Try not to buy non-com
You‘ll be tempted; hell i’m tempted everyday.
Samer
Yesssir. Only dot coms.
If you have no experience at all in developing a domain into a website I would suggest the following steps:
Register a throw away domain name in as cheap a suffix as you can find (you will need this to use as your website - it really doesn't matter what the domain is, it is simply one you can use and transfer between hosts as you do the following and your 'site' will remain 'your' site)
Pick an area of interest of yours or something you know a fair amount about to make a site about
Open up a WIX.com account (easy website development package) and start developing your site (you should upgrade for the few dollars a month it will cost when you are used to the basic functions of the system)
Research constantly your subject and update your site accordingly
Research other websites in the same sphere and see what they do that you like, then try emulating it but also doing it better
The next step is the hardest most people find - start learning development website development languages, this will enable you to tweak many aspects of your website to your own desire rather than what is available in any development package
Of course you can purchase investment domain names between now and actually knowing what you are doing with development, but learn the tricks and the short comings of different development programs on a throw-away site.
Thank you so much kind soul. These are actionable steps that I can take and follow.
I think it's not too late involving this industry and actually I think it's good time to buy buy buy.
Perfect! I'm a very hands on - make the mistakes and then learn - kinda guy. I will of course spend as much as time learning as many have suggested but I do want to get my hands dirty right away :D
Now is a good time to buy.
OP says he has not so so much knowledge, and that is true as he is asking about how to transfer a name.
He must spend some more time learning things as he is ready to invest a very good sum for someone just starting out. Waiting in this moment can only bring prices lower, imho.
All the wonderful things I have learned and mastered, I drove right in without knowing much about it and this approach and helped me fashion a mindset that is a little risk taking for sure but definitely fearless in going down new roads! I think the fact that risks are involved keeps me focused and invested and motivated in a level that I can't if I'm just always on the sidelines. I have spend 12 years on the sidelines. By the time prices get lower, I should have lot more tools in my tool box and I should be better prepared and make better buys :D
This is right, now (and for now I don't mean today but also the next months/one year) is a perfect time to invest if someone has the capital the patience and the position to wait some years to get a good return.
I will not be able to invest big sums because I will need liquidity to survive (speaking mostly about my art business) but I will invest my time to find opportunities.
If you don't have so much money to invest try to use more of your time, this is one of the few things I learned in my 24 years of business.
Bingo. There will be always be an ebb and flow to this game. My previous boss opened up his store in the middle of the 2008 recession. He cornered the market as there was no competition. Current timing wise, as you said there would be those who want to liquidate and there will be those like me who wants to buy. The show must go on and the show always will. After 12 years of saving up exclusively to invest in this industry, I'm ready. My plan is not to have a big portfolio of thousands of little ones. My plan is to have a short domain inventory but with bigger fish inside them. Invest time into those domains/websites = sell = reinvest = increase portfolio = rinse and repeat. As I said, I'm a simple human being and simple frameworks work great for me!
Thanks for your post, and best wishes
Now to the rest of your question. Re development, I am not expert at all, but if you have not done it before I wonder if it might be wise to start development on a single not too expensive domain name, and have explored the technical side of doing it, along with learning more re SEO, before going in full-tilt. I would suggest a topic that you have expertise in, so the content comes naturally and you will feel motivated to have a good site. Evaluate how your first development went before trying multiple names. When signing up for your hosting program be sure to get one that supports your eventual plans, i.e. allows multiple sites, etc.
Bob
Wonderful advice Bob. I do have been blessed with a cheat code in this area. In the last 12 years, my little brother on his own has taken a keen interest in web development. I'm not a techinical soul. I'm the idea guy, I got the passion and the motivation and the money to invest and I got a family source to develop those websites and I'm going to of course get my hands dirty and learn as much as from him and through him.
Ultimately, the strategy of owning just a few names of high quality makes total sense. However, if all your funds are in just a few names, it is critical to make the right choices. The problem of jumping right to $5k (or something like that) name early on is the risk of making a wrong decision early on. The Domain King on his Twitter feed a few weeks ago proposed a beginning strategy of buying a domain name for say $50 and selling it for at least $100 net. After you are successful at that, buy a $100 name with aim to sell for at least $200 net. Then $200 for $400, $400 for $800, etc. soon one is up to six figure names!
Now I am not sure that I totally agree on one domain name, but the idea of showing success buying and selling a few lower value before shooting for a big ROI strikes me as having a lot of sense. I know some who are making money by scrounging deals on names, then flipping them quickly to other investors. I don't recommend that as an ultimate goal, we should all want to sell to end users at big margins, but as a starting strategy you will learn what sells, and does not, to other investors, while not risking a lot of money and time in a single name.
Whatever you do, the very best wishes for success, and we look forward to you sharing your experience with us on NamePros.
Bob
Absolutely. If all the funds are in a just a few names, I gotta be real sure that I'm investing in quality and there is a long term plan attached to those. Baby steps makes logical sense but in the last 12 years, every industry and trade I have been part of, I have noticed that I like to get my hands dirty real early on. Putting my time and energy into bigger fish with the potential of higher reward makes sense to my brain. I would of course be mindful of the risks and walk that path carefully.
I learned early on that in this domain industry and perhaps any industry of trade, I would have more opportunities and roads open to me if I'm better at networking so I have actually spend good chunk of the last decade investing in human beings and networking. To me business and life is all about the relationships we create! Just to give you an example of how I'm processing my potential investment choices - Right now there is a domain on sale at NP -
protectors[dot]com - One of my contacts is a semi national furniture retailer who is closing down bulk of his stores and the buyers who are buying out his inventory are not interested in his stock of mattress protectors which he happened to bulk up in the beginning of the year expecting good tax season sales. He is basically looking to unload these mattress protectors to anyone who is willing to receive them. To get access to his vendor account and his existing inventory would only cost me in shipping and storage right now. I could have the best prices for mattress protectors anywhere online as I wouldn't be trying to get rich off selling protectors. My aim would be to build the long term value of the domain and the website attached to it. Once I'm the leading authority of mattress protectors online, I can sell it later for far more than the money and energy I invested into it. I still wouldn't commit just because it's possible, I would only commit if it's possible for me. This is the kind of long term outlook I'm going to use to apporach my domains. I hope I can learn without making too mistakes and having too many pitfalls :D
Just a few thoughts regarding your pursuit of investments in domain names.
Do study as much as possible the markets you are considering investing in - markets can and will fluctuate and you want to be as certain as possible that you are investing in a stable marketplace with reasonable expectations of market uptick.
Read through the NamePros reported sales section and see what has been and seems to be selling.
Read through NameBio.com and try and determine how to evaluate " comps " between sold names and names you are considering investing in.
Read through DNJournal.com, interesting articles and profiles and, great lists of reported domain names sale.
Wonderful advice. Steps I can take! Thank you so much. You have made this forest a lot more easier to navigate!
you will make mistakes
accept it as a reality
first mistake was to wait 12 years
second mistake
.. we will see
money management might be the key
good luckb
Haha. We will see indeed. I wanted to wait so that I would get to a place where I can invest and if everything failed 100% - I would still be okay and that took 12 years :D It wasn't just the money that I had that was 0, my overall skills like money management, networking, people skills, long term planning all had to be developed so I could be here today :D