Are brandables worth "investing" in?

[redonion]

I see a lot of brandable domains in the .com space that would make great Web 2.0 sites. But the more I think about it I can't help but come to the conclusion that brandables just don't make sense to invest in unless you're going to develop them.

The ability to sell them to a tiny targeted slice of the market that happens to be looking for that exact Web 2.0-ish word or term seems limited.

But on the other hand they are short (usually less than 10 characters), and are recognizable.

Thoughts?

 

[silentg]

10 character brandable domains? If you're just starting out, focus on the dictionary terms and keyword domains. Find them on the expired domain auctions.

 

[redonion]

10 character brandable domains? If you're just starting out, focus on the dictionary terms and keyword domains. Find them on the expired domain auctions.

Well I should have been more clear. I am talking about dictionary terms. Ok, some are 7 or 8 characters, but some are 9. I've seen some "good" ones for 6 even. But they are still words that are not common, and thus I describe them as "brandable".

So I take it you view these as worth investing a few dollars in?

 

[silentg]

If they are aged domains then go right ahead. But check to see if they got a TM before you make the purchase. Be prepared to to wait awhile for the right end user.

 

[alien51]

"Brandable" names have various forms. Dictionary terms and combinations of it, may have some investment squatting value in it-- compared to exotic "brandables" like AGODA.COM. I mean if you are a domainer, you'll definitely ask- what the FK is an AGODA, right? Will you pay annual renewals on such lottery-type brandables waiting for a buyer?

I also think that end-users who are window-shopping for "Dictionary-term" brandables, are more inclined to walk away if the asking price is too expensive. I think this is because dictionary terms can be mixed and matched into a lot of possible combinations which they could buy at reg fee or just a few dollars more.

The really exotic ones can command a high price, because there simply is nothing else like it out there. But the probability of finding a buyer can span 3 lifetimes.

So i think if you consider yourself a "domainer" who is into "brandable" porfolio, i guess you need to have a stable non-domaining job to pay-off the maintenance costs of your domain collection.

 

[GiftedDomains]

I think investing in nice radio test passing 5 letter .coms is not a bad idea. I had good experience with them. But of course they should be only a part of your portfolio.