In the past, companies have been restricted to 22 TLDs, including .com, .org and others. Now, hundreds of extensions will be released, so brands can choose from .map, .book, .deals, .vegas, .report, .ads, etc. Almost a dozen gTLDs could be released each week. Most expect that .com will still be favored by most businesses, but the new gTLDs can help them secure more memorable website addresses. A lot of the success of these new extensions, especially for selling them, will come down to awareness and, of course, demand. There is a bigger supply of extensions, so it will definitely dilute the market. The popular consensus, however, is that there will be "buzz" extensions that are highly in demand, and thus, profitable while most of the inventory might be useful to buy but not to sell.
That's why it's fun to be a domainer, right? You have to play the digital lotto to win, so where are the best places on the Interwebs to sell domains today?
GoDaddy
GoDaddy Auctions is a massive marketplace for buyers and sellers of domain names, allowing anyone to list their domains for a flat $4.99 annual fee. Domain registrants can auction their domain names and potential buyers can bid on them, make offers or buy them on the spot, depending on the listing type. Sellers can also use various features to increase the exposure of their auction listings, and receive free instant appraisals of their domain names. The auction platform is backed by GoDaddy systems and support, which includes 24/7 customer assistance.
Sedo
Domain name and website marketplace, Sedo is a domain name and website marketplace and domainparking provider responsible for more than 40,000 sales each year. Sedo's international auction capabilities and domain trading platform, along with its global network of domain brokers, makes its well positioned to support the introduction of the new gTLDs. Sedo also offers domain appraisals and secure purchase, transfer and escrow.
Flippa
Professionals can sell online property at Flippa in two ways: at public auction or in private sales. Flippa considers itself to be like a matchmaking site for online property buyers and sellers: they put the two together, and help them work out if one wants what the other party has to offer. Their involvement ends when the auction or sale is completed. Read Editor- In-Chief Peter Prestipino's report on his own successful sale through Flippa at wsm.co/eicflippa. Do you have compliments or criticisms of selling domains on GoDaddy, Sedo, Flippa or Afternic? Tweet us @WebsiteMagazine.
The Changing Face of the Domain Name Aftermarket
See how GoDaddy's acquisition of Afternic will disrupt the industry (in a good way).
