discuss Hand Registering vs. ???

ThatNameGuy · May 17, 2018

I'm reasonably sure this is the thread/venue where the topic of hand registering domains vs. buying domain names by other means should be "discussed". While other domainers have been critical of my hand registering over 1,000 names since arriving here in October/November of last year, they totally miss the point. Having Linkedup with the likes of the Domain King, Rick Schwartz, Rob Monster of Epik, Mike Cyger, formerly of Domain Sherpa, Jothan Frakes, Frank Schilling of Uniregistry, the Donuts crowd, and a few others, I know now my approach and my strategy are spot on. And this isn't to say that buying domain names at auction, or picking them up when someone else drops them doesn't work for those who choose that route.

Again, despite the criticism, I know I'm pretty damn good at the name game. I can tell you I suck at golf, but when it comes to targeting industries and coming up with creative and innovative names, I'd put myself up against anyone on NamePros. When you combine this talent with an ability to reach out and meet industry leaders like I've done, it's just common sense to hand register industry/theme specific names for the likes of; .Golf, .Loans, .Consulting .Online .Live, .Today, .Realty, .Club and recently .Pizza. Oh, and I almost forgot, .com (when it's available, and makes good sense).

Keep in mind that pretty much ALL domains were hand registered at one time by the likes of a Rick Schwartz or other industry leaders. I'm only following in their footsteps, and proud to be doing it. Note, I was careful not to mention any of the domains I've hand registered for fear of reprisal. But if anyone would like to know how I go about identifying/targeting specific industries, then hand registering domains to fit those industries, and then taking them directly to the end user decision makers, I'll be more than happy to share my experience. Thanks,

Shackleton · May 18, 2018

Shagger.golf- What's a shagger in golf?

garptrader · May 18, 2018

Bulloney - back in early 2011 Moniker / Snapnames went to Austin's SXSW conference and had a booth where some .TV domains were offered for auction. I was invited to submit a short list of entertainment-related .TV names with reserves. Obviously I had to pull those names from any existing aftermarkets and agree to pay a commission on any sale. They included a few of my English names in the event but none sold. Regardless, there was no cost to me so it was a nice idea.

This might be a way to defer some of the booth costs - to include premium inventory of other people's names as long as they agree to pay a commission. The advantage is you get to select what you want to include and the right names could make your booth more appealing. The downside is you run the risk the registrants of domains you don't own don't deliver.

Note that I eventually dropped half of the ten names that I had submitted for possible inclusion in the SXSW event (which presumably would have been among my best domains in the entertainment category in 2011). Over time domainers become increasingly more selective with renewals and acquisitions.

shorterwinters · May 18, 2018

garptrader said:
Over time domainers become increasingly more selective with renewals and acquisitions.

kind of funny how this works it's way out no matter how your thought process is going in.......

ThatNameGuy · May 18, 2018

Josh R said:
Might work if you had "Quality Domain Inventory"

Hey there buddy...me thinks you may rush to judgment. I know you've heard of the expression "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder" Of the five domains you picked of mine to insinuate that I own crappy inventory, four of those names were not, and never were meant for resale. I see where you picked on one in particular, CorneholeHappens.com....well yes, Cornhole Happens, just like the other hundred or so "Lifes Happenings" domains I'd hand registered to compliment my LifesHappenings.com brand. Are you following me? I never followed through with the branding idea for various reasons, but if you do a more thorough check, you'll discover that I hand registered the following domains that I did buy for resale or possible development; Cornhole.Live, BeerPong.Live and Tailgate.Live. Now with your vast knowledge of "Quality Domain Inventory" I'd ask that you evaluate these three domains considering just how popular, Tailgating, Beer Pong and Cornhole are in America.today. Of course you may never have heard of these past times, in which case I'd recommend you reserve comment.

