Does the domain industry seem greedy to you?

[The Domainiac]

Let's face it, all of the good names were taken in the 90's and early 2000's. It also seems they are being hoarded away and ridiculous amounts of money are wanted for them. Recently I got to thinking about domaining as compared to other industries.

For instance, I have followed the sportscard industry for quite some time. Even when a rare or high value card is involved there is generally a fairly good price at which the card can be acquired. Now I understand that in the case of a card or collectible there normally exists more than one copy. That's all well and good.

It seems domains are not an investment that someone can just come in to without an initial buy-in that is astonomical. Even good .net domains are thousands of dollars. I know many domains are held by big business and industry leaders that need the big profit, but I would assume that they are still outnumbered by everyday people with big portfolios. Even the hobbyists don't part with names without astronomical prices.

In relation to the sportscard industry the big collectors share more of a comraderie with others hobbyists and there doesn't seem to be as much greed. They trade, sell at discounts, and generally tend to encourage others into the hobby and help in any way they can. Anyone can get into the sportscard industry at any level they can afford and work their way up. With domains it seems completely the opposite. You must have thousands of dollars if you wish to have a nice portfolio of domains.

If I were a domain investor with thousands of quality names that I picked up as hand regs in 1999 or earlier, I would probably not blink an eye at selling my lower end names. The demand is certainly there. If I sold them off for hundreds a piece I would still end up in a great situation with a paid off house, car, etc. Why hold out for thousands of dollars on every name you have? I would still have my top names as gravy and I would have helped others start good portfolios.

I know this thread may sound a little "sour-grapey" but my intention is to spark some good conversation on the topic. This industry seems too greedy and only the well-to-do can afford any investments within it. Am I the only one that sees it this way?

 

[Vertibox]

Based upon what I've seen in the domain industry, as well as on these boards, the majority of domain holders are just sitting on them waiting for huge offers. They could easily turn a profit on many of their names and pay off the house, car, student loans, etc. Who really needs more than that? That doesn't seem to be good enough and this is the reason I am calling domainers greedy.

For instance, the domainers that are holding multiple 3-letter .coms. Assuming you hand-regged them when they were available, how much have you spent to keep them? Maybe $100-$200 in annual renewals per domain? Even that's a stretch. Yes, there are only 17,000 and some in existence but do you really need $10,000+ for a 3-letter .com with a Q in it? Show me proof that big businesses are clamoring for all 3-letter .coms and paying big money. If that were the case you wouldn't need to sell them to other domainers.

There is no validity to your complaint.

Domain name investors/domainers are engaged in a completely legal activity and making the choices based on the system of capitalism, which is only about making the most money you want/can. What choices those people make is entirely up to them and they don't have to justify their choices or reasoning to anyone as to what names they buy, how much they they seek to to sell names for, or how long they hold onto names. If a domain name investor makes an error of judgment, its on them and no-one else.
Are you happy to compensate someone unknown to you, who made bad decisions, because they want other people to feel sorry for them and make good their losses?

If we lived in a socialist/communist system, there would be no gain, no incentives to work hard, no individual effort, no inventions and no progress. We'd all be wearing the same grey dungarees, day in day out, living in standard grey houses with standard decoration and furniture, all driving the same crappy grey cars and living monotonous and dissatisfying lives, as everyone gets paid the same $100 per month.
If you want regard for those who "missed the boat", someone selling their assets cheaply won't teach you anything, other than "just wait around and someone might throw you a bone".

I've missed the boat on lots of things but I was never jealous or resentful to those who were able to take the opportunities and gained. Even when I had a full frontal opportunity to get into something, I hesitated and missed out. So that is what I did then. Tomorrow, I may choose differently.

In relation to the sportscard industry the big collectors share more of a comraderie with others hobbyists and there doesn't seem to be as much greed. They trade, sell at discounts, and generally tend to encourage others into the hobby and help in any way they can. Anyone can get into the sportscard industry at any level they can afford and work their way up. With domains it seems completely the opposite. You must have thousands of dollars if you wish to have a nice portfolio of domains.

If I were a domain investor with thousands of quality names that I picked up as hand regs in 1999 or earlier, I would probably not blink an eye at selling my lower end names. The demand is certainly there. If I sold them off for hundreds a piece I would still end up in a great situation with a paid off house, car, etc. Why hold out for thousands of dollars on every name you have? I would still have my top names as gravy and I would have helped others start good portfolios.

Physical things are a completely different experience to virtual things.

With physical things as hobbies, people often physically get together, at fairs, events, etc., and that does create camaraderie and some sense of community. There is none of this really in the domain name investment world as people are mostly alone in their pursuits and sharing knowledge of their names, their plans, their methodologies, their secrets, can lead to others stealing them.
With physical things, you either have it in your hands or you do not, plus you can take photos of your property to prove ownership and also, you can get a trusted person like a lawyer to testify your ownership of an object.

With domain names, there is perpetual risk for domain name holders, even with allegedly trusted names in the business. Electronic blips on a screen can be faked, records changed, emails spoofed, etc. etc., and the infrastructure of the domain name system is not very secure and relies on elements that are slow, lumbering and defective.

Finally, it is not for you or anyone to dictate to or to impose their opinion of what other people should do with