My First Journey into Selling Digital Real Estate on Flippa
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Digital Real Estate
My Medium feed is always overflowing with inspiration for side hustles. It seems the algorithm has figured out that I’m deeply interested in this topic. While I sometimes wish for more variety in my content, that’s a conversation for another day. Today, I want to share my initial foray into the world of digital real estate.
The idea of digital real estate captivates me, as it intertwines my passions for financial gain and personal freedom. These two elements are closely linked, aren't they? As a software engineer with a penchant for collecting domain names, this area feels like a natural fit. Though I have long-term plans for some of my domains, I also possess many that I may never put to use.
To start, I decided to list one domain on Flippa. I’m eager to learn the ropes and see where this journey takes me.
Section 1.1: Exploring Flippa
Over the weekend, I invested time in researching Flippa and similar platforms. Flippa received high ratings and was the most frequently mentioned site, so it became my starting point. Given my scattered interests, I resolved to create a blog site that I could later sell as a profitable asset. For now, I opted to list localteareviews.com.
The Listing
I must admit, the listing process was not seamless. I navigated through the steps to provide details, only to hit the listing fee page. I had read that Flippa charges between $10 to $49 for listings, and to my surprise, it charged me $49. Unsure of how much my domain might fetch, that seemed quite steep. I decided to exit the setup and took a break.
The following morning, I was greeted with a message from someone interested in purchasing my domain. I was puzzled—how did this person on Flippa know I owned localteareviews.com when I hadn’t even listed it or paid the fee? Surely, it couldn’t have been accidentally listed…
It turns out I was wrong. My listing was live, and someone was offering me a staggering $3,500 for it!
What?!
The Buyer
Seeing that message sparked both excitement and suspicion. How could someone offer 14 times my asking price of $250? Why not just buy it outright? Furthermore, they requested that I contact them on Telegram for a quicker discussion, and their username didn’t match the account that reached out to me.
So many red flags.
I decided against contacting them and reached out to Customer Support to clarify why my listing had appeared without my consent.
The Support Experience
I explained my situation to support and inquired if I would be liable for the listing fee should the domain sell. Almost immediately, I received a notification that my listing had been removed without an explanation. While I was relieved to have it taken down, their swift action was impressive.
The next day, I received an email from a support team member explaining that I had inadvertently published the listing through an outdated method, which bypassed their safeguards. I didn’t intentionally navigate around anything, but it seems that as a new user, I stumbled upon an unexpected path.
Thus, my initial experience on Flippa felt odd and a bit scammy.
I continued researching to see if being lured off-site by potential buyers was a common issue. So far, I found mostly complaints about sellers being scammed. I even posted a question on Reddit asking if anyone had faced scams from buyers and received only one response.
Still no clarity.
Section 1.2: Moving Forward
Ultimately, this entire process left me feeling uneasy. I did manage to re-list my domain using the link provided by customer support, which offered a much more user-friendly experience. I can understand why they are phasing out the old version—allowing users to cancel at the payment screen while still being able to list their property likely contributed to the decision.
This time, I paid the $49 and listed localteareviews.com as an auction with a reserve price to cover the fee and my purchase cost. I even set a buy-it-now price of $3,500 just for fun.
Now, it's a waiting game to see if I can recoup my investment. I have other domains that might yield better returns, but I want to familiarize myself with the process before listing my most valuable assets. Perhaps I’ll even develop a moderately profitable website to sell.
In this video, "I Sold My Site For 80x Multiple How To Sell On Flippa," the creator shares insights on maximizing domain sales, offering valuable strategies for those entering the digital real estate market.
The second video, "I Bought a Niche Website From Flippa," provides a perspective on purchasing domains, shedding light on the buyer's journey and key considerations when acquiring digital properties.