strategy Positive and Negative Domain Name Visualization

For each of our domain names, it is easy to visualize the name as selling quickly for a solid retail price. We acquire domain names that we see selling, so why would we even be in domain name investing if we were not optimistic? That way of thinking can be termed positive visualization, we focus on visualizing positive outcomes.

However, many domain names will never sell. In considering a name, we should also look at those outcomes through negative visualization. Balancing positive and negative visualizations can help us make better acquisition decisions, and be more resilient to deal with the natural ups and downs of this business.

We could be be missing out on opportunities if we don’t consider the exceptional outcome situation as well.

Positive Visualization

Athletes and others use positive mental visualization to achieve improved performance. How might that look for a domain name investor? Just imagining your domain selling is too general. As part of the process, visualize exactly how the name might sell.

By exactly, I mean visualize all of the following for the domain name:

1. Who would be the buyer? Not a specific company, since you don’t want to acquire names that target a company and its rights, but the types of companies that would find this name of value.
2. How will they use this name? Is it for their main brand, to attract traffic, or for some other purpose like a marketing campaign?
3. At what price would they buy this digital asset? Both too high and too low will discourage some buyers.
4. How will they find this name? Are they likely to use a name they think of themselves, and then check availability through a registrar? If so, it would be critical to get on Afternic Fast Transfer or Sedo MLS. Or, are they more likely to go browsing for ideas, in which case a brandable marketplace may be important. Or is this the kind of name that needs outbound promotion? If so, do you visualize that by you or someone else?
5. What might help them decide? Will how the name is presented be important? What about a payment plan option? Actually visualize the buyer and their thought processes. Remember this is about the visualized buyer, not about your personal preferences.
6. How do I see the sale and transfer process unfolding? Do I see having an active role in negotiation, or simply offer the name buy-it-now? Or maybe a buy-it-now with a make-offer option as well.

By making your visualization specific, you can optimize the possibility of the name selling to your imagined buyer. The questions will help you increase the chance that the name will sell, and at the same time draft your plan for the name.

Don’t get held up over the term visualization. The positive visualization for a domain name might be summarized with filling in the following:

• Domain name
• Acquisition cost
• Holding cost per year
• Holding period before drop/liquidate
• End use expected for name
• Size/funding of anticipated buyer
• Where name will be listed
• Buy-it-now price
• Make offer option?
• Monthly payments option?
• Acceptable price range for negotiated sale.
• Anticipated gross retail sales price
• Estimated commission and net return

Just the process will mean that you have already thought through many decisions, like pricing and listing, prior to acquiring the domain name.

As part of visualization, you can also consider ways the process might go off the rails, maybe with price expectations too high or too low, or having it listed on a site that does not engender trust, and alter your approach accordingly.

Negative Visualizations

Your positive visualization has laid out one, or more, scenarios in which the name sells for a strong retail price. The problem is if you consider only positive visualizations you are tricking yourself by overlooking negative outcomes which may be more probable. It may lead to poor overall decision making.

Your negative visualization would consider scenarios such as you hold the name for X years, with a total cost of $Y, and then let the name drop at a net loss.

While each domain name is unique, and none of us can with certainty predict the result of any one domain name, nonetheless you can estimate, based on your past results with similar names, or industry wide statistics, the probability of different outcomes.

For example, for a certain name with a planned 5 year holding period before drop/liquidation this might look like:

• 5% chance of selling at retail price of $2500, $1875 net.
• 15% chance of selling at liquidation price of $100.
• 80% chance of not selling at all, with full loss of acquisition and holding costs.

One can make it more complex with additional possible outcomes, but just seeing something like the above will reinforce that for many names the most likely outcome is a full loss of invested money.

The negative visualizations are important for the following reasons:

• When both positive and negative are considered, you will be more discerning on what domain names are really worth holding.
• You will be more mentally prepared for accepting that some names will not sell.
• It will help you deal with overall risk. It may be fine to have some high reward / high risk domain names in your portfolio, but probably not wise to have almost your entire portfolio made up of risky assets.
• The balance will help guard against becoming over-extended financially, depending on rapid sales to fund required renewals.

Under negative visualization you can also consider situations like a legal challenge to the name, a change in market prospects, risk associated with unproven extension, etc. While these may be improbable for most names, they are still possibilities.

Ideal Case Visualization

For at least some names, as part of your visualization process you should consider the ideal buyer situation. This is a buyer who wants this specific name, is well funded, and is highly motivated to secure the name.

If you have not already, please read @Nametra.com posting this week on the $400,000 sale of CarbonEnergy.com. The sale is the 13th largest sale recorded on NameBio in 2025 at date of writing, and the second largest two-word sale, just edged out by FanBase.com that sold at Fruits.co for just over $431,000. CarbonEnergy.com was held for more than 18 years from acquisition to this sale.

While we do not yet know the buyer, this is almost certainly a case of waiting for that highly motivated buyer who wants or needs this particular domain name. OpenCorporates indicates there are 266 active companies including the combination of the two terms, usually as part of a longer overall company name, so many possible buyers. DotDB shows 32 exact match for the term ‘CarbonEnergy’ but more significantly a total domain count of 159, with a number of three term names developed.

It is worthwhile to consider the best case situation as one of the possibilities in your visualization. However, it may be challenging to list the name in a way that makes the best case pricing possible without losing potential customers for the name. @Nametra.com indicated that he had recently increased the asking price on this name, partly influenced by best case pricing suggested by OceanfrontDomains.com.

Final Thoughts

One of the worthwhile articles that I read about negative visualization was by Andrew Pritchett writing on LinkedIn: The Essence of Negative Visualization in Leadership. His writing is more about leadership, but can translate to managing a domain name portfolio.

Leaders must blend optimism with realism; neglecting negative visualization for blind positivity can create strategic blind spots.

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As I was writing this NamePros Blog post, I worried about shifting the focus too much to the negative. Do keep an optimistic focus on how a name meets a business need and will be desired and sell, just don’t overlook that it might not sell. As Andrew Pritchett writes:

One critical aspect of mastering negative visualization is avoiding the trap of over-analysis. While it's beneficial to foresee challenges, dwelling on them excessively can lead to indecision. Striking a balance is key; it's about being cautious yet decisive.

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I’m not expecting that most will do a full positive and negative visualization on every domain name in the way outlined in this article. However, even a simplified version could be helpful, particularly for new domain name investors.