question Why are hundreds of thousands of Quality Domain's not sold?

oldtimer said:

I haven't seen any real analysis on this subject, but based on my own observations and gut feelings I believe that the first thing that we need to do is to divide this analysis into several different parts that focus on the many different levels that exist when it comes to domain names as each level might behave completely differently from the others.

For example the sell through rate might actually drop for ultra premium domains when things are going good as every one tries to hang on to their best domains hoping for higher offers, although the ones that do sell might go for a lot of money and make the news. On the other hand when things are not so great people start trying to cash in on their top tier domains and so there might be more activity in the top levels of the market while the lower levels might be experiencing stagnation. Although it's usually the mid level domains that suffer the most as the very bottom levels might still be attracting buyers in the low three figures.

IMO

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oldtimer...I've reached out to John McCormac of HosterStats for answers to some of your and Bob's questions. HosterStats is one of the best tools I use to register and buy domains. I'll let you know what he says.

oldtimer said:

It's true that constructive criticism helps everyone see their faults and perhaps try to correct them, but if its always just criticism (even the constructive ones) without patting someone on the back when they do something right then it might come across as if you are just targeting someone and it might be interpreted as harassment if it continues to go on that way.

So criticism has to be followed by encouragement and guidance and perhaps an occasional pat on the back in order to be considered fair and balanced.

The fact that your comment was followed by three smiley faces by another member only adds to the negativity.

My suggestion to OP is also to avoid bragging about all your experience in naming companies and instead prove that you are able to come up with good and worthy names like you did with your smile domains.

IMO

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oldtimer...i'm a pretty good judge of people and character, and not ONCE to my recollection has this member ever complimented me about anything. You sir are a gentlemen and have contributed to this thread...he's only said that I shouldn't have started this thread Somehow that's suppose to be a backhanded compliment, but not where I come from

ps. I'm giving a talk tomorrow morning at my Kiwanis Club about one of the best books I ever read titled "Smile for No Good Reason" by Dr. Lee Jampolsky. I haven't stopped smiling since

ThatNameGuy said:

ps. I'm giving a talk tomorrow morning at my Kiwanis Club about one of the best books I ever read titled "Smile for No Good Reason" by Dr. Lee Jampolsky. I haven't stopped smiling since

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That's a good book. Might not be for everyone, still... goes nicely together with the song Happy

ThatNameGuy said:

oldtimer...i'm a pretty good judge of people and character, and not ONCE to my recollection has this member ever complimented me about anything.

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A good judge of character with a short memory. We used to have some pretty nice conversations, Rich:

Joe Nichols said:

Rich, I get the big picture of what you're saying. I like it. I'm on board. I would love to increase the public's general awareness and acceptance of domain name value if it means we all get to sell more! That would be amazing.

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Joe Nichols said:

I truly look forward to hearing about your first domain name sale, Rich!

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Joe Nichols said:

I do like some of your names; however, I think it's important to keep perspective on them.

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Joe Nichols said:

Like any business venture, I presume you're willing to suffer a loss for a year or two in order to further a long-term goal. I have no idea if it's going to work out, but I applaud the effort, and I'm eager to follow the results.

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Joe Nichols said:

Hey Rich! I like the name, but I think I would like it more if the "1st" were spelled out as a word. That seems to be how First National and First Financial brand themselves with their domain names as well. It's a great sounding brand, and a great industry.

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Joe Nichols said:

Still friends, so stay positive, my man. That's what life is all about. But keep those discussion avenues open as well.

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Joe Nichols said:

I wish you good luck, Rich! I've never heard of anyone in the domaining world who has manufactured demand for a specific type of brandable name. If you're able to do it, I feel like it would be pretty revolutionary.

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We even had some nice discussions over PM where <gasp> you actually solicited my opinion.

Somewhere along the line, I think you decided I was a bad guy who was trying to bring you down. Perhaps you got too used to being involved in antagonistic conversations here?

