Mistakes you made as a newbie

[Joseph David]

As a newbie in the domaining world. What mistakes have you made in regards to name registration or closing a deal or any other mistake you made generally. Let others learn from you.

The experts can also share some info, it will be appreciated.


- As for me I registered some crappy names. I hate seeing them in my portfolio.

 

[CraigD]

WE LOST BIG TIME. But CraigD was actually onto it and helped save many.

I do hope the alleged $27,000 male escort service, $6,000 liposuction procedure, $10,000/month penthouse apartment in Miami, $6,000 chihuahua dog, and $60,000 Moroccan office furniture, were worth the aggravation caused to 900,000 customers!

If you guys are wondering what I am talking about, this Wikipedia page on Registerfly is a good read about what can go terribly wrong in the domain registry industry.

 

[lock]

I do hope the alleged $27,000 male escort service, the $6,000 liposuction procedure, the $10,000/month penthouse apartment in Miami, the $6,000 chihuahua dog, and the $60,000 Moroccan office furniture were worth the aggravation caused to 900,000 customers!

If you guys are wondering what I am talking about, this Wikipedia page on Registerfly is a good read about what can go terribly wrong in the domain registry industry.

Seeing names on marketplaces as featured domains sucks big time when you lost them waving a receipt.

 

[ThatNameGuy]

How easy I it to find these technical talents?

I can't say that it's easy, but it's doable. I had met several talented people from around the world who indicated they might work with me, but they just didn't have staying power. I even had two major registrars I was close to partnering with, but that never came to fruition. Finally I met someone in South Africa and we really clicked. We're working on several joint projects and he's currently developing my/our website marketplace. Then I met a second technical talent locally...I live in Virginia Beach. He owns a successful local company Epic-Made that specializes in animation, illustration and design.

At least for me the process was sort of like dating until I found these individuals. My suggestion to you is, if you believe you have a good domain portfolio and some decent marketing skills, keep searching for someone to compliment your talent.

Finally, realize you can always pay someone to do your technical work, but in my case I'd have no idea what I was paying for regardless of whether I could afford it.

My last suggestion is to become as transparent as possible, and be active. If you're any good at what you do, you'll find a date

 

[iKhalyfah]

Registering 50 bad names in one day

U had the guts

 

[iKhalyfah]

Use discipline, save the $40 a month you'd spend on lousy hand registrations and buy a decent .com.

For many, knowing what makes a decent .com is where the issue is!

 

[lock]

Registering anything for more than one year as a newbie I had names i never even noticed i was registering for 5 years not paying attention just clicking fast.

 

[iKhalyfah]

The rest is history.

Could you share this history in a separate thread? Maybe?

 

[lock]

For many, knowing what makes a decent .com is where the issue is!

I really couldn't agree more for a strategy let all the rubbish expire and go for what actually moves.

 

[FolioTeam]

U had the guts

This was way back in 2015. That's why I am a firm believer in time. Mind you, I don't think I am there yet, but I believe I am headed in the right direction.

My yearly goal is to do better than the previous year.

 

[manpreet]

As a newbie in the domaining world. What mistakes have you made in regards to name registration or closing a deal or any other mistake you made generally. Let others learn from you.

The experts can also share some info, it will be appreciated.


- As for me I registered some crappy names. I hate seeing them in my portfolio.

For me, Being rigid in negotiations.

 

[TheBaldOne]

For me, Being rigid in negotiations.

Yes, there should always be room for movement.

BUT......

….. When a potential buyer asks the price and you give it you should never move if the potential buyer has not given a counter offer number. To move your price by just one penny or one cent without a counter offer having been made is ridiculous, we the 'owners' of the domains are not the supplicants in the negotiation process, but we become the supplicants if we allow the potential buyer to dictate where the negotiations will start by not giving a counter offer. If you just continually allow your price to drop then you might as well be running a 'Dutch Auction'.

 

[manpreet]

Yes, there should always be room for movement.

BUT......

….. When a potential buyer asks the price and you give it you should never move if the potential buyer has not given a counter offer number. To move your price by just one penny or one cent without a counter offer having been made is ridiculous, we the 'owners' of the domains are not the supplicants in the negotiation process, but we become the supplicants if we allow the potential buyer to dictate where the negotiations will start by not giving a counter offer. If you just continually allow your price to drop then you might as well be running a 'Dutch Auction'.

Yes and for me, particularly for Dan offers, I always want the buyer to make a counter offer. That lets me believe that atleast he/she is a serious buyer.

 

[Zagalee]

I started Domaining early this year. Immediately i dive into the ocean of hand registering names that i feel it will sell (even though they're still in my portfolio) until my friend called me out and advised me to desist from that. Thought me how to use the ED filter and i move on from there.

Although i still Brainstorm some good names that have never been registered but i send it to Squadhelp or Brandbucket as a new creative names. If they accept it. Fine, if they don't.. I knew maybe its not good for there respective markets.

 

[NameBuyer.com]

Second biggest mistake, was letting my portfolio get to large.and too diverse. At its peak it was around 2000 domains in 2007. Never really got to concentrate on selling domains until I had reduced the portfolio to around 600. Lesson learnt Keep control and manage your expenditure ahead of time. Concentrate on what brings in the money

This is some of the best advice to start out with. Keep your collection concise, manageable, and profitable before trying anything else.

