Dangerous Domaining Addiction?

[Ben42]

Well, the other day my wife called me a domain addict so I decided to do some research. There are no domain addictions polls, but I had found one on investing addiction and modified it slightly to apply to domains.

Here is the original from the Connecticut Councel on Problem Gambling:

http://www.ccpg.org/financial/investing_gambling_problems.asp

Take the quiz and answer the poll above.

1. I have been preoccupied with seeking daily information about the status of my domains and traffic or have been preoccupied with thoughts of past and future domains and traffic.
_________Yes _________No

2. A major reason I have purchased domains is to change an unhappy mood, for example, escape worries, pressures, anxiety, depression, etc.
_________Yes _________No

3. I have experienced extreme highs when I sell big and extreme lows when I cannot sell domains.
_________Yes _________No

4. I have felt uncomfortable when any cash accumulated in my paypal account and have needed to quickly find a way to keep it in domain action.
_________Yes _________No

5. I have been restless or irritable when unable to be activly seeking or purchasing domains, for example, when short of money, away on vacation, trying to cut back on spending.
_________Yes _________No

6. I have needed to increase the amount invested in domains to maintain the high or excitement of being in action.
_________Yes _________No

7. My domain names have become increasingly speculative or risky over time.
_________Yes _________No

8. I have had more money invested in domains than I could afford to lose.
_________Yes _________No

9. I have often engaged in high volume domain investing, for example, to outguess the direction of the market, etc.
_________Yes _________No

10. My domain investments have been highly leveraged.
_________Yes _________No

11. I have not opened billing statements to avoid having to think about my losses.
_________Yes _________No

12. I have borrowed money from family, friends, credit cards or other sources to buy domains.
_________Yes _________No

13. I have borrowed money to buy domains and have not paid it back.
_________Yes _________No

14. I have had to have someone else provide money to relieve a crisis caused by my domaining.
_________Yes _________No

15. I have lied to people in order to hide that I was domaining or to hide how much money was involved.
_________Yes _________No

16. When losses have piled up, I continued the same domains or increased the amount of domains, in hopes my strategy would work, or my luck would change and I would regain the losses with one big sale.
_________Yes _________No

17. I have wanted to stop domaining for a while but did not think I could, or I have been unsuccessful when I have tried to control, cut back or stop domainig.
_________Yes _________No

18. I have risked losing or lost important work, family, or other commitments due to the amount of time and money taken up by my domaining.
_________Yes _________No

19. I have committed an illegal act to get money to continue to domain or to pay back a loan for my domaining activity.
_________Yes _________No

20. I have wondered whether I was gambling excessively in domains.
_________Yes _________No

 

[mis_chiff]

I just turned that corner and regged another one...
gotta stay on the straight pass...lol

 

[matt_bodis]

10 out of 20. Basically the following I answered "No" for: 8, 11, and 13-20.

Not that bad. If I were 15 out of 20 that'd be much worse, but half these questions are targetted for people that have lost alot of money in domains, that doesn't apply to me atleast, I have gained as of thus far.

 

[GoPC]

OMG!!!! I'm addicted to Domaining!!!! I tried to deny it by going over to my DNF account and it even says so under my screen name "Domain Addict"!!!

I'm doomed! DOOMED!!!!

Somebody quick... buy all my domains at a reasonable profit so I don't have to jump off a bridge!



GoPC

 

[Jo]

I said "yes" to 9 and "maybe" to a few, no to the rest...and yes I am obsessive compulsive, was told that many years ago! I wonder how many more of us are o-c? NOT just because of domaining...but are like that normally. I quit smoking in January, hardest thing I've ever done except for getting my drivers license at 30 years old...domaining has helped enormously. I spend my smoke money on domains. :D

 

[mis_chiff]

I quit smoking in January, hardest thing I've ever done except for getting my drivers license at 30 years old...domaining has helped enormously. I spend my smoke money on domains. :D

Congratulations on the quitting smoking, how did you do it? Any tips or secrets you can share..
I have smoked for 29 years now...uggh - started when I was 13!
Right now I have both bad habits, but so far never came down to
either a domain or smokes,
but hey, I could buy "more" domains if I didn't smoke... :hehe:

 

[briman1970]

:It gets better and more controllable over time, although, it never goes completely away as there seems to be a binge of one kind or another available and waiting for you, just, around the corner.

The .im binge I had cost me over $800! I guess you could say I have a problem. :yell:

 

[Lasher]

I had a lot of these problems early on, sounds like a typical newbie mistake to rush in and register a ton of domains only to realize how much most of them suck later on. I have about $XXXX in domains that will just drop next year, as I was an excited newbie with lots of $$ to spend.

Much more careful about what I register these days. Still picking up the occasional LLLL.com where I like the letters and LLL.us / LLL.biz when I get lucky with backorders. Some regs over the past couple of weeks include getbluetooth.com, buydrops.com, buywebtools.com and investwiser.com. None of them are going to get 7 figure sales, but at least they're good enough that I'll probably renew them.

Another question to add to the poll that wouldn't have fit the stock investing original:

* You get an extreme high when registering a hot new domain that is itself about domaining.

I'd say "buydrops.com" falls squarely in this category

 

[matt_bodis]

I used to register domains a few months ago. I never register domains anymore unless it is a unique opportunity, such as a new product/service that has been announced, and at that time I register good available ones, not the worst just to not miss out on the boat.

The only exception is when I register domains for future products, movies, etc.