Forums are tough. It can be too easy to put the wrong spin on a person's comments, and near impossible to judge tone and intent in certain cases. An important lesson for all of us, I suppose.

Joe Nichols said:

A good judge of character with a short memory. We used to have some pretty nice conversations, RWe even had some nice discussions over PM where <gasp> you actually solicited my opinion.

Somewhere along the line, I think you decided I was a bad guy who was trying to bring you down. Perhaps you got too used to being involved in antagonistic conversations here?

Forums are tough. It can be too easy to put the wrong spin on a person's comments, and near impossible to judge tone and intent in certain cases. An important lesson for all of us, I suppose.

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Give it a rest will ya Joe...you're absolutely USELESS to me, and I stand by "I'm a pretty good judge of character"....you're not fooling anyone, especially me

ThatNameGuy said:

Give it a rest will ya Joe...you're absolutely USELESS to me, and I stand by "I'm a pretty good judge of character"....you're not fooling anyone, especially me

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Need some help finding that ignore button?

Why are hundreds of thousands of Quality Domain's not sold?

There are thousands opinion about 'Quality Domain', but exactly we never know end user opinion before purchasing domain as we call with 'Quality Domain'. 100 % I believe that every business owners search good domain based their backround, culture, behavior ,and other aspect in their life.

NameDeck said:

That's a good book. Might not be for everyone, still... goes nicely together with the song Happy

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Thanks Dirk...Pharrell Williams, the star who sings Happy is from Virginia Beach. Interesting enough, when I discovered he's into names, I started promoting Pharrell to GD for a TV Name Show. A good friend of mine sits on one of his charitable foundations with Pharrell's mom, and I was trying my best to make the connection. Unfortunately I got busy with other things and GD changed CEO's, but it's still on the back burner.....you know my oldest domain is "Make Something Happen", and despite all the stalking, harassing, intimidation I'll always be making something happen

Thanks again Dirk, and lets smile for no good reason and stay in touch!

Pay.My.id said:

Why are hundreds of thousands of Quality Domain's not sold?

There are thousands opinion about 'Quality Domain', but exactly we never know end user opinion before purchasing domain as we call with 'Quality Domain'. 100 % I believe that every business owners search good domain based their backround, culture, behavior ,and other aspect in their life.

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Just a little trouble understanding your dialect....my problem, but after I read it a second time I understand better. You're right on both counts...."thousands of opinions about "Quality Domain", and "business owners search good domain based on their back ground, culture, behavior, and other aspects of their life" That said however, you may own a thousand "Quality Domains" for financial services, and very few business people in the financial world will ever know about it? If they're not coming to you, it stands to reason you need to go to them. I know you're in Indonesia so it's my opinion you need to target mostly Indonesian business owners, right? I checked out the information you shared, and it appears you're a pretty smart guy. How would you "outbound" sell/market domains to Indonesian or Southeast Asia business persons? Thanks

enterscope said:

Market is definitely saturated with a lot of competition and many bad names as everyone else mentioned. Regardless, if your domain is actually a good brand that makes sense, also reasonably priced for that market, you can make 500-2000%+ ROI fairly easily compared to other asset classes.

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Enterscope....sorry I missed responding to your post. No doubt the market is saturated with "bad names", and I don't disagree. For all practical purpose, i think we can apply the old 80/20 rule when it comes to domains...that is, 80% of domains registered for the secondary market are probably "bad" and 20% are probably "OK" As a matter of fact, my portfolio of 1,000 domains probably consists of 800 "bad" and 200 what I consider "pretty damn good" Let's take and analyze the last two domains I registered; BoGoWeekend.com and LottoCharm.com. Of the two, BoGoWeekend probably has the most potential, especially when you consider retail sales in the US alone were 3.68Trillion dollars in 2018. Note, that's Trillion with "T" and not Billion with a "B". Ironically, i know i read somewhere that 80% of all retail sales (Friday - Sunday) are made on "Weekends". I've never actually been in the retail business myself so you should verify that number for yourself. So breaking it down, 2.94 Trillion dollars is spent on weekends annually, or 56.5Billion retail sales are made every "weekend" of the year in the US alone.

