discuss Buying domains without a reason

[Amar D]

Hello,

I think that I have a problem. I'm buying domain names without a reason. I think this is some kind of addiction, like gambling/alcohol etc. Buying too much domains without using them, or success of sale them. But when I see some keywords in media, I'm instantly searching for domains with that kw to try to resell it. Sometimes I fu*k my whole salary on that. Do you have that kind of problem with domain buying obssesion?

 

[bmugford]

I would say a lot of people have an addiction when it comes to domains. It is always on their mind.

If you want to make money though, you need to treat it as a business.
You buy domains that have a realistic chance of selling.

Brad

 

[Ategy]

Hello .. My name is Ategy .. and I'm addicted to domains!

I reduced my acquisitions slightly since I started "domaining" about 2.5 years ago (I had domains long before that, although only with development intentions, and not with the intent to buy/resell actively). I'm still buying these days (I had slowed a bit earlier this year, but too many amazing acquisitions to resist lately .. lol).

That being said .. I'm making good sales and I've already made enough sales to say that 2019 will definitely be profitable for me even if I don't make any more sales until the end of the year. Because of my deep diving into the daily expiration auction lists I'm able to find great domains that I end up getting at relative bargains .. so the profits on my sales are huge relatively speaking to the average domainer.

All that and I still haven't priced or listed a large part of my portfolio at all the marketplaces (I'm too busy posting lists for all of you here and at NameCult .. lol). I'm probably running at about 30-35% of what I should be just for that .. so I'm not too worried overall. I also don't really have landing pages at this point .. plus I still haven't done any outbound at all. So as great as things have been going, there's actually significant room for me to be doing a lot better!

I had a huge debt from a past business because of the death of an overseas middleman in the middle of our biggest transaction .. added to that my place got flooded last year and I'm still fighting the insurance. Both my mom and dog had been sick and had operations. I still have my full time (non-tech) job where I've had my own health issues with serious knee problems. But thankfully I've been able to take money out of my domain sales to pay those debts. So ironically my "addiction" has actually saved me!

 

[Internet.Domains]

Purchasing domains releases serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. To counter or reverse the problem consider the renewals will come fast.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Hope your doing well Bob, have not seen you around much unless we are following/commenting on different threads

Yeah I have been under the domain radar for a few weeks or so, for a variety of reasons, but back into it the last few days. Always enjoy your posts.

I think for me the most addictive part is related to fear of missing out. I need to keep reminding myself that there are a universe of domain names out there, and I don't necessarily need any particular one!

Take care,

Bob

 

[Ostrados]

I am very selective in buying domains, when I started domaining I fell into the impulse buying trap (where your decisions are not rational most of the time) especially when browsing drop lists.

What I did to counter that is simple: whenever I am searching for new domains or browsing a drop list, instead of buying the domains I am intetested in immediately I add them to a notepad file, after I finish my search I end up with a shortlist of the best domains I found, I go over this shortlist again slowly, and this time I find that many names were stupid (what I was thinking!), I filter the shortlist and end up with very few (but decent) domains that I actually go and register/buy.

 

[NickB]

no - I only spend what I can afford to lose, it is a hobby for me not a business.

I hope the hobby becomes profitable, if not then I will not be losing any sleep over it....

 

[WatchDogue]

At least you are seeking out and apparently buying some keyword domains as mentioned / seen in media, so there is at least some rational thought going into those names you acquire.

We had early successes with names we acquired in the '90s and that tended to give me the belief
I had a " magic domain touch ".

So many more names followed and their renewal fees swallowed up any belief in a midas calling for domain registration. Hours a day were spent searching out and often acquiring the " next great names " that never materialized.

Eventually common sense returned and domain acquisitions were far more judicious and well reasoned.

For the past 15 years or so every time I acquire a domain I try to be certain about it's appeal to it's potential target market, it's costs for the 5 + years I usually keep a name at a minimum, and its' likely competitors in the marketplace.

IMO the search and purchase of domains can become a bit addicting for some, so might it be best to keep your money where it belongs for a while, in your wallet, while you slow down the buying that is a concern for you.

 

[Trent1000]

I've built the following chart that shows all of my acquistions (650+ transactions) and sales in the last 4 years. Clearly shows my pitfalls, and my strenghts. The steep uptrend at the end of the chart, is when I found my strategy that works for my personality/lifestyle. Before that I was shooting in the dark with crappy handregs, and expensive aftermarket acquisitions. Not saying it is all good now, my goals are despite being relatively moderate, would be off the chart. But I definitely become much more conscious with my acquistions than before. Monitoring your own performance is a must I think.

