Early domainers - Page 2

Seabass · 10-23-2008, 11:04 PM

Thanks Labrocca.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/526515-early-domainers.html

One thing that helped Rick is that he had sold a drop shipping company for seven figures and was already successful...... that helped him make some strategic purchases that others with vision and less cash could not do. Kudos to him though.....I would have done it too. I imagine if parking had not come around he would be back into drop shipping, but still keeping his domains. I always knew domains had unrealized potential...... I still feel most domains still have not even begun to be monetized correctly. Will there be a day when one click pays $50,000? I don't know....... but I don't see why it is not possible if I sell $1,000,000 worth of computers, for example, through one click. Salesmen make that kind of commission through one sale, why should we not also?

Before parking, I survived by employing a multi-prong attack of monetization...... it was redirect deals, custom deals, adult sites, and a network of 500 sites set up each on unique IP's my buddy and I set up that had every great generic we owned interconnected that got us literally all ten, every position, on the first page of Webcrawler in several niches. We then were able to sell advertising on the sites and the advertisers got an avalanche of traffic from us having all ten positions. They would rejigger Webcrawler, but we would just reoptimize and be back in at least eight of ten positions.

I also had a couple of large sales in the late 90's that helped a lot.

Looking to the future, I have a suspicion things are going to get really strange with parking in 09' and 10' and domainers may have to get exceptionally creative to stay afloat. And, this has nothing to do with the economy..... just G's long-term plans for us. These generics that many of us have are very, very valuable but I see big G as slowly marginalizing us to the point many of us begin to crumble if we are not diversified or nimble enough to get our hands dirty and hustle for that elusive dollar. It will be totally intentional by Google...... we are competitors and they want us gone. All the signs are there. I simply don't trust Google with my future.

I suppose that is where your dev efforts save you Labrocca.

snoop · 10-23-2008, 11:23 PM

Originally Posted by labrocca

Parking is really what has created domaining. Where would Rick be if he couldn't park and earn from his domains? The innovation was Sedo and other parking company startups that saw potential. It doesn't take a lot of creativity to register a domain. Maybe some research at most. I could train my 12 year old to do what you can do for research.

Parking didn't "create" domaining. It is just a way of monetizing the traffic, the key point is the traffic. If parking had come around something else to monetize the traffic would have.

Aggro · 10-24-2008, 03:07 AM

Originally Posted by snoop

Parking didn't "create" domaining. It is just a way of monetizing the traffic, the key point is the traffic. If parking had come around something else to monetize the traffic would have.

Yeah, where do some get that idea...
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515
I guess losers have their own version of history, too...

In fact, the domainers pre 2000 - before the existence of parking companies as we know today - were mostly in porn and gambling domains.
And made money via affiliate programs.

People can thank the porn industry for 'inventing' online affiliate programs.

DomainTalker · 10-24-2008, 03:43 AM

Originally Posted by Seabass

I still feel most domains still have not even begun to be monetized correctly. Will there be a day when one click pays $50,000? I don't know....... but I don't see why it is not possible if I sell $1,000,000 worth of computers, for example, through one click. Salesmen make that kind of commission through one sale, why should we not also?

I agree with that thought.

Its not beyond the realms of fantasy to think that the monetization model of parking, that we've grown used to - whilst easy for domainers - seriously undersells the value to the link-beneficiary for the 'introduction'.

Whilst the domainer might get, say, 50c, or a $1.00, for the click through, the outfit that the visitor ends up with might make $2000 from a sale.

Domains are valuable 'introducers'.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

I can envisage making deals direct with an end user company, where your domain is, effectively, seen as a Commision Agent for him....ie we agree an intro fee with the end user organisation that is relative to the value of leads generated by a domain to him, just like a commission agent.....And, it wouldn't be 20c - it'd be linked to the value of the sale that may eventuate, IF it eventuates....Maybe something like 3%-5% of the sale.....Something like that.

Or, variations of that.

.

Pred · 10-24-2008, 04:14 AM

Originally Posted by DomainTalker

I agree with that thought.