Happy Friday

ThatNameGuy · May 18, 2018

garptrader said:
Bulloney - back in early 2011 Moniker / Snapnames went to Austin's SXSW conference and had a booth where some .TV domains were offered for auction. I was invited to submit a short list of entertainment-related .TV names with reserves. Obviously I had to pull those names from any existing aftermarkets and agree to pay a commission on any sale. They included a few of my English names in the event but none sold. Regardless, there was no cost to me so it was a nice idea.

This might be a way to defer some of the booth costs - to include premium inventory of other people's names as long as they agree to pay a commission. The advantage is you get to select what you want to include and the right names could make your booth more appealing. The downside is you run the risk the registrants of domains you don't own don't deliver.

Note that I eventually dropped half of the ten names that I had submitted for possible inclusion in the SXSW event (which presumably would have been among my best domains in the entertainment category in 2011). Over time domainers become increasingly more selective with renewals and acquisitions.

Hey there Bulldog

...check out my companies Mascot that I attached to this message and say hi to Biscuit. Biscuit looks more like UGA now, but this is what she looked like when she was 8 weeks old.I felt getting into this business, if I couldn't sell domains, Biscuit surely could.

As for the idea of selling others domains via my exhibitor booth, I've already been approached to sell other premium domains along with my so called "crappy" domains. We'll see, but it makes a whole lot of sense.

Finally, I just sent you a Linkedin invite to connect...that's how I knew you're a Georgia Bulldog. Just a little Bulldog trivia, but I own at least a half dozen Bulldog domains, and I have one I'll give to you that you might enjoy. Did you know that over 35 colleges in America either have a Bulldog as their Mascot, or as their nickname. Even Ohio State, where my Dad graduated in 1939 has a Bulldog, Brutus as their mascot even though they're known as the "Buckeyes". I still own the "crappy" .com domains SonOfaBulldog and SonOfaBuckeye because I truly am an S.O.B. and proud of it

Thanks again!

frank-germany · May 18, 2018

biggie said:
we all know, or should know, that the majority of domains in existence were hand-registered at one time or another..

come on Biggie

ALL
not just the majority

frank-germany · May 18, 2018

garptrader said:
The criticism of hand registering is "why after twenty plus years of the internet becoming mainstream is that domain still available?" .

because it didn't make sense before today

frank-germany · May 18, 2018

JB Lions said:
It's about sales, everything else is bs. You have 0. After 9 months and well over a thousand names. 0.

it takes 10 years to sell a name
sometimes

frank-germany · May 18, 2018

Harrington said:
that the method of hand registering a thousand domains in unproven extensions is a risky and unfruitful one, but rather that you could get everyone to shut up by showing us your sales

no risk
no fun

frank-germany · May 18, 2018

Bulloney said:
I'm reasonably sure this is the thread/venue where the topic of hand registering domains vs. buying domain names by other means should be "discussed". While other domainers have been critical of my hand registering over 1,000 names since arriving here in October/November of last year, they totally miss the point. Having Linkedup with the likes of the Domain King, Rick Schwartz, Rob Monster of Epik, Mike Cyger, formerly of Domain Sherpa, Jothan Frakes, Frank Schilling of Uniregistry, the Donuts crowd, and a few others, I know now my approach and my strategy are spot on. And this isn't to say that buying domain names at auction, or picking them up when someone else drops them doesn't work for those who choose that route.

hand registering is a valid business model
you need some phantasy
and the will to maintain the domains for a longer time period
- until finally a broader mass understands it too

or you understand businesses needs
that they don't get yet

either because they don't think they will "need" it
or just because of ignorance
which is the same

I wish you luck @Bulloney

garptrader · May 18, 2018

Note that a few years ago I did handreg several mascot keyword TV.com domains with the idea they might work for a team video site. I was careful to only go for common mascot names like bulldogs, bears, jaguars, cheetahs, etc. The names are priced $xxx but none have sold thus far. Outbound marketing to a well-known college or professional team would be risky because then the registration could be perceived as targeting the team brand. However I did learn that bears has a meaning I did not realize existed. I did not want my bears domain being used to promote those sites so I refrained from contacting them.

