Selling Domains From Your Portfolio: Venues, Pricing, and Inquiries
A domain that isn't listed anywhere, doesn't resolve to a for-sale page, and has no price is not for sale — it's just being stored at annual cost. Selling from a portfolio is an operations problem before it's a negotiation problem: every name needs a venue, a price posture, and a way for a buyer to reach you.
This guide covers the three venue categories, the BIN-versus-make-offer decision, and what to do when an inquiry actually lands.
The three venue categories
Marketplaces list your names where buyers already search, handle the transaction, and take a commission for it. Landers put a for-sale page on the domain itself, catching the most motivated buyer there is — someone who typed the name — and can route through a marketplace checkout or straight to you. Outbound means you find the buyer: researching companies for whom the name is a fit and contacting them directly.
These aren't exclusive. The standard portfolio setup is marketplace listings plus landers on every name, with outbound reserved for your best names — it's labor-intensive and converts rarely, but it's the only venue where you choose the buyer instead of waiting.
BIN vs. make-offer
A BIN (buy-it-now) price converts impulse and removes friction — the buyer can complete the purchase at 2 a.m. without talking to you. It fits mid-priced inventory where velocity beats squeezing the last dollar, and the risk is obvious: a BIN can't capture a buyer who was quietly willing to pay multiples of it.
Make-offer preserves that upside and starts a conversation, at the cost of friction — some real buyers bounce rather than negotiate. A common hybrid across a portfolio: BIN on the long tail and mid-tier, make-offer (or a deliberately high BIN as an anchor) on the handful of names where the right buyer changes everything.
Know exactly what your portfolio earns
Sourdough tracks cost basis, renewal spend, and sale proceeds per domain — real P&L and ROI for your whole portfolio, not a spreadsheet guess. 7 days free, then $10/mo. $0 due today.
Handling inbound inquiries
- •Respond fast — inquiry interest decays in days, sometimes hours.
- •Say little, ask much: get the buyer talking about their use before naming numbers.
- •Never negotiate against yourself; if they won't name a number, hold your ask.
- •Qualify for tire-kickers and lowball bots — a real buyer engages specifics.
- •Log every inquiry against the domain: date, party, numbers discussed. Inquiry history is pricing evidence, and it's exactly what Sourdough's listings and inquiry tracking keeps per domain.
Close through escrow, always
Any deal beyond trivial money should settle through an escrow service or a marketplace's transaction system: buyer funds are verified before the domain moves, and the domain moves before funds release. Direct wire-and-push arrangements with strangers are how sellers lose domains and buyers lose money. Commissions and escrow fees vary by venue — typically a single-digit to high-teens percentage depending on the service and whether their lander or listing sourced the buyer — and they're the cost of the transaction actually completing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the best place to sell domains?
For most portfolios: marketplace listings plus a for-sale lander on every name, so both search-driven and type-in buyers can find a path to you. Outbound direct to likely buyers is worth the effort only for your strongest names. The venues compound — there's no need to pick one.
Should I put a price on my domains?
For most of the portfolio, yes — a fixed BIN price removes friction and captures buyers who would never start a negotiation. Reserve make-offer, or a high anchor price, for the few names where the right buyer might pay far more than any number you'd dare list.
How do I safely sell a domain to a stranger?
Use a licensed escrow service or a marketplace transaction system: the buyer's funds are secured first, the domain transfers, then the funds release. Never push a domain on a promise of payment, and be suspicious of buyers who resist escrow.
What do I do with a lowball offer?
Treat it as a signal, not an insult — a live buyer exists. Counter near your real ask, ask about their intended use, and log the exchange. Many sales start with an offer at a tenth of the closing price; the log of past offers is your best pricing evidence later.