Its not beyond the realms of fantasy to think that the monetization model of parking, that we've grown used to - whilst easy for domainers - seriously undersells the value to the link-beneficiary for the 'introduction'.

Whilst the domainer might get, say, 50c, or a $1.00, for the click through, the outfit that the visitor ends up with might make $2000 from a sale.

Domains are valuable 'introducers'.

I can envisage making deals direct with an end user company, where your domain is, effectively, seen as a Commision Agent for him....ie we agree an intro fee with the end user organisation that is relative to the value of leads generated by a domain to him, just like a commission agent.....And, it wouldn't be 20c - it'd be linked to the value of the sale that may eventuate, IF it eventuates....Maybe something like 3%-5% of the sale.....Something like that.

Or, variations of that.

.

its called affiliates

i think people like frank schilling etc do this more than ppc
ppc is dead. hard to negotiate god affiliate rates unless u get quality targetted traffic or have a developed site imo
back to square one. imo you are better doing this with the better traffic names or DEVELOP & with the others just market for sale with a google search box to cover ass or even redirect to a sales site

Coopey · 10-24-2008, 04:50 AM

Originally Posted by etittle52

I remember back in 1995 when I was 17-18 years old, I was amazed at the fact that I could pick up girls while chatting online (AOL of course).

Depending on results, this sounds like a valid use of time. Don't knock it.

**Archangel** · 10-24-2008, 06:19 AM

Originally Posted by Seabass

One thing that helped Rick is that he had sold a drop shipping company for seven figures and was already successful...... that helped him make some strategic purchases that others with vision and less cash could not do.

It comes without saying that the rich get richer...

Originally Posted by S~

Depending on results, this sounds like a valid use of time. Don't knock it.

I met my fiance through myspace. Now I sound bad lol And I'm almost 26

DomainTalker · 10-24-2008, 06:42 AM

Originally Posted by arnie

its called affiliates

It is, too....lol (shaking my head).

Maybe the deals need to be better?

????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515
Back on topic....

I was online in 1996...Never occurred to me to think about domains as an investment...And, I even knew a guy in 1999 who was making a fortune in those days with some Adult sites...He said the money was just pouring in...STILL, I didn't 'connect' that to domains, as such...!!

Every time I log on to this forum - or read about a huge .com sale - I rue the days when it was all there, but, I just didn't see it.

...But I DO love to hear about the 'wins' folks have in this game...And, I live in hope of finding that bit of sheer gold...

.

**Archangel** · 10-24-2008, 06:43 AM

Originally Posted by DomainTalker

It is, too...Sometimes I'm overwhelmed by my own stupidity...lol (shaking my head)

.

cj.com is a good affiliate.. and let's not forget amazon

DomainTalker · 10-24-2008, 06:49 AM

Hahah...Got me while I was editing, Archangel....!!

.

**Archangel** · 10-24-2008, 06:52 AM

Originally Posted by DomainTalker

Hahah...Got me while I was editing, Archangel....!!

.

lol it's cool. I'm not too happy that I missed out back in the 90s but I'm kinda glad it's all passed us up. I don't feel as jaded knowing that I wasn't the only one who missed the train

mjnels · 10-24-2008, 07:29 AM

i smell nostalgia in the air!

very cool stories Seabass... makes me think my time spent on IRC in the 90's wasnt put to good use.

***Practical*** · 10-24-2008, 08:20 AM

I had bought my nickname and a few other domains, but already by the time I started looking in 1998 words of almost every shape and size were gone. Being a gamer I was always interested in fantasy rpg names and most great terms were taken.

I used to play MultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGames, and MORPG.com had already been taken. But we never called it a MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame and to me, MORPG was shorter so why register MMORPG.com?

Ten years later it's worth almost a mil, who would've known? ... C'est La Vie!

hey.co.uk · 10-24-2008, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by akcampbell

The downside to ccTLD's is you might not understand the market as well as a local and the prize might not be as big as you think. For example, the UK, is the world's fifth largest economy, you have alot of boffins, high Internet usage, 1,000 years of accumulated capital, but according to dnsaleprice.com only 7 .co.uk sales over $100,000, it's missing Cruises.co.uk which sold for $1.1m in May 08, but still, for the size of our economy and 7m .co.uk domains registered that's pretty lame. It means you've got a 1 in a million shot of scoring a 6 figure sale.