 

[ezimedia]

HI

I now have 350+ domains down from 500+ a year or so ago... I also bought a lot that never sold or did anything with..

But now the domains I reg I know will pay for thier self in the long run...

It takes a few years to learn what sells and what is worth developing and what to reg..

Thanks
Tom Dahne

 

[Ben42]

I think it's most "Dangerous" when you keep buying and regging hoping for that one big sale that may never come. That is really gambling and you may find yourself in a deep hole.

Set a budget for yourself and only spend more if you make a sale.

Say you budget $100/month on domains and buy one for $400. You should cut yourself off for four months unless you make a sale. It's easier said than done.

 

[cache]

I have the same addiction problem:

http://www.namepros.com/domain-name-discussion/129831-domain-name-addiction.html

 

[gazzip]

I spend my smoke money on domains. :D

Congrats on stopping - At least you have increased the odds dramitically of getting a far more positive result from the same money

Good luck Kerrijo

Well....looks like I am a domain addict !! :td: I have took the first step and admit it :hehe:

Great thread Ben
.

 

[Jo]

Congratulations on the quitting smoking, how did you do it? Any tips or secrets you can share..
I have smoked for 29 years now...uggh - started when I was 13!
Right now I have both bad habits, but so far never came down to
either a domain or smokes,
but hey, I could buy "more" domains if I didn't smoke... :hehe:

Thank you, I quit because of a number of reasons. They all added up and started to really bother me and...I love a challenge! It was a REAL challenge to quit when I knew everyone thought I'd fail! Nyah nyah! :lol: Here's what did it for me, all the reasons: $$money, the coughing & flem, the risk of cancer, the smell, the new laws, no one I knew smoked and the film it leaves on everything. I picked a quit day - when my carton of smokes ran out...had my last smoke the morning of quit day, went to the store and bought the PATCH, wore it for 2 weeks, then went cold turkey...have had ONE drag since, it's been 7 months TODAY! :D

Congrats on stopping - At least you have increased the odds dramitically of getting a far more positive result from the same money

Good luck Kerrijo

Thank you...it is still hard...I dream about smoking. BAH

 

[mis_chiff]

Wow, a successful patch story, that's great Kerrijo
Congratulations on not going back to it after that drag!
I know what you mean about the film on everything,
I hate looking at the walls...
but, I may try the patch next - I had no luck with Ziban...
and cold turkey just won't do it for me (no willpower)

 

[ablaye]

I am not an addict yes!!! I scored a 4.

 

[Jo]

Wow, a successful patch story, that's great Kerrijo
Congratulations on not going back to it after that drag!
I know what you mean about the film on everything,
I hate looking at the walls...
but, I may try the patch next - I had no luck with Ziban...
and cold turkey just won't do it for me (no willpower)

Well, you are supposed to be on the patch for 6 weeks, I couldn't take the slow torture, I wanted the fast and quick torture and get it over with! So I stopped using the patch when I was still on step 1. One day you will be ready to quit...don't worry so much.

 

[NP41215]

Owning a domain gives you more advantages than owning stock shares.

Namely, you've far more control, i.e. 100%. Maybe that counts for something, maybe even a lot to some people.

Upside potential, if done right, can be many times what one normally can expect from stocks.

A significant downside: liquidity.

 

[Grrilla]

Owning a domain gives you more advantages than owning stock shares.

Namely, you've far more control, i.e. 100%. Maybe that counts for something, maybe even a lot to some people.

Upside potential, if done right, can be many times what one normally can expect from stocks.

A significant downside: liquidity.

Concise, well stated, analysis. There is, no doubt, excellent leverage available in domain names- the major drawback, (at least, IMO), is the need to promote the product and cultivate an audience so that there is a broad enough market base to insure that the leverage can be capitalized upon. Otherwise, it is all alot of potential that's lacking in substance.

My good, enduser sales seem to be a very hit and miss proposition. I had 2 inquiries and 1 offer come in this week w/ no follow-ups to my offers because, apparantly, my prices were too high for the other parties. All three happened to have been for names that I consider to be among my top 5%, they have strong, universal, big company branding appeal and potential and my asking prices reflect this. I was looking at my Sedo offers the other day and, over the past year, there have been about 10, similar, instances where a buyer has withdrawn their offer because they didn't want to pay the price. In a sense, many names are liquid, but their level of liquidity depends upon expectations and the price point.

Promotion and sales can be a daunting task for those of us who do not have a sales background or a, particularly, strong aptitude for promoting our product. I admire the folks who seem to know how to push the right buttons and who have the ability to, consistently, effect sales for substantial amounts. I figure, the best thing to do is to, just, keep plugging away and working on your weak areas until you improve.

 

[NP41215]

What is lacking, in my opinion, is a very-low-cost/fee, centralized auction market with escrow service in which all or most domain owners, buyers, resellers, and especially end-users participate.

The auction site must have sufficient valuable content, promotion and publicity to attract all kinds of people.

Once you have that, you'll have a very price-efficient and active domain market.

What's lacking is a visionary from one of the major Web companies, such as eBay, to do it. As technically, it's really not that difficult to set up and promote.

 

[Phronesis]

What is lacking, in my opinion, is a very-low-cost/fee, centralized auction market with escrow service in which all or most domain owners, buyers, resellers, and especially end-users participate.

The auction site must have sufficient valuable content, promotion and publicity to attract all kinds of people.

Once you have that, you'll have a very price-efficient and active domain market.

Sounds like the NYSE.