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tips Don't buy 3-word domains. Especially don't hand register 3-word domains or more. I mean, really. (for beginners)

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twiki

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It still amazes me how many newbies are dabbling in 3-word domains or more.

Why on earth are so many doing this? Is there a belief that any domain that sounds usable will actually sell (no, it won't)?

There is a wealth of 2-word .COM domains expiring on a daily basis that you can hand register for reg fee.

Pre-owned domains, worth high 3-fig and 4-fig, ready to be sold rather fast if priced right.

Tens of them is something I pass on every day (as I can only manage so much, so I try to keep my selection small). With many of them it often hurts, because I like them but I have to pass - for the same reason.

Some are still available for a few hours after drop, ready to be scooped.

How do I know this? Well it's right down my alley... see my countless posts in the sales thread. 95% of my sales are drops. And yes I hand reg them, I don't pay DropCatch a fee or to anyone else. And yes there's much more left than what is taken. And no, not all good names are taken by DC - in fact lately I'm seeing a lot of junk being auctioned at DC and other places and it seems to increase. It's not worth it. You can get great 2-word .COM names for reg fee.

The sales ratio of 3-words is extremely small. Much smaller than the average ~1% sales ratio for 2-word .COMs for example.

Do the math. If you pay $10 per year per name, and ratio is 1%, then you need to sell that one domain for more than $1000 because at $1000 you just break even, and there is also platform cost, other costs such as currency exchange, tax etc. So you actually need to sell domains for more than $1500 on average, to make ANY money from it.

How about with 3-words where sales ratio is likely lower than 0.1%? You actually think you will sell them for $10k?

Yes, outbound helps increasing the % but it's hard work, no guarantees, and normally it should be done with a specific idea where you have a specific customer and offer them an upgrade of an existing name, rather than hitting the lake with a bat in hope some fish will jump in your boat.

I've sold thousands of names over the years. And on the same time barely a couple 3-words (although having some great, sellable 3-words, SH approved). Still hold... about 2 of them. Reason? Not enough demand for 3-words. Comes at a very huge distance from 2-words.

How about getting good 2-word .COMS instead, list them on Afternic and Sedo (and Dan) and then wait for $ to come in.

Regarding pricing: Most beginners overprice, so make sure you post in the Appraisals section if unsure. Folks here might jump in to help (I sometimes do that too).

You can also try some automated tools, first see the one in my sig below (aimed at .COMs). Yhen you can also try GD Appraisals as well (my second option for an automated tool, but it tends to pile them into the $1200 area, unfortunately.) Regardless, you'd be better off rather than getting 3-words.

People want short domains. Fewest words and syllables possible.

Geo domains - while these have a better chance at 3-word sales (if appropriate), it's still hard to sell and you have to hit tens if not hundreds of owners with emails etc. You're spamming, basically. Overall you're not going to be much better.

Get in that drop value awaiting for you for cheap. And good luck - don't forget to be on NP daily as here you will find what you need.

Oh, and about non-COM domains: My advice is to buy 1-word domains only. That's it.

Good luck, and be wise with those hard earned money.
 
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give us examples of the two letter names from recent drops that you passed on
I passed on a three letter (TEM.com) a few weeks ago for $200.
I own jem.com, and I think my other domains are more valuable (Brudly.com, Audicy.com, etc.)
 
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I passed on a three letter (TEM.com) a few weeks ago for $200.
I own jem.com, and I think my other domains are more valuable (Brudly.com, Audicy.com, etc.)

Three letter domains are not valuable to actual companies, only resellers. You can't name one company that's only three letters, or one that uses a three letter domain. The real value of a domain (to companies, not resellers) is brandability. Brudly, or Audicy can be actual companies, not jem/swk/prg,....

IMPORTANT: Please don't reply with "But dfr.com sold for $30k". I know that resellers will buy them and sell to other resellers for even more. Based on their mutual perceived value. My point is that no reputable company is going to use DFR as the name of their company or website.
This thread is about three words, not three letters.
 
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This thread is about three words, not three letters.
I was replying to a person talking about 2 letter domains.
 
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It still amazes me how many newbies are dabbling in 3-word domains or more.

Why on earth are so many doing this? Is there a belief that any domain that sounds usable will actually sell (no, it won't)?

There is a wealth of 2-word .COM domains expiring on a daily basis that you can hand register for reg fee.

Pre-owned domains, worth high 3-fig and 4-fig, ready to be sold rather fast if priced right.

Tens of them is something I pass on every day (as I can only manage so much, so I try to keep my selection small). With many of them it often hurts, because I like them but I have to pass - for the same reason.

Some are still available for a few hours after drop, ready to be scooped.

How do I know this? Well it's right down my alley... see my countless posts in the sales thread. 95% of my sales are drops. And yes I hand reg them, I don't pay DropCatch a fee or to anyone else. And yes there's much more left than what is taken. And no, not all good names are taken by DC - in fact lately I'm seeing a lot of junk being auctioned at DC and other places and it seems to increase. It's not worth it. You can get great 2-word .COM names for reg fee.

The sales ratio of 3-words is extremely small. Much smaller than the average ~1% sales ratio for 2-word .COMs for example.

Do the math. If you pay $10 per year per name, and ratio is 1%, then you need to sell that one domain for more than $1000 because at $1000 you just break even, and there is also platform cost, other costs such as currency exchange, tax etc. So you actually need to sell domains for more than $1500 on average, to make ANY money from it.

How about with 3-words where sales ratio is likely lower than 0.1%? You actually think you will sell them for $10k?