To say there have only been 7 sales over £50,000 in .co.uk is a joke and speaks volumes of the source you quote.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

I can think of two .co.uk names in the last couple of weeks that have hit £100k alone / $200k .

I have posted elsewhere reasons why I think UK people are less likely to make sales public, but there is a reason why the sales figures dont seem right - as they are not

Malaysia · 10-24-2008, 11:08 AM

i started to go online in 1997.Have been trading online since then from posting on classifieds online n swapping stuff back then since i am still studying then into auctions n now domaining.. got into domaining in end of 2005 when i wanted to build an ecommerce website after selling online for few years.n only then i got my first domain.IF ONLY i get into this earlier..but no regrets...there are always "IF" in lotsa stuff..but look ahead n dont look back.no point dwelling in the past n knocking our head telling ourself why dint we get into this earlier.

shinysign · 10-24-2008, 11:51 AM

As far as domains go, I remember registering my name in about 2000 and thinking domains had potential, but didn't give it a lot of thought until 2006. I suppose as they say with anything, the best time to start is yesterday. But actually I was the most annoyed when I first learned about the potential of domains in 2006 and thought, well why didn't I do that in 2000? But it doesn't really bother me now, actually I like hearing the early stories.

Another bit of early internet nostalgia: remember back before google when Yahoo was one of the main search engines? I was in school and was looking for information, like actual usable information that now is so common on the web. But then, to make money, Yahoo made pages and pages of sponsored listings on the front page, there were no 'normal' listings it seemed, everything took me to an advertisement.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

Then one day I found google, and I was so excited when it returned actual valid websites that individuals had put up with usable information rather than companies trying to sell me something. Sounds strange today, getting so excited over something that is so common now. (Though I admit, today there are still issues with some keywords, affiliate programs and other google pagerank methods have monopolized the front pages of some searches, but not with every single keyword like it used to be.)

I thought that day, wow, I'd like to invest in Google. However, I didn't really have enough money at the time to invest in it, but I magically did have a lot of money at the time and had invested it in Google lol.

Seabass · 10-24-2008, 01:10 PM

Originally Posted by arnie

its called affiliates

Yes.......but why is it that you can send 25,000 uniques to CJ and make $57 with great generics, but you send those same 25,000 to G or Y and you make several thousand dollars? This is why many companies love affiliate programs. They usually treat you like crap and build their brand. They love it.

Same goes for LinkShare and many others....... they are thieves plain and simple. They can't claim technical problems after having over ten years to fix the damn systems. I learned in the 90's that it does not matter what domain's traffic you send to them....... they don't report correctly. The only ones I kinda' like are ClickBank.com and Shareasale.com .

Most of the big paying affiliate programs I have used are not done through CJ or the other big networks...... they are independent programs. I use one that I have made several hundred thousand dollars on over the last few years in a music niche. Many of these co's will rip you off too..... but others don't...... especially when you are able to do A/B testing b/t affiliate programs to see who is potentially shaving uniques or conversions.

The big problem is that the affiliate market has not ever been tackled correctly...... and I said that in the 90's. There is huge potential there that is untapped. Not much has changed in that regard since 1998. It's pathetic really.

There MUST be a standardized methods for ALL advertisers that is controlled by a third party...... six month cookies, better IP tracking, etc..... which is audited by third parties for income and technical problems, to keep them both honest and in line technically.

It's well-known by old domainers and others that CJ and the like don't convert worth a damn. The conversion rates are almost always poor. Some make good money still...... but they have done a ton of work to tweak sites to make that happen.

When/if some company masters the affiliate world there will be a lot of money to go around.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

I have never heard of a $50,000 affiliate payment for one purchase. The highest I have heard of is $850 for electronics purchase. If you did register a $50,000 commission..... don't you think that almost any company would try to weasel out of it if they can? They'd say, "all they did was send a click. they did not sell that company the product". That is why independent audits are needed, and that is why the biz is not ten times bigger than it already is.

