Is this a good hobby..

iDeviseFlash · 05-01-2005, 12:44 PM

Ok, do people buy domain names, then develop the site, then sell the site and the name, and do this for their job? Is it a good way to make money? I think that it would be fun, but how much money realisticalyl can you make off this?

.X. · 05-01-2005, 05:29 PM

I think it depends on your knowledge of domain name industry as to rather you can actually make a living of DNs alone.Iam not even close to making a living off names alone,I make some extra income selling names and parking names not all that much though,Collecting DNs is basically a hobby to me right now,Iam very new and have years of learning ahead of me.Domain names cost no more than a nice pack of football trading cards,But are more fun to have IMO.My developed names "Websites" Do make some decent money,Iam not sure i would go to say they make me a living,But some income.I enjoy all aspects of domaining,It's great fun and can be very rewarding.I think it's pretty much like anything else,You get out of it,What you put into it.

jamminsport16 · 05-01-2005, 05:55 PM

yeah some people do that =]

WuLabsWuTecH · 05-01-2005, 06:50 PM

you can earn a living out of it but most people have it as a hobby or a supplimental income. I treat all of my web work as a hobby and have already paied off my initiall costs and my hobby is self supporting so hey!

jamminsport16 · 05-01-2005, 06:53 PM

yup. just like realstate. just keeps goin up; hopefully =]

Joseph · 05-02-2005, 02:13 AM

Its a good second income if you know what you are doing!

.X. · 05-02-2005, 03:01 AM

Originally Posted by Joseph

Its a good second income if you know what you are doing!

Perfectly said!

SharonTucci · 05-02-2005, 10:00 AM

It is possible to make decent/very good money. I've averaged an annual return of 800% over domain registration fees since 2001. Some years higher, some lower. The return is split between domain name sales and monetizing domains while waiting for a sale.

There is one crucial thing to understand and that's how important it is to select domain names properly. In real estate, you hear about "location, location".... well with domain names, it is about the combination of the first part of the domain and the top level domain the domain is registered under.

I rarely register/buy anything other than .com's. The value, with rare exception, will never be the same. For the most part, it costs the same for most TLDs... so why go for something that would be hard to sell for the same amount of $? Also, I pretty much avoid hyphens and numbers. I use hyphen domains for traffic sites and my own projects because they work just as well with search engines. But the secondary market hasn't caught on as well to this so I rarely get them for resale purposes.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-newbies/86759-is-this-a-good-hobby.html

I didn't get started in the secondary domain market intentionally. I was already a 'net entrepreneur. I had sold a domain for a nice $XX,XXX amount early 2001. It was a domain I had registered intending to develop at some point in the future. Someone approached me privately. Anyhow, after selling that domain I got curious about the business. Spent a month learning -- seeing what kind of domains sell and the prices. Got to know some domainers. Then I took 1/3 of what I made and split it up into building up a portfolio evenly on a weekly basis over 3 months. Some of my purchases were from people selling domains below market value - not all were new registrations.

Since then, I've followed the same basic strategy - reinvest 1/3 of my domain sales into acquiring new domains. Monetizing my domains covers my registration fees and those that I haven't sold when it comes to renewal or that arent covering their reg fees via monetizing, I normally will dump. (Sometimes I don't though if I particularly think a domain has potential for branding purposes.)

What has worked well for me for acquiring domains has been focusing on domains where there would be no confusion about spelling, that it is either easy to figure out what you'd expect to find at that domain if it were developed or it has potential for being a branded name, I try to stick to domains that have 2 words and avoid "cute" spellings of words in domains. Then the staying with .com, avoiding hyphens and numbers.... monetizing via something like DomainSponsor or redirecting to an affiliate program that ties well with the name and that's basically it.

Gene · 05-02-2005, 10:05 AM

A wonderful post, Sharon!

stscac · 05-02-2005, 11:27 AM

awesome post Sharon, thanks@

Zeeble · 05-02-2005, 11:56 AM

Great post.

jamminsport16 · 05-02-2005, 12:45 PM

SharonTucci thats is a good idea to use 1/3 of your profits. =] save some & still invest in more names. Do u ever develop the domains into good websites & sell them?

iDeviseFlash · 05-02-2005, 01:15 PM

thanks a lot Sharon!

