Here’s how to bulk upload all of your domain names for sale to aftermarkets.

You know that old lottery saying “You can’t win if you don’t play”? The same thing applies to domains. If you’re looking to sell them, you should list them on the major domain aftermarkets Sedo and Afternic where buyers can find them.

I’ve written tutorials on how to do this at both Afternic (tutorial) and Sedo (tutorial) before, but I just refreshed my portfolio and went through the process again. A few things have changed since then.

First I updated my portfolio at Afternic. It surprises me how many people list their domains with Sedo but not Afternic. Although Sedo will sell more of your domains, no one tops Afternic (through its BuyDomains site) for marketing to end users. Don’t let a $20 annual fee stop you.

In my previous Afternic bulk uploading tutorial I noted that the changes were processed immediately (while Sedo took a week or two). Now when you do a bulk upload to Afternic it goes into a holding queue so it can be reviewed for trademarks, vice, and adult domains. It took only a day or two for this to be completed.

I recommend choosing the “expanded promotion” option for your domains at Afternic. There’s a 20% commission, but your domains will be cross-listed on other sites including BuyDomains. Domains listed with expanded promotion are 10 times more likely to sell.

As for Sedo, the process is very similar to before. You download a spreadsheet (actually csv) and add and categorize your domains. You then submit a support ticket and attach the spreadsheet. Although it’s not an automatic process, I received a response in about 5 minutes that my domains had been added. (As always, Sedo then verifies domains that it can’t automatically verify).

The most tedious part of adding your domains to Sedo and Afternic is categorizing them. (I find the category picker in Sedo’s spreadsheet to be very tiny and annoying.) But categorized domains are 2.8 times more likely to sell than uncategorized domains. So suck it up, or pay your kid to do it for you.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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New web-based system streamlines domain transfer process.

Domain name aftermarket Sedo has changed the way it communicates with buyers and sellers during the domain transfer process. Instead of sending e-mails, all transactions will be managed through a dashboard called “Transfer Center”.

Sedo’s previous system, involving multiple communications from Sedo transfer specialists, was difficult to track and opened the system up to potential security issues.

Through the transfer center, customers can:

- View status updates
- Communicate with your Transfer Specialist
- Update Billing details
- Edit Technical Transfer information
- View payment requests from Sedo
- Upload documents requested by the other party (such as invoices)
- View uploaded documents (such as invoices)

I assume the system will send automated e-mail alerts requesting the buyer and seller to log in to their Sedo accounts to view updates. The new system will be similar to those of Escrow.com and Afternic.com. By requiring customers to log in to a secure interface to view updates, customers are less likely to receive bogus e-mail communications requesting actions such as transferring a domain name.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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NameMedia cashes in on degrees.

NameMedia (Afternic, BuyDomains) sold two big “degree” domain names over the past week: BachelorsDegree.com for $62,500 and PsychologyDegree.com for $25,000. Both domains are protected by Moniker whois privacy and forward to eLearners.com. Add these other recent education domains the company has sold lately and it has found a nice niche:

MastersDegree.com $48,000
CounselingDegree.com $9,000
LiberalArtsDegree.com $8,000
ManagementDegree.com $5,130

With people getting laid off and considering career changes, education is a hot market.

Here’s a look at other top .com domain names the company sold over the past week.

foxmedia.com $10,000
vertech.com $7,500
crewlink.com $6,000
medicalfinancing.com $5,000
envoke.com $5,000
medarts.com $4,500
paie.com $4,500
designtribe.com $4,388
vtfs.com $4,379
geophysik.com $4,212
teexpress.com $4,188
opentec.com $4,000
zylla.com $4,000
friendcam.com $3,988
whitehousereport.com $3,888
imagingtechnology.com $3,840
archerycenter.com $3,788
watchseek.com $3,750
erecording.com $3,688
kingoftheworld.com $3,688
packservice.com $3,588
strudl.com $3,588
toptechs.com $3,500
thelyceum.com $3,500
revelator.com $3,500
kaartje.com $3,500

And here are other TLD sales:
carinsurancequote.net $10,000
tts.org $8,000
pelaut.net $5,288
iway.net $4,400
videolab.net $4,200
beachvacation.net $4,070
cuencas.net $3,500

All told NameMedia sold about $600,000 of reported sales last week. Looking at these sales should remind you that, if you’re willing to hold onto your domains until the right end user comes along, it’s reasonable to sell even mediocre domains for $1,000-$5,000.

© DomainNameWire.com 2009.

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