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Should I pursue every domain on my list? If not, which should I choose?
The optimal percentage of listed domains to chase depends slightly on your immediate domaining budget. You should not pursue every domain on your list; rather, you should select the domains from your list that serve the wealthiest market sectors, would interest one or more end-user prospects with professionally crafted websites, and have few bids (if any). These domains represent the top bargains. We will shortly provide case studies to illustrate how several of our veteran users hand-picked NameFlipper domains to pursue and how these selections translated to profits (or, on occasion, lack thereof).
If you are operating on the typical $2000-$10,000 domaining budget, we recommend you actively pursue the top 18-25% best deals on your pre-release domain lists and the top 30-35% on your deleting domain lists. Well-capitalized domainers should aim for somewhat higher percentages than these as they could afford to take on more risk; those of more modest means should target only the most conservative of bargains, but no matter what your budget, be sure to aim to acquire minimally 10 domain names if you would like to assure yourself at least 1 or 2 quick and satisfying end-user sales.
For a detailed guide on separating the wheat from the chaff among NameFlipper domains, please see our tutorial on wisely selecting NameFlipper domains to pursue.
We also strongly endorse keeping a close eye on domains that are "snipe-able" (have zero bids) yet have strong resale value as these names typically represent supreme bargains. Please see our chasing domains basic FAQ to learn about auction sniping and its benefits.
How should I interpret NameFlipper's estimated resale values? Can I financially bank on them?
The reseller appraisal value we have assigned to a domain represents the amount you should "expect" to earn by attempting to flipping that domain to its enduser candidates using our e-mail pitch/negotiation templates. We say "expect" here in the sense of mathematical expectation; if you catch thirty domains names with reseller appraisal values of $50 each, for example, we anticipate you will earn $1500 (= 30 * $50) in revenue by attempting to flip them to endusers using our methods. This of course doesn't mean you'll successfully manage to flip all thirty of them for $50 each; you might meet the $1500 total by turning over five domains for $300 each (5 * $300 = $1500) or three of them for $500 apiece (3 * $500 = $1500). Regardless, we have computed our resale values such that NameFlipper users will average -- over a large sample size -- the sum of the resale values of all their caught domains in revenue, using our methods, within four weeks. A beginner NameFlipper might earn just $1000 between those 30 domains, whereas an expert salesman might cash them in for double or triple that amount.
If you catch a domain for less than its resale value, then the greater the gap between the amount you catch a domain for and that value, the better the deal you've snatched up. If you managed to grab the aforementioned thirty domain names for $25 apiece (total expense =: 30 * $25 = $750), you should expect to walk away with $750 (= expected earnings - total expenses = $1500 - $750) in profits -- $2 for every $1 you spent. -- within four weeks. But if you dumped $1200 into those thirty domains, you'd only be expected to earn $300, or $5 for every $4 you spent, within four weeks. +25% within 4 weeks is still a much better rate of return than any bank will ever offer you, but if you're locking up ROIs of only +25%, you're probably overspending on NameFlipper domains as our users generally achieve a $2:$1 earning:expense ratio.
Interpret our reseller appraisal values as approximate bidding caps to help you avoid auction frenzy. If we appraise a domain at $250 reseller but its high bidder stands on the verge of winning it for $700, it's safe to deduce the near-winner has over-bid and you should choose to fold on the auction.
Reseller appraisal values are auto-generated. If, on examining the domain and its sales leads, your intuition tells you the reseller value we have computed for it is off the mark, side with your intutition.
Why do you "recommend" we bid $60 on SnapNames for a domain appraised at $32?
Great question! In the majority of cases, you should NOT bid $60 on a name we have appraised at $32. NameFlipper's appraisal values, on average and over large samples, accurately reflect expected short-term earnings. There are, however, two reasons you might consider placing that $60 bid nevertheless. First, our auto-computed resale values can be individually inaccurate; hence, if the mnimum required bid on a domain name is no more than double our resale appraisal value (e.g. appraising a $79-minimum-bid SnapNames pre-release domain at $45), we present the domain name for your human consideration just in case the name truly holds more value than our software computed. Second, if you are a developer or plan to invest in domains for the long term, we prefer to avoid auto-censoring these potential pawns for your development or weath-building chessboard. A domain might only be worth $32 as a domain per se in 2009, but it might be worth $320 developed in 2010 or $320 amount undeveloped in 2018.
Is the list of prospects (sales leads) NameFlipper compiles for each domain exhaustive?
The prospect lists we generate for pure brandable-type domains (e.g. CapsPlus.com) are typically comprehensive, but for generic domains (e.g. SodaBottles.com) we only assemble a core mass of end-user prospects as the true number of end-user candidates generic domains interest often numbers in the hundreds or thousands. Whether a listed domain is brandable or generic, we recommend you start marketing it by contacting the prospects we list, and if none express interest, collect more potential end-users using the ten techniques we describe in our Amassing end-user candidates for your domain names blog post.
Why is some information missing from Nameflipper's report for domain xxxxxxxx.com?
Occasionally you will find domain reports within your NameFlipper list to be missing data -- for example, no Estibot statistics or end-user contact information. Incomplete data arises when one of the many underlying sources NameFlipper queries fails to respond properly. In many these cases NameFlipper will try to compensate but consulting a backup data source, but occasionally these experience downtime as well. If you find very large quantities of information to be missing for your list (e.g. no Estibot statistics for half your domains), please report this issue to us so we may investigate it and consider offering you a partial refund.