That really helped. You mentioned something about a top level domain, what is that?

SharonTucci · 05-02-2005, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by jamminsport16

SharonTucci thats is a good idea to use 1/3 of your profits. =] save some & still invest in more names. Do u ever develop the domains into good websites & sell them?

My primary business IS in business development, not in domains. I have sold a number of developed sites with existing customer bases. But that is a different ballgame. Often large capital investments to get to that point. I've also done a lot of consulting work over the years. I went into semi-retirement Jan 2004 and took half the year off. This year I started working on mentoring programs which is kind of fun.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=86759

Originally Posted by iDeviseFlash

thanks a lot Sharon!

That really helped. You mentioned something about a top level domain, what is that?

TLDs = .com, .net, .biz etc

No problem.

Legend.name · 05-02-2005, 02:30 PM

TQ for sharing!

AdoptableDomains · 05-02-2005, 07:38 PM

There are lots of ways to make money in the domain business. There are even more ways to lose money in the domain business if you don't learn it well and use common sense.

The biggest mistake is forgetting that every name you register has a renewal fee due in a year. Dont' register more than you can afford to renew next year, regardless of the possible future value. It's better to buy at $10 and sell for $25, than ask $10,000 and then let it drop after a few renewals unsold. Adding value to the domain by doing development enhances the ease of sale and shows the domain is viable. If you have the time and skills, its a good way to go.

.X. · 05-03-2005, 04:15 PM

Originally Posted by AdoptableDomains

There are lots of ways to make money in the domain business. There are even more ways to lose money in the domain business if you don't learn it well and use common sense.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=86759

The biggest mistake is forgetting that every name you register has a renewal fee due in a year. Dont' register more than you can afford to renew next year, regardless of the possible future value. It's better to buy at $10 and sell for $25, than ask $10,000 and then let it drop after a few renewals unsold. Adding value to the domain by doing development enhances the ease of sale and shows the domain is viable. If you have the time and skills, its a good way to go.

Great post sharon!And very well said AdoptableDomains.

iNod · 05-03-2005, 04:46 PM

It is easy to just buy a simple domain for 25$ develop it into a site and make 300$ off it. It happens all the time. I myself do this more of less for some extra cash but I would enjoy doing this for work since I love doing it.

It doesn't make to much but it takes alot of your time.

I would suggest it has a hobby or extra cash maker. Not a job. The reason is because you don't get a steady pay. One wrong buy can really hurt your profit. Not very stable business but a nice money maker. Alot more people sell items and buy items on eBay this is actually a job.

iNod

ccm · 05-03-2005, 05:02 PM

Originally Posted by Joseph

Its a good second income if you know what you are doing!

exactly, I am a little fish like you,, I buy a few some I fool around with and develop, some I just sit on, but I have learned that it's a big boys game. guys that do this for a living, guys with large wallets can make alot of dough. but either way I enjoy it, without expecting the profits that I know are there, but I also don't have the time.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=86759
anywho, my opinion is, unless you have a good amount of bread to buy and/or the skills/knowledge to create and promote a site, then ease into it, and see what your comfort zone is.
Good Luck either way!

-Charles

ezimedia · 05-03-2005, 08:17 PM

HI

Sharon.. Thanks for sharing.. I basically am doing the same thing as you posted now but only been into it for a little under 2 years and my domain portfolio is growing slowly and I have sold a few domains in that time which has covered the cost of all my domains and even left me with some profit.

I just concentrate on getting better names into my portfolio as time goes on.

Thanks
Tom Dahne

Mike · 05-05-2005, 11:58 AM

Great Post, Sharon!
This can almost be used as a "How-To" Guide.
Definately gets my recommendation!

StudioWorks · 05-05-2005, 01:54 PM

What a wonderul reading it was , Thaks Sharon.

AdoptableDomains · 05-05-2005, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Is this a good hobby..

