NamePros Blog

Bob Hawkes · Apr 6, 2021

When people see a domain extension in use, they are more apt to consider using that extension for their own business, organization or personal site. That is a huge advantage for .com domain names, along with country code extensions for some regions, and other major legacy extensions...

James Iles · Apr 4, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, we look at why the .IO domain extension is currently hot, and GoDaddy releases its latest domain sales data including the sale of Exclusive.com for $350,000. Elsewhere, we look at category-defining domain names. Who buys category-defining domains?

Why is .IO So...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 30, 2021

It is hard to read anything these days without some mention of NFTs, non-fungible tokens. Earlier this month, Christie’s auction house sold a Beeple NFT collage “The First 5000 Days” for $69 million. Mike Winkelmann, Beeple, who operates on the interesting domain name...

James Iles · Mar 28, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, George Kirikos uncovers the $904,000 sale of Recursion.com, acquired by Recursion Pharmaceuticals. Elsewhere, a domain owner needs advice on managing a portfolio of 1,500 domain names, and we share a cautionary tale of an accidental $3,488 domain name purchase...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 25, 2021

Last week @Soofi shared an article by @Ron Jackson announcing the brokered sale of Poker.net for $750,000. The sale was not listed on NameBio when I checked, but it would become the highest-value sale in the extension. The previous high was the $500,000 sale of...

James Iles · Mar 21, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, the owner of a four-letter .COM asks for advice after someone recently trademarked their domain name, and just how useful are marketplaces if you're not using that marketplace's landing pages? Elsewhere, domainers discuss the AngiesList rebrand, and is NFT a trend...

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...

James Iles · Mar 14, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, domain investors discuss the latest domain sales data released by GoDaddy, which is headed by the $977,500 sale of SelfMade.com. Elsewhere, we look at the U.S. government's stimulus checks and whether they will create more domain sales, and is a collectively owned...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 10, 2021

Last week’s NamePros Blog post took a look at domain name appraisals – why you might want an appraisal, who could provide it, the different types of appraisals, and some caveats about interpreting appraisals. This week’s post looks into the types of appraisals available here on NamePros...

James Iles · Mar 7, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, we discuss whether random four-letter .COM domains were worth the renewal costs, and a domainer shares twenty-one tips for selecting investment-worthy .COM domains. Elsewhere, a new investor wants to know how long your first ever domain sale took to occur, and...

Paul · Mar 6, 2021

A few months ago, NamePros started observing aggressive credential stuffing attacks. This marked a new chapter in security at NamePros. We have rather secure infrastructure, especially for a site of our size. However, we've been growing at a steady pace, which makes us a bigger target...

Bob Hawkes · Mar 5, 2021

Few topics generate as much heat as discussion of automated domain name appraisals. The value of human appraisals can also be controversial. This week I decided to take a look at appraisal options and limitations. Should we even be doing domain name appraisals?

Why Do You Want An...

James Iles · Feb 28, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, we take a look at the potential qualities that differentiate successful domain investors from unsuccessful ones. Elsewhere, an investor asks for opinions on the .CO versus the .NET extension, and how do you keep track of your domain names?

Also, a domainer is looking...

Bob Hawkes · Feb 25, 2021

While it is sometimes possible to have success without a business plan, having a clear plan, including near-term and long-term objectives, will improve your odds for consistent success. I personally consider late February as a good time to consider New Year’s resolutions. Goals we set at the...

James Iles · Feb 21, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, domain investors share the three domains they'd most like to own and is it possible to sell domains without a phone call? Also, a domainer asks for advice on a $5,000 offer, and we discuss the $3.15 million sale of Christmas.com.

Which 3 Domains Would You Like...

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 · Feb 14, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, a domain investor shares their experience of moving domains valued at $5,000 or less to a buy now landing page. Elsewhere, George Kirikos offers a full report of domains used in Super Bowl commercials this year, and how do you future-proof your domain...

Bob Hawkes · Feb 11, 2021

Everywhere you go in the domain world these days someone is talking about decentralized domain name systems. There are both proponents and sceptics, as this recent NamePros thread shows. In last week’s NamePros Blog I summarized ideas on where domain names will be in 5 years, and...

James Iles · Feb 7, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, domain investors discuss a recent $28,500 expired domain sale linked to the daughter of a famed CEO, and is domain parking still worth it? Elsewhere, investors make predictions for where they see domaining in five years' time, and should we avoid domain names...

