of negotiation flows.

Unsure of how to price domains for end-users? Well, after having overseen our 150th end-user sale since September in recent weeks, we have decided to put together a “cheat sheet” that domainers may safety rely on to decide how to price their domains when approaching end-user prospects. These are the sorts of figures you shoot out once you have e-mailed your initial pitch and your prospect has responded asking, “how much?” or “what’s your price?”.  We have discovered that experienced domainers who deal with end-users regularly employ the below pricing structure, but we have yet to observe this price curve publicly disclosed until now.

Below are the top criteria you should consider in pricing your domains. We list them here in descending order of importance:

• Annual revenue of the company you’re selling to; company size (both these statistics may be available on Manta.com or on the company’s website)
• Market capitalization and/or type of industry in which the company operates. Advertising firms and software companies are far more amenable to purchasing domains than, say, musicians and bar owners.
• Strength of the company’s web presence. Is their site professionally designed? Does a large portion of their revenue come from online sales?
• Breadth and depth of your domain’s end-user candidate pool: how generic is your domain name? How many potential candidates do the obvious outlets (Google / Yahoo! / Yellow Pages) highlight for that domain? Has any candidate already expressed interest in your domain?
• How badly would the company you’re pitching to want your domain? Is your domain a distinctly superior version of their own domain (Company.com vs. their current CompanyGroupLLC.net) or a core product they sell? If so, you have major advantage.
• Is the company advertising on your domain’s keywords, or very similar keywords?
• The company’s Alexa / Compete.com rankings. Does their site receive numerous new visitors on a regular basis, or do they only operate regionally and advertise primarily by word-of-mouth?
• Google search volume & PPC of your domain’s keywords. If a company you pitch to expresses interest in your domain, you can harness these Google figures to explain, in purely logical terms, why your domain name represents a lucrative investment. For example: “Expressions containing ‘diesel filters’ are Google-searched 118,800 times per year according to the Google AdWords Keyword Tool, and ‘diesel filters’ itself boasts a high PPC bid of $1.50. Whereas many advertisers are paying roughly this amount for their Google sponsored links, owning DieselFilters.com would secure you a permanent spot amongst Google’s top organic matches for the term. Even 500 hits to your landing page per year would effectively recoup you that $745 cost.”
• The company’s longevity, which you can frequently estimate using their Manta.com, whois info, or level of professionalism in their website’s design. Companies that have passed the test of time can more likely afford to purchase your domain than newcomers to the market who, in all likelihood, have yet to reach profitability.
• Level of professionalism / interest in the company representative’s reply to you. Their language and signature are often indicative of how serious they are about purchasing your domain and how large and entity you’re dealing with. Also consider the medium over which your prospect responded (e-mail vs. phone). SMBs and large corporations who inquire re: your domain over the phone may feel a strong sense of urgency about purchasing your domain.
• Miscellaneous properties of your domain name, such as: Number of TLDs taken, past usage (see archive.org), age, visitor traffic, etc. While many “smaller” end-users have no clue what these attributes mean, you should use them as chess pieces during negotiations with end-user prospects who understand terms like “search volume” and “PPC” — and yes, significant portion of business do

.

• Whether the company owns many other domain names. If they do, it indicates they hold a keen interest in securing their brand and, in many cases, owning domain names corresponding to the product they sell (e.g. Toothpaste.com => Crest). If their are domains are similar to the one you’re offering — e.g. you own the .com version of a .net they own — more power to you.

Generally speaking, you should price at:

• $50-$149 when selling to non or minimally revenue-driven entitles (blogs, academics, bands, artists, etc.)
• $150-$299 when selling to tiny businesses / nonprofits (1-2 employees, <$50K annual revenue)
• $300-$499 when selling to very small businesses (3-12 employees, $50K-$200K annual revenue)
• $500-$999 when selling to small startups / developing businesses (12-40 employees, $200K-$1M annual revenue)
• $1000-$1999 when selling to SMBs (40-150 employees, $1M-$25M annual revenue)
• $2000-$3499 when selling to large, well-established companies (>150 employees, >$25M annual revenue).
• Mid-high $X,XXX (and possibly even $1X,XXX in absolutely exceptional cases) when selling to an end-user prospect who represents a large enterprise (>1500 employees, >$1B annual revenue), you’re pitching a generic, premium domain (>2000 EXACT Google searches/month, >5/10 advertiser competition, and >$1.50 high CPC if a .com; >100,000 EXACT Google searches/month if a .net), AND either your prospect advertises heavily on your premium keywords or you have tangible prior evidence to suggest that your prospect’s core business surrounds your premium keywords. An example would be if you owned SprayPaints.com and your prospect was a multi-billion-dollar spray paint manufacturer with a splash page on SprayPaintsOnline.com. Domains plus prospects meeting all of these criteria are extremely rare and, to notch such a sale, you must take pains to approach the correct decision maker.

But you still MUST consider all of the factors mentioned earlier in selecting your price within these suggested ranges.

Again, these ranges apply only if you are approaching the end-user prospect. If it’s the other way around, ask your end-user to make the offer. If that figure doesn’t satisfy you, double the corresponding range in the above cheat-sheet and counter with the resulting amount.

Another important tip: Choose a round, even-numbered price figure and subtract $5 from it. A $495 tag looks a bit less intimidating on paper than $500 does.  Retailers use this trick everywhere you look.

If you’re fortunate enough to own an exceptional product/service-related one-word .com such as Headphones.com or Paper.com, you definitely should not approach potential end-users offering it — not directly or with a “buy it now” price, anyway — unless you’re desperate for cash. Sales managers representing major industry players will eventually come to you and negotiate. This is how $XX,XXX-$XXX,XXX flips happen.