When to use a broker?

[Kay]

I have a few websites I'd like to sell. I've never sold a website before so I'm completely inexperienced. Sure, I've read all about it but I don't know all the tricks of the trade, especially regarding auctions. I'm not sure if I have the time or inclination to learn, so what are my options?

- bite the bullet and learn the market systems
I'm not really keen but if I'm serious about making money from selling then maybe I really have to do it.

- hire the services of a broker
Get someone to do it for me, because they'll do a better job than me anyway. And x% of something is better than 100% of nothing.

- any other options?

If I choose to use a broker, what questions should I be asking and what should I look out for?

[QualityNonsense]

I'd use a broker if/when I believed a broker would be able to sell my site for a higher increment than their fee will cost. So off the top of my head:

- If the stats are complex (eg, involving multiple currencies)
- If likely buyers are big corps who won\'t take you seriously direct

[DomainMagnate]

I'd use a broker if he has really good connections and knows high profile buyers in the niche, or if the buyers are big corporations

[Clinton]

Kay, most brokers have a threshold and unless they thought your site was worth a certain amount of money they wouldn't take on the sale.

There are many options to sell your site and the best option for you depends on the site itself. Sometimes with forums, it's the forum users. For some sites it may be a large corporation. Smaller sites tend to go to auction in places like Flippa and DP, but that' not necessarily the best for all smaller sites. If the majority of the value is in the domain name then the SEDOs and Monikers are better places. It all depends...

Maybe we can advise better if we know a bit more about the sites and the sector they're in. You don't need to disclose the domains, but you could tell us about the monthly earnings or your expected selling price.

If I choose to use a broker, what questions should I be asking and what should I look out for?

How to choose a broker.

[Kay]

Many thanks for your response. It's really the domains that I want to sell. I've been putting custom-built WordPress sites onto them so they're ready to go, if that's what's wanted. Also I hope that will increase the value - more traffic, more PR etc.

I think my problem is that I've not figured out how to get end-users to sell to. Yes, I've read stuff elsewhere that outlines how to do that but it doesn't seem to work for me.

I guess I just want someone else to do it for me so I don't have to learn a heap of new things. It's hard enough trying to keep up with everything without having to learn all that as well. Doesn't anyone else feel the same about trying to master a hundred different market places and systems?

[Clinton]

I've been putting custom-built WordPress sites onto them so they're ready to go, if that's what's wanted.

If that's what you've been doing, Kay, they won't be worth very much and certainly not within the radar of dealers. These are variously called templates, turnkey, starters and premature sites and are sold mainly in places like Flippa. Be warned though, you'll have huge competition from people who make a living from selling just these. There isn't any great value in a domain with a design on it. Having a design and some basic content doesn't get you visitors and PR. Regular sellers have systems that can grab free templates, grab free articles and put a site together in a few seconds. Why should yours be worth more than theirs?

The type of sites you can sell in decent marketplaces are those making a profit.

I guess I just want someone else to do it for me so I don't have to learn a heap of new things. ... Doesn't anyone else feel the same about trying to master a hundred different market places and systems?

Life ain't easy, is it? But if you want to make money with your site, you'll have to learn new things even if it is learning how to hire outside help and still turn a profit.

Maybe you can focus on one or two monetising methods instead of learning a little bit on each of the "hundreds of markets".

[ClaytonL]

If Kay has good domains, I don't see any harm in aging them with quick wordpress sites.

[Kay]

Clinton - Well, that's a bit of a heads up for me and not exactly what I was wanting to hear. But, thanks. I expect you're right. Thanks for your time.

However, I do tend to agree with ClaytonL's point that there's no harm in ageing them with a quickie site. I'm mostly doing it with domains that would otherwise be parked.

The bottom line is that I can't do everything and, as Clinton says, perhaps ought to focus on doing a few things well instead of having a load of half-baked stuff. In which case, how am I going to prune back my portfolio of domains? LOL! (rhetorical question) Some of them are quite good.

BTW, another quick fix I found recently is to make a one-pager and chuck an aStore on it. Obviously you need to do SEO and all that to make any money but it's still a website rather than just a domain.

[hooperman]

If Kay has good domains, I don't see any harm in aging them with quick wordpress sites.

I suppose it depends on what you are presenting them as: premium domains or operational sites. If the value is in the domain, the site itself is inconsequential, as you won't be developing it to make revenue (unless I'm wrong?). If you're going to try and sell the site as a revenue earner then that's different.

Personally, I don't see much value in putting a dummy site on a domain unless you're going to get serious about building the site up. But that's just my opinion, and the one that matters is your buyer's I'm probably biased by what I like to see in a site when I'm looking to buy something

[Clinton]

ClaytonL - and Kay - in my experience a domain doesn't suddenly acquire a huge value just because it's aged. I've seen cases where the domain renewal costs for those years was more than the extra value created.

Aged domain + aged inlinks may be worth a few dollars more, but we're talking the price of a burger rather than buying a MacDonald's franchise.

It's important to recognise the main reason buyers shell out money - it's to make a profit. The easier it is for them to make a profit the more they'll pay. That means you have to develop the profit potential before you can expect any decent sale price. For me the money I'd get from selling an aged domain that has nothing going for it but age ...is less than what my time is worth to execute the sale and transfer. Then there's the $19 listing fee at Flippa + the % success fee.

If your domain + few pages of info are left to "mature" and accidentally end up high in the SERPS with thousands of visitors per day then it would command a higher price. But that's luck rather than business strategy.