Bob Hawkes · Feb 4, 2021

Relatively new NamePros member dave321 asked a really good question this week: Where do you see domaining in 5 years? Typical sell-through rates mean that most of a domain portfolio is held for multiple years, so ideas about the future will impact our investment...

James Iles · Jan 31, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, domain investors react to news of Rick Schwartz's latest seven-figure domain sale, and what do you think of GoDaddy's intention to introduce BIN landers? Elsewhere, a domainer discloses a recent five-figure .TV sale, and what's one insight that has led you to become a...

Bob Hawkes · Jan 28, 2021

Choices can be wonderful, letting us feel better about an action, or empowering new ways to accomplish a goal. But is it possible to have too many choices? Are you, or the marketplace you use, presenting potential purchasers with too many possible domain name choices? Alternatively, is it...

James Iles · Jan 24, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, an investor shares their experience of hand registering domain names, and on the back of Climate.vc's $21,038 sale, we ask why .VC are names starting to sell for higher numbers. Elsewhere, there's confirmation that the Mask.com domain name has sold, and what's the most...

Bob Hawkes · Jan 21, 2021

While NameBio data indicates that average sales prices for .com domain names have been going steadily down year by year, that may not mean that retail prices have been decreasing. I think it is mainly an artifact due to changes in which venues have sales reported in NameBio...

James Iles · Jan 17, 2021

In this week’s Top Topics, an investor requests advice on the best way to build a portfolio in 2021. Elsewhere, our featured poll asks you to reveal the percentage of your overall investment portfolio that is invested in domain names, and John Berryhill has a warning about catch-all email...

Bob Hawkes · Jan 13, 2021

This week I take a look at how average prices, numbers of domains sold, and sales dollar volumes in 2020 compared to the previous year. I used the NameBio data for the analysis, looking at sales of $100 and more. Keep in mind that by no means all sales are in NameBio, and the reported...

James Iles · Jan 10, 2021

In this week's Top Topics, AbdulBasit Makrani shares a list of valuable, ultra-premium domain names that he has acquired recently. Elsewhere, investors are prompted to showcase their delivery domain names, and the power of color is discussed.

Also, an experienced domainer is back with more...

Bob Hawkes · Jan 6, 2021

I reached out to many people to see what they thought 2021 would hold for the domain world. I made it tough by requiring each to respond in just a single sentence. To get a comprehensive view from many perspectives, I included long-term and newer domain investors, business leaders, domain...

James Iles · Jan 3, 2021

In the first Top Topics of 2021, we look at whether domain investors plan to do anything differently in the new year. Elsewhere, a domainer asks for advice on a five-figure negotiation, and what do you do after getting a cease and desist letter?

Also, an investor makes some predictions for the...

Bob Hawkes · Dec 30, 2020

In this, my last post of 2020, I highlight NamePros discussion threads started in 2020 that merit a second read. In making my selections, for the most part, I excluded posts about sales, even spectacular ones, or topics that were time sensitive. In some cases I edited titles for clarity or...

James Iles · Dec 27, 2020

In the final edition of Top Topics for 2020, we take a look at Rick Schwartz's latest domain sale, and domain investors offer their opinions on the hottest niches of 2021. Elsewhere, George Kirikos reveals that View.com sold for $737,000 in 2018, and do you want to see some decent domain landing...

Bob Hawkes · Dec 23, 2020

One of the advantages of being a NamePros member is that you can buy and sell domain names without commission. NamePros allows you to get your names in front of a large audience. While many selling formats are allowed, auctions are among the most used.

My first NamePros auction did not turn out...

James Iles · Dec 20, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, several investors share their recent sales and successes. Firstly, we have Riz Memon, who reported $168,000 in sales this week. Then, there's an investor who made an $11,420 return on investment on a two-word .COM, and thirdly we feature the story of a new domainer...

Bob Hawkes · Dec 17, 2020

About a week ago I received the following message from domain name investor JudgeMind.

Throughout 2020 I’ve been watching the prices of auctions at venues like GoDaddy soar to new highs. Prices are now almost out of reach for the average investor. Seeing this shift in the auction prices...

James Iles · Dec 13, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, we have two featured polls. Firstly, Raymond Hackney asks domainers to share whether they're more optimistic or less optimistic about domaining today. Secondly, Bob Hawkes asks for domainers to showcase some portfolio outliers.