biggie · May 18, 2018

frank-germany said:
come on Biggie

ALL
not just the majority

well @frank-germany , I said "majority" because:
some domain names were "reserved" by registry and later auctioned,
and now that process includes the new domain extensions, where each registry can now list any name as "premium" and set "any price they choose" as the initial registration fee, which may or may not be, the same as the renewal fee.

that BS, has changed the playing field.
where now initial costs have soared, along with increased competition, which spurred this evolution of pre-registering, to backordering, before you get successful registration, all controlled by the registrars.

imo...

frank-germany · May 18, 2018

biggie said:
well @frank-germany , I said "majority" because:
some domain names were "reserved" by registry and later auctioned,
and now that process includes the new domain extensions, where each registry can now list any name as "premium" and set "any price they choose" as the initial registration fee, which may or may not be, the same as the renewal fee.

that BS, has changed the playing field.
where now initial costs have soared, along with increased competition, which spurred this evolution of pre-registering, to backordering, before you get successful registration, all controlled by the registrars.

imo...

for the registry it's still a hand reg

bmugford · May 18, 2018

A handreg to me is a domain available to register for a set standard fee with a set standard renewal. Anything else is a sale, not a hand registration in my view.

Brad

ThatNameGuy · May 18, 2018

garptrader said:
Note that a few years ago I did handreg several mascot keyword TV.com domains with the idea they might work for a team video site. I was careful to only go for common mascot names like bulldogs, bears, jaguars, cheetahs, etc. The names are priced $xxx but none have sold thus far. Outbound marketing to a well-known college or professional team would be risky because then the registration could be perceived as targeting the team brand. However I did learn that bears has a meaning I did not realize existed. I did not want my bears domain being used to promote those sites so I refrained from contacting them.

I think you need to somehow get the mascot names to the "right" market. Targeted email is another way to reach potential end users. For instance I own Bulldog.Consulting, and there are literally tens of thousands of Bulldogs like you who would luv to own a business called Bulldog Consulting. Since you're an alum of Georgia, you may even have access to email addresses where you could market Bulldog domains. I've hand registered other mascot names like Gator.Consulting and even Hurricane.Consulting that could apply to both the Miami Hurricanes and hurricanes in general. That's all for now...Thanks,

ThatNameGuy · May 18, 2018

Shackleton said:
Shagger.golf- What's a shagger in golf?

There's a term in golf called shagging that means retrieving golf balls in practice. The retriever, which I did for myself when I played on my golf team, would be considered a shagger. I learned to shag dance while in college in N.C., so now I'm a multi talented shagger

Bob Hawkes · May 18, 2018

I think that the important message that @Bulloney is promoting is that it is essential to get domain names to the right market, and past practice seems to indicate that for ngTLD at least (and I would argue more than just that), simply listing them on marketplaces is not enough. I hope this message, which I think many of us agree with, is not lost among the heat this thread has generated.

High value businesses in general use branding companies and domain brokers, etc. and the system works for them and those who hold high value .com (and to some degree .io, .co etc.).

However, I think stats support the fact that the vast majority of small companies, organizations, etc. are resistant to purchasing in domain aftermarkets, and most simply find the best available hand registered domain, even though better choices are available on the marketplaces. I think that an opportunity is there to sell at reasonable prices to this group, if we make them comfortable with the purchase process and they become familiar with the options.

The idea of resellers and the registries working together in such promotion, and to use new venues other than traditional marketplaces (or I should say in addition to) makes sense. At the right price point, many would consider a domain name and website I think. Certainly the market for .golf is huge - golfers, equipment makers, bloggers, tournaments, courses, media, etc. I own no .golf, but do see that there is a reasonable possibility of success I hope that the .golf promotion will be hugely successful, and will start something we can all later tie into.

