Best Beginner Tips

[staringatascreen]

Hey all
I just started "domaining" and seem to be infatuated with this. I got off of work at 12. It's now 7:30. I've been looking at domain names, reading all the info I can, trying things, looking for domains, etc. and I'm tired, thirsty, and so enthused. I'm now looking at a giant spreadsheet of recently expired domain names. This is exciting.. I realize that saying this in 2015 is like saying, "Hey, did you know there's gold in California??" but it's all good.

So, maybe ahead of myself, I've bought several domains that I think were worthwhile. Some brandables, some newly expired ones that I can't imagine aren't valuable. But I have some questions..

In looking at domains, what should I be looking for? Age of the domain seems to be a thing. Also page rank? I'm an artist, so I understand the artistic value of the name quite well (sayability, visual attractiveness, etc.), but there's all these other things that I'm not sure about. Estibot value? Ya'll keep saying that's crap, but that's gotta account for something, no? Do I look for LLLL or LLNN or something. Are those things valuable? They are, right? What about names? Like kellymike.com is one. Is that a good one? Or ken15.com? It's short, a name and a number, all good things, right?? But is that valuable??

Also, in buying a .com name, is it more valuable if I also buy the net/org/info/etc. versions? Or is it just a waste of money? Is it better to sell off a package deal or is that a put off to a potential buyer that they have to pay more for something they don't want (e.g. registration fees)

And then what do I do? Do I sign up for sedo? Or do I chill for a bit? What's the next step? I have a few names that I feel are valuable, so now what?

Also, I tried searching for these questions and didn't come up with much. I'm sure you are tired of answering these noob questions, but any help is deeply appreciated. Thank you!!

 

[imc]

There is no one single specific answer to your questions as every other domain, the niche and industry it represents are varied and so are the potential buyers if any.

Before you end up buying any more domains, see if you can sell some you own now. It will tell you a lot about your domaining skills, no matter at what level you are at right now.

Keep learning and network with others for a better chance towards success.

 

[infosec3]

Keep reading and researching. You state that you bought some names that you " can't imaginne aren't valuable." The key is to imagine that they are worthless so you can exercise restrain and pospone purchases untill you have solid kowledge about domaining.

 

[CrocodileDundee]

Visit Namebio.com and look at the domains sold, visit the site daily to get an idea of what sells. Stick to .com only at first. You can create an account on sedo and list the names, but don't put them up for auction or pay any money for any auctions yet. Visit domainsherpa.com and watch everything! particularly the featured interviews on the top right of the page.

 

[staringatascreen]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I've listed them on Sedo with their BIN prices, though I'm getting the sense that computer appraisals are worthless.

 

[staringatascreen]

I woke up this morning to find a prominent Jewish lawyer (I googled him) to say his rich Saudi Arabian investor was interested in one of my domains. Wow, that domain has only been active for 2 days! So excited, me thought. Here:

Hello!

I represent an investor from Saudi Arabia who would like to buy XXXX.org for a new project.

The buyer is a professional investor and owns several businesses.

If you are interested in selling let's discuss the sale process.

If you have other names for sale, please email me the list.

I have regular meetings with many major domain investors.

Best Regards,

Itzhak Ben-Haim

Lawyer

36 HaAtzmaut St

Haifa

Israel



Wow!!! I sent him back a list of other names I had and he sent back this:

My client offers a sum in $5,000 - $10,000 range. The exact figure will depend on the appraisal results (see below).

Before we go further we need only one thing from you:

My client is a professional investor and he buys certified domains only. If your domain has been certified, please email me the certificate and we will proceed with the sale. If you don’t have a certificate it’s not a problem. I may send you a link where you can obtain it. Please don’t worry. It takes 1-2 minutes to order it. The results will be sent to you within 24 hours. Then you send me the certificate via email and we’ll proceed with the sale

The certification includes the following:

1. Independent valuation of the market price. It will show your domain name is not overpriced. On the other hand if the valuation comes higher we will increase the price accordingly.

2. Trademark infringement verification. It proves your domain has no trademark problems.

3. Verification of the owner. It proves you are a legitimate owner and your domain has no any obligations and restrictions. I’m sure that you are a legitimate owner so it will be only a formality.

As a broker I’m very interested in a good valuation part of this certificate because my client pays me a commission (10-15% of the sale price) on every domain purchase. So I’m not interested in a low price too.

You can read about the certificate agency at (I'm too new to post a link) (“Domain Lawyer” is my nickname).

The process is very easy:1. Go to the certificate agency site and order a certificate. Just submit your domains and let them know you have a buyer with $5,000 offer and need a valuation near this value. After several hours you will get the results. If the price in your certificate comes higher we will increase our offer accordingly.
2. Then send these results via email and we’ll proceed with the deal.

If you are new to the certification process, I can help you with the step by step instructions.



Wow!!! $10,000!! I just started doing this three days ago. I'm so good at this. My domain picking skills must be awesome!!

I tried all my usual tactics of smelling out a scam. I googled the name, the email address, the address in his signature, the appraisal company recommended in the (highly sophisticated) google thread. And nothing. Wowzers, this guy is for real?? (Something I just noticed, the thread is from google.ORG... tricky...)

I went to the domain appraisal site and say that 1 domain cost 169 euros/usd. Firstly, that's a lot of money. Secondly, Euros and USD are not the same market value. Eventually, after smelling something fishy, I had the smarts to google "domain appraisal scam" and up popped several very similar (sometimes identical) emails from equally Jewish/Saudi Arabian names and cautions that they were scams.

Ugh!! I could taste victory and oh my, it was sweet. Massive amounts of money coming to me in the blink of an eye for such a modest investment. The worst part about scamming is they offer you false hope, and man did my expectations raise quickly. They didn't get my money, but I did purchase a few more similar domains to show to this potentially real investor.

Now I'm the proud owner of a few more probably worthless domains. Growing pains I suppose..

 

[NameAgency]

Edited... and wellcome to domaining.

 

[paul79]

thats harsh mate - i just wish people would do business properly and not be looking to fleece you at every turn. its hard enough withough spending all your time worrying about getting ripped off

 

[deflee79]

Yep , definitely a scam. It's happened to all of us pretty much in that exact same email format. Look at this way you didn't pay for the certificate and now you know what to look out for. Best of luck to you!

 

[staringatascreen]

Yeah, even after I was 100% sure it was a scam, I still replied to him in a very cordial, professional manner, and every subsequent email with him trying to get me to buy a certificate. Good communications practice I suppose..