Working through this exercise, can anyone see why I might want to own the domain BoGoWeekend in a .com for the $8.49 I paid for it? It's my opinion that if you can't see why, you really shouldn't be in the domain business or any other business for that matter.

Finally, i'll let you be the judge for the reason why I registered the domain LottoCharm.com, but for the moment lets just say I'm a fool and an idiot, and all I register are worthless "bad names" 80% of the time. Do you also see why I refuse to accept the typical business model where the "average" domainer doesn't have a clue how much BoGoWeekend is really worth? Some poor sole who owned the domain for 8 years before me obviously didn't know what he/she had, or else I wouldn't own it today.....am I Blessed, or is it just dumb Luck? I'll let you be the judge of that

Thanks, and "Smile for No Good Reason"

I agree with what most people have to say here. I have come to realise that while domain investors see huge potential in the domain names I am afraid the general public and business people do not have much of a clue and could not care less about anything.

In the last year I have changed my approach to domaining, my job consists of meeting a lot of people including business owners (some are very successful) and during my business dealings with them I point out the issues with their current domain name and branding. Some do not even have a website. A few of these business owners are very receptive to the advise while others do not want to continue that conversation. The ones that are receptive I just tell them have you considered upgrading to thisdomainname.com for example. In the last 9 months I have managed to broker two deals and made 6k out of both deals, so ultimately it was all about education. I firstly educated both my clients to make them understand, because I live in London I asked them observe the branding of successful companies on buses, bill boards and taxis and I explained the importance of .com and they notice that .com is heavily advertised across the board. After I have had this conversation with them they both came back to me and said "thank you, I have started noticing this and that" and then they asked me to help them upgrade which I did.

So step one, it all lies in the education of business owners and because there is little/no education about domaining as an industry. And we as domainers should not be just keyboard warriors but we should maybe think about setting up some sort of association where domain names are advertised as assets so that business owners also believe that they are adding value to their business by spending money on a valuable domain. For example bitcoin became successful because the people that invested in it also spent a huge amount advertising its potential but who really does that for domaining? I don't know of many people apart from Rick Schwartz but there are no huge celebrities/investors out there saying on a TC show "I own a great domain portfolio that is rising in value". I recently bought a industry related domain name for my business for $5k which I thought was great value for money but at first when I told a few manufactures in the industry they said that is a lot of money for a domain name (as they do not understand its value) however when I explained its potential one of the manufactures even offered 100k for it and was very annoyed at their marketing department for missing this opportunity.

The second point is that most people are asking for stupid money for their domains which is why they are not getting sales. Most business owners will not go out and spend 30k+ on a domain unless they are a huge company or really understand the value of domains. But I believe some smaller business owners will spend 3k-5k for a decent upgrade. Now if the reseller value of that domain is between $200 and $500 the domainer can still make a decent profit as well as have more sales. So if you are waiting to make your 100k or million dollar sale you might as well spend that money on the lottery because you will not get anywhere.

Thirdly the issues lies with quality of domains some people hold (myself included). What I would have considered a good domain 5-10 years ago I do not even look at anymore (or at least try not to, sometimes the addiction still takes over to simply buy junk). I am trying to focus on quality on all future purchases.

The fourth (related to my first point) and final point is that most people in the marketing industry do not understand domaining as it is not even mentioned at college or university. So domaining has a long way to go until it is seen as a respectful industry, until then hold tight and enjoy the wild west time period for domaining.

-AR- said:

I agree with what most people have to say here. I have come to realise that while domain investors see huge potential in the domain names I am afraid the general public and business people do not have much of a clue and could not care less about anything.

