4 letter dotcom registration trend

[3par]

Below is the llll.com remaining trend:

date available dec percent
3/1 101422 22.19%
3/15 98717 2705 21.60%
4/1 95691 3026 20.94%
4/15 92480 3211 20.24%
5/1 89394 3086 19.56%
5/15 87861 1533 19.23%
6/1 83512 4349 18.27%
6/15 81825 1687 17.91%
7/1 80182 1643 17.55%

If current trend keeps, all will be gone by next Oct.

I am not able to post image here. You can go to dyyo.com for a graphic view.

 

[Lasher]

Is there anyone on this board that has been around in domains since before all the LLL.COM names were taken? My first thought to the idea that LLLL.COMs ever approach them in value, or even 10% of their value, is that it is absurd, but then I wonder if there was ever a time when people said the same about the random 3 letter combinations?

 

[GreenGambler]

I wonder the same thing about the LLL.coms before they were all reg'd. I'm sure there were plenty of nay-sayers but in this case they were wrong. At least for now, things always change. I remember just 5 months ago looking through the unreg'd LLLL.coms, finding a non-"zyxqvjwfku" every once in a while probably 1 in every 300 or so. But now it is much much more rare, if even possible.

I sort of went the, "invent a word or idea route", with the LLLL.coms. I do think within an uncertain amount of time they will absolutley be as highly valued as LLL.coms are now. And at that time LLL.coms will be pure egold. electric diamonds.. Unless of-course.....things change.....

I have reg'd 30 LLLL.coms here are a few of my creative registrations:

cRXy.com (pharmacutical anti-depressant site)
Czir.com (who knows, sounds like Ceaser)
mewV.com (either movie or move)
EhZe.com (easy)
Quyr.com (Queer or Choir or Quarter Year)
ZaxZ.com (like a plural of the name Zach)
Ogyr.com (like an ogre, think lord of the rings)
suQr.com (either for a candy site or a sports betting and rip of scam site)
Thlu.com (I was thinking like a thermal flu drug or patch or somthing)
Niyl.com (sounds like Nile to me)
Qudr.com ( Quality Doctor or Quarter with a Boston accent)

Those are some of my more creative LLLL.com reg's....

For me it's fun, it's creative and I consider it an investment..... :sold:

 

[Keral_Patel]

I lked that niyl one very much.

 

[Lasher]

I have reg'd 30 LLLL.coms here are a few of my creative registrations:

cRXy.com (pharmacutical anti-depressant site)
Czir.com (who knows, sounds like Ceaser)
mewV.com (either movie or move)
EhZe.com (easy)
Quyr.com (Queer or Choir or Quarter Year)
ZaxZ.com (like a plural of the name Zach)
Ogyr.com (like an ogre, think lord of the rings)
suQr.com (either for a candy site or a sports betting and rip of scam site)
Thlu.com (I was thinking like a thermal flu drug or patch or somthing)
Niyl.com (sounds like Nile to me)
Qudr.com ( Quality Doctor or Quarter with a Boston accent)

Those are some of my more creative LLLL.com reg's....

For me it's fun, it's creative and I consider it an investment..... :sold:

Sounds like you took the same approach I did, some of the first LLLL.com I regged were:

IYSU.COM (any lawyers out there with a sense of humor?).
JYEW.COM
IYAV.COM
IAYK.COM (nice vicodin site?)
TZAH.COM
VIYB.COM (Vibe)
VIYN.COM (Vine)
TIYZ.COM (Ties)
HIYV.COM
FIYT.COM
BIYQ.COM
EWVU.COM (nice for a video site?)
JEYB.COM
PIYZ.COM
VZAS.COM
LDAZ.COM (nice site for old people?)

Love that silent "Y", it's great for phonetics and works well with unpopular letters, any of these would be pretty brandable if developed, now I just need 24,000 hours a day.