Yes, outbound helps increasing the % but it's hard work, no guarantees, and normally it should be done with a specific idea where you have a specific customer and offer them an upgrade of an existing name, rather than hitting the lake with a bat in hope some fish will jump in your boat.

I've sold thousands of names over the years. And on the same time barely a couple 3-words (although having some great, sellable 3-words, SH approved). Still hold... about 2 of them. Reason? Not enough demand for 3-words. Comes at a very huge distance from 2-words.

How about getting good 2-word .COMS instead, list them on Afternic and Sedo (and Dan) and then wait for $ to come in.

Regarding pricing: Most beginners overprice, so make sure you post in the Appraisals section if unsure. Folks here might jump in to help (I sometimes do that too).

You can also try some automated tools, first see the one in my sig below (aimed at .COMs). Yhen you can also try GD Appraisals as well (my second option for an automated tool, but it tends to pile them into the $1200 area, unfortunately.) Regardless, you'd be better off rather than getting 3-words.

People want short domains. Fewest words and syllables possible.

Geo domains - while these have a better chance at 3-word sales (if appropriate), it's still hard to sell and you have to hit tens if not hundreds of owners with emails etc. You're spamming, basically. Overall you're not going to be much better.

Get in that drop value awaiting for you for cheap. And good luck - don't forget to be on NP daily as here you will find what you need.

Oh, and about non-COM domains: My advice is to buy 1-word domains only. That's it.

Good luck, and be wise with those hard earned money.

I disagree. I own LiveVirtualAgent.com and have a lot of people interested in it.
 
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I was replying to a person talking about 2 letter domains.
OK so let's clarify this. Which person was talking about 2-letter domains here?
 
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I like GreatNewTech.com

Is that a dud or a stud?
 
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(3) Word domains are fine if it is one concept, and there is no shorter version.

BostonRealEstate.com for example. That would sell for big money.

Other examples would be terms like "crime scene cleanup". It is a (3) word term, but a massive commercial keyword.

Generally though, most (3) word domains are not that good, especially hand regs.

The more replaceable a domain is, the less value it has.

Brad
 
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OK so let's clarify this. Which person was talking about 2-letter domains here?
The person I replied to. Look at the top of my comment.
 
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I think money is made by moving with the tide and being able to spot the high waves.
If you're surfing for sure. But if you're investing, you have to spot the opportunity for future waves before others have, moving with the tide means you've already missed the best boat (mixing metaphors, but you catch my drift 🛶)
 
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Entirely depends on your definition of domainer. If developing domain names is being a domainer then three words is absolutely fine. Obviously the shorter three-worder domains are better. Also South Dakota Roofer dot com, San Diego Cabs dot com, Hire a Plumber dot com, are all useful domain names. Depends entirely on the end use and the end user. Also not all sales are public so you cannot say there aren't any three-word sales, that's just guessing.
 
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I have a 4 word domain name that I have had many offers for. 21 long letters including .com. It's already a very popular hit song, a popular expression and the name of a book.

A drop that I picked up when I started out.

I will develop it one of these coming years as a portal for travel and leisure.

... features promininently in this song.
 
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You're saying my BestLimeDrinks.com is no good?
 
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Thank you for sharing your appraisal tool Twiki! It really loved one of my domains😅
 

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Thank you for sharing your appraisal tool Twiki! It really loved one of my domains😅

You're welcome, glad to be of help.

Side note I agree with the tool in this case. This domain is short and for the finance industry.

While a sale is not guaranteed of course, it's definitely a keeper if you'd ask me.
 
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Yeah, as a newbie, handreg 3 words domains even in .com extensions is not advisable unless it's very specific and directly describes the possible uses in which the name Will be acquired for by an end user.

Again, as @twiki said, it's better to register one word domains in other extensions as a newbie.
 
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There are definitely other ways as well, and you're describing one. But it's an outlier.

99.9% of these guys are not going to replicate your $400/year in PPC. They'd be $400 loss in the bank. Or much more.

We all here are seeing this too often around NP and everywhere. ( If you are not faint hearted, check FB domain groups and what they are regging and posting there... you will be amazed, I guarantee that)

I will formulate this differently: If you buy domains to be sold, not parked, get 2-words as there's plenty of that.
It's also anecdotal - there'll always be the exceptions who sell a multi-word/triple hyphenated geo/nonprofit .biz/.mobi/.link /whatever TLD name for 4/5 figures, or who makes thousands a year from parking.
 
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Great discussion, all. I have to say that @bmugford may have had the most valuable insight here... The quality of a domain name is determined by the quality of the words/terms and how hard they are to replace or replicate.

Don't get too hung up on number of words. Focus on always getting the best (or only) version of that particular name.

NewTech is NewTech.

BUT

GreatNewTech = BestNewTech = TopNewTech = BigNewTech = PrimeNewTech... you get the idea.
 
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Who has the best 3W? I have DasIstGoods.com.
 
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That's true, 3-word domains are bad.

There is an exception though, if you combine two great keywords and you insert the word "and" between them, then you might get a great domain, so like this:

[keyword1]and[keyword2].com

But there are just a few of them, and they are taken. I have 3 such domains, but the rest are 2-word domains.
 
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give us examples of the two letter names from recent drops that you passed on
Few months, cockbell. com was available for registration on expireddomains. Four days later, a domain company snapped the name.
 
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Ohh no ..I've fitnessyouneed.com
What do I do now?
P.S. I'm a newbie
 
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