In the last year I have changed my approach to domaining, my job consists of meeting a lot of people including business owners (some are very successful) and during my business dealings with them I point out the issues with their current domain name and branding. Some do not even have a website. A few of these business owners are very receptive to the advise while others do not want to continue that conversation. The ones that are receptive I just tell them have you considered upgrading to thisdomainname.com for example. In the last 9 months I have managed to broker two deals and made 6k out of both deals, so ultimately it was all about education. I firstly educated both my clients to make them understand, because I live in London I asked them observe the branding of successful companies on buses, bill boards and taxis and I explained the importance of .com and they notice that .com is heavily advertised across the board. After I have had this conversation with them they both came back to me and said "thank you, I have started noticing this and that" and then they asked me to help them upgrade which I did.

So step one, it all lies in the education of business owners and because there is little/no education about domaining as an industry. And we as domainers should not be just keyboard warriors but we should maybe think about setting up some sort of association where domain names are advertised as assets so that business owners also believe that they are adding value to their business by spending money on a valuable domain. For example bitcoin became successful because the people that invested in it also spent a huge amount advertising its potential but who really does that for domaining? I don't know of many people apart from Rick Schwartz but there are no huge celebrities/investors out there saying on a TC show "I own a great domain portfolio that is rising in value". I recently bought a industry related domain name for my business for $5k which I thought was great value for money but at first when I told a few manufactures in the industry they said that is a lot of money for a domain name (as they do not understand its value) however when I explained its potential one of the manufactures even offered 100k for it and was very annoyed at their marketing department for missing this opportunity.

The second point is that most people are asking for stupid money for their domains which is why they are not getting sales. Most business owners will not go out and spend 30k+ on a domain unless they are a huge company or really understand the value of domains. But I believe some smaller business owners will spend 3k-5k for a decent upgrade. Now if the reseller value of that domain is between $200 and $500 the domainer can still make a decent profit as well as have more sales. So if you are waiting to make your 100k or million dollar sale you might as well spend that money on the lottery because you will not get anywhere.

Thirdly the issues lies with quality of domains some people hold (myself included). What I would have considered a good domain 5-10 years ago I do not even look at anymore (or at least try not to, sometimes the addiction still takes over to simply buy junk). I am trying to focus on quality on all future purchases.

The fourth (related to my first point) and final point is that most people in the marketing industry do not understand domaining as it is not even mentioned at college or university. So domaining has a long way to go until it is seen as a respectful industry, until then hold tight and enjoy the wild west time period for domaining.

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Wow AR....thanks so much for your input. I'm headed out to a breakfast meeting, but I'd like to continue discussing some of your "spot on" analysis of the domain industry when I return. Thanks again

-AR- said:

I agree with what most people have to say here. I have come to realise that while domain investors see huge potential in the domain names I am afraid the general public and business people do not have much of a clue and could not care less about anything.

In the last year I have changed my approach to domaining, my job consists of meeting a lot of people including business owners (some are very successful) and during my business dealings with them I point out the issues with their current domain name and branding. Some do not even have a website. A few of these business owners are very receptive to the advise while others do not want to continue that conversation. The ones that are receptive I just tell them have you considered upgrading to thisdomainname.com for example. In the last 9 months I have managed to broker two deals and made 6k out of both deals, so ultimately it was all about education. I firstly educated both my clients to make them understand, because I live in London I asked them observe the branding of successful companies on buses, bill boards and taxis and I explained the importance of .com and they notice that .com is heavily advertised across the board. After I have had this conversation with them they both came back to me and said "thank you, I have started noticing this and that" and then they asked me to help them upgrade which I did.

