Domain Investing Mastery Program Course
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Risk 1: most domains never sell
The single biggest risk: the large majority of domains you buy will never sell. Sell-through rates in domain investing are low, commonly cited in the low single-digit percentages per year for typical portfolios, meaning most domains sit unsold indefinitely while costing you renewals. The occasional large sale you hear about is the exception, shaped by survivorship bias, not the norm.
- Low base rate: most names never find a buyer at any price.
- Survivorship bias: big sales are publicised; the mass of failures is not.
- Implication: plan for most of your portfolio to earn nothing.
Risk 2: illiquidity (capital tied up)
Domains are illiquid: you cannot reliably sell when you want to. Unlike shares, there is no instant market at a known price. A domain may take months or years to sell, or never, so money you put in can be locked up indefinitely. You control the asking price, not whether anyone buys.
- No instant exit: selling depends on a buyer appearing, on their timeline.
- Long horizons: holding periods of years are normal, with no guarantee of a sale.
Risk 3: renewal-fee drag
| The quiet killer of returns: every domain must be renewed annually (commonly around ₹800-1,500+ per name per year, higher for premium extensions ). A portfolio of unsold domains bleeds money every single year. Hold 100 names at, say, ₹1,000 each and that is roughly ₹1,00,000 a year in renewals whether or not anything sells. Over several years, renewal drag can exceed any sale proceeds, turning a ‘profitable’ sale into an overall loss once total holding costs are counted. Always model renewals across your whole portfolio and holding period, not just the price of a single lucky sale. |
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