It probably beats drinking and gambling. However if you are a newbie, the differences between this and gambling are very slight, and could drive you to drink.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=86759

harpo · 05-06-2005, 02:16 AM

a vote towards a great hobby , and the internet is shaping a new future {w/ domain names as one of the pillars in its foundation}. Ask kids in school nowadays wifi in the colleges laptops on the school desk these kids will bring a new frontier and make us look like oldmen so we better learn while we can,,,
and i say even if you dont pull a profit the tools you learn is worth the cost and
will help much , { college kids spend thousands of dollars to study computers in school} this is really hands on very practical stuff}
when buying a name you learn about links, overture , drops ect ect and this in turn will cultivate one better workplace for you on this market......
even if you just sell stickers on the web.
Dont you think Google with its success is getting the attention from the business majors { colleges like Mit ,Yale ect the professors are lecturing and talking about what we are studing here...... the internet and domains will get a revitalization or major spike when these kids start to have money....
and they are already making lots of maney on the net...

Every thing you learn now about domain names will better equipt one for the future...

Experience this as a learning endeavor::: to view domains through the lense of making money only and to let the dollar pull you around and judge your success by the money you make or your sales is sort shallow.
????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=86759
its just a small piece of the whole,
With discipline, deligence and focus Any direction you chose success is an automatic fruition.. The internet being sound soil.

kektex · 05-06-2005, 08:59 AM

I can tell you as a newbie it is very easy to get carried away in this hobby! I started by buying some of my country´s cTLD and since people here apparently haven´t caught up to the domains business I got some very nice ones and then moved to straight TLDs. Now I´ve got some due for renewal and sadly I´m going to have to drop some nice ones since I don´t have the cash. So the advice on some post above this one is very true: remember that a year from the date you registered the domain you will have to pay up again.
And that means that if you got carried away and bought one domain every week it can very easily add up to a lot of money.

05-01-2005, 12:44 PM	THREAD STARTER #1 (permalink)
iDeviseFlash Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,030	Is this a good hobby.. Ok, do people buy domain names, then develop the site, then sell the site and the name, and do this for their job? Is it a good way to make money? I think that it would be fun, but how much money realisticalyl can you make off this? __________________ ~~ SIG FOR SALE ~~ Click here...

05-01-2005, 05:55 PM	#3 (permalink)
jamminsport16 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 1,482	yeah some people do that =] __________________ Visit the Hollister Clothes Outlet at: Hollister Clothes

05-01-2005, 06:53 PM	#5 (permalink)
jamminsport16 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 1,482	yup. just like realstate. just keeps goin up; hopefully =] __________________ Visit the Hollister Clothes Outlet at: Hollister Clothes

05-02-2005, 02:13 AM	#6 (permalink)
Joseph Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ireland Posts: 2,690	Its a good second income if you know what you are doing! __________________ - ForumCures.com Quality Forum Posting Service

05-02-2005, 10:00 AM	#8 (permalink)
SharonTucci NamePros Regular Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Canada Posts: 990	It is possible to make decent/very good money. I've averaged an annual return of 800% over domain registration fees since 2001. Some years higher, some lower. The return is split between domain name sales and monetizing domains while waiting for a sale. There is one crucial thing to understand and that's how important it is to select domain names properly. In real estate, you hear about "location, location".... well with domain names, it is about the combination of the first part of the domain and the top level domain the domain is registered under. I rarely register/buy anything other than .com's. The value, with rare exception, will never be the same. For the most part, it costs the same for most TLDs... so why go for something that would be hard to sell for the same amount of $? Also, I pretty much avoid hyphens and numbers. I use hyphen domains for traffic sites and my own projects because they work just as well with search engines. But the secondary market hasn't caught on as well to this so I rarely get them for resale purposes. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/domain-newbies/86759-is-this-a-good-hobby.html I didn't get started in the secondary domain market intentionally. I was already a 'net entrepreneur. I had sold a domain for a nice $XX,XXX amount early 2001. It was a domain I had registered intending to develop at some point in the future. Someone approached me privately. Anyhow, after selling that domain I got curious about the business. Spent a month learning -- seeing what kind of domains sell and the prices. Got to know some domainers. Then I took 1/3 of what I made and split it up into building up a portfolio evenly on a weekly basis over 3 months. Some of my purchases were from people selling domains below market value - not all were new registrations. Since then, I've followed the same basic strategy - reinvest 1/3 of my domain sales into acquiring new domains. Monetizing my domains covers my registration fees and those that I haven't sold when it comes to renewal or that arent covering their reg fees via monetizing, I normally will dump. (Sometimes I don't though if I particularly think a domain has potential for branding purposes.) What has worked well for me for acquiring domains has been focusing on domains where there would be no confusion about spelling, that it is either easy to figure out what you'd expect to find at that domain if it were developed or it has potential for being a branded name, I try to stick to domains that have 2 words and avoid "cute" spellings of words in domains. Then the staying with .com, avoiding hyphens and numbers.... monetizing via something like DomainSponsor or redirecting to an affiliate program that ties well with the name and that's basically it. __________________ Domainate.com - coming soon :)

