Am I looking in wrong places...?

[peteman]

I'm taking my very first steps of domaining (have done so about month now) and the feeling that I simply DO NOT find anything valuable in those freely available dropped domains lists I've been mostly crawling (like PremiumDrops and similar) is getting stronger and stronger. Every domain I've registered has been appraised regfee so far. And I'm talking about reseller value here. Sure, I may ACCIDENTALLY register something that end-user want's in a mid xx range. But the chance is something like 1:1000000000000 if I'm lucky

I've also tried to find some good .com's from different niches using Google Adwords Keyword tool, but it seems thousands are doing the same because all the highly advertised keywords are always taken.

So, am I looking valuable names in wrong places? Should I concentrate to domain auctions and hope to find there some good stuff and start bidding? Where do you more experienced ones and pro's get your names?

 

[Spade]

I will say this. "Domaining" has been around since early 2000's. Thousands to Tens of thousands of people have given it a try. The ones who are successful either come in with finnacial backing or are clever enough to try something new, that no one else has done.

Very rarely are you going to find a dropped domain name that wasnt acquired via backorder or auction that has much value or traffic. Yes, to bid on domain names at aftermarkets can be tough - because many people will drive the prices of a domain name out of a reasonable range.

If you come into this industry, you need to have a plan and perhaps look in places most domainers dont. The places your looking right now - are just about picked clean.

Good luck, and welcome to the game.

Justin

 

[npcomplete]

I will say this. "Domaining" has been around since early 2000's. Thousands to Tens of thousands of people have given it a try. The ones who are successful either come in with finnacial backing or are clever enough to try something new, that no one else has done.

Very rarely are you going to find a dropped domain name that wasnt acquired via backorder or auction that has much value or traffic. Yes, to bid on domain names at aftermarkets can be tough - because many people will drive the prices of a domain name out of a reasonable range.

If you come into this industry, you need to have a plan and perhaps look in places most domainers dont. The places your looking right now - are just about picked clean.

Good luck, and welcome to the game.

Justin

It is hard to find things for reg fee but it is possible. As for the fine art of domaining, it started before I did and I was reg'ing hundreds of names back in 1996.

The main thing is when you buy a good name, remember that you might have to hold it for awhile before you see any appreciation. It is just like stock in the sense that sometimes it takes time for value to be realized by others.

As for Justin's comment about looking where other domainers don't, I think that is spot on. When I reg things now, it is not as easy as 1996 to reg killer keywords. These days I do what Justin suggested: Look where others don't. For me that means obscure law, finance, investing, science, medicine, etc. There are still valuable names around with real advertisers and significant searches but it takes a lot more research to find them.

Marc

 

[Spade]

it started before I did and I was reg'ing hundreds of names back in 1996.

Pardon my Dates.... I suppose I shouldve said "Modern Domaining"? Were people looking for rich keywords in 96-99 for parking rev?

 

[npcomplete]

Pardon my Dates.... I suppose I shouldve said "Modern Domaining"? Were people looking for rich keywords in 96-99 for parking rev?

I don't think the ppc parking sites were such a major thing as they are now. I know I wasn't into parking back then. I had several developed sites, and then pointed the remainder of names to the developed sites which I did monetize. Advertising is certainly not "new" to domaining. Back in 1996 I was thinking about traffic and long term hold with plans to sell in the future rather than parking. By the time I entered there were already secondary markets for domains too.

Marc

 

[gubera]

I have had some successs finding names at snapnames. It does take a lot of time to go through the drop list and research the name. But sometimes you will find a decent name even as low as $9 that you can sell for $xxx a couple of months later.

Be careful with bidding though! I tend to get too much into the bidding war instead of trying to get a good name for a low price and end up paying too much!

There are good names out there but it's really hard work to find the right deals.

Gabe

 

[HBK216]

I'm taking my very first steps of domaining (have done so about month now) and the feeling that I simply DO NOT find anything valuable in those freely available dropped domains lists I've been mostly crawling (like PremiumDrops and similar) is getting stronger and stronger. Every domain I've registered has been appraised regfee so far. And I'm talking about reseller value here. Sure, I may ACCIDENTALLY register something that end-user want's in a mid xx range. But the chance is something like 1:1000000000000 if I'm lucky

I've also tried to find some good .com's from different niches using Google Adwords Keyword tool, but it seems thousands are doing the same because all the highly advertised keywords are always taken.

So, am I looking valuable names in wrong places? Should I concentrate to domain auctions and hope to find there some good stuff and start bidding? Where do you more experienced ones and pro's get your names?

Besides listening to the suggestions made in this thread so far which are very accurate, I will offer you this tip.

Do NOT base your opinions on a name's worth on what others appraise it for. There is no such thing as an appraisal that is completely accurate. Look at how many times people here have said reg fee for a name & you see it sold for $xxx or higher later on.

Such appraisals can be looked at from different angles. For starters there will be a small % who will appraise a name for little because they are upset they might not have as good of a name. Or a tactic would be to appraise it low on purpose & buy it a marked up price well below what they think it is truly worth. This might seem shady but business is business & you have to operate as such.