 

[accent]

I have concentrated on letter frequency - buying the domains with the most common letters. "Common" is hard to define - "Q" is certainly the least used letter, "S" is the most common, but in between it matters a lot how the letter is used. "I" is fairly common in dictionaries, and a vowel to boot, but it is rare as a first letter of a last name (think lawyers and other professional associations.) "W" has a bad rap - it is considered a "bad" letter, but is common in dictionaries and is very often the first letter in last names. I think it lives in a bad neighborhood (U,V,X,Y,Z)

So many concentrate on "pronounceable" names - and twist their larynx trying to prove it - I wonder if that matters much to end users. We are staring at "eBay" and "Sedo" all day. More business have dull long names and want acronyms.

The person who invested heavily in 3 letter .US names a year ago is a happy camper these days. But think of the person who bought them 5 years ago. Being too early to the party is as bad as being too late. Yes, you do get a better selection, not that it always helps. (Could someone explain to me why, with all the great domains available in 2001, someone choose NULK.COM?)

So timing matters. The owner of DYYO.com estimates that at current rates all LLLL.coms will be taken in a little over a year. There is a balancing act between the quality available vs the length of time (reg fees). Those last few xzqv.coms may provide the best percentage gain, but there is always the risk of a buyout. I think the chance of a buyout of the remaining LLLL.coms is fairly high. There is big money sniffing around this market.

Buckle your seat belt.

 

[Lasher]

I own a couple of hundred of these things so I really hope you're right, but honestly don't see them getting anywhere near XXX anytime soon even if they're all bought up tomorrow. The market will be flooded with people happy to get 2, 3 or 4* reg fee for the pile they're sitting on and we still have close to 50-100 dropping every day.

 

[okaybutwhy]

I recently bought ymce.com at NP for 25$. I parked it at sedo with keyword ymca and am on track to make my money back in year one. It's the only LLLL.com I have. I bought a bunch of LLLL.eu domains in hopes of being ahead of the curve on that one: epaw, imom, ivid, ebin, ibin, ilib, and ijam. It's a nice feeling to have a few four letter domains in the portfolio!

 

[accent]

I own a couple of hundred of these things so I really hope you're right, but honestly don't see them getting anywhere near XXX anytime soon even if they're all bought up tomorrow. The market will be flooded with people happy to get 2, 3 or 4* reg fee for the pile they're sitting on and we still have close to 50-100 dropping every day.

456976 LLLL.coms
29376 CCC.com domains selling at low $$$ (36 X 37 X 36 = 47952 minus 17576 LLL and 1000 NNN)

In favor of the LLLL.coms:
All letter domains have many more end users.

All letter domains have many more premium domains (dictionary words, 4 of a kind) than character domains. This reduces the pool of low cost domains.

A buy-out now would lock up 15% of the available domains in the hands of one owner, who would then either place a high value on them or remove them from the market, (such as Elequa).

There are nearly fifteen times the number of LLLL.coms as there are CCC.coms. Are the advantages of letters over characters enough to outweigh that difference? Perhaps. But if this industry continues to grow at the current rate (if - if - if) the LLLL domains will be eaten for breakfast, along with the better TLD CCC domains and the beast will still be hungry.

The market will be flooded with people happy to get 2, 3 or 4* reg fee for the pile they're sitting on and we still have close to 50-100 dropping every day.

Of course. Those are sometimes called weak holders. You and I will pick the gems out of their offerings and the big boys, if they join the party, will vacuum everything below their maximum price. The domains will move to "stronger" holders and the price will rise.

This is the normal progression in a growing market. The big question is how fast it will move. Too slow and the reg fees will eat all the profits, too fast and we will kick ourselves for not buying more.

 

[GreenGambler]

When you say CCC.com do you mean the same as LLL.com or do you mean L-L.coms?

 

[Lasher]

He means character-character-character, all combinations of letters and numbers.

Along the same lines as random LLLL.coms getting traffic btw, I've noticed that NNNNN.com names get a decent amount of traffic too, even those that aren't zip codes.

