Domain flipping used to be much easier. In the earlier days of the internet, you could make thousands if you knew where to look and what to buy.
It’s still possible today.
It’s just not as easy. The competition is fierce, and you need a lot more work to pull it off. And yes, you also need some luck.
But there are ways to sell domains. And whether you want to make a living out of it, or just sell one or two domains, you’re in the right place. Let’s round up the best places to sell your domains.
Best places to sell domains
We curated the list of marketplaces below. But remember that they’re not the only thing you need to pull off domain flipping. Just signing up for an account won’t be enough to start making a profit.
So stick around after the round-up too. We’ll explore how you can evaluate your domain, and we’ll give you a guide on how to sell domain names.
1 Godaddy Auction
Godaddy Auction is one of the biggest domain selling marketplaces in the world. And it’s our top pick.
Like any good domain auction site, it lets buyers make offers, and sellers choose whether or not they want a “Buy Now” price. What makes Godaddy Auction stand out though is its brand.
Buying and selling domains via Godaddy is advantageous.
For starters, you get the famous Godaddy knowledge base, and hasty support. Moreover, since Godaddy is also a registrar, and a hosting company, you can take care of everything in one spot.
And here’s something you’re going to like if you sell domains: Godaddy has a vetting process for bidders. So you know you won’t get spam or fraud attempts.
2 Sedo Domain Marketplace
Sedo stands out due to its brokerage service for premium domains. If you think you have a premium domain on your hands, you might want to consider Sedo.
But even if you don’t have a premium domain, Sedo is still a wonderful choice. It has plenty of options for sellers to offer their domain names, as well as payment protection to make sure each sale goes right.
Sedo is also focused on particular domain categories. For example, now they’re advertising crypto domain names. So it’s especially a good idea to use this platform if your domain fits the categories they’re after at any given time.
3 Flippa Domain Marketplace
Flippa is more than just a domain marketplace. The site is mostly known thanks to its affiliate site marketplace. And it’s really good at that, as well as selling online businesses, Amazon FBA stores, and other similar assets.
But Flippa is also a decent choice if you’re looking for the best place to sell domain names. It’s got great filtering features for buyers, so a lot of them flock to the platform every month to check on the latest bidding opportunities.
But don’t be scared of Flippa’s complexity. Selling domains is easy on the site.
Flippa has an automated set-up process that guides you through the steps required to do a domain auction. After that, they have special departments to help with financing, legal help, and even valuation.
4 Afternic
If your buyers are looking for quantity, Afternic is the place to go. That’s not to say Afternic hosts bad quality domain names. They definitely have great high-value options, and you can choose Afternic if you have a valuable domain to sell.
But their biggest USP is how large the network is, as well as the fact that it’s connected to other services like Godaddy, Domain.com, or NameCheap. This makes it easy to utilize your domain after purchase, so it’s attractive to buyers.
And it might even be a good idea if you want to buy domain names to resell later.
The only gripe we have with Afternic is its user experience. The interface looks pretty outdated, and navigating its different features isn’t the easiest thing in the world.
5 NameCheap Marketplace
Like Godaddy, NameCheap has tons of services besides a domain marketplace. They also offer things like:
- Domain transfers
- WHOIS lookups
- Website and email hosting
- SSL Certificates
- ID Validation
And a ton of other services that webmasters need. So this makes the marketplace a wonderful choice if you need an all-in-one service. The site is well established, and you can expect amazing support from NameCheap, whether you’re buying or selling.
NameCheap isn’t perfect though. They could work on their pricing, especially for domain transfers and renewals. So it wouldn’t be our first pick, but it’s still one of the best places to sell domain names.
6 eBay Marketplace
Maybe eBay isn’t the first place you thought of when wondering where to sell your domain. But it’s a massive marketplace for both cheap and high-quality domains. When we checked it, there were over 11,500 domain names for sale on eBay.
That might not seem ideal. It sounds like a lot of competition.
But eBay is a veteran in the marketplace scene. They know how to help their sellers make a profit. eBay has very effective filtering services, which help connect domain sellers like you with an ideal audience.
It’s not a perfect marketplace for domain names. The competition can still be fierce, of course. And you don’t get the specialized tools for valuation or domain transfer that other marketplaces offer.
But it’s a place to take into account.
7 NamePros Forum
NamePros is a cerebral destination for buying and selling domain names. It’s not a marketplace per se, so if you’re looking for a place to quickly sell a domain, NamePros isn’t the right spot for you.
Rather, NamePros is a forum for online business enthusiasts. It’s important to note that there are over 1 million of them on the site.
And these enthusiasts are educated. If you plan on selling domain names on NamePros, you’ll need a truly valuable domain. And you’ll need to price it fairly, or people will catch on and no one will buy your domain name.
But we think that’s a big advantage.
NamePros is a great place to sell a good domain name. And it’s also a wonderful community that can help you get educated about everything domain names.
Even if you don’t have anything to sell right now, go and sign-up. It’s a good place to be a part of.
8 SnapNames
Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.