Find your niche, carve your name into it & make it work for you. When you do, you should find yourself being satisfied.

 

[SLL]

You need to do lots of reading in the forums and do a good deal of research to get a feel for what is truly valuable.

I think you need excellent intuition; a gut instinct to know you are getting a good price on a domain name.

You need to be proactive in marketing your names, but you cannot get into a position where you have to sell decent names at fire sale prices.
I have made my best purchases with people I know have lost their patience and sold at great prices. :imho:

I only started doing this in January, 2007 with the intent to pick up good travel dot com names.

I do not feel I have stretched to buy any of my names, and I have not closed a sale on one name this year. I am perfectly happy with that.
You can see in my signature that I have sellable names, but I am in no hurry to sell. My very best names are not even in my signature, and my travel names are my "babies" that I do not even contemplate selling.

I will say that my 1st sale is about to close on a name won at auction at SnapNames (dropped name) about 3 months ago. My winning bid was less than $500.
I am selling the name for very high $x,xxx.
I was contacted by the buyer and we negotiated the price.

You can do well if you have the knack at this business. You have to work hard and find the value.

There is still cream out there. You just have to know where to find it and have the confidence to spend the money.

I think your gut will tell you if you are prepared for domaining.

 

[TheBaldOne]

Read, talk, read, listen, read, think.....................and so it goes on.

The advices given above are good and sound and will stand you in good sted, they will not guarantee you success but the chance of success. I came in only a few years ago and like most have made mistakes, but the important thing to do is learn by your mistakes and those of others. But just because someone else failed does not mean you will or the person who comes after you following a similar strategy will. Domaining is like any other business in that it is reliant on external users in the form of the public, and to put it mildly the public can be very fickle.

Use your own real life experiences or those of others to find areas not yet saturated by good domain names already on the market, or if the market has used all the good domain names find a new opening in that market. This is really where reading and listening come into their own as sources of information for your brain to ponder over. It is harder now to get started than it was 3 years ago, but it was harder then than 6 years ago, and so on. But research will provide you with amazing insights to areas that have never before interested you, and hopefully something will click for you and hey presto you can get into the market place with good domain names that are usable by end users and therefore of some value to other domainers in the reseller market. But that is even a bigger headache and one that you will come across fast enough.

Good luck with your reading.

 

[krx]

This is a GREAT thread. I learned a lot. Rep added all around (where possible).

You need to be proactive in marketing your names

I've read some other members' marketing strategies but would be interested in hearing how you go about it. Sounds like it's working!

 

[doggyowner]

My tip would be to stay away from the dropped names and go for the aftermarket, such as snapnames, namejet, tdnam.

Good luck!

 

[SLL]

I've read some other members' marketing strategies but would be interested in hearing how you go about it. Sounds like it's working!

Ken, my marketing strategy really begins at the purchase. I make sure that the name I am buying can be sold on the forums for more than what I pay. This eliminates most of the risk in the purchase.

If you know that you can definitely get a better price in the forums, then you are paying less than "wholesale". You are more apt to be patient for a sale if you know your investment is not at risk.

I personally do not find many good deals on the forums. Most people on the forums have a decent idea of values. I do use the forums to list some of my names for sale, but I really do not expect the listings to result in sales. The
forums are more of a marketing, "get-the-word-out" tool to find an end-user.
Forum users generally want to resell the name at a higher price.

Most of my good/great purchases have come from contacting the name owner directly by e-mail (proactive) and negotiating a price. I have also been happy with purchases at SnapNames and NameJet.

Once you have a great deal on a name, you can sit on it for a long time paying your annual reg. fee until the right buyer comes along.

In the meantime, you can contact potential end-users to see if they have an interest in the name. Phone is usually better here than e-mail, as you can hopefully find the right contact within the company/entity by phone.

It can be a lot of work, but I equate it to treasure hunting, and I am sure that is why this forum is so busy. Just make sure you know the treasure from the trash.

 

[mhdoc]

... Just make sure you know the treasure from the trash.

But remember that one man's treasure is is the other guy's trash. And the reverse

It's a really strange/interesting market. I see people buying and profitably reselling names I think are hopeless. Every once in a while someone will make a comment about a name that makes the light go on in my mind as another viewpoint is revealed.

In addition, the market itself is very young and no one really knows quite how things will develop. I thought Rick Schwartz had a good response when he said that if he had to start over he would have to study the market for six months to figure out where the opportunity is now; what he did before wouldn't work again.

I think the difference between success and failure often hinges on very subtle things that are hard for a newcomer to see and which the "Old Pros" may not even realize they do.

I'm sure glad I wasn't born a hundred years ago when my career choices would have been "Become a farmer", or become a farmer.

 

[peteman]

Wow, so much useful feedback!

 

[htmlindex]

I too have been looking at dropped names recently & haven't found anything that has been worth registering. Before, I did manage to find one here & there that might be worthy but nowadays, nothing