NamePros Blog

Noteworthy · Mar 13, 2021

In this article, we provide a handpicked list of some of the most popular, interesting, and helpful articles to have ever appeared on the NamePros Blog. If you're short on time, or if you're not sure where to start, then you may want to check out these articles – we think they're worth your...

James Iles · Aug 2, 2016

The popular domain name marketplace, Sedo, has unveiled a brand new, comprehensive redesign that marks the end of an era in terms of the company’s traditional blue and white colour scheme, with the new design opting for a colour scheme consisting primarily of grey and blue, with all pages being...

James Iles · Jan 18, 2016

Last week, 19 year old Erwan Kina (@ErwanKina) made an announcement that his investment group will be acquiring over $20 million worth of domain names in 2016, with their focus being on buying short .COM domains. Why are they putting so much money into domain names this year? Who are these...

James Iles · Jan 25, 2017

What is your favorite domain name from your own domain name portfolio? Every single domain investor has a personal favorite, which isn’t necessarily their best domain name, or their most valuable. It’s always a personal choice, which is what makes this question extremely interesting.

We asked...

Bob Hawkes · Oct 24, 2019

Many domain investors have avoided domain names with hyphens. It is not rare to see in the NamePros Requests section the wording “no hyphens”. @Rob Monster of Epik recently started a thread arguing that hyphenated .com domain names are back in fashion. He also indicated a...

Bob Hawkes · Sep 17, 2019

A domain hack uses content from both sides of the dot to form a word or phrase – for example: s.top. While domain investors have created many imaginative domain name hacks, the number in actual use is much smaller. In this post, I look at a selection of short single-word domain hacks...

Bob Hawkes · May 27, 2021

Almost everyone agrees that .com is the extension of choice for a global business. But if the .com is not available, what is the order of other extensions that are not specialized to a specific sector or country? In this article I look at registrations, aftermarket sales volume...

Bob Hawkes · May 18, 2022

On NamePros, and on social media, a number of investors have mentioned that the last month or so has seen a significant downturn in the domain name aftermarket, both in terms of retail sales and in offers or inquiries.

For example, long-term investor @elmoney started the discussion...

James Iles · Jan 29, 2019

The Live NamesCon auction in Las Vegas has just finished with some impressive domain name sales posted. Here are the auction results, as recorded live at the event. I believe these listings are correct, but there may be discrepancies. If there are, please add a comment, and the list will be...

Joe N · Mar 2, 2016

There are many websites offering great advice from successful people in the domain industry, with tons of tips for beginners. I haven’t had as much success as some seasoned domainers, but as a beginner, I think I'm in a unique position to help others like me learn the ropes. Here are some tips...

Ali · Jun 8, 2015

This weekend I was able to sneak in some free time to wind down. During this wind down, I had an idea... the Daily Dose needs to be more than just domain names. It needs advice, tips, tricks, and tactics. I mean, I can show you domain names all day long, right? Well, what about when it comes...

Bob Hawkes · Apr 26, 2023

Domain names listed on a marketplace by someone other than the owner are a problem. Often these are the result of the previous owner overlooking taking down the listing after the name expired or was sold at another venue. In some cases, the names may be deliberately listed in error for nefarious...

Eric Lyon · Apr 8, 2015

About 10 years ago I discovered the secret to domain success. Though, not much of a secret, domain development is a wonderful way to improve upon your investment, yet it is highly underutilized. Once I figured that out, I began developing everything I could get my hands. It’s...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 6, 2025

Finding consistent success in domain name investing is always challenging, but are we entering a particularly difficult period? I don’t know the answer, and some successful veteran investors consider this a golden time, but let’s look at a few potential challenges.

Economic...

Bob Hawkes · Jul 24, 2024

There are numerous books, videos, courses and articles that mention anecdotes of domain names that sold quickly for large amounts, and then say this book will teach you how to easily flip domain names for profit. Most members of our community know that is a misrepresentation; most domain names...

James Iles · Oct 13, 2015

I've often read posts from Elliot Silver and other bloggers about their recent acquisitions, and I have always found it fascinating to see what others are buying. I've endeavored to create a similar post below, and I hope that you get some interest from it.

My domain sales and acquisitions are...

Bob Hawkes · Apr 26, 2025

Most of the time, domain name automated appraisal systems don’t receive much positive commentary from investors. When a newly released AI powered appraisal service was praised by a number of respected voices in the domain community, I decided to take a deeper look.

I gave the instrument a try...

