So you want to make money with domains, this interview is going to give lot of insights about domaining brokerage from broker James Booth. James Booth is the CEO and Founder of the new Domain acquisitions and Brokerage platform (BQDN.com / BuyQualityDomainNames.com). James is also the CEO and Founder of a new Social Media site called Timlie.com which is still in the development stages.
BQDN.com is based across Asia Pacific in Manila, Philippines and also in the heart of Singapore. BQDN specialise in acquiring premium digital assets, Virtual Real estate.
They facilitate the huge demand Asian Investors has for premium and short domain names such as 2 and 3 letter .com and Numeric .com names.
How did you entered into domaining business. Describe your education background ?
Hi Jitendra, I have been aware of the domain industry for around 10 years as my brother Andy started getting involved with domain names then. I was only 17 at the time so had no interest and didn’t have any understanding of what he was actually doing. It was around 3 to 4 years ago when I had some spare cash that I decided to buy a few names (JNA.com for only $6,600 at auction, MKI.com for $11,000 and around 50 LLLL.coms for between $20-$50 each). I ended up selling the names for a decent profit in a short period of time but really wish I had held onto them.
For the next 3 years I did nothing with domain names (If only I had carried on…). When I moved to Manila, Philippines 18 months ago I decided to give it another shot and started finding my brother LLL.coms and he would pay me a % on each name. After 6 months I had saved up enough money to start investing myself in 3 letter .coms.
My background has always been sales based. I studied Mechanical Engineering in College and after leaving college I have spent the next 10 years in sales working in England, Cyprus, Singapore and the Philippines.
Imagine starting out as a domainer today, what types o domains would you register?
If I started today I would not register any names. I would be looking out for great deals on auctions and domain forums. I would be doing research on names that I see available and checking stats and end user potential to make sure it is a solid investment. If you search deep enough you can find high quality 1 word .com, 2 word .com and 4L.com domains at reasonable prices. If any of your readers were new to domain names this would be my advice :
$20,000+ available : Buy a Western premium LLL.com (EIC.com for example). Either flip it for 10%+ to a domainer or search all the possible end users and drop them a sophisticated email that makes sense and give them a call. Either way you will make money.
$10,000 – $20,000 available : Find some good deals on LLL.net and LLLL.com names (No V’s), Either some Western premiums (ABCD.com for example) or Chinese/Western premiums (BCDF.com for example). Once again either flip these for a %, contact end users OR wait for the market to rise whether that be 1 month, 6 months or a year. Right now 4L.com are under priced.
I would also say you need at least $5,000 USD to invest in domains in order to actually make it worthwhile. If I only had $5,000 USD I would buy either 5 Western/Chinese LLLL.com or as many Western premiums (ABCD.com’s) as possible.
Do you spend anytime in domainer forums. Which blogs do you follow in domain industry?
I think Namepros.com is the only active Domain Forum right now. I don’t usually use this and never really get any business from it as offers are generally way too low or domains are priced way too high. I follow as many blogs as possible (DomainInvesting.com, DomainSherpa.com, DNW.com, Michael Berkens, Rightofthedot.com, DomainShane.com etc)
How to grab expired domains, any best platforms for finding expired domains?
I don’t buy expired names but I would say Namejet.com is the best.
How to buy expensive domains? Is there any strategy behind it?
It all depends on the seller. I would say knowing what your maximum budget is for the name and being firm in your negotiations. It’s all about going the extra mile and putting in the extra work. Find the relevant person in the company that would deal with domain names (Marketing, CFO, Legal etc). Establish contact with that person via email and always follow up with phone calls.
How did you started as a broker? Was it easy ? did you had financial backup?
As mentioned in my previous comment I started brokering 12 months ago after I had been working for my brother for 6 months finding him names. I managed to build up enough money to invest myself and any names that I found that were of no interest to me I started to broker them. It certainly was not easy. At the start I was doing 14 hour days to build up. Domaining is 100% not easy. You need to put the work in like anything in life.
A lot of people think they can become a broker but you have to gain trust, you have to work long hours and do boring work especially if you are sourcing the names yourself.