 

[aki]

Are llll.coms with numbers in them worth anything?
Like d3at.com

Also what if it is an acronym for a well known word, like c0ax?

 

[floatingworld]

Are llll.coms with numbers in them worth anything?
Like d3at.com

Also what if it is an acronym for a well known word, like c0ax?

I would recommend staying away from 4-character domains in favour of acquiring some 4-letter domains while still available for regging...

 

[Malaysia]

well actually its maybe be here soon anytime when all the LLLL.coms are regged or it will still take a long time..but at least i know i hold few hundred of these that i got from profit of the LLLL.com sales .. so its all pure profit there..if i sell at $10 each i still earn ..so take a risk holding for some time .. its tsioll pure profit if i sell at $10 each..i dun want to be knocking my head n say when all these are regged.. why am i so stupid not to register some back then ...so i think everyone shud own few of it .in their portfolio

 

[VURG]

So many concentrate on "pronounceable" names - and twist their larynx trying to prove it - I wonder if that matters much to end users. We are staring at "eBay" and "Sedo" all day. More business have dull long names and want acronyms.

I understand your stategy of choosing the names with higher acronym probability. For me, I am not interested in the $500+ sale. I sell pronouncable names and it's profitable. I dont sell high but I sell fast. I sell them because they do sell and I make money.

My evidence is not about twisting my larynx trying to prove anything but rather because I know my selling strategy works for me. I also sell pronounceable LLLLL.com domains for profit.

The big difference with an acronym LLLL.com and a pronounceable LLLL.com is that an acronym LLLL.com domain has a higher probability of a $1000+ sale because businesses who want them usually can't change their name BUT a pronounceable LLLL.com has a significantly larger market for a $40-$80 sale because people who want them are usually with lower budgets with more flexibility on the choice of the name.

 

[accent]

The big difference with an acronym LLLL.com and a pronounceable LLLL.com is that an acronym LLLL.com domain has a higher probability of a $1000+ sale because businesses who want them usually can't change their name BUT a pronounceable LLLL.com has a significantly larger market for a $40-$80 sale because people who want them are usually with lower budgets with more flexibility on the choice of the name.

You are exactly right. If SEDO.com had a high price tag when the owners were looking for a name then they simply would have moved on to the next choice. But the law office of Smith, Eldridge, Donaldson and Owens has only the option to go to another extension.

Right now I am not trying very hard to sell most of my domains. I feel the market for four letter names will soon mature and a significant price rise will result. I think of them as medium term investments. Or maybe I just like owning them.

 

[slugraduate]

Just aquired my first all vowel 4 letter .com

AOIY.com. How would this compare, investmentwise, to other 4 letter .coms that may not contain but a vowel or two?

 

[accent]

AOIY.com. How would this compare, investmentwise, to other 4 letter .coms that may not contain but a vowel or two?

Congradulations -- Your new domain is worth between $5 and $1000.
I am completely serious. It is that kind of a business. You could list it on Ebay and, after costs, end up with $5. You could get an email next week offering you a thousand.

Granted, I am still waiting for the first of those emails....

Beyond letter frequency and pronouncability I consider the look of domains. Do I like the impression the domain makes (I avoid domains with the letters "PU" in that order, for example). On that score AIOY.com does very well. It is a lot more pronouncable than many who make that claim, looks nautical to me. Letter-wise it is a little weak, but not bad.

We all knock ourselves out looking through endless lists to pick the best domain, yet we will end up selling most of them for "mid-range LLLL" prices when the time comes. Do LLL.com resale buyers care if a domain contains a "f" or a "g"? I doubt it.

 

[nRnF]

You are exactly right. If SEDO.com had a high price tag when the owners were looking for a name then they simply would have moved on to the next choice. But the law office of Smith, Eldridge, Donaldson and Owens has only the option to go to another extension.