Jasonn · 10-24-2008, 02:47 PM

Originally Posted by Seabass

Gamble = Guts

I was a young snot and invested $30,000 on my credit card in 1995 when I was 24, not including the domains I got for free before they charged for them.

I had very little cash to my name......just good credit from a business I had been running for two years. Back then a measly $100 was a lot of money to me. I took the full gamble at losing everything. I did not even own a computer in 1995..... I made lists of domains and then ran to my buddy's house to check the list almost every day. I bought my first computer in Jan. 1996..... a Gateway 2000 that set me back $3,400. Computers were very expensive back then. I literally threw every single red cent I had at the Net.....b/c I had the vision it would blow up.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

As a matter of fact, the third day after I learned about the existence of domain names for registration..... I sent two employees home and closed the shop at 1:00 P.M. and went straight over to my friends house and started registering domains(mid-August, 95') That's how overly excited I was. I could not believe what I was seeing..... my buddy too. Back then, you would put in a registration request and wait for it to be approved by the next morning by email....... and sometimes I would literally pace the entire evening around the house anticipating I might get that primo domain.

It was a total balls move and if I did not succeed I would have had to declare bankruptcy....... b/c I was just out of college with tons of college debt too.

Maybe the info. about Sex.com making $800,000 day is old info. ...... the adult industry does not make the crazy money the same way it did in the old days. I'm positive I had read that though. There was a time when some of my adult sites were converting 1:20 to sales...... impossible now. I know that back in the day there were some players were making $30 million + a month on adult.

I did read that Porno.com, which I am assuming is not as good as Porn.com, currently makes $1.2 million in parking each year..... and it is not developed like Sex.com.

Cool story. Unfortunately I was only 17 in 1995 and living in a rural area, getting the internet wasn't even an option until 1997. I finally got online in 1998 and regged my first domain in september 1998 but it was just for a hobby music site that featured songs in "real audio", lol. Eventually i started making adult sites in late 1998 and made good money from it in 1999. I remember my friends thinking it was such a bizarre concept as most didn't have the internet or even computers. I am pretty convinced that had I been a bit older and lived in a bigger city that I could of gotten rich off prime domains in the early to mid 90's but I'll never know. Even when I got on in 98, all the really good ones were gone. Adult was great back then. I could build a site in a week or two and have it making 10k a month within a month. As the years past though conversions went down and I kind of got burnt out trying to keep up. I didn't really start investing in domains until 2006/2007. Good domains are expensive now...You can spend low six figures and still not build that strong of a portfolio.

akcampbell · 10-24-2008, 03:08 PM

Originally Posted by Seabass

It was a total balls move and if I did not succeed I would have had to declare bankruptcy

Buying domains using credit card debt is just something you did to make money. Nobody was coming round to break your legs if you got it wrong.

Had you said you borrowed $10,000 from the local mob and if you hadn't paid it back they were coming round to cut your mouse hand off, I'd buy the total balls move story.

mjnels · 10-24-2008, 03:08 PM

i was 13 in 1995 and got my first computer and got online in 1996. now, someone donate me a valuable generic .com

yes, it was not too long i remember explaining to most people what the internet was and why it was cool. oh the blank stares......

Pred · 10-24-2008, 05:13 PM

Originally Posted by akcampbell

Buying domains using credit card debt is just something you did to make money. Nobody was coming round to break your legs if you got it wrong.

Had you said you borrowed $10,000 from the local mob and if you hadn't paid it back they were coming round to cut your mouse hand off, I'd buy the total balls move story.

so risking ridcule, poss. losing home, all credit and poss a relationship breakup off the back of it not enough for you? lol

also when u go bankrupt you cant be a company director for years, be involved running charities, prob politics etc etc , stain on you for years, if not xx years

plus when cc companies and the like sell the debt for a fraction to get recouped, who do you think they sell to einstein? especially 15 years ago
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

it took vision and balls, no question

**Archangel** · 10-24-2008, 06:01 PM

For you 'elder' domainers: What was the most valuable reg you ever had? I sold a handreg for about $386... that's my record

Charley · 10-25-2008, 08:06 AM

Originally Posted by Seabass

I had over 300 "companies" in 1995.