	LeadRefs	Forum Sponsorship
	New to the domain business? Start making money now by flipping expiring domains! LeadRefs.com has daily lists of the top expiring domains with potential buyers already generated for you.

05-01-2005, 05:29 PM	#2 (permalink)
.X. Revolution Calling! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: NamePros Avenue Posts: 5,919	I think it depends on your knowledge of domain name industry as to rather you can actually make a living of DNs alone.Iam not even close to making a living off names alone,I make some extra income selling names and parking names not all that much though,Collecting DNs is basically a hobby to me right now,Iam very new and have years of learning ahead of me.Domain names cost no more than a nice pack of football trading cards,But are more fun to have IMO.My developed names "Websites" Do make some decent money,Iam not sure i would go to say they make me a living,But some income.I enjoy all aspects of domaining,It's great fun and can be very rewarding.I think it's pretty much like anything else,You get out of it,What you put into it.

05-01-2005, 06:50 PM	#4 (permalink)
WuLabsWuTecH Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,478	you can earn a living out of it but most people have it as a hobby or a supplimental income. I treat all of my web work as a hobby and have already paied off my initiall costs and my hobby is self supporting so hey!

05-02-2005, 10:05 AM	#9 (permalink)
Gene DomainersUniversity.com Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Oswego, NY Posts: 4,702 Follow @GenePimentel	A wonderful post, Sharon! __________________ . . Expired Domain Search -- ExpiredDomainBoss.com \| Sell Domain Names -- DomainProfitsClub.com -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

05-02-2005, 11:27 AM	#10 (permalink)
stscac A Wealth of Knowledge Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 3,803	awesome post Sharon, thanks@

05-02-2005, 11:56 AM	#11 (permalink)
Zeeble New.Net Destroyer.... Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 2,947	Great post. __________________ â€œIt is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest.â€ - Adam Smith

05-02-2005, 12:45 PM	#12 (permalink)
jamminsport16 Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Florida Posts: 1,482	SharonTucci thats is a good idea to use 1/3 of your profits. =] save some & still invest in more names. Do u ever develop the domains into good websites & sell them? __________________ Visit the Hollister Clothes Outlet at: Hollister Clothes

05-02-2005, 01:15 PM	THREAD STARTER #13 (permalink)
iDeviseFlash Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 1,030	thanks a lot Sharon! That really helped. You mentioned something about a top level domain, what is that? __________________ ~~ SIG FOR SALE ~~ Click here...

05-02-2005, 02:30 PM	#15 (permalink)
Legend.name Strength & Honor Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Classic.name Posts: 5,083	TQ for sharing! __________________ PM ME FOR FOREX INVESTMENT!