Eric Lyon · Jan 5, 2015

As we all know, NamesCon is being held on January 11th-14th in 2015. Many will be attending and looking forward to networking with other domain investors, industry leaders, and related companies. In business, networking is a task that should be on your daily to-do list to extend brand awareness...

Kassey Lee · Feb 25, 2016

In response to many requests for me to translate numbers into Chinese meanings, I've created a chart in this post as a quick guide for you to see some of the possible Chinese meanings for numbers from 0 to 99, as well as 00 to 09. These meanings can help you evaluate domains to purchase for the...

Bob Hawkes · May 28, 2020

Most domain name investors start out with hand registrations. Many later move on to acquiring domain names mainly through expired auctions or closeouts. While it is true that many of the best domain names were registered long ago, creative domain investors can occasionally find worthwhile names...

Giuseppe Graziano · Oct 6, 2015

How do you make one million dollars in six months? You might recall the story of Ken O’Brien. Ken did not own a single LLLL domain until he bought Adam Dicker‘s portfolio last May. Since then, Ken started working with me to learn about the LLLL market, and he acquired a thousand more...

Bob Hawkes · Jun 10, 2020

Last week I looked at sale statistics for the .io domain extension, as well as the history and regulatory framework. In this post I analyze the types of names that sell in the extension, plus sales venue statistics. I also take a look at current status of major .io domain name...

Keith DeBoer · Sep 26, 2015

Some people in the domaining industry (I’m talkin’ well-known professionals) say that there’s no money in brandables. And here’s why:

They have no Exact Match Domain search results.
There’s no Pay-Per-Click demand or competition.
Buyers can make up their own name; supply is...

Omar Negron · Feb 3, 2016

I have been domaining for awhile now. Buying and selling domain names can certainly be fun. It's a thrill when you scan a list for hours to find 1-2 domain names that show "promise" and then you're able to acquire them through an auction or you successfully drop catch them straight into your...

Bob Hawkes · Jul 25, 2019

The NameBio database this morning shows the sale of the new extension domain name test.center for $195,000 through a Sedo auction. This is the second highest-value new extension sale so far in 2019, with free.games having sold in May 2019 for $335,000...

James Iles · May 2, 2016

I’ll admit that I know very little about brandable domain names. With the occurrence of the popular Chinese short and numeric domain markets, and the great keyword names on offer, the brandable world has slipped under my radar. After reading about a number of investors who were making moves into...

Eric Lyon · Feb 23, 2015

What chains am I referring to breaking free from you might ask? I'm simply alluding to those of us who feel stuck in a 9-to-5 job. Everyone who feels that there is no more room for advancement on their current career path, who dreads getting up for work each day, and/or who views their job as a...

Keith DeBoer · Oct 28, 2015

There’s a saying in real estate: You make your money on the buy, not on the sale. The same is true for domain names, but selecting solid brandables can be tricky. We need information to inform our opinions and develop our skills. So here are some tips for making savvy purchases that can increase...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 28, 2022

A NamePros member has purchased the Alter domain name marketplace. Alter will continue operations as a brandable marketplace under the new ownership.

I reached out to the new owner, Filip Erkic, who goes by the NamePros handle @F.E., to learn details of the sale, and his plans for...

Ali · May 13, 2015

…to become a domain name investor.

“It’s too late! All the good names are taken!”

Sadly, because of that single thought, a lot of would be investors are turned off and leave the industry before ever giving it a chance. Others try it, lose money and give up. I’m here to remind you that it’s...

James Iles · Aug 12, 2016

One of our favorite investors, Mike Mann, has racked up yet another five-figure sale. Following on from the sales of AnimalsUnited.com for $39,000 and GotBoobs.com for $15,000 is this latest $40,000 sale of a three-word .COM.

The news of the sale was broken by Mike via his Twitter...

James Iles · Aug 21, 2017

Blockchain development and news and information service company Monkey has confirmed the acquisition of the domain name Monkey.com for a fee of $500,000. The Singapore-based company is lead by entrepreneur Daniel Mark Harrison, who initially launched the company using the domain name...

Bob Hawkes · Aug 4, 2022

Many skills can help you make better decisions as a domain name investor. One of them is quantitative decision making. While probability can never firmly tell you what to do, it can help make better decisions in some cases.

Applied probability can be used to help answer questions such as how...

James Iles · May 5, 2016

Recently, a discussion has arisen on NamePros, asking whether the Chinese domain market could be at an end. This question comes after a couple of months of declining prices after a period of steep growth at the end of 2015. In this article, I wanted to give another perspective on this question...