Just for the ones that forgot.
Sedo payed for "SEDO.com" 60000 USD less than 2 years ago

So, would you have regged it 3 years ago ?
Or, what would be your counter offer, if a anonymos offers you 150 for it ?
Bottom line:
Its a game of research, timing, luck and overall negociation ability.

Timing ?
I put my hands on INRI_com for low $ 2 years ago, how much would it go for today ?

IMO
Try to think twice before regging today a LLLL
(it must make sense, and should be definetly .com).
And stay away from CCCC !

 

[accent]

Just for the ones that forgot.
Sedo payed for "SEDO.com" 60000 USD less than 2 years ago

I did not know that, I assumed that they had registered it back in the day. Is Sedo that young or did they have another name?

So, would you have regged it 3 years ago ?
Or, what would be your counter offer, if a anonymos offers you 150 for it ?

Whew - I have been wondering that for a while. SEDO is a nice LLLL name, but if it were undeveloped and mine, I would not think of it as mid $$,$$$ - Their first price must have been $$$,$$$! Brass gonads, indeed. If someone offered me 2K for it I would have sold. A few hundred would have been difficult to turn down.

Bottom line:
Its a game of research, timing, luck and overall negociation ability.

Timing ?
I put my hands on INRI_com for low $ 2 years ago, how much would it go for today ?

Memo to self - Always google a name. INRI is the accepted form of the Titulus, the message placed on the Cross of Jesus. I did not recognise it when I first saw it here, aparently the former owner did not either.

But that is a known acronym. Sedo meant nothing before it was branded, yet the former owner saw the potential well enough to stick to his position and carry off the sale. If 60 K why not 300K??? It really is hard to get a grip on this. Maybe the "luck" dimension is such that there is not really much to get a grip on.

 

[GreenGambler]

Wow I did not know Sedo paid 60k... Holy $hit that's alot of money.

I would probably sell all 20 or so of my LLLL.com's for that much money. But then I would probably regret it down the road, like 2 or 3 years.

This is a tricky business. You want to make sales yet you don't wanna get ripped. And when someone offers you 500 you still second guess it, even though you only paid 8 or so.

So when listing LLLL.coms should I list them for like $1000, $5000, or maybe even $50,000. The more you have it listed for the higher you offers "should be", yet a more pricy listing probably doesn't get many offers. (talking 'bout LLLL.coms)..

 

[accent]

Sedo requires an appraisal before allowing prices over $10,000 {or 10,000 pounds if you are in the UK - something screwwey about that, but I digress}.

Someone posted this earlier - sorry I do not know who, I just copied it into my notes:
May 9, 2006
LLLL.coms Sales in the past few mths listed on afternic.com sedo.com or in forums and etc
itek.com - $16,250.00
akco.com - $7,450.00
waav.com - $7,450.00
fbex.com - $6,000.00
usfe.com - $5,450.00
caoh.com - $5,450.00
hoem.com - $4,200.00
mefc.com - $3,500.00
ells.com - $1,700.00
nuid.com - $1,500.00
lppl.com - $1,600.00
rvsb.com - $1,500.00
kvlt.com - $1,500.00
boxi.com - $1,450.00
ingi.com - $1,015.00
jgie.com - $1,000.00

I do not know how complete the list is, or how many months is a "few". Some of these may include established websites. There is only one sale above 10K. The SEDO.com seller = brass gonads indeed.

Right now I think (or maybe just hope) the LLLL.com market is heating up, so I am not actively trying to sell. In a few years, perhaps, the above list will have another zero on each of the prices.

Or maybe not.

 

[Lasher]

gdit.com sold for $20,000 I believe. I'd seen a post at the time because it was a cool phonetic name (gdit - 'get it'), but turns out it was bought by General Dynamics Information Technology.

I'd love to know if the person selling it somehow knew it was GD bidding on it, coz like others have posted in here, if I get a 500+ offer for one of my apparently meaningless LLLL.coms I'm probably going to take it.