A minimum value for dictionary words?

[damagedgoods]

I am interested in determining whether or not there is a general consensus among domainers as to a minimum value for dictionary words?

Is there a sense that some dictionary words have no value whatsoever, or is there a minimum value above reg fee?

I remember my first reg in 99 and had already learned that all dictionary words were gone. I am finding today however that there are still unregistered dictionary words and would love to hear some opinion on this? For example I recently (2 weeks ago) registered adoptious.com (to adopt) and mourningly.com (to mourn) but canceled 48 hours later when doubt an remorse set in. I registered those two simply because of what I thought was true about dictionary words...I saw them and jumped on them! Now taking the time to ask the questions first as not to repeat the wasted effort.

Thank you in advance for your opinion.

 

[Ross]

I am interested in determining whether or not there is a general consensus among domainers as to a minimum value for dictionary words?

Is there a sense that some dictionary words have no value whatsoever, or is there a minimum value above reg fee?

I remember my first reg in 99 and had already learned that all dictionary words were gone. I am finding today however that there are still unregistered dictionary words and would love to hear some opinion on this? For example I recently (2 weeks ago) registered adoptious.com (to adopt) and mourningly.com (to mourn) but canceled 48 hours later when doubt an remorse set in. I registered those two simply because of what I thought was true about dictionary words...I saw them and jumped on them! Now taking the time to ask the questions first as not to repeat the wasted effort.

Thank you in advance for your opinion.

The "dictionary" words people claim they still reg are the words in other forms such as "mourningly" or "adoptious". Those have little value. The real DICTIONARY words in this case would be "Mourn" or "Adopt". Those are true dictionary word domains.

As for value it would have to be applied to the keyword and what you are willing to pay for it. Lots of factors come in to play on these types of domains. Is there a "wholesale" value for these i wouldnt say a minimum because you can still find bargains on these types of names although they will not be a cheap investment.

 

[accent]

I generally agree with Tivo except for the definition of "dictionary". A dictionary domain is a one word domain where the word, as spelled, appears in the dictionary, including variations.

Now, unlike LLLL's there is a massive gray area: which dictionary?

Anything in a simple pocket dictionary probably has value. A college dictionary has 80 - 100 thousand words (there are about 460,000 LLLL combinations). There are many words listed there that I would not have for reg fee. I expect that dictionary.com or an unabridged dictionary has a half million words. Then there are specialized terms in the medical and scientific communities. Then all the foreign words.

There are lists around of available dictionary words. The reason that they are still available is that no-one can think of why someone would want to build a website on them. If you see something others have missed then you could find value.

As the internet, and thus domain "collecting" grows, the limits of what is a "valuable" dictionary word will move. Here too it is a similar case to LLLL.coms. Lots of people were insisting that the worst LLLL.coms would never, ever sell. Still it is better to get the best available.

 

[bmugford]

If you have a mediocre dictionary word, or extremely weird tense of one they still sell on eBay. One problem with dictionary words is many have no use at all.

If the word has a use, then it can go for more.

A recent one I picked up is Palatability.com. It is listed in Websters dictionary. Now, it isn't the most popular word (440,000 Google Results) but it does have a possible use because the definition could make sense for certain niche sites.

1 : agreeable to the palate or taste
2 : agreeable or acceptable to the mind

 

[Ross]

I generally agree with Tivo except for the definition of "dictionary". A dictionary domain is a one word domain where the word, as spelled, appears in the dictionary, including variations.

Thats why we are all here, for each others opinions

As for dictionary .coms i dont consider the tenses to be "true" dictionary .coms because they can be taken in many many different forms, even though they are in the dictionary. Often times these are taken because the person that wants the "true" dictionary term wants something similar and will try to pawn it off as "soso.com sold for $10,000 pick up sosoily.com for ONLY $100!".

Its misleading and it turns new people in the industry in the wrong direction and gives a misconception of that part of domaining.

IMHO of course

 

[bmugford]

I know what you mean. I have TACT.net
TACT is a true dictionary word, but then you have tenses like tactfulnesses :hehe:

Some recent ebay sales-
Snatchable.com - $181.50
Disguisable.com - $66.65
Refusable.com - $61
OverDresses.com - $137.50
Weighable.com - $305.00

Thats why we are all here, for each others opinions

As for dictionary .coms i dont consider the tenses to be "true" dictionary .coms because they can be taken in many many different forms, even though they are in the dictionary. Often times these are taken because the person that wants the "true" dictionary term wants something similar and will try to pawn it off as "soso.com sold for $10,000 pick up sosoily.com for ONLY $100!".

Its misleading and it turns new people in the industry in the wrong direction and gives a misconception of that part of domaining.

IMHO of course

 

[advaita]

Is 'adoptious' a word ? If it is a word then I've never ever heard it used (and I've been around quite a while) so I don't see what value it could have (Wiktionary says its obsolete) - the same applies to 'mourningly' "She stood by the grave mourningly" ?
Real words on the other hand I hope do have some intrinsic value - and there are some that haven't been registered although maybe not dotcoms - I just registered gooseberries.info - so I hope it is worth something but then again gooseberries are not the most popular fruit in the world.
As to the question of whether there is a consensus among domainers, I doubt it, because as far as I can see there are many opinions about many things in the domaining world - who would have thought for example that iReport.com was worth $750K ?