Bob Hawkes · Nov 17, 2022

What if your domain names would be seen at many different registrars? In addition, when a name sold through any of those registrars, the entire transfer process was automatic. You just wait to be paid.

That is the promise of the so-called fast transfer networks. Traditionally there have been...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 18, 2021

Many great brand names have been built around animals, such as Puma, Jaguar, RedBull, FireFox, DuckDuckGo and many others. The animal provides a concrete image on which to build the logo and brand. Many times some aspect off the name hints at characteristics of the brand. Foxes are known to be...

Bob Hawkes · Feb 18, 2021

The past year has been a strong one for country code domain extensions in general, with the generic extensions .io and .co particularly active. This has prompted discussion around what might be the next generic country code to become popular. While extensions such as .ai...

James Iles · Nov 2, 2015

With Chinese investors becoming the focal point of the entire domain industry, it stands to reason that at some point you'll probably be doing business with someone from China, Hong Kong, or Singapore. The Chinese culture has many different standards and protocols to abide by when conducting...

Bob Hawkes · Jan 20, 2022

Are we approaching a time when domain names will be considered an asset class, like bonds, stocks, real estate, currencies and commodities?

Will investors be able to hold domain name investments without the need to be directly involved in buying and selling of individual domain names...

James Iles · Nov 15, 2017

In August, we published the news that the domain name Monkey.com had been sold in a deal worth $500,000. The sale, verified independently through an Escrow.com sales agreement, listed Daniel Mark Harrison of Monkey Capital as the buyer.

Daniel was scheduled to submit payments at regular...

James Iles · Feb 2, 2016

This time last year, the majority of six-number (6N) .COM domain names were available for registration. Even up until September of 2015, investors were acquiring thousands per day; the news broke here that a Chinese investor had registered 33,000 6N .COM's over a two day spree.

However...

Bob Hawkes · Aug 5, 2021

The metaverse does not yet exist, but everyone is talking about it. Domain investors have had their eye on the metaverse for some time, particularly since the domain name metaverse.io was sold by Andrew Rosener’s MediaOptions for $175,000 in March, 2021 at ParkIO.

Metaverse...

Bob Hawkes · Feb 9, 2023

Since OpenAI introduced ChatGPT-3 in late November 2022, it seems everyone is talking about ChatGPT.

Earlier in the NamePros Blog, I ‘interviewed’ ChatGPT on domain topics. I think most will agree that ChatGPT did an impressive job on most answers.

Many investors are registering domain...

James Iles · Dec 29, 2016

I’ve never been one for new years resolutions. In my experience, the idea of deciding to start or stop something specifically because it’s the new year rarely works. Statistics back this up, too. According to a British survey last year, 63% of UK adults failed to keep a New Year's...

Bob Hawkes · Dec 11, 2019

It is not surprising that single words and short acronyms attract most of the attention at the high end of the domain name sales news. For example, voice.com sold for $30 million, and California.com, EKO.com, TM.com and RX.com all above one million dollars in...

Bob Hawkes · May 26, 2022

Do we need another automated domain name appraisal instrument? While automated domain name appraisals have their critics, and are certainly not precise instruments, some find them useful in certain circumstances.

While some instruments like Estibot, have been around for a very long time...

James Iles · May 10, 2016

Outbound domain sales are a popular means of creating a revenue stream without having to wait for a buyer to come to you. Consisting of finding a suitable owner for a domain and then contacting them directly, outbound sales is typically done via email or phone to a targeted group of individuals...

Kassey Lee · Mar 3, 2016

Pinyin is the use of Roman letters to represent Chinese characters. Many Chinese companies use Pinyin to create corporate domain names in Roman letters. Investing in Pinyin names can be profitable, but there are some pitfalls that can get in the way. In this blog post, I'll provide some tips on...

James Iles · Feb 21, 2017

"Fake news" is a term that has become extremely popular over the last few months, thanks in no small part to President Trump. Fake news has become a catch-all phrase for the President's distrust of many mainstream media outlets, and has been mentioned by the President in numerous tweets and live...

Joe Styler · Oct 27, 2015

Whether you are the king of domains and sitting on countless super valuable domains or someone just starting out who spent days scraping through dropping lists to buy a handful of domains you found that others may have overlooked, our portfolios are special to us. They are a part of who we are...

James Iles · Dec 7, 2016

Welcome to a brand new Q&A series on the NamePros Blog. Each article in this series will ask numerous domain name industry experts a single question. The questions and answer will hopefully give you an insight into how these successful industry leaders operate, while also giving valuable advice...

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