So step one, it all lies in the education of business owners and because there is little/no education about domaining as an industry. And we as domainers should not be just keyboard warriors but we should maybe think about setting up some sort of association where domain names are advertised as assets so that business owners also believe that they are adding value to their business by spending money on a valuable domain. For example bitcoin became successful because the people that invested in it also spent a huge amount advertising its potential but who really does that for domaining? I don't know of many people apart from Rick Schwartz but there are no huge celebrities/investors out there saying on a TC show "I own a great domain portfolio that is rising in value". I recently bought a industry related domain name for my business for $5k which I thought was great value for money but at first when I told a few manufactures in the industry they said that is a lot of money for a domain name (as they do not understand its value) however when I explained its potential one of the manufactures even offered 100k for it and was very annoyed at their marketing department for missing this opportunity.

The second point is that most people are asking for stupid money for their domains which is why they are not getting sales. Most business owners will not go out and spend 30k+ on a domain unless they are a huge company or really understand the value of domains. But I believe some smaller business owners will spend 3k-5k for a decent upgrade. Now if the reseller value of that domain is between $200 and $500 the domainer can still make a decent profit as well as have more sales. So if you are waiting to make your 100k or million dollar sale you might as well spend that money on the lottery because you will not get anywhere.

Thirdly the issues lies with quality of domains some people hold (myself included). What I would have considered a good domain 5-10 years ago I do not even look at anymore (or at least try not to, sometimes the addiction still takes over to simply buy junk). I am trying to focus on quality on all future purchases.

The fourth (related to my first point) and final point is that most people in the marketing industry do not understand domaining as it is not even mentioned at college or university. So domaining has a long way to go until it is seen as a respectful industry, until then hold tight and enjoy the wild west time period for domaining.

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AR......i just finished a talk titled "Smile for No Good Reason" at my Kiwanis Club this am. We had about 40 people (guys and gals) in attendance and I had an opportunity to weave something in about the domains I bought a few days ago, MakeSmilesHappen.com and MakeSmilesHappen.org.
Ironically, I have a retired Dentist in my club and a Neonatologist who has worked with OperationSmile.org that was founded in my community 35 years ago. The point I want to make is, even though both of these Doc's are retired, they know very little about the domain industry, but because they're friends, they'll listen. Another member, a retired Navy Pilot who I've known for years knows what I do, and when I won the 50/50 drawing ($30.00) he commented, "I guess that's three more domains". While they all may be fascinated, they're not prospects. That said however, the Navy Pilots daughter is one of the top breast surgeons in my area, and she could probably get me in to see her practice administrator. Sorry for rambling, but your point about few if any business people know anything about our industry is "spot on", and therein lies a HUGE opportunity. Your second point, "most people are asking stupid money for their domains" is spot on as well. If a buyer is lucky enough to find the perfect domain for his/her business, many times it's priced over their heads

Your third point is that few quality domains exist, thus my theory that 80% of all domains (yes mine) are bad. Then your last point about domain/branding/name education is virtually void in our schools is spot on as well. Thus even youth/millennial's don't understand this business.

Bottom line, all the reasons you stated that are wrong with this industry is what attracted me to it. Verisign makes the comment that the "secondary market" consisting of mostly hoarders and scalpers is "hidden in plain sight"....and my goal is to expose it. And thanks for helping with that effort

ThatNameGuy said:

Oh ye of so little faith Have you no "offensiive" ideas??? Try thinking outside the box or you'll never win at this game...Thomas Edison did, Nikola Tesla did, and so did Westinghouse. If you want to learn to be a better domainer and sell more domains, read an old book

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When I posted "...a huge over-supply....so over time it has become basically a numbers game combined with luck...." I was not opposed in any way to thinking outside the box, it's just a genuine reality check.

namemarket said:

When I posted "...a huge over-supply....so over time it has become basically a numbers game combined with luck...." I was not opposed in any way to thinking outside the box, it's just a genuine reality check.

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Thanks David....i tend to make my own luck, thus My Mantra "Make Something Happen". Basically I know there's a better way, and with a little help from friends I intend to find it

A lot of domainers complain that the general public doesn't know enough or that doesn't care enough about domain names.

