discuss Bad end user domains

[garptrader]

I have often shared my observation that most end users place very little value on domain names which is why aftermarket sales are so challenging. This past weekend I commented on some poor end user domains at the WPB Boat Show but I saw another one today. A CPA firm was auditing a vendor of ours and was sending out audit confirmations to verify the balance as of a certain date. One option for replying was via email but their email address (based on the domain) was not only a hyphen but the way it was hyphenated was so bad I was kind of like, "Who was the idiot that came up with this domain?" Not only do they risk having audit confirmations sent to the wrong address but confidential client files could also end up being misdirected. Even a small CPA firm is probably generating low 7 figures annually in revenue so they can easily afford to spend $2500 on a decent domain. Imagine the potential cost of having a client's confidential files sent to another company without the hyphen. At a minimum the work which needed to be done would be delayed due to the misplaced files. It could also cost them a client - far more expensive than high $XXX to low $XXXX for a domain.

 

[nvdomains]

When most of end users really understand the value of a good domain name, domaining landscape will change forever. It will not happen soon.

 

[garptrader]

Precisely - even in 2016 most end users and web developers who advise clients only place trivial value on domain names. So if companies which generate millions of dollars in annual revenue don't understand why they should spend more than $25 on a domain name, why are domainers buying millions of domains in all these exotic extensions (and paying more for them than end users would be willing to pay for them)? Is end user mentality going to radically change in the next couple years? Five years? What will it take to change the way domains are viewed? Note - when/if that happens the domaining landscape will be far more oompetitive than it already is.

 

[Kate]

Yes, this is a real concern.
If you set mail catchall on some of the expired domains you bought, you'll receive mail intended for the previous holders. Sometimes if is funny: you get customers complaints about some sort of product/services that used to be sold by a now-defunct company. Of course, they didn't bother to unsubscribe their addresses from all the websites where they registered. So you could take over their account and possibly steal their identity.

Many domains have been stolen by taking over the admin E-mail account, either a free E-mail address released/deleted for lack of usage, or an expired master domain.

I completely agree that choosing a solid domain name (that is not confusing or prone to typos) should be part of computer hygiene.
I also find it worrying that so many professionals handling confidential information still use plain mail (easy game for NSA) whereas they could be using PGP for encrypting their mail correspondence (Hello Mrs Clinton). People need to wake up.

 

[GoKaizen]

I have often shared my observation that most end users place very little value on domain names which is why aftermarket sales are so challenging.

Is is that surprising? We don't even see people on here spend $$ to buy a domain. There are exceptions DomainSherpa, DomainInvesting, and recently @NameAgency.

Precisely - even in 2016 most end users and web developers who advise clients only place trivial value on domain names.

Web devs can choose bad names but they build useful tools. TBH "domain investors" don't even understand good uses of domains they try to sell. People use URL shorteners but you can roll your own with Yourls, most don't.

So if companies which generate millions of dollars in annual revenue don't understand why they should spend more than $25 on a domain name, why are domainers buying millions of domains in all these exotic extensions (and paying more for them than end users would be willing to pay for them)?

Most companies want a song and dance when spending money. Domains don't provide that and the process of buying a premium in the aftermarket is still tedious and inefficient.

Is end user mentality going to radically change in the next couple years? Five years? What will it take to change the way domains are viewed? Note - when/if that happens the domaining landscape will be far more oompetitive than it already is.

It's already competitive. Unsure if we will see it ever change.

 

[GoKaizen]

I completely agree that choosing a solid domain name (that is not confusing or prone to typos) should be part of computer hygiene.

Nice phrase @Kate "computer hygiene".

I also find it worrying that so many professionals handling confidential information still use plain mail (easy game for NSA) whereas they could be using PGP for encrypting their mail correspondence (Hello Mrs Clinton). People need to wake up.

Think she uses it now?