It is also great for setting mid-long term goals, that can make you more disciplined, and force you to stick to a plan.

So for folks who are just starting out, log all of your transactions somewhere. Acquistion date, expiration date, cost, registrar, active sales platform for each domain, etc... at least the first three. It will come handy.

 

[korganian]

I did at first until the credit card bills started arriving.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

It is a serious question you raise @Amar D. I don't think that domaining is in the manual of addictions, but it could be. It has some features of gambling and game addictions, maybe others.

There is no one solution but I have found it helpful to set limits on amount I will invest or number of domain acquisitions until the next sale. I think it is also helpful to define at outset if you are in it as a hobby, part time gig or more. Keeping balance with other things in life is also important.

I personally have same framework as @MrAcidic. I am in it essentially as a hobby and invest only what I can afford to lose.

I think most of us have had the feelings you have. I hope you find solutions that work for you.

Take care,

Bob

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I find the hardest time not to be addicted is right after I make a sale and the money is sitting in my PayPal account saying spend me, spend me! I find it easier to be disciplined if I have not sold anything for some time.

One thing I try to do is never get a domain name on the first day I consider it. Yes, you lose some this way, but I find if I wait and make sure that the next day I still want it and think it is a worthwhile acquisition at least as much as the previous day, then I proceed, perhaps, but if I don't feel as positive, I wait another day and think about it some more. I broke my rule this week, and you guessed it, feel buyer's remorse to some degree (it was a tiny amount so does not really matter).

I only rarely enter auctions, but when I do I first set an absolute firm upper limit I would pay and never let myself get pulled beyond that.

Bob

 

[ivey]

Many of us can relate bro.

For me i amassed up to 660 names at one point. I'm about half of that now.

The problem is registering over and over and not having a sales or liquidating strategy.
It's a business, so each name you buy that doesn't sell is a loss. It's like going in a food store and just throwing away stuff off the shelf...

Where our names are registered plays a role too..because I tried organizing my names at Godaddy and there was no way to do so effectively. A good domain management tool or process is vital. I had to stop watching drop lists for a long time too...because i couldn't resit buying names.

I'm not 100% where I want to be yet, but I'm improving daily.
Just make sure you're making sales, even if it's small. Because one way i messed up is not selling any names and waiting for a big fish to fry. Well that fish can take years to come or never come...so you are left with a bunch of renewals or losses. I still have to break being emotionally attached to names.

And remind myself this is a damn business. Treat it as such.
I will only hold on to names I certainly plan to develop myself.

 

[MadAboutDomains]

It sounds like a lot of us have this problem or feelings that it's addictive. For me it is a hobby but I also make a decent sale every now and again.

I bought a name the other day for about $1,000 USD and the moment I sent the money over and received the name I felt a wave of disappointment come over me and I was slapped with the cold realisation that it might be impossible to sell it on. Whilst in reality I can afford to lose the money, it doesn't feel good knowing I just essentially threw some money down the grid.

Admittedly that doesn't happen too often, I'm usually hot on the heels chasing a new domain that I know that I can sell and that I don't feel buyers remorse for after I've bought it.

For me, I can get over excited and bid too much on names, but most of the time as long as I feel like I can flip it for the same amount or more I'm not upset by it. I just don't do it too often that I'm losing money that I can't afford, when that happens I'll know I'm addicted.

 

[domainer111]

Hello,

I think that I have a problem. I'm buying domain names without a reason. I think this is some kind of addiction, like gambling/alcohol etc. Buying too much domains without using them, or success of sale them. But when I see some keywords in media, I'm instantly searching for domains with that kw to try to resell it. Sometimes I fu*k my whole salary on that. Do you have that kind of problem with domain buying obssesion?

Thanks for your post. You have been very honest.

You could own every single media domain in the entire world and you'd still be the same person.

I do have an obsession with domains, but I've moved away from speculation and into investing in a commodity: two word dot-com domains.

I do that by removing as much emotion as possible.

1. I check there are no USA, UK and EU community marks.
2. I check both words in name bio for sales. Take a word "curse". There are like four sales ever in namebio with the word "curse". This is pointing to a bad domain.
3. Often I check extension history on domaintools. Let's say nobody ever registered the dot-net, dot-org, dot-info, dot-biz, dot-us. This is pointing to a bad domain.
4. For descriptive domains, I will check search volume and bids on Google. Small volume is pointing to small demand.

After those checks there is very little emotion left about the domain. At that point, it's either a good investable domain or a bad domain.

 

[NickB]

It is a serious question you raise @Amar D. I don't think that domaining is in the manual of addictions, but it could be. It has some features of gambling and game addictions, maybe others.

