Can anyone tell me if I'm crazy?

[Lynn]

I purchased my first domain name last night, and I don't even have a website. In fact I've never owned a website, ever. So this was a real first for me.

Purchasing my first domain name was very exciting. Don't ask me why. I guess because a few of my names were already taken. But alot of them weren't, so when I came across one that was available, I snatched it up. I must say that I totally lost control. You know how some people are addicted to buying stuff on eBAy? Well, I guess I had the same affliction last night. I was up all night till 6AM purchasing domain names!

My first few domain names were purchased without any fanfare. And then, later, I put in this one domain name and GoDaddy.com surprised me with a special page/message that I hadn't seen during my first 3 or 4 aquisitions. It's a page that's headed "You've found a great domain...." and it had a big fat green check mark next to those words. That was kind of exciting.

Not all of the domain names that I purchased came with that message. All told, I purchased around 20 domain names and 15 or so had that message attached to them. Those type of messages did make me feel a little special, but I have to wonder if that's GoDaddy's way of tricking a person into buying more names.

Now I know people sell domain names. So I just guess that a few of them might be worth something to somebody. Someday maybe, I really don't know for sure. And I know that you can get a domain name appraised. I know a little about domain appraisal, just a little. I'm real green, a rookie, so please keep in mind that my opinions are raw and possibly faulty. And what I read somewhere is that if you have to pay somebody to appraise your domain name, they said that you can't trust the appraisal because they (the appraiser) wants you to keep coming back to get another appraisal.

So if a person has a name that's not worth anything, they, in this case GoDaddy, won't really tell you that. Supposedly, they'll inflate the value of the name a little. Now I don't know if that's true or not. GoDaddy.com charges 5 bucks for an appraisal, so according to what I read, you might not be able to trust their appraisal system all that much. Is that true?

Some of my domain names are related to sex and real estate. I know that sex is one of the biggest markets on the Internet, so I just thought that that might be a good area to key in on. As far as real estate is concerned, we all know that successful real estate agents/investors make real good money, so I made up a few names that might appeal to that market. I also made up a few names that represent the software industry. And oh yeah, I also made up some names that might appeal to someone in the auto industry.

They were all dot com names. I know that the lucrative market for dot com name market has come and gone. So I have no illusions about any of this. Despite all of the "You've found a great domain messages" that I received from GoDaddy, I don't know if I really did find a "great domain" like GoDaddy says I did or if I just made the GoDaddy people a little richer. Oh well...

Let me just say that I know a little HTML and I expect to soon learn alot more along with CSS. So can anyone out there tell me if what I experienced last night during my spending spree (approximately $200!) was really worth it or did I just waste alot of money by getting all caught up in a buying frenzy? This is a very serious question as I don't have alot of money to spend recklessly. I was kind of excited all night long and I must say it was a very gratifying experience. I wasn't using any illegal substances, nor was I drinking, though it was quite the rush. I guess some of those messages that read, "You've found a great domain" kinda got to me. But now, later, I really don't know what to think. And oh yeah, I'm not bi-polar, at least I don't think I am lol...

 

[domainica]

You're not crazy...yet. But if you keep buying names at the rate you're going, then I think that word may apply sooner rather than later.

Are you buying because you like the names or because you think they have some inherent CASH value?

Because I gotta tell you, if you're registering available .coms, then these are names that most likely don't have meaning to anyone but you.

The reason I'm saying this is because all the good .coms are taken. Heck, even most of the bad ones are too. So for you to find these names available...

If you're going to look to register names to resell at a higher price than you purchased them for, first check the word/name with Google and Overture. For instance, if "widgets.com" is available, type "widgets" into Google and see what you come up with. The larger the number, the better for you.

Also, look for words with commercial applications. These are mostly nouns and verbs. Adjectives sometimes work. Adverbs rarely work.

These are just general guidelines. There's a lot more to learn but you've come to the right place.

Welcome.

 

[healingsites]

I purchased my first domain name last night... I was kind of excited all night long and I must say it was a very gratifying experience. I wasn't using any illegal substances, nor was I drinking, though it was quite the rush. I guess some of those messages that read, "You've found a great domain" kinda got to me. But now, later, I really don't know what to think. And oh yeah, I'm not bi-polar, at least I don't think I am lol...

I'm actually a clinical psychologist and I wound never attempt to tell someone whether they were crazy over the Internet!