Can you name a few ?

Seabass · 10-25-2008, 09:55 AM

Originally Posted by Charley

Can you name a few ?

They were all made-up names......it really did not matter the name, just so I had one for each domain.

Okay.....here are a few I remember that don't give the domain identity away:

Arrest-A-Pest
Water Association
Mundo De Ropas
Mundo De Computador
AAA Guides
Collegas
Vente Cigarette
Money World
Money Quest
Money Man
Cosmeticos para Mujer
Boat Man

About 20% of my regs were foreign domains in 1995, which paid off handsomely by 1998. All my big sales (only three) came from Europe, two Spain, one England.

I took some of that money and put into AOL when everyone was bitching about how AOL did not have enough servers to keep up with all the additional subscribers and the stock tanked to $22 a share.....I loaded up. It then shot to the moon in price, literally, and the stock split eight times, and each time I went out on margin and bought more AOL stock. Then in May? 2000 when the market started to crash I lost a small fortune, in the first day it dropped from $96 a share to $66 and I sold everything........it then really crashed all the way down to $12 a share and never recovered after 2000. I was then able to purchase a beautiful house in the country on a lake with a fair amount of land. Best move I ever made.

????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515

My buddy was convinced that with Warner Brothers catalog of movies, etc.... they would syndicate it to AOL and AOL subscribers would buy the movies and merchandise and AOL would shoot to the moon. Needless to say.....he lost about 90% + of his money.

Sorry for the tangent!

R9V.com · 10-25-2008, 11:11 AM

in 1997 i used Network Solutions and NameSecure to reg - cost me $70

in 1999 - used the same - cost $35

in 2001 (i think) - used Godaddy.com think it cost like $13.99??

10-23-2008, 11:04 PM	#26 (permalink)
Seabass Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 1,259	Thanks Labrocca. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/526515-early-domainers.html One thing that helped Rick is that he had sold a drop shipping company for seven figures and was already successful...... that helped him make some strategic purchases that others with vision and less cash could not do. Kudos to him though.....I would have done it too. I imagine if parking had not come around he would be back into drop shipping, but still keeping his domains. I always knew domains had unrealized potential...... I still feel most domains still have not even begun to be monetized correctly. Will there be a day when one click pays $50,000? I don't know....... but I don't see why it is not possible if I sell $1,000,000 worth of computers, for example, through one click. Salesmen make that kind of commission through one sale, why should we not also? Before parking, I survived by employing a multi-prong attack of monetization...... it was redirect deals, custom deals, adult sites, and a network of 500 sites set up each on unique IP's my buddy and I set up that had every great generic we owned interconnected that got us literally all ten, every position, on the first page of Webcrawler in several niches. We then were able to sell advertising on the sites and the advertisers got an avalanche of traffic from us having all ten positions. They would rejigger Webcrawler, but we would just reoptimize and be back in at least eight of ten positions. I also had a couple of large sales in the late 90's that helped a lot. Looking to the future, I have a suspicion things are going to get really strange with parking in 09' and 10' and domainers may have to get exceptionally creative to stay afloat. And, this has nothing to do with the economy..... just G's long-term plans for us. These generics that many of us have are very, very valuable but I see big G as slowly marginalizing us to the point many of us begin to crumble if we are not diversified or nimble enough to get our hands dirty and hustle for that elusive dollar. It will be totally intentional by Google...... we are competitors and they want us gone. All the signs are there. I simply don't trust Google with my future. I suppose that is where your dev efforts save you Labrocca. Last edited by Seabass; 10-23-2008 at 11:18 PM.