 

[bmugford]

iReport.com, in my opinion, will probably go down in history as one of, if not the most overpriced domains.

If you use the following command in google, it is the easiest way to find a definition. It searches several sources.

define:ENTERWORDHERE

Is 'adoptious' a word ? If it is a word then I've never ever heard it used (and I've been around quite a while) so I don't see what value it could have (Wiktionary says its obsolete) - the same applies to 'mourningly' "She stood by the grave mourningly" ?
Real words on the other hand I hope do have some intrinsic value - and there are some that haven't been registered although maybe not dotcoms - I just registered gooseberries.info - so I hope it is worth something but then again gooseberries are not the most popular fruit in the world.
As to the question of whether there is a consensus among domainers, I doubt it, because as far as I can see there are many opinions about many things in the domaining world - who would have thought for example that iReport.com was worth $750K ?

 

[Dangerman]

I think words like adoptious and mourningly are useless as domains. Better to get a domain made from a long phrase that makes sense to more people. One main advantage of the internet is the ability to reach many people...by choosing an obscure domain that people might not recognize or think about or maybe mispell if they heard it, would cancel out that advantage. I think the meaning of mourningly (tomourn) would actually be better as a domain than the word mourningly.

 

[damagedgoods]

Is 'adoptious' a word ?

Yes it is, and like mourningly I got it from Shakespeare. Like I had said' I canceled in 48 hours. I used those examples to point to the fact that there were still some dictionary words available and wanted to know if there might be a "minimum value" for "any" dictionary word, and understanding fully that maximum values are subjective.

This is from dictionary.com

Adoptious
A*dop"tious\, a. Adopted. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

with 3 results for mourningly

1. the act of a person who mourns; sorrowing or lamentation.
2. the conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death, esp. by the wearing of black clothes or a black armband, the hanging of flags at half-mast, etc.
3. the outward symbols of such sorrow, as black garments.
4. the period or interval during which a person grieves or formally expresses grief, as by wearing black garments.
–adjective
5. of, pertaining to, or used in mourning.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME (n., adj.); OE murnung (n.). See mourn, -ing1, -ing2]

—Related forms
mourn·ing·ly, adverb

—Antonyms 1. rejoicing.

 

[bmugford]

One thing i have observed is that domains with positive meanings always sell better than domains with negative meanings. I am sure dictionary words are the same way.

Is 'adoptious' a word ?

Yes it is, and like mourningly I got it from Shakespeare. Like I had said' I canceled in 48 hours. I used those examples to point to the fact that there were still some dictionary words available and wanted to know if there might be a "minimum value" for "any" dictionary word, and understanding fully that maximum values are subjective.

This is from dictionary.com

Adoptious
A*dop"tious\, a. Adopted. [Obs.]
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

with 3 results for mourningly

1. the act of a person who mourns; sorrowing or lamentation.
2. the conventional manifestation of sorrow for a person's death, esp. by the wearing of black clothes or a black armband, the hanging of flags at half-mast, etc.
3. the outward symbols of such sorrow, as black garments.
4. the period or interval during which a person grieves or formally expresses grief, as by wearing black garments.
–adjective
5. of, pertaining to, or used in mourning.
[Origin: bef. 900; ME (n., adj.); OE murnung (n.). See mourn, -ing1, -ing2]

—Related forms
mourn·ing·ly, adverb

—Antonyms 1. rejoicing.

 

[Sull]

It's all in what the "end user" thinks of the name. I have some dictionary words, but most of them are tenses of the parent word (if you will). Another domainer might not want any of them, but an end user with a specific need might only want that one word. It's a crap shoot when dealing with the dictionary words I find. %%-

 

[filter]

[...]

If the word has a use, then it can go for more.

A recent one I picked up is Palatability.com.

nice (rare) example of an "extended form" dictionary word that actually works - brandable (doubly positive, contains "ability") and meaningful to food researchers (part of a huge industry)

I bought "actionable" (.info) for low $x here on NP in January - and then was contacted by the seller a few months later - he had found a buyer for it at mid $xxx - good deal for both of us (we split the sale)

these "thin tail" critters are out there, but you'll have to pick them out from many not-so-viable possibilities ...

 

[dotnom]

Dictionary words will never get a price estimation like LLL/LLLL for example
This is because every word is totally different from the other
The market puts the prices
If you domain contains a word that people ask for it and is used in common language then you have a hit and certainly worth A LOT. If you tell him XXXX and he reply "what?" then leave this domain for someone else

 

[Spade]

Recently, we added a Dictionary Domain search function on NameBio - Which means you can actually scan the entire database just for dictionary domains. You can even check dictionary names with prefixes (anything you like).

 

[HuntingMoon]

they are cheap to renew, so it does not hurt to keep them. all domains are worth whatever somebody will pay for them.

another plus about dictionary words is that they are less prone to a tm issue. it all depends on the use of course.

 

[bmugford]

I think usable dictionary words are under priced right now. They have a way better chance of finding an end user than some random LLLL.com, however I am not a big fan of the rarely used words in a weird tense.