What do "resellability" and "monetizability" refer to?
Resellability is an estimate of how likely you are to quick-flip the domain to an end-user with a marketing campaign, whereas monetizability estimates, by surmising the market cap. of the domain's underlying industry, how much cash you could flip the domain for to an interested prospect.
An illustrative example: the domain name InPieces.com has a resellability score of High but a monetizability score of Very Low because, while "in pieces" is well-known expression -- with dozens of sites using InPieces.com within their URLs -- making InPieces.com an easy domain to sell to end-users, you'll have a tough time flipping it for more than $200-$300 in spite of your efforts because most potential candidates for InPieces.com are music labels, blog-writers, and artists. On the opposite end of the spectrum is the domain AcumenRecruitment.com. This name boasts a High monetizability score but a Medium-Low resellability score because, while there exist only 3-4 companies worldwide named Acumen Recruitment and hence your end-user prospect is relatively small, you can price AcumentRecruitment.com for whichever of these prospects does bite knowing that recruitment agencies occupy a high haven within the market cap spectrum. (Still, when choosing your price, it's very important that you account for the size of the company you're pitching to and the domain's keyword search traffic in addition to the monetizability score listed. Please see our pricing guide for details.)
The most liquid NameFlipper domains, of course, boast strong resellability and high monetizability scores.
Can I run into trademark disputes with NameFlipper lists? Is pitching a company its brand name reminiscent of extoring money from them?
Considering the handfuls of brandable type domains which inevitably speckle every NameFlipper list, you might think NameFlipper users collide with infringement issues frequently. For several reasons, however, NameFlipper users rarely ever run into legal trouble:
First, understand that trademark law is designed to protect established companies from other parties who may attempt to capitalize (financially or otherwise) on their company or brand names -- often by posing as that company or an affiliate. Now, for a brandable domain to appear on a NameFlipper list, the domain must meet high liquidity standards. In practice, this means that NameFlipper typically selects domain names that many companies have built their brands around. Google "visually sound", "purple rock" or "simple touch" -- all classic NameFlipper-type brandables -- and you'll observe that no single one of these companies which appears as matches can legitimately claim ownership of any these expressions over another company. We offer this logic to help assuage moral qualms about pitching brandable-type NameFlipper domains, but of course, this reasoning alone does not protect you against receiving legal threats from one of these companies who decides to try their luck. Hence the next three paragraphs.
Second, NameFlipper cross-references every listed domain with the central U.S. trademark database at uspto.gov and warns users potential trademark conflicts in its generated report. This "similar trademarks" compilation, combined with the Age/Alexa statistics of sales leads and the Wikipedia excerpt we include where applicable, allows you to (a) easily determine which sales lead owns the TM so you could avoid pitching to that leads (or even choose not capture the domain at all), and (b) distinguish keyword phrases that only a single prominent company has advertised on -- a blaring red flag -- from "safer" phrases that multiple small companies have chosen as their brand. The NameFlipper reports themselves provide you enough data to help you stay out of trouble 99% of the time.
Third, NameFlipper staff review every generated list censor out all obvious capitalizations on third-party IP rights. You could rest assured, for example, that CameronDiaz.net will never appear on a NameFlipper list. While this boulderization does fully protect you from receiving cease-and-desist letters, it will help prevent you from stirring trouble with major industry players.
Finally, a simple note of pragmatism: you're not asking thousands or tens of thousands of dollars for these domains. The NameFlipper process usually involves acquiring domains for $7-$100 and flipping them for $200-$700 each. It would make little financial sense for SMBs (small to medium-sized businesses), which comprise the lion's share of end-users NameFlipper domains target, to file a $1600 UDRP or explore even more expensive legal options if you are asking less a amount for your domain equalling less than half the legal fee the SMB would need to issue to seize it. If you chose to pitch to an established corporation, however, you would need to take a more cautious approach as they could afford to, and often do, UDRP domain owners and sue to recover damages simply to make a statement, and your choosing to place a price on the domain would make ou immediately culpable. Still, in the even you DO receive a legal threat (the worst-case scanario), you could simply apologize and give up the domain name you spent $10-$100 on. Companies typically offer $100 of reimbursement for backorder/registration costs in standard C&D letters anyway.
Despite that NameFlipper domains rarely evoke legal disputes, you should be aware of two instances in which a company could legally wrest a domain from your possession even if uspto.gov data shows they do not own a trademark or service mark on your domain's keywords:
The subject of domain names and potential legal issues is far too deep for us to cover in a simple FAQ answer. If you would like to learn more about this subject, we recommend perusing NamePros.com's Legal Issues and Disputes (http://www.namepros.com/legal-issues-and-disputes/) section.
Despite the length of treatise we given to legal disputes here, in over 5000 e-mail pitches of NameFlipper domains we have personally overseen since our early beta stage, we have received just one cease-and-desist letter for every 100 sales closed during our beta tests. The only two NameFlipper domains that ever came under dispute were both $8.99 GoDaddy backorders.
Finally, a legal note fom NameFlipper: While we are happy to provide insights to help you avoid litigation or dig yourself out of it on a case-by-case basis, NameFlipper takes zero responsibility, financially or otherwise, for any legal claims that may arise from our data, as it is computer-generated, and we will not participate in legal disputes. We state this policy clearly in our TOS. We therefore strongly recommend you perform rigorous due-diligence before choosing to spend over $100 on a NameFlipper-suggested domain.