Think about it, you have to come across as an honest, trustworthy and reliable person/company for someone to let you broker their asset. There are 100 NN.com, 1,000 NNN.com, 10,000 NNNN.com, 676 LL.com, 17,576 LLL.com and so on). This is a lot of work to get through.
How domaining changed your life, share your life after making 5.1M$ in in domain brokerage as business?
Domaining has made a massive impact on my life. For years I have worked for other people being told when I can eat, drink, smoke, go to the toilet, getting told off for being 2 minutes late etc. Now I am my own boss. I do what I want. I work harder than I ever did but I get rewarded for it. Working for yourself is 100% the best thing and best decision I have ever made. I have been very lucky in my first 12 months brokering and I am already up to $6M USD in sales. I will keep putting the work in and hopefully in the next 5 years will get to my target of $50M USD in sales.
How difficult to be domain broker, did you borrowed money while you starting your business ?
Like I said in previous answers brokering domains is NOT easy. It required longs days and nights and perseverance. I did not borrow any money when I started, it was all from work I had done.
Did you just entered into domain business for the sake of money ?
No but money is of course a main factor. I entered the domain industry for many reasons. The most important is working for myself, being my own boss. Only ‘I’ can determine what I earn and my success now.
How do you get domains ? How do you scrape domains ? What tools used here ?
I spend hours a day searching for opportunities. I make phone calls, I send emails and I research every name.
What opportunities exist in TLD;s other than .com ?
None for me personally. I will only stick with .com.
How new GTLD’s changing domain industry face? What is our take on it ?
I think they will not be adapted for at least 5-10 years. I also think there is a chance they will fail. Everyone around the world knows and is familiar with .com.
What would be your single piece of advice to new domainers?
If I started today I would not register any names. I would be looking out for great deals on auctions and domain forums. I would be doing research on names that I see available and checking stats and end user potential to make sure it is a solid investment. If you search deep enough you can find high quality 1 word .com, 2 word .com and 4L.com domains at reasonable prices. If any of your readers were new to domain names this would be my advice :
$20,000+ available : Buy a Western premium LLL.com (EIC.com for example). Either flip it for 10%+ to a domainer or search all the possible end users and drop them a sophisticated email that makes sense and give them a call. Either way you will make money.
$10,000 – $20,000 available : Find some good deals on LLL.net and LLLL.com names (No V’s), Either some Western premiums (ABCD.com for example) or Chinese/Western premiums (BCDF.com for example). Once again either flip these for a %, contact end users OR wait for the market to rise whether that be 1 month, 6 months or a year. Right now 4L.com are under priced.
I would also say you need at least $5,000 USD to invest in domains in order to actually make it worthwhile. If I only had $5,000 USD I would buy either 5 Western/Chinese LLLL.com or as many Western premiums (ABCD.com’s) as possible.
Check out some more domainer interviews here:
Interview Of Mike Mann Who Owns SEO.Com: Why Domaining Is Lucrative Business
How To Sell Domains Fast: A Comprehensive Way To Online Income
Interview With Simon Cousins Co-Founder Of Allegravita At Domainfest 2015
Interview With .Club Team Jeff Sass & Colin Campbell At Domainfest 2015
How do make profit on domains, what is your best strategy please share here?
As previously mentioned I search for good deals. GoDaddy.com, Afternic.com, Sedo.com, Flippa.com, Namejet.com and also do my own research on companies and names. There are hundreds of good deals out there you just need to put the work in and find them. Always know what market prices are and find deals below market price and sell them at or above market price.
I hope you enjoyed this amazing interview with James Booth. Have any thoughts or questions to ask, drop in the comments below!
This is really inspiring
of course, need to invest a lot of money to start such kind of business. Anyway, it’s inspiring.
This is really inspiring! $5 millions in 12 months is just awesome. He must be doing something unique to sell domains.
Inspiring.. i just gone through timlie.. sounds like zuckerberg got something to do right on facebook.. ??? to survive..??
It is a real money making business. some guys are doing very well.