Bob

ThatNameGuy · May 18, 2018

Wow Bob...your post almost brought tears to my eyes...you're no whiner, but a purebred Gentlemen

NicTraders · May 18, 2018

MetBob said:
I think that the important message that @Bulloney is promoting is that it is essential to get domain names to the right market, and past practice seems to indicate that for ngTLD at least (and I would argue more than just that), simply listing them on marketplaces is not enough. I hope this message, which I think many of us agree with, is not lost among the heat this thread has generated.

High value businesses in general use branding companies and domain brokers, etc. and the system works for them and those who hold high value .com (and to some degree .io, .co etc.).

However, I think stats support the fact that the vast majority of small companies, organizations, etc. are resistant to purchasing in domain aftermarkets, and most simply find the best available hand registered domain, even though better choices are available on the marketplaces. I think that an opportunity is there to sell at reasonable prices to this group, if we make them comfortable with the purchase process and they become familiar with the options.

The idea of resellers and the registries working together in such promotion, and to use new venues other than traditional marketplaces (or I should say in addition to) makes sense. At the right price point, many would consider a domain name and website I think. Certainly the market for .golf is huge - golfers, equipment makers, bloggers, tournaments, courses, media, etc. I own no .golf, but do see that there is a reasonable possibility of success I hope that the .golf promotion will be hugely successful, and will start something we can all later tie into.

Bob

I couldn't agree more. It's a shame this thread gets a bit heated and we have to wade through a bit of rubbish as I think the idea has a great deal of merit. I'm keen to hear how the booth goes for @Bulloney. It seems to me that he could be onto a winner since he'll have access to a bunch of people with high disposable income, some of whom are likely to have a rather decent ego and pretty keen to feed it with a domain that has meaning to them.

Joe N · May 18, 2018

MetBob said:
I think that the important message that @Bulloney is promoting is that it is essential to get domain names to the right market, and past practice seems to indicate that for ngTLD at least (and I would argue more than just that), simply listing them on marketplaces is not enough. I hope this message, which I think many of us agree with, is not lost among the heat this thread has generated.

High value businesses in general use branding companies and domain brokers, etc. and the system works for them and those who hold high value .com (and to some degree .io, .co etc.).

However, I think stats support the fact that the vast majority of small companies, organizations, etc. are resistant to purchasing in domain aftermarkets, and most simply find the best available hand registered domain, even though better choices are available on the marketplaces. I think that an opportunity is there to sell at reasonable prices to this group, if we make them comfortable with the purchase process and they become familiar with the options.

The idea of resellers and the registries working together in such promotion, and to use new venues other than traditional marketplaces (or I should say in addition to) makes sense. At the right price point, many would consider a domain name and website I think. Certainly the market for .golf is huge - golfers, equipment makers, bloggers, tournaments, courses, media, etc. I own no .golf, but do see that there is a reasonable possibility of success I hope that the .golf promotion will be hugely successful, and will start something we can all later tie into.

Bob

I think you have a valid point, Bob. My concern would be that the time and cost associated with creating demand for these extensions would far outweigh the profit to be made from selling them.

Does anyone know why Bulloney's account keeps getting auto-closed??

Bob Hawkes · May 18, 2018

Joe Nichols said:
I think you have a valid point, Bob. My concern would be that the time and cost associated with creating demand for these extensions would far outweigh the profit to be made from selling them.

I would agree Joe with your point, and if one wanted any sort of reasonable return on time and other costs this is a risky at best strategy. I think the hope is that once a demand was created, then it would grow on itself past a certain point. To some degree any new company almost always loses money early on, and in 9 out of 10 cases (I think the stats are - did not check them) the startup fails and closes.

Finding a new way to do business in domains in reaching underserved clients is the same in my opinion. It will not pay off in year one, and probably never. But it does have a chance. I guess the Apple's of the world, that took forever lingering at the edges of making no profit and getting not much market share, but then the Mac, the iPod, the iMac, the iPhone, the iPad..... and one of the biggest tech companies in the world.

Anyway, I am writing too much. But I do totally agree with your point, but respect the mavericks that want to try the approach even though rewards may take a long time or never come.