Elsewhere, investors share their opinion...

Bob Hawkes · Dec 9, 2020

There is an elegance to single word domains. Few valuable single word domains are available to be registered in most extensions, and it can be challenging to find those that are unregistered. Steven Tey encountered that, and said to himself ‘there must be a tool that makes it easy to find...

James Iles · Dec 6, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, a domain investor announced their latest blockbuster sale, a $55,025 payday from a three-year-old hand registration. Elsewhere, a domainer shares their story of being a victim of a domain scam, and do you leave your WHOIS data public?

Elsewhere, investors pay tribute...

Bob Hawkes · Dec 2, 2020

A couple of weeks ago I introduced questions around the setting of minimum offers on buy-it-now priced domain names. Thanks to all who have responded to the various linked polls. In this article I provide a summary of the results and comments.

Setting the minimum offer too low may harm...

James Iles · Nov 29, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, we take a look at the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals that are live in the domain industry. Elsewhere, a domain investor reveals a $10,000 sale from a hand-registered name, and there's a new domaining podcast aggregator available. Also, a $45,000 buyer of HeyDay.co...

Bob Hawkes · Nov 26, 2020

A domain name, such as example.com, has the top level domain (TLD) .com combined with the second level example to make the complete domain name. This post considers situations when the structure of the domain name is TLD1.TLD2, that is both halves of the domain name...

James Iles · Nov 22, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, a prolific .TV domainer shares their latest .TV sale, which ranks as the ninth-largest publicly-disclosed .TV sale of 2020. We also discuss domain value to see if there is a correlation between the number of low offers you receive and that domain's value. Elsewhere, an...

Bob Hawkes · Nov 18, 2020

In most cases, marketplaces require specifying a minimum when you enable make offer on your domain names. Is it better to set this minimum offer low, so more prospective buyers will start a conversation? On the other hand, that might have a negative impact on price...

James Iles · Nov 15, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, there's a warning for domain investors to check their Network Solutions domains, and are all one-word .COM's good investments? Elsewhere, someone asks for advice on how to stay focused as a domain investor, and is outbound marketing just spam?

Check Your NSI...

Bob Hawkes · Nov 12, 2020

Earlier this month ScienceAndTechnologyResearchNews.com sold for $2025 at GoDaddy. That was the first sale over $2000 during the last 5 years of an unhyphenated domain name longer than 30 letters, at least from sales recorded on NameBio. It was not the longest name sold by far. For...

James Iles · Nov 8, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, we see two ends of the spectrum. At one end, we have an investor who shared a $10,000 .TV sale, and at the other, a domainer discloses that they lost a $25,000 sale thanks to the domain's archived history.

Elsewhere, I share details of a major domain acquisition by a...

Bob Hawkes · Nov 4, 2020

When talking to potential buyers, be sure your language reflects their viewpoint and concerns. It is easy to slip into domainer language and talk about number of TLDs (top level domains) the term is registered in, or the age of the domain name. In most cases that will be counter...

James Iles · Nov 1, 2020

In this week's Top Topics, an investor reveals the $10,000 sale of a .CO domain name that occurred thanks to outbound marketing and an experienced domainer is back for a third round of advice for new investors. Elsewhere, we explore what happens to domains owned by corporations when they face...

Bob Hawkes · Oct 29, 2020

Anecdotally, it seems that 2020 has been stronger than normal in .co sales. There are regular sales over $1000 reported on NameBio, sometimes multiple in the same day. I take a look at how .co has done compared to the past ten years, to see if this really is a stronger than normal...

James Iles · Oct 25, 2020

In this week’s Top Topics, domain investors discuss the latest blockbuster sale from Mike Mann, and a domainer shares some advice on selling your domains for clearance prices at Afternic. Elsewhere, we see which keywords may have lost value thanks to the coronavirus, and an investor asks for...

Bob Hawkes · Oct 22, 2020

A domainer can ask any price he or she wants for any domain name. Each domain name is different, so looking at what prices others ask will not inform how any particular domain name should be priced. However, since there are frequent discussions around prices being too low or too high, I thought...

NamePros Blog

Share this page

We're social

idealhouse.com

ForTheOne.com

Cube.co

Affirm.co

HumanStore.Com

Ubber.com

mercedesworkshop.com

AriWallet.com

Viewpoint.co

Inbound.co

Pinned

Appreciation

Agreement

Answers

Relevance

Reaction

Status

Feeling