There is no one solution but I have found it helpful to set limits on amount I will invest or number of domain acquisitions until the next sale. I think it is also helpful to define at outset if you are in it as a hobby, part time gig or more. Keeping balance with other things in life is also important.

I personally have same framework as @MrAcidic. I am in it essentially as a hobby and invest only what I can afford to lose.

I think most of us have had the feelings you have. I hope you find solutions that work for you.

Take care,

Bob

Hope your doing well Bob, have not seen you around much unless we are following/commenting on different threads

I think the only addicting part of this industry for me is the learning side, It has turned me into a knowledge junkie. I love reading about new tech, new trends and the latest industry news (whatever sector it may be).

 

[Tunababa8v]

I had this at my very early days in domaining but I am getting better now. Renewal bill is a good therapy. You will get better bro.

 

[poweredbyme]

Everything has a risk. Everything is a gamble. Even the life is a chance. I mean all we are the result of one out of millions of sperms. If you read a little about evolution of species you will stumble upon a knowledge : billions of combinations have been tried by cells/gens before creating a new successful species during the life of the 4.5 billion years of our World.

Risk is nothing. It matters only when you lose and only for a limited time. If you win, you can't say "addiction" to anything, including even to true casino gambling. Life always goes on after a while from the point where a loss stopped you. The biggest risk in life is to avoid from risk for the fear of a possible loss and not to start over quickly after falling down which is certain.

If you say you are buying domains without a reason, then you feel you will fall down at some point. That's a correct feeling. You will certainly fall down. But not for the reason of you are unsure on what you are doing. The reason is simple. Everyone falls down, with or without a reason. Falling down is inevitable for every living creature. Just prepare yourself emotionally to start over quickly and keep doing whatever you do until you can't. Start over, fall down, start over, fall down and then start over again. It doesn't matter what you do, doesn't matter how much you are confident or how much you are afraid of the risks. Just keep doing. You will finally have your desired outcome, only after paying its true price.

 

[adrey]

It comes and goes my friend, don't worry

 

[branding]

welcome to the dark side!

 

[fiftyfrancs]

I must confess we are here together, I am almost exhausting whole month funds on domain acquisitions, though these are 'very good names' or at least sounds consoling. seems like I registered the most names in the 'Your Reg of the day' thread in the past 24 hours or so. I think I should use some advice here too or... dammit! I just registered another

it just won't stop

 

[PeakDots]

I had to put a rubberband around my wrist and "pop it" everytime I wanted to reg names on impulse or FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out)
Now I was able to watch the Libra/Calibra,
5g, Magic Mushroom/Shroom showcase threads without regging a single name.

Joking aside

Sometimes I fu*k my whole salary

If this is happening and affecting your life financially, step away man and take a break from domaining.
If you can't, I would say there is a problem and you may need to seek professional help.
No need to lose all your money, go into depression,ruin a marriage,or worst over domain names.

Imo

 

[bmugford]

domaining is just like buy a lotto ticket but maybe with better odds to win something more often.

its all a gamble plain simple.

u dont need brains to make $, just alot of luck and timing in domaining helps

listen if happylook .com can pull in $40,000 u have a chance!

Luck and timing helps in anything. Still, while outlier sales happen, there are many successful domainers who have built a business on repeated sales. It is not just random.

Brad

 

[RegBoss]

Purchasing domains releases serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain. To counter or reverse the problem consider the renewals will come fast.

That was funny! I had the disease also. Now I try an use a little logic. Why am I purchasing this? A lot of hype about different currency nowadays. Whether is is Libra,bitcoins,blockchain, etc. They all seem to call it crypto currency. This is the logic for the reg today. I went snooping and the different spelling was still sitting there.
CryptoConvertors in King. Should be worth a couple hundred anyway. Could be made into an app or resource site easily. Something people will come back to. My IT work for today is done.

 

[Amar D]

I live in Switzerland, my salary is 4900 CHF per month, so imagine to spend a lot of that money just on domains. Also using sometimes card of my wife, that's another 4200 CHF.

My first obsession with domains started in days of MSN (Windows Live Messenger) when you could create address with your domain eg [email protected], so I was buying a ton of domains and changing my MSN ID. I was always looking for beautiful email address to have.

I think I will start to use niceguy96ch_Fu @ hotmail com to cure myself from that hahaha.

Also after that I was doing cybersquating and I didn't know anything about that term. Swiss companies were buying domains just normally from me when I offer it to them. After that I make little sales of 400€ once in 5 months. But spend ton of money. More in minus, than in plus.