Have a good day!

BaileyUK · May 19, 2018

Joe Nichols said:
Does anyone know why Bulloney's account keeps getting auto-closed??

Breaking the NP rules, (auto-close) this time I believe it was due to a duplicate sales post. He may well have had warnings but, that I wouldn't know.

We've had a short chat in the past, he's certainly a man of conviction, I'd imagine If he'd entered domaining when he registered his first domain in 2001 he'd be on a blinder by now

poweredbyme · May 20, 2018

MetBob said:
I think that the important message that @Bulloney is promoting is that it is essential to get domain names to the right market, and past practice seems to indicate that for ngTLD at least (and I would argue more than just that), simply listing them on marketplaces is not enough. I hope this message, which I think many of us agree with, is not lost among the heat this thread has generated.

I think @Bulloney is trying to say he knows many buyers in person. For me, selling something to acquaintances isn't a professional business. You may sell domains today and cars tomorrow to your personal social circle. This only shows you are an amateur seller.

Professional business persons create universal value that any person in the World would be willing to buy it, regardless of who created and sells it. Amateurs put themselves infront of their products while professionals do the opposite.

As to the importance of "right" market, I think all markets are right if your domain is right. Markeplace isn't important. Buyers find good domains even if you don't want to sell. Quality plays the biggest role. Your marketplace choice and your marketing talents are not really important.

Bob Hawkes · May 20, 2018

Hi @poweredbyme, and thank you for your comments. While I completely agree that a professional business is not selling to acquaintances, that was not how I interpreted his comments (either initially or on rereading after your post).

While there is no doubt considerable truth to your final paragraph re buyers finding domains and quality plays the biggest role, I am less convinced about your statement that marketplace and marketing are not important. I suspect that I am not alone, as the frequent questions re approaches for outbound, which places to list domains, etc. on NPs attest.

It is probably true for the elite premium domains, that some broker or agent will track them down and help make the deal happen. However, for the domain that may sell for $100 to $500 to a small local business, organization, individual, etc., I think that creating a market through awareness of new opportunities is important, and they need to find the process of buying and using a domain user friendly and trusted.

In general, any hope for ngTLDs in my opinion rests largely with creating new markets for domain names, and reading those who are not being reached by the existing marketplaces.

Michael Ehrhardt · May 21, 2018

Bulloney said:
I'm reasonably sure this is the thread/venue where the topic of hand registering domains vs. buying domain names by other means should be "discussed". While other domainers have been critical of my hand registering over 1,000 names since arriving here in October/November of last year, they totally miss the point. Having Linkedup with the likes of the Domain King, Rick Schwartz, Rob Monster of Epik, Mike Cyger, formerly of Domain Sherpa, Jothan Frakes, Frank Schilling of Uniregistry, the Donuts crowd, and a few others, I know now my approach and my strategy are spot on. And this isn't to say that buying domain names at auction, or picking them up when someone else drops them doesn't work for those who choose that route.

Again, despite the criticism, I know I'm pretty damn good at the name game. I can tell you I suck at golf, but when it comes to targeting industries and coming up with creative and innovative names, I'd put myself up against anyone on NamePros. When you combine this talent with an ability to reach out and meet industry leaders like I've done, it's just common sense to hand register industry/theme specific names for the likes of; .Golf, .Loans, .Consulting .Online .Live, .Today, .Realty, .Club and recently .Pizza. Oh, and I almost forgot, .com (when it's available, and makes good sense).

Keep in mind that pretty much ALL domains were hand registered at one time by the likes of a Rick Schwartz or other industry leaders. I'm only following in their footsteps, and proud to be doing it. Note, I was careful not to mention any of the domains I've hand registered for fear of reprisal. But if anyone would like to know how I go about identifying/targeting specific industries, then hand registering domains to fit those industries, and then taking them directly to the end user decision makers, I'll be more than happy to share my experience. Thanks,

Hand

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