05-02-2005, 07:38 PM	#16 (permalink)
AdoptableDomains Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 4,015	There are lots of ways to make money in the domain business. There are even more ways to lose money in the domain business if you don't learn it well and use common sense. The biggest mistake is forgetting that every name you register has a renewal fee due in a year. Dont' register more than you can afford to renew next year, regardless of the possible future value. It's better to buy at $10 and sell for $25, than ask $10,000 and then let it drop after a few renewals unsold. Adding value to the domain by doing development enhances the ease of sale and shows the domain is viable. If you have the time and skills, its a good way to go. __________________ AdoptableDomains.com ~~~~~Finding Good Homes for Good Names~~~~~ FuelPrices.mobi - Fish.us - ManhattanNewYork.net - Salesmen.info - SoundSystems.org Dickering.com - JobPlacement.biz - LotteryTickets.ws - Deleted.cc - Names.im - MP3.hn

05-03-2005, 04:46 PM	#18 (permalink)
iNod Eating Pie Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Canada Posts: 2,267	It is easy to just buy a simple domain for 25$ develop it into a site and make 300$ off it. It happens all the time. I myself do this more of less for some extra cash but I would enjoy doing this for work since I love doing it. It doesn't make to much but it takes alot of your time. I would suggest it has a hobby or extra cash maker. Not a job. The reason is because you don't get a steady pay. One wrong buy can really hurt your profit. Not very stable business but a nice money maker. Alot more people sell items and buy items on eBay this is actually a job. iNod __________________ I feel old.

05-03-2005, 08:17 PM	#20 (permalink)
ezimedia Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: IllawarraClassifieds.com.au Posts: 2,329 Follow @ezimedia	HI Sharon.. Thanks for sharing.. I basically am doing the same thing as you posted now but only been into it for a little under 2 years and my domain portfolio is growing slowly and I have sold a few domains in that time which has covered the cost of all my domains and even left me with some profit. I just concentrate on getting better names into my portfolio as time goes on. Thanks Tom Dahne __________________ My Domains @ Bido.com - Take a LOOK and Vote Or Bid Free Directory Submitter - More Free Seo Tools - Free Forum Poster Software

05-05-2005, 11:58 AM	#21 (permalink)
Mike NamePros Expert Join Date: May 2005 Location: www.chrome.us Posts: 5,184	Great Post, Sharon! This can almost be used as a "How-To" Guide. Definately gets my recommendation!

05-05-2005, 01:54 PM	#22 (permalink)
StudioWorks no one lives forever Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NamePros Posts: 8,075	What a wonderul reading it was , Thaks Sharon. __________________ epagini.com mexicorealty.net softwarepit.com yadasoftware.com

05-06-2005, 02:16 AM	#24 (permalink)
harpo Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: The Source Posts: 1,046	a vote towards a great hobby , and the internet is shaping a new future {w/ domain names as one of the pillars in its foundation}. Ask kids in school nowadays wifi in the colleges laptops on the school desk these kids will bring a new frontier and make us look like oldmen so we better learn while we can,,, and i say even if you dont pull a profit the tools you learn is worth the cost and will help much , { college kids spend thousands of dollars to study computers in school} this is really hands on very practical stuff} when buying a name you learn about links, overture , drops ect ect and this in turn will cultivate one better workplace for you on this market...... even if you just sell stickers on the web. Dont you think Google with its success is getting the attention from the business majors { colleges like Mit ,Yale ect the professors are lecturing and talking about what we are studing here...... the internet and domains will get a revitalization or major spike when these kids start to have money.... and they are already making lots of maney on the net... Every thing you learn now about domain names will better equipt one for the future... Experience this as a learning endeavor::: to view domains through the lense of making money only and to let the dollar pull you around and judge your success by the money you make or your sales is sort shallow. ????: NamePros.com http://www.namepros.com/showthread.php?t=86759 its just a small piece of the whole, With discipline, deligence and focus Any direction you chose success is an automatic fruition.. The internet being sound soil. Last edited by harpo; 05-06-2005 at 03:17 AM.

05-06-2005, 08:59 AM	#25 (permalink)
kektex NamePros Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: South America Posts: 392	I can tell you as a newbie it is very easy to get carried away in this hobby! I started by buying some of my country´s cTLD and since people here apparently haven´t caught up to the domains business I got some very nice ones and then moved to straight TLDs. Now I´ve got some due for renewal and sadly I´m going to have to drop some nice ones since I don´t have the cash. So the advice on some post above this one is very true: remember that a year from the date you registered the domain you will have to pay up again. And that means that if you got carried away and bought one domain every week it can very easily add up to a lot of money.

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