BIN vs Auction: The Best Way to Sell Your Domain

When it comes to domain name sales, the decision of whether to set a fixed price for your domains or leave them open for auction is a common struggle for many domainers. Although there is no right or wrong answer, in this section we will go over the pros and cons of both strategies and find which choice works best for you.

Auctions

What’s an Auction?

Domain auctions are just like regular auctions. The seller chooses a time when buyers can make an offer to acquire the domain the seller has. Domain auctions are commonly utilized by domain registrars for selling expired domains. For example, let's say you would like to place an offer on health.xyz. The auction will have a designated time that takes place over several days depending on when the buyer bids. The domain goes to the highest offer before time runs out.

Pros

• Fast Sale- The process of setting exact prices on all of your domains can be time-consuming. By selling through auctions the seller doesn’t have to have a listed price immediately. Your price isn’t determined until your bidders make offers. By using auctions with a set end time your sale is most likely guaranteed to happen within a set amount of time.

• No Limits-  By putting your domain up for auction you run the chance of making more money than you would have earned from listing at a set price. Fixed price, limits how much a seller will sell a domain for. Auctions provide the opportunity for the buyer to suggest a price that’s higher than what the investor would have asked for.
• Approachable – Set prices can often be intimidating to buyers. If your set price is $5,000 but the buyer will only pay $4,000 then the buyer has no choice but to walk away. With domain name auctions, negotiable prices invite a larger audience of bidders, making sales quicker. 

Cons

• No Guaranteed Sales Price- If you’re lucky your domain will sell for more than what you would have listed it as, but that’s not the only case. Since there is no set asking price you run the risk of earning a lot less than you would have if you had a set minimum price.  
• Extra Steps for a Buyer- Domain name auctions take less time for the seller but they definitely take more time and effort for the buyer. The extra steps that go into the bidding process can be discouraging to buyers.
• Prone to Cybersquatting- Although buying domains through auctions is a perfectly legal way of acquiring domains it can be used as a vehicle for cybersquatting by domainers in bad faith. For more information on cybersquatting check out our trademark infringement blog.

BIN

What’s BIN?

BIN price stands for “Buy it Now”. BIN listings are domain listings with a set price that the buyer must pay to acquire the domain rather than having bidders submit competing offers. BIN listings are the most direct way to sell domains.

Pros 

• More Exposure – Domain names that have set prices are eligible through multi-listing services, like Sedo MLS and Afternic DLS, to have their names promoted on multiple marketplaces at once. This puts your domain in front of a lot more potential buyers. Domains that have a set price also are more likely to be suggested when a buyer searches for a domain in a registrar's search bar.

• Guaranteed Price- When you list your domain with a set buy now price. When your domain sells you are guaranteed that price. Unlike auctions where you don’t know what your final sale price will be until it ends set prices are consistent and guaranteed.
• Less Work for Buyers-  Although setting up a BIN sale can be more work upfront for the seller, it provides single-click purchases for buyers. The best sales strategy is to remove as many obstacles from your buyer as possible.

Cons

• Intimidating- When you have a set price on your premium domain name it can sometimes intimidate your buyer. For example, if you set your BIN price at $5,000 and the buyer is only willing to put out $4,999 you’re out of luck despite the agreeable price range.
• Slower Sale- When you have a set price for your domain you’re guaranteed your asking price but the time in which it takes you to sell is greatly increased there is no bidding time frame like there is for auctions. 
• Miss Out on Bigger Earnings- When you set a fixed price on your domain you’re guaranteed your asking price. But you miss out on the chance of receiving a higher offer if it were a domain name auction listing. 

How Can Sav Help?

Want to know more about Sav’s auction and set sale options? Check out our help center.