Perhaps the best way to understand why might be for us to consider other Industries and fields that we ourselves don't know or care enough about.

We might not all know the ins and outs about what makes a painting or a diamond so valuable. We might not realize that there is an investment or collector angle to them and that they are bought and sold in auction houses or traded between resellers for huge amounts of money. Perhaps not too many people here on this forum can bring themselves to buy a painting or a diamond for more than a few hundred (or thousand) dollars and anything more than that might look as a waste of money to us. But the important thing is that we might change our whole perspective on paintings and diamonds if someone educates us about them and we might come to realize that certain paintings or diamonds might truly be valuable and worth checking in to.

There are many businesses that already know about the value of a good domain name, but there are still many CEOs and business owners out there that don't realize what a good domain name can do for their company. They need to be educated about the power and prestige of a good domain name and the fact that its good for them to own as many domains related to the field of their business in addition to the one that they use for their main website as each domain can be used as a channel or portal to bring them more customers and clients.

It's hard to educate the whole public about the value of paintings or diamonds (or domain names) so the education has to happen at the point of need or contact.

So domainers need to stop complaining and start educating those whom they come to contact with, otherwise those who sell paintings or diamonds might complain about us being ignorant about their Industry.

IMO

oldtimer said:

the education has to happen at the point of need or contact.

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This point is key. Identifying targeted prospects with a real need for your domain names is so important.

We could dedicate an entire thread to identifying good potential buyers, since I think a lot of domain investors have a tendency to buy names that they think sound good for an industry, and then proceed to spam all businesses in that industry. That model just doesn't convert well.

I see one of the sessions at NamesCon has the topic of looking at sales from the buyer's perspective. I think that might be relevant to this topic. Imagine that I am a startup owner, maybe at this point it is just me and one other, we are operating out of the basement, but hope to eventually be big. I think the majority of those people are not really even considering an aftermarket domain name. And some should not - you must have enough money to do your business, and the idea of a basic name that gets upgraded when you are successful is logical in many cases.

But let's say they could handle a modest cost to get a better name from the outset. So what are the roadblocks from their point of view.

1. They look at a few and the pricing is all over the board. That shakes their confidence in not getting ripped-off as there seems no consistency in pricing. I think those who put 5 or 6 or 7 figure prices on domain names worth 3 figures are probably hurting the industry. People play games of not giving prices, or saying the price is 10000 time the minimum offer or refusing to even respond.
2. The process of finding names is not as simple as buying office tech or even advertising.There is not a place like Amazon where they can just go and buy them in an efficiently sorted way and with a company they trust standing behind the transaction. Dofo may help once enough use it.
3. The value of a quality domain name is not promoted enough in education or business press. Or promoted hardly at all. There needs to be disinterested professionals helping business owners see the value that a high prestige name brings, or the value of other uses of supplementary domain names in a business.
4. Some sellers make them jump hoops like set up all the identity for services like Escrow. The buyers are not used to it. I am not saying such services should not be used, just that they complicate things from the buyers perspective. If this is coupled with hiding true identity of the seller, the situation is even worse.
5. The choices are complex. Huge number of TLDs, huge price differences. Some in industry shout competing ideas or partial information to push certain agendas.
6. They want a purchase process that is like leasing or buying real property from accredited agents. The whole industry needs to be 100% professional in my opinion. Many, many are. The rest need to be. Think of what real estate agents do, how they portray themselves. We need to be more like that.
7. Too many in the industry try to tell those seeking names what they should want, instead of listening to what the business owner really wants.

All of these are arguable, or can be debated. But we should try to think like someone who never heard of a domain name, but needs one. The industry needs to be more service oriented, shifting somewhat from a focus on holding a large portfolio to one where the agent can find the name that is the right match.

Just my rambling opinion...

Bob

Much of the concerns mentioned by @Bob Hawkes could be alleviated if there were some way to introduce a domain name license (similar to a real estate license). Only those with a valid license would be allowed to sell domain names professionally.

