Where I Buy Most Of My Domains

I got a great question from a reader yesterday that I thought I would share with the broader group. The reader asked, “Where do you buy most of your domains?” The answer to this question has changed a lot over the years as my business has grown and strategy has changed. If you went back in time 2-3 years ago the answer would be a solid split between hand-registered domains and expired domains, now the balance has changed based on my experiences since then.

In 2012 a majority of the domains I have purchased have been directly from their owners. I’d venture a guess that around 60% of the names I’ve bought this year are from end-users or directly from other investors. I used to just use Droplists as my source of quality .COMs however after a few great flips from domains I purchased directly from end-users this has become the norm for me.

This also means my process of finding domains has changed, and it’s another reason why Domain Tools is the tool I use the most on a daily basis. Now most of my time buying domains revolves around researching a particular domain, understanding who owns it, what’s been done with it, and what they might be willing to sell it for.

There are a lot of intricacies here that I will probably go-into in a future post as every domain is different, as is ever domain owner. I also buy in higher price ranges now which is pretty necessary when you’re buying from an end-user and when you’re focused on one and two-word .COM names.

Expired domains do offer a lot of opportunities and I’m definitely not dissuading anyone from buying expired domains. There are great opportunities in the expired domain market, but by doing a bit of research and combining that with a dash of patience and a commitment to negotiate you’d be surprised what amazing names might be within your reach.

Now it’s your turn, where do you buy most of your domains?

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton