gazzip

I was just looking at an amazing bunch of country names and TOP quality one worders that are owned by one person.....which got me thinking

I know Sahar & Frank started out around 2000 but many top names were long gone by then, I'm not sure when Rick Schwartz or Yun Yee started ?

So, Does anyone know who is the "first Domainer" (known to the public) and when did they start ?

Thanks


.

biggie

the first domainer was either Moses or Mark Cuban can't remember which

__________________
www.urlpick.com...Premium Domain Names
PMM.org * QE.org * 96.net * 150.org * WPD.net * OPV.net * MrQ.net * XMD.net * 455.info * 735.org * 1MD.com * QN1.com * XAX.org * QG1.com * IZ1.com * OVL.net * VJ4.com * MOBI.us.com * SVC.net * MVN.org * SOP.net * SVH.org * OPO.net * QFM.net * WEW.org * MFP.org

Ronald Regging

duh, its Al Gore... He created the Internet, so he was obviously the first domainer as well.

Seabass

I think Rick Schwartz started in Dec. 1995, but I am not sure. I started Aug. 1995, right before they started charging $100 per domain for a two year registration. My first regs were free.

However, I think that the Sex.com guy, Gary Kremen, stated in 1994, and also, I believe that guy, Leland Hardy, who owns NewYork.com started in 1994. I venture to guess there were less than 20 of us, at the most, before 1996 doing serious registrations, b/c I kept seeing the same names doing the registering - kind of like now but much more apparent. In 1996 it began to explode.

Someone out there correct me or add to what I said, if they can. I'd like to know who the real first one was too !

gazzip

Wow, you started in 1995 - one of the early pioneers excellent, did you buy in a big way at that time or was that something that most of you did over a period of years.

What made you first decide to start buying domains?

I see quiet a few country names that seemed to have been reg'd in 1997 (although there's probably no way of telling if they had been dropped by then).

Thanks


.

RTM

Bob Metcalfe ?

__________________
Premium generic portfolio sale on eBay now! Geo, Dictionary, French, 4 character and more!

GEO? Puebla.org 5.8M+ Mexican City/State!... BIN: $8K (hot geo reseller price)

Seabass

I bought in big and spent $30,000 in 1995. That figure may not sound like a lot today, but remember it was 1995. Anyways, that is a whole other story in and of itself.

I can name more early companies than I can actually name the folks behind them. Some of them I never have found out who they were and they never answered email then and still don't today, like me. I'm on the boards some but I really never answer emails.

Here are some other early ones I remember (folks/companies):

Cyberfine Systems
Skip Hoagland
Solutions Advancing People
Johnson & Johnson (they may have been Jan/Feb 96', can't remember)
CES Marketing - these guys really, really raked in the great generics

I know of some others but they would not appreciate me mentioning them, so I will respect their wishes.

Giode

The person I bought copies.com from, Martin Turnbull, was among the first to "get it" I would think. At one point this guy owned hundreds of premium names. Very few of these names are still owned by him. Most sold off years ago. This is what he owned January 1998. I imagine he owned MANY other names, that he sold previously to this date.

He was the first to register these names below:

bedtime.com
bests.com
BOK.com
broadwayplay.com
broadwayplays.com
broadwayshows.com
BROWN.COM
Bryan.com
Bulletin.com
burglaralarms.com
camerashopper.com
Carolina.com
citylisting.com
citymagazines.com
citynewspapers.com
chevy.com
cityresturant.com
Clicker.com
computerbusiness.com
Computershopping.com
Contestant.com
Copier.com
Copies.com
Cornell.com
Crestone.com
Customshirt.com
Cyberbet.com
Cybergame.com
Cybershops.com
Dumas.com
Emigrant.com
Entrance.com
fairgrounds.com
fashiondesigners.com
GAB.com
Galore.com
GAMER.com
GAMESTER..com
Glendale.com
golfshopper.com
GraphicImages.com
gunshopper.com
guntrader.com
guantanamobay.com
Headlines.com
Hoagies.com
Homeland.com
jetskis.com
Laredo.com
KENOSHA.COM
lawenforcement.com
Lifestyles.com
liquorstores.com
lordjesus.com
money.net
musicals.com
musicshopper.com
nanotechnology.com
nationalbusiness.com
Petcare.com
petshops.com
republicanparty.com
QUIZMASTER.com
Quizshow.com
SCOUT.com
Seasonings.com
skeetshooting.com
spiritualadvisor.com
SMARTEST.COM
Stereos.com
TABS.com
Suncruiser.com
tattooing.com
Tempe.com
Teens.com
toyshopper.com
TRAP.com
Tristar.com
Tristate.com
tvguides.com
tvlisting.com
tvmovies.com
tvschedules.com
Twincity.com
VIDEO-POKER.com
videoshopper.com
WEBCHANNEL.COM
Windowshopping.com
ZILLIONS.com
Zillionaire.com
jubilee.com

__________________
My Linkedin Profile

networkmsia

wow that sure is a beautiful portfolio.

__________________
Do you need some motivation ? Do you need a healing ?
Business announcements Make an announcement

gazzip

Phew, you hit it hard and fast then that's a HUGE amount in 1995 !!

I'd love to know what made you decide to invest so much at an early date, was it something you read, inside knowledge etc.

Thanks for sharing !


Sweet names If this is the same Martin Turnbull then it looks like he first really started to "get it" in 1995

I just found these articles and I'm pretty sure its the same guy !

How important is the Internet in real life?
(mostly related to his business by the look of it)

From 1995 http://www.printusa.com/articles/reallife.htm

and this one is probably alot later

http://www.loghomes.net/aboutlh.html (also owns the .com first reg'd in 21 April 95)


Great stuff

.

onewordonly

I started in 96, just a shame I never brought more than one or two names that I then let expire $100 was alot of money in those days, I could tell something big was happening though...

__________________
Domain Name Coupon Codes for popular registers including:
Mydomain coupons - Dotster Coupons - GoDaddy.com Coupons - Hosting Coupons ... more

nstalk

As I recall in the early days there was no indication the dotcom would be king.

It wasn't known if the plural was better than the singular or if two words that made sense was better than a single word name.

I remember thinking that names like barbershop, automechanic, cardealer, etc. would be very valuable some day but I wasn't sure.

Everybody I talked to back then really wasn't sure domain names would be the primary way of pulling up or identifying a website....most of us were afraid if we invested a lot of money in domains they would change over from domain names to something else.

I remember when 3 letters with no meaning was hardly worth anything....and nobody ever talked about use of the number of consonants and vowels in a name.

I believe the registration of domain names began to get popular when somebody published a widely read story about the big money that was made by a few who acquired and resold telephone numbers that corresponded with letters that actually spelled something. There was a lot of money made in that way back then and many people compared that to the registering and reselling domain names.

It wasn't a slam dunk of just registering the best names and holding on till you got rich. Nobody really knew what the best names would be and nobody in the beginning even knew if domain names would last. It was a real gamble in the beginning.

jido

I only came to the Internet when I started University in 1997. When I registered my first domain, which is my last name .com, in 2002 there was already a well established Internet industry.

My most marking memory is when I discovered the Google beta search engine, which came as an alternative to Altavista and used a controversial "back-links" criterion to estimate the relevance of search results. Yahoo was already around at that time IIRC.

__________________
______________________________________
Time After Leisure & Events discussions
eBay auction aqnu, pzpy, vqqr.com 16 llll.com start $.95
_______________ f o r . s a l e ______________

clocker24

It's funny, I just wrote a post on my blog titled, "The Early Years: Where Were You" and then I noticed this thread. Unfortunately for me I was not even on the internet until 1997, and I did start registering some domains back then but I was thinking I would develop them into businesses. I didn't conceive or imagine that domains would become enormously valuable in and of themselves.

__________________
DomainerPro.com - Chronicles of a Domain Name Professional

john_karr

Mark Cuban buy and sold domain names?

Seabass

Here is what happened:

My friend and I had been talking about a press release that Network Solutions put out that said "First come, first serve" on domain names. All domains were still free at this point in early Aug. 1995. Two days after the conversation, where we had been just blown away by the opportunity staring us in the face, I quit work in the middle of the day b/c I got too excited about thinking about what I could do with the domain "Lawyer,com" and I went home and called my friend on the phone and ran over to his house b/c I did not own a computer. So I used his computer to compile lists. I got some of my first domains free, but they soon changed it. I began to see others grabbing the PRIMO domains and I got even more excited. I had a lot of room on my credit cards and I put together a list of about 300 domains I wanted and ran up $30,000 on my cards. I continued to purchase domains in 1996 and never stopped. But, I must say it took all I had to keep those domains b/c it was $100 a domain for a two year registration. After awhile part of the registration fee was ruled illegal by a judge and Network Solutions had to drop their fee to $70 for a two year registration. That saved my ass and I was able to hold on until I could cut deals for "redirects", affiliate programs, and I also developed out some sites too. I am glad to say I have held onto all but three or four domains to this day. My friend owns some of the biggest domains out there ; I went a little different direction, I own sets of domains in categories that form "niche domain collections". So, you could say, for example I might have grabbed all domains relating to "Mountain Climbing" (just an example). But I still own some biggies too.



You were there!!! I can tell.

True, there was no indication that .COM would be king, but there were ONLY three extensions to chose from and .org is was non-profit and still is regarded as such today, .Net was for ISP's, web developers, etc... so all the guys doing the serious regs back then were concentrating on .com b/c that is where we saw the business going.

Yes, I do remember struggling for about three weeks and also others struggling with whether to buy plural or singular. Folks.... you got to remember it was a HUGE decision b/c at $100 a domain, if you made the wrong decision it was forever. Buying the singular and plural back then set your wallet on fire it was so expensive for domains that made NO, NO money, no silly pennies from parking, NOTHING. You had to make deals happen.

Most of the "category Killer" domains were gone before 1996 rolled around.

mhdoc

I think that is the part many would be domainers miss. It's not an easy decision to do that when your spouse/associates/financial advisors are all telling you you are completely out of your mind and even you don't have a proven method for income generation to make the payments.

The opportunity seems obvious now; but wasn't at the time.

gazzip

Excellent info Guys I was'nt there but from your two posts I can almost taste what it must have been like to make those kind of decisions at such an early stage - You must both have Balls of Steel ! Exciting Stuff

It must of taken a huge amount of faith/commitment to jack your job in straight away like that and I'm amazed you managed to keep most of them after all that time !

So many of the country names for example were probably already taken by 1996 and were FREE did either of you manage to get any of them ?


This is great stuff, somebody should write a book about it


.

Damn, that's gotta hurt is'nt Hindsight a horrible thing !


.

I take it you mean this guy ???

Bartender to dot-com billionaire

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Cuban

.

Seabass

I missed the countries but got some cities, and I totally missed the boat on three character domains. My mind did not wander that direction back then. I wanted generic words that had mindshare.

Believe it or not, there were some domainers that were enthusiastic about domains but bought domains like eFloridaFunTimes.com, even back in 1995 and 1996. I remember my friend and I giggling about those guys, one of whom is our friend. They totally missed the boat and I bet most sit around talking about what "could have been" .

It truly was a stab at the future wealth and if I could ever do it over again I would have done several things differently. It was a really hard call as to what was the right thing to do. But, I can't complain.

As a funny side note, there was also a "one domain per one company" rule in 95' that Network Solutions set out to enforce, which caused me and others to create a different company for every domain. They later abandoned that crazy idea.

But, back to the main question: Who was the first domainer ???

Giode

This is the same Martin. Good guy, and has no doubt made some pretty good money selling some of these names.

Notice that he once owned Chevy.com and Lifestyles.com.

__________________
My Linkedin Profile

RJ

The term "domainer" is only a few years old you know. Wikipedia entry says "Domainers are individuals whose profession is the accumulation and dealing of generic internet domain names." Sounds like a fair assessment. I wouldn't consider guys like Gary Kremen that simply got good names early on to be domainers.

The term "cybersquatter" was much more frequently used to describe people who bought mass quantities of domains back then, regardless if they contained trademarks or not. I'm glad to see the domaining business make such strides towards legitimacy since then.

Rick Schwartz is the earliest that I know of who was actually out there publicly talking about buying domain names as investments in the mid 90's. Maybe it's him.

RJ

onewordonly

interesting stories... I think someone could make a great movie on this goldrush period in the Internet history.

__________________
Domain Name Coupon Codes for popular registers including:
Mydomain coupons - Dotster Coupons - GoDaddy.com Coupons - Hosting Coupons ... more

domainer50

I almost started drooling at the list when I just saw it. I wish I had those names.

Seabass

True the term "domainer" is fairly new (who coined that?), but what we did in 1995 was still "domaining", just different. The label has gravitated from "Cybersquatters" then (mostly extreme jealousy) to "domainers" today (some admiration, some negativity).

And... it was work back then, unlike what some might think, b/c you could not look up mass lists and had to do it all on dial-up, one at a time, on Network Solutions' slow, new system. Also, if you did not do the regs yourself back then there was pretty much a standard $50 per domain "application fee" that you had to pay an ISP, or equivalent type of company, to fill out and submit for you. You also needed someone, or yourself, to run your own DNS servers or you could not complete an application.

So, without your own servers for your own DNS entries, you were looking at $150 per domain expense, just to get started. $100 for two years reg. and $50 application fee, payable to your ISP, or whoever could get you those DNS entries needed to make a domain purchase.

So, you can see that it was "Domaining" except that what we do today is entirely different. Just like a good domainer has to be versatile today, you had to be then as well to make the pieces fit together.

I fail to see your point of characterization of the two types of buyers (old school/new school), whether mass quantities were bought back then or today - it's all the same. There was no domain tasting in 95 either, remember. We paved the way for new guys and gals b/c we became a recognized force that snowballed into what exists today, with more entrants coming on daily.

In terms of Rick, I know of folks that can show earlier regs dates on their domains, that is, if he started in Dec. 1995 as I am thinking. I believe I read that, but don't crush me Rick if I'm wrong!

I actually know of a guy, that runs some sites today, that says he regged many domains in 1990 but gave up in 1992 when he came to the conclusion that the Internet would never take off. I have not been able to ever confirm his story though.

RJ

Seabass, I'm really enjoying your posts.

My previous post didn't convey my thoughts very well. There are two different kinds of domain buyers. Some people buy a domain as a tool, others buy a domain as an investment. Being a domain owner doesn't automatically make you a domainer.

Proctor and Gamble owned a ton of valuable generic domains in 1995. Great ones like HEADACHE.COM, PUNCH.COM, SENSUAL.COM. Would you consider them domainers?

I didn't start understanding the potential of domains until 1996, and didn't start "domaining" until 1997 so I can't definitively answer the question of who the first domainer was from my own experience. I was a web designer before being a domainer, so I do remember what the perception of investing in domains was back then. Anyone of us could have purchased great domains like TV.com on the aftermarket for $5k. How come we didn't? Very few people realized how big this sleeping giant was. We were blown away when business.com sold for $150k! It was unreal.

Rick was the first guy I remember seeing publicly buying domains at a premium and evangelizing what I would consider to be real domaining. I don't know who proceeded him. Hopefully we can dig together and find out.

RJ