swyxio / buying-domains

useful data and advice for buying domains.

buying-domains

useful data and advice for buying domains. Curated for notable, non domain spammer type advice.

Data

Year	Domain	Price ($k)	.com?	Short (<6)?	OneWord?	Source/Context
1998	body building.com	20	yes			@VR
1999	webex.com	210	yes	yes		@mychannel
2003	beat.com	20	yes	yes	yes	@sol_orwell
2004	webmaster.org	10				@sol_orwell
2005	flurry.com	20	yes	yes	yes	@sbyrnes
2011	mergers.com	50	yes		yes	@mychannel
2011	examine.com	52	yes	yes	yes	@sol_orwell
2011	sincerely.com	25	yes		yes	@brezina
2012	synchronize.com	20	yes		yes	@ColeSouth
2012	carcovers.com	400	yes			@jonathanvolk and story
2012	clever.com	200	yes	yes	yes	@bytingtheapple
2013	liveloop.com	25	yes			@amaldorai
2013	consulting.com	300	yes		yes	https://overcast.fm/+rTsUtBLEs
2014	musichustle.com	4	yes			@saradietschy
2014	modest.com	40	yes	yes	yes	@harper
2014	sjo.com	26	yes	yes		@sol_orwell
2015	teachable.com	25	yes		yes	@ankurnagpal
2015	duo.com	250	yes	yes	yes	@jonoberheide
2016	swag.com	1200	yes	yes		Jeremy Parker
2016	pet.org	25		yes	yes	@sol_orwell
2017	sumo.com	1500	yes	yes	yes	writeup and podcast
2017	citizen.com	75	yes		yes	@AlexejKirillov
2017	first.com	200	yes	yes	yes	https://domaininvesting.com/george-kirikos-uncovers-sales-first-com/
2018	hey.com	?	yes	yes	yes	https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-we-acquired-hey-com/
2019	unfold.com	100	yes	yes	yes	@9th
2019	sacra.com	3	yes	yes		@smalter
2020	ui.dev	25		yes		@tylermcginnis
2020	ux.dev	8		yes		@tylermcginnis
2020	paperbell.com	1.8	yes			writeup
2022	ocho.com	45	yes	yes	yes	@ankurnagpal
2022	increasing.com	15	yes		yes	@Jamie_IF
2023	eraser.io	10	yes			@shinkim
2023	chat.com	>10,000	yes	yes	yes	Dharmesh Shah
2023	resend.com	25	yes	yes	yes	Zeno Rocha
?	rows.com	110	yes	yes	yes	@colinwinhall, writeup
?	pilot.com	400	yes	yes	yes	@amaldorai
?	fillout.com	5	yes			@domwhyte42
?	trace.com	150	yes	yes	yes	@WesleyEames
?	tales.com	90	yes	yes	yes	@WesleyEames
?	after.com	150	yes	yes	yes	@WesleyEames
?	protein.com	1000	yes		yes	@reosait
?	curri.com	7	yes	yes		@brianmgonzalez
?	laylo.com	6	yes	yes		@AlecEllin
?	cofounders.com	65	yes			@serialtrep
?	betterbookkeeping.com	10	yes			@baldridgecpa
?	socialpuppy.com	5	yes			@larsvedo
?	firehydrant.com	65	yes			@bobbytables
?	groundfloor.com	25	yes			@brian_dally
?	basewell.com	15	yes			@heyecs
?	helpflow.com	5	yes			@JonTuckerUSA
?	fourthwall.com	50	yes			@walkeriwilliams
?	ultrahuman.com	10	yes			@deeppurpled
?	onions.com	15	yes	yes	yes	@searchbound
?	gaps.com	20	yes	yes	yes	@ViperChill
?	detailed.com	19	yes	yes	yes	@ViperChill
?	async.com	100	yes	yes	yes	@ilan
?	lolli.com	2.5	yes	yes		@alexadelman
?	xmtp.com	18	yes	yes		@mg
?	cxl.com	45	yes	yes		@peeplaja
?	wynter.com	25	yes			@peeplaja
?	nas.io/nas.co	50/40		yes		@nasdaily

Search domain sales data

• https://namebio.com/nas.com

Advice

Value of a domain

• When we rebranded to teachable (from the terrible http://usefedora.com) our conversion rate increased substantially across the board. https://twitter.com/ankurnagpal/status/1587443758546780160?s=20&t=1fabBPrMKq2PVqrbdiHs2A

Before buying

• dont decide the name
  • https://lauraroeder.com/how-i-nabbed-the-com-for-my-bootstrapped-startup-without-spending-a-million-bucks-6dc35c4606e9
  • My single biggest tip for getting a good deal on a domain purchase is being able to go into a transaction outcome independent. Like each time, we hadn't chosen our company name yet so had a good amount of leverage to simply choose a different name if we didn't like the price. https://twitter.com/ankurnagpal/status/1587438361559662593
• Ideally, buy the .com before you've launched. Sellers increase the price if they know you have a company that is doing well and has a brand to protect. https://twitter.com/mariogabriele/status/1583194906516127745?s=20

Wait

• We first reached out for http://generalist.com in Feb '21. We closed in Feb '22.

Negotiation

• Beware of false comparisons/ The broker in our transaction tried to compare http://generalist.com to random domains as a way of justifying a high price point. E.g.: Saying we should pay $40K bc cycling[.]com cost that much. Find better comparisons Do some research to find domains that actually are similar and see what they sold for. Use these as better anchors for the discussion.
• Find out how much the domain was last bought for. Sometimes, you can find a record of what the domain was last purchased for.
• Settle on a walk-away price. You probably want some wiggle from the first price you give to the price you'll accept.

Recommended domain brokers

• Lumis.com https://twitter.com/nasdaily/status/1588029851189104640?s=20&t=1fabBPrMKq2PVqrbdiHs2A
• Peter askew (onions guy)? https://twitter.com/baldridgecpa/status/1587464473169825794