Domain investing can be whatever you make of it. I've had people contact me who made close to $100k in 2 years with less than 100 domains. But they were buying domains in the $xxx-$xxxx range at auction that were in high demand.

On the other extreme, there are people like Mike Mann with 300,000+ domains.

So you can go for a big portfolio, small portfolio, or anything in between. As long as you do it right, success can come in different forms regardless of the number of domains you own.

As time goes on, I'd also suggest periodically getting rid of the bottom 5-10% of your domains when they come time to renew. Then spend that money on better names based on your most recent knowledge to keep things evolving.

 

[King]

Nice thread. For me, 1ST & WORST mistake was choosing GoDaddy & registering tons of domains with them , their upsales of "hey wanna add these 7 other extensions for only 50$ more" at the time it seemed like a deal! & in my mind at the time I thought since companies like FB were shelling out thousands & millions for every domain extension, I thought hey why not register them now & avoid paying that much! I never sold a single domain I registered with them as I failed to properly list them, mainly because I assumed I would develop them & then sell the website with all those extra extensions, which I never ended up doing because I was a complete idiot. I would even renew them & add years of registration I rarely did research on the domain market & just thought every domain was a good investment. After I finally realized the BS I got myself into around 2017 I decided that GD auctions were better than hand reg, it's not, I let my emotions take over in winning those overpriced domains as I saw the price going higher I thought it meant it was a good domain since other investors were bidding Never sold any of those either. Fast forward to 2019 & I finally got out of my I know everything mindset, leaving GD, started doing more market research found & joined NP started learning a lot, what sells, what won't. Now I am working with a portfolio of around 150, mostly .com domains. Developing some & hoping for a good 2020.

Hopefully, the domain noobies are getting valuable insights from this thread & not letting their arrogance drive their domain acquisitions or they'll end up losing thousands as I did.

LEARN! INVEST IN YOURSELF FIRST!

 

[NameBuyer.com]

I let my emotions take over in winning those overpriced domains as I saw the price going higher I thought it meant it was a good domain since other investors were bidding

Excellent clown placement! I couldn't stop laughing. We've all been there...going a little too far in auctions.

I finally got out of my I know everything mindset

This is the key to shifting your paradigm. Losing the ego. I was selling domains for over 14 years and thought I knew all there was to know about pricing because I was getting sales. But I didn't. Once you spend time studying data, prices, and other sellers successes with an open and analytical mind, that'll bring you to your next level.

Another primary skill that we should all be improving is our branding awareness and ability to spot a good or great brand, even if it's not a brand that we personally like.

Last but not least, go and watch all of Rick's (domainking) twitter videos as well. Twice.

 

[harpo]

When you Win you may lose and when you lose you may win .
Still making mistakes all the time . dont be to focused on price .

 

[karmaco]

These are very common mistakes for those new to domaining.

1.overpaying on names at auctions (know your budget and if name is actually worth it)

2.Reversed names- Adjective comes before a noun not after it

3.not checking for trademarks and how they could interfer with your names. This should be done at least once a year.

4.Not checking similar names for development and weighing that. One a 2 word the words reversed-is it developed?

5.Registering names without asking who would want this name and why?

6.Registering names you like but that have no discernible market value

7.Registering names that don’t make sense. Putting any two words together that don’t make sense just because they are available.

8. Contacting trademark owners. Don’t do it.

9. Overpricing names or underpricing names.

10. Expecting instant success and fortune.

11. Having a one year plan does not lead to success. Registering a ton of names and then dropping them every year is not a great business plan. Register or buy names you intend to keep and believe in.

12. Acting like a desperado and mucking it up when approached about a name OR acting like your name is Gods gift with outrageous pricing that doesn’t match quality.

13. Making purchasing decisions solely from domain valuation bots

14. Registering more names than you can afford to maintain

 

[GoKaizen]

Sold great names way to early!

Learn to say, "No!" and negotiate.

 

[dombastic]

three-word .coms

they’re available and everywhere.

I was always tempted hand reg, and buying.

Why not? Not all of them are worthless.

 

[Cdomains]

Getting into domaining in the first place.

 

[JMbusiness]

Why not? Not all of them are worthless.

Are you interested in three-word .coms?

 

[J Sokol]

These are very common mistakes for those new to domaining.

Nice list, karmaco. Thanks.

 

[BrandAptly.com]

1. Operating by the herd mentality and not thinking outside the box.
2. Approaching it like a hobbyist and not a business person.
3. Being reluctant to apply business skills acquired from other industries.
4. Not taking advantage of opportunities created by loopholes in the industry.
5. Relying on domain appraisal bots to determine what domains to get.
6. Being afraid to lose money and not taking more risks.
7. Not making more inevitable mistakes a lot sooner.

 

[BrandAptly.com]

Registering 50 bad names in one day

This is one of the mistakes I wish I had made sooner. I didn't know about Godaddy's 5 day grace period. Now, I'm not afraid to buy 100 domains in one day. I can get my money back within 4 days for the ones that turn out to be absolutely crappy.