10-24-2008, 06:49 AM	#35 (permalink)
DomainTalker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: http://ISSUES.COM Posts: 1,126	Hahah...Got me while I was editing, Archangel....!! . __________________ NewMediaFrontiers.com® - ChatBox.com - Movie.info - Phone.me M.biz - Hypnotherapist.com - AJ.net - YT.net - iFlyDrive.com - iSofa.com

10-24-2008, 07:29 AM	#37 (permalink)
mjnels Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sunny Florida Posts: 2,181	i smell nostalgia in the air! very cool stories Seabass... makes me think my time spent on IRC in the 90's wasnt put to good use. __________________ :\|

10-24-2008, 11:08 AM	#40 (permalink)
Malaysia Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Malaysia Posts: 3,278	i started to go online in 1997.Have been trading online since then from posting on classifieds online n swapping stuff back then since i am still studying then into auctions n now domaining.. got into domaining in end of 2005 when i wanted to build an ecommerce website after selling online for few years.n only then i got my first domain.IF ONLY i get into this earlier..but no regrets...there are always "IF" in lotsa stuff..but look ahead n dont look back.no point dwelling in the past n knocking our head telling ourself why dint we get into this earlier. __________________ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ██████Work Smart Play Hard! ████

10-24-2008, 03:08 PM	#45 (permalink)
mjnels Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Sunny Florida Posts: 2,181	i was 13 in 1995 and got my first computer and got online in 1996. now, someone donate me a valuable generic .com yes, it was not too long i remember explaining to most people what the internet was and why it was cool. oh the blank stares...... __________________ :\|

10-24-2008, 08:20 AM	#38 (permalink)
*Practical* Name Seller Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: NYC Posts: 1,066 Follow @dnauctions	I had bought my nickname and a few other domains, but already by the time I started looking in 1998 words of almost every shape and size were gone. Being a gamer I was always interested in fantasy rpg names and most great terms were taken. I used to play MultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGames, and MORPG.com had already been taken. But we never called it a MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame and to me, MORPG was shorter so why register MMORPG.com? Ten years later it's worth almost a mil, who would've known? ... C'est La Vie!

10-24-2008, 11:51 AM	#41 (permalink)
shinysign NamePros Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 54	As far as domains go, I remember registering my name in about 2000 and thinking domains had potential, but didn't give it a lot of thought until 2006. I suppose as they say with anything, the best time to start is yesterday. But actually I was the most annoyed when I first learned about the potential of domains in 2006 and thought, well why didn't I do that in 2000? But it doesn't really bother me now, actually I like hearing the early stories. Another bit of early internet nostalgia: remember back before google when Yahoo was one of the main search engines? I was in school and was looking for information, like actual usable information that now is so common on the web. But then, to make money, Yahoo made pages and pages of sponsored listings on the front page, there were no 'normal' listings it seemed, everything took me to an advertisement. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=526515 Then one day I found google, and I was so excited when it returned actual valid websites that individuals had put up with usable information rather than companies trying to sell me something. Sounds strange today, getting so excited over something that is so common now. (Though I admit, today there are still issues with some keywords, affiliate programs and other google pagerank methods have monopolized the front pages of some searches, but not with every single keyword like it used to be.) I thought that day, wow, I'd like to invest in Google. However, I didn't really have enough money at the time to invest in it, but I magically did have a lot of money at the time and had invested it in Google lol.

10-24-2008, 06:01 PM	#47 (permalink)
Archangel www.randypendleton.com Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Southern Ohio, USA Posts: 7,045	For you 'elder' domainers: What was the most valuable reg you ever had? I sold a handreg for about $386... that's my record

10-25-2008, 11:11 AM	#50 (permalink)
R9V.com Domain Branding Expert Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 795	in 1997 i used Network Solutions and NameSecure to reg - cost me $70 in 1999 - used the same - cost $35 in 2001 (i think) - used Godaddy.com think it cost like $13.99?? __________________ EliteIdentity.com<-Premium Domain Portfolio R9V.com Network: SeatBeltPads.com (TM) Googlest.com As Seen On G4TV! IntraWiz.com iPodHacking.com DevelopQuick.com Last edited by R9V.com; 10-25-2008 at 11:43 AM.

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