It does sound like GoDaddy's "You've found a great domain" message was intended to keep you shopping. It's a little like a slot machine that pays off every so often and then comes up with two cherries and another cherry one position off time after time.

Take some time and learn from people here. Check out domain appraisals and see how others appraise different domains. I'm not sure I'd spend money on GoDaddy appraisals, though.

 

[Lynn]

Hello, Domainica. To answer one of your questions, I purchased them because I did indeed feel that they might 'someday' be worth something to somone. When I try to make a domain name, I keep this in mind:

Say the person who has a website is traveling on a city bus. We'll call him John. He then gets into a conversation with a stranger. This stranger, we'll call her Mary, is very interested in John's website. The bus then comes to a stop, and Mary steps off, leaving John on the bus. On the sidewalk, she then turns back to John and asks for his domain name. But the bus starts to take off.

It is at this point where John has to yell out his domain name. He has only one chance to yell it out to her. Therefore, it would behoove him to have a domain name that is completely void of any ambiguity. It must be crisp, clear, and simple. It must not mystify the listener, nor confuse them, because life and commercial sales is just like that bus ride. It's fast and frenetic.

I'm a little reluctant to list any of the names I purchased, so please forgive me. One was titled,

Killbaby.com

Now at first glance that might be offensive to some people, but we have to keep in mind that it's the Internet we're talking about here. And the pioneers of the Internet have always been know for veering off away from the mainstream when it came to naming software programs, or any other kind of different computer related stuff. I mean, look at Apple.

I could easily see the next Marilyn Manson of the world using that name for the shock value alone. Or maybe a slightly possessed and tenacious stock broker (or real estate agent) who makes a killing on the stock market or selling real estate. I don't know...
BTW, Killbaby.com was one name that GoDaddy labeled "You've found a great domain...." though I have absolutely no idea if that's true or not.

Anyway, it is a name that someone could use if they want to scream their name out to the world and have everyone out there assimilate it without any confusion or mystery. Especially if they were selling alot of goods on their site.

Thank you for your post.

I'm actually a clinical psychologist and I wound never attempt to tell someone whether they were crazy over the Internet!

It does sound like GoDaddy's "You've found a great domain" message was intended to keep you shopping. It's a little like a slot machine that pays off every so often and then comes up with two cherries and another cherry one position off time after time.

Take some time and learn from people here. Check out domain appraisals and see how others appraise different domains. I'm not sure I'd spend money on GoDaddy appraisals, though.

Slotmachines=greatanalogy!

So yes, it's probrably a device they use to sucker us in? Probrably...

I'd be very leery of any appraisal system that costs money. Does anyone know of a free one out there?

 

[NeeJam]

nah i don't think your crazy, what are the names you bought?

 

[domainica]

Hi Lynn,

I understand your analogy, but it sounds as if you're valuing the website content into the domain name. If you do that, then the worst possible name you can come up with would have value if backed by a good website.

For instance, 9 years ago, the name Google.com was still available. It had no meaning; heck, it probably wasn't even worth reg fee. But they built a pretty good website and I'd venture a guess that, today, the name alone is worth a bit more than reg fee.

Hope this helps.

 

[labrocca]

Does godaddy allow you to delete the domains and get a refund? Because I suspect you should consider the names for a day or two and cut them down to about 1/3 or less. I highly doubt that as a new domainer you chose 20 domains that will one day be worth more than reg fee. IMHO at this point don't register anything you can't develop. You just have to take time to look at the drop lists to see how poorly people chose names to register (including myself). I just think you wasted money you claim not to have. Yeah that's a bit crazy.

 

[lazyleo]

Nope your not crazy yet, try selling off the names which are useless, give a list here for appriasal many people here who can tell you that :D.

Just read around before buying more names again

Most of the domains names i book are though and discussed with frnds who are regular internet users and ideas are discussed, then with "online" friends :D.

Got only three domain names now but took me almost 5 years before acutally buying a dot com.

In short take your time, patience is the key ( though not always you need to be really fast to book exspring domain names :p yest i hestated for 3 min to search a domin name for its backlinks and voila it was gone then i found out it was a 5 year old domain with many backlins and PR6 )

you aint crazy yet :D

 

[Lynn]

Does godaddy allow you to delete the domains and get a refund?

Yes, they do, thank God. Thank God because it turns out that I had purchased a whopping 29 names for a grand total of $500! Though I'm going to hang onto Killbaby.com and Hotsexrider.com

I'll be returning some of the other names to get a refund, that's for sure.