SnapNames has a bit of an outdated interface. That’s something you can live with, even if it’s ugly. What’s worse though is their service. A lot of customer reviews complain about SnapNames’ support, as well as clunky navigation on their site.
Yeah, it doesn’t look good.
So why is SnapNames on our list?
Despite its shortcomings, SnapNames is still a solid directory of domain names. They feature big catches every now and then (like beer.com) and buyers check in to see what they can get.
So while it’s not a pretty sight, it can be a good platform to sell your domain names.
9 Efty
If you want to be a domain investor, take this site into account.
Efty is a good place to manage your domain investments at a macro level. Much like investments in other assets, Efty helps you analyze your investments at a domain portfolio level. You get metrics on sales and traffic, as well as help in promoting your assets.
The market of Efty is also pretty big. It has over 600,000 domain names listed for sale, and a track record of almost 10 years in the market.
The best part?
No commissions. Users have to pay a small fee, depending on the number of names in their domain portfolio. But it’s still a very good deal
10 Domainstate.com
Domainstate.com is not a domain marketplace. But it’s an invaluable resource for anyone interested in selling domains.
Domainstate.com is a huge registry with everything a prospective domain seller needs, including:
- Tools like WHOIS searches, Alexa scores, IP Lookups, IDN Converter, and link popularity checker.
- Domain registrars statistics are broken down by overall popularity, region popularity, and loss/gain of members.
- A huge directory of domain resources, like brokers, escrows, appraisals, financing, and legal advice.
- SEO and keyword research tools, although their effectiveness doesn’t seem top-notch.
So you can’t sell domain names on Domainstate.com.
But it still made our list, since the resources it makes available for free are amazing. Whether you want to flip domain names for a living, or you have one domain name to get rid off, a visit to Domainstate.com will never hurt.
Direct selling domain names: A better alternative?
Domain name marketplaces are good if you want to get a listing out fast, and hopefully even some offers. But isn’t it better to just sell the domains directly to whoever’s interested?
It can be. The problem is that it’s not always possible. Besides being active on forums like NamePros, or other similar communities, there’s no way to gauge buyer intent and realize when someone’s interested in a domain name you have. That’s why marketplaces are very helpful, and we recommend them as the first destination when you want to sell domains.
Moreover, direct selling comes with a risk. You don’t get any buyer/seller protection that you would on the most popular domain name marketplace. So if both parties want to be completely at ease, you’ll need to pay for an escrow.
Regular trade etiquette can be enough. Just make sure that you only transfer the domain rights after the payment is cleared. But it’s still not ideal from our point of view.
But if you have a backlog of domain names, some people are bound to be interested at some point, and contact you directly.
So the only thing you want to do is set your WHOIS information public. Just don’t solely rely on this as a source of customers. It won’t be enough.
Domain valuation tool
Regardless of where you sell your domain names, you’ll need to price them properly. How can you do that?
Domain appraisals are usually part of the service of good domain name marketplaces. Godaddy and Sedo both have a decent valuation tool. You can find out more about how they work by clicking the respective links above.
Most domain brokerage services will help you with an appraisal, especially if you have a high-value domain. So it shouldn’t be your first worry if you’re selling on a domain marketplace.
But what if you’re direct selling, and can’t use the resources of a broker or domain marketplace?
In that case, you can use the Domain Index.
It’s a free appraisal system, and it’ll give you an answer quickly.
Just remember that this is a valuation based on historical data. You can take that appraisal and ask for more, or less, based on your individual situation.
How to sell a domain name
If you go through one of the marketplaces above, you’ll probably be guided through this entire process. You’ll get professional support for appraisal, finding potential buyers, and even receiving payment securely, as well as transferring the domain.
But what if you’re direct selling?
What if the domain marketplace you’re using isn’t full service?
In that case, here’s a step by step guide on how to sell a domain name:
- Settle on a price for your domain. If you don’t get help with appraisal, check the valuation tool we mentioned above.
- Find a buyer. This is the hardest part, with or without a marketplace to sell on. Make sure you keep your WHOIS information public, as well as promote your domain name through forums or communities.
- Get paid safely. A good domain marketplace will act as your escrow. If you’re selling directly though, you can check the escrows recommended by Domainstate.com. If you don’t want to bother with an escrow (although we recommend you do) at least make sure you confirm the payment before transferring the domain.
- Transfer the domain. The specifics of this part depend on the registrar you’re using. The most popular ones like GoDaddy have in-depth guides on how to transfer domains. If that’s not readily available, contact your domain registrar for more information.
The steps might look different based on what platform you turn to. But regardless of the place you sell your domain on, that’s what you’ll usually have to do.
Conclusion
We’ve recommended different hosting providers throughout the years. And while Godaddy has never been our favorite in that category, it’s hard to find a better marketplace for domains. If you’re looking for the best place for selling domains, it’s Godaddy.
But don’t disregard the other entries on the list! Sedo and Flippa are top contenders as well, so depending on what you need, you can try them.
If you liked our roundup, and want to find out more about starting a profitable online business, don’t forget to check our Case Study on How We Sold An 18-Month-Old Site For Mid 6 Figures.
