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Does domain flipping really pay?
You buy a name and hope to sell it for more, and a marketplace takes 15% to 25% of the sale. A name registered to sell to a trademark owner can be taken away.
Nobody publishes how often names sell, so this is a bet on each name. The fees are the part you can work out. The risk that surprises people is trademark law: a dispute process exists to take names from people who register them in bad faith.
What do you need for domain flipping?
- Money to buy namesAnd to renew the ones that do not sell.
- A marketplace listingSale fees differ by marketplace and by how the name is set up.
- Knowledge of trademarksStay clear of other people’s brands.
What domain flipping really pays
| Item | Figure | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Afternic | 15% or 25% | Reported from its 2023 notice: 15% on its own nameservers, 25% if not. Other guides still say 20% |
| Sedo | 15% to 20% | 3 guides, one from 2023, give 15% on marketplace sales; one says 20% on auctions, another 20% with its brokers |
| A $5,000 sale at 20% | $4,000 to you | Our sum, before what you paid for the name |
| Income figures | No official figure | Nobody publishes how often names sell |
What it adds up to
| Sale price | You get after 15% | After 25% |
|---|---|---|
| A $1,000 sale | $850 | $750 |
| A $5,000 sale | $4,250 | $3,750 |
| A $20,000 sale | $17,000 | $15,000 |
Before what you paid for the name. Nobody publishes how often names sell. Our sums on the marketplace fees above: an example, not a promise.
When does domain flipping pay you?
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Paid out at | Set by the marketplace |
| First money | No published figure |
What is the catch with domain flipping?
- Under the UDRP, a name can be lost if it was registered and used in bad faith.
- WIPO lists buying a name mainly to sell it to the trademark owner or a competitor as a sign of bad faith.
- A name that never sells keeps costing you its renewal fee.
- Afternic’s own fee page showed us no text, so its rates here come from reports of its 2023 notice.
How to start with domain flipping
- Search for trademarks firstBefore buying any name.
- Do the sumTake off the marketplace’s cut and your renewals.
- Start smallBuy one name and learn what happens.
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Sources
- TheDomains: domain sales commission rates (Jan 2023), checked 5 Nov 2026
- Understanding domain aftermarket fees, checked 5 Nov 2026
- Niche Pursuits: Sedo vs Afternic, checked 5 Nov 2026
- CanItFlip: how to sell a domain, checked 5 Nov 2026
- WIPO guide to the UDRP, checked 5 Nov 2026
- ICANN: Uniform Domain-Name Dispute-Resolution Policy, checked 5 Nov 2026