If they are all sold then we have nothing to do.
But why ask too many “why” questions that no one has the answer. Just an opportunity for people to attack each other because “I am right”

I believe that there has to be an effort on both sides that is both by domainers and the end users to behave more professionally and become more informed so that the end results can benefit everyone. It doesn't help that some end users think that just because the domain name that they are interested in is already taken by a domainer that they are somehow being cheated because their desired domain wasn't just sitting there waiting for them to register it. CEOs and business owners have to put a little more effort into educating themselves about domain names so that they don't accuse an investor or a collector who has been smart enough to acquire a good domain name of being a cybersquatter. Even when end users hand register a domain name for their own business some manage to come up with the most awkward names because they are just too lazy or ignorant to learn a few basic rules and strategies about domain names.

So in my opinion there is a responsibility for both sides to behave more professionally in order for this to become a more trusting and consumer friendly Industry.

IMO

Bob Hawkes said:

I see one of the sessions at NamesCon has the topic of looking at sales from the buyer's perspective. I think that might be relevant to this topic. Imagine that I am a startup owner, maybe at this point it is just me and one other, we are operating out of the basement, but hope to eventually be big. I think the majority of those people are not really even considering an aftermarket domain name. And some should not - you must have enough money to do your business, and the idea of a basic name that gets upgraded when you are successful is logical in many cases.

But let's say they could handle a modest cost to get a better name from the outset. So what are the roadblocks from their point of view.

1. They look at a few and the pricing is all over the board. That shakes their confidence in not getting ripped-off as there seems no consistency in pricing. I think those who put 5 or 6 or 7 figure prices on domain names worth 3 figures are probably hurting the industry. People play games of not giving prices, or saying the price is 10000 time the minimum offer or refusing to even respond.
2. The process of finding names is not as simple as buying office tech or even advertising.There is not a place like Amazon where they can just go and buy them in an efficiently sorted way and with a company they trust standing behind the transaction. Dofo may help once enough use it.
3. The value of a quality domain name is not promoted enough in education or business press. Or promoted hardly at all. There needs to be disinterested professionals helping business owners see the value that a high prestige name brings, or the value of other uses of supplementary domain names in a business.
4. Some sellers make them jump hoops like set up all the identity for services like Escrow. The buyers are not used to it. I am not saying such services should not be used, just that they complicate things from the buyers perspective. If this is coupled with hiding true identity of the seller, the situation is even worse.
5. The choices are complex. Huge number of TLDs, huge price differences. Some in industry shout competing ideas or partial information to push certain agendas.
6. They want a purchase process that is like leasing or buying real property from accredited agents. The whole industry needs to be 100% professional in my opinion. Many, many are. The rest need to be. Think of what real estate agents do, how they portray themselves. We need to be more like that.
7. Too many in the industry try to tell those seeking names what they should want, instead of listening to what the business owner really wants.

All of these are arguable, or can be debated. But we should try to think like someone who never heard of a domain name, but needs one. The industry needs to be more service oriented, shifting somewhat from a focus on holding a large portfolio to one where the agent can find the name that is the right match.

Just my rambling opinion...

Bob

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Good Stuff Bob Hawkes...where I disagree with you, I believe more thought goes into an initial name for a startup than we think. I can only speak from personal experience, but I really have started and named a few dozen companies, and not once did anyone approach me about helping to name any of my companies. I named an "outbound" call center that I owned ContactUSA.com, a debt collection company Credit Control Corporation, a PI firm, InQuisitor Investigations and a medical billing company Accounts Receivable Management Corporation AcSel. This said, I believe I'm more than capable and qualified to help someone come up with a decent name for their company. This brings me to the process known as "rebranding". I don't see much here on NP about it, but anyone worth their salt in this business should be able to help someone rebrand their business, especially if their name sucks I actually own a couple of domains just for this process; ReBrandCorp.com and ReBrandPros.com.

Bob....member "AR" from London added a lot to this thread, and I appreciate that he's been around in this business for at least 12 years and possibly more. If you plan to survive in this business, you have to develop some sort of "outbound" strategy, and if you can't do it for yourself, you need to hire someone. I happen to have an unusual opportunity where someone I know is looking for this sort of work, and they're willing to work for me on commission only. To help him get started I think I'll pay him a commission of 40% similar to what a salesperson is paid from a realtors commission. I'll also probably have him join me here at NPUniversity I hope he makes a hell of a lot of money for himself

johnn said:

If they are all sold then we have nothing to do.
But why ask too many “why” questions that no one has the answer. Just an opportunity for people to attack each other because “I am right”

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John...wow, didn't know I have a brother from the "right" ....were you born there

oldtimer said:

A lot of domainers complain that the general public doesn't know enough or that doesn't care enough about domain names.

Perhaps the best way to understand why might be for us to consider other Industries and fields that we ourselves don't know or care enough about.

We might not all know the ins and outs about what makes a painting or a diamond so valuable. We might not realize that there is an investment or collector angle to them and that they are bought and sold in auction houses or traded between resellers for huge amounts of money. Perhaps not too many people here on this forum can bring themselves to buy a painting or a diamond for more than a few hundred (or thousand) dollars and anything more than that might look as a waste of money to us. But the important thing is that we might change our whole perspective on paintings and diamonds if someone educates us about them and we might come to realize that certain paintings or diamonds might truly be valuable and worth checking in to.

There are many businesses that already know about the value of a good domain name, but there are still many CEOs and business owners out there that don't realize what a good domain name can do for their company. They need to be educated about the power and prestige of a good domain name and the fact that its good for them to own as many domains related to the field of their business in addition to the one that they use for their main website as each domain can be used as a channel or portal to bring them more customers and clients.

It's hard to educate the whole public about the value of paintings or diamonds (or domain names) so the education has to happen at the point of need or contact.

So domainers need to stop complaining and start educating those whom they come to contact with, otherwise those who sell paintings or diamonds might complain about us being ignorant about their Industry.

IMO

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oldtimer....to a certain extent I'm doing my thing, but i'm just one person. The industry itself needs to step up to the plate and educate the world. Years ago I use to guest lecture at a local university "Old Dominion University" on topics such as credit, finance and bankruptcy. At 72 years young I'd start doing it again, but I just don't have the time However if I did have the time, some of my lecturing would show just how screwed up the secondary market of the domain industry truly is. And when I say "screwed up", I have Verisign to thank thank for that endorsement seen here; https://blog.verisign.com/domain-na...om-price-caps-were-passed-along-to-consumers/

oldtimer...i know you believe in fairness, but when you look into how this industry (secondary market) works to the detriment of businesses and consumers worldwide you'll see what I mean. I stated here that I plan to take my case to the likes of the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Business) and NSBA (National Small Business Association) to bring the domain industry out from behind the curtains. Ironically one of my critics and NP member Joe Nichols from Canada said he didn't believe me....but little does Joe know how determined I am to expose this seriously screwed up industry. I know this doesn't make me a favorite around here, but I could care less. Companies like Sedo, Uniregistry, Dan, Afternic, Huge Domains etc. are a big part of the problem as Verisign points out. And just for good measure, there is a local company DominionDomains.com whose parent is Dominion Enterprises that's as bad if not worse than all the the others. I've said in past posts just how unethical and corrupt I believe them to be, and I stand by my words 100%

Finally oldtimer, i know you want to do the right thing by both humanity and the environment, but it's time you stepped up the plate and realize what a "rip off" the secondary market of the domain industry really is. I know you don't hide behind any curtain and either do I....join me in correcting the WRONG that plagues this industry. Thanks

I think registering a domain name is one of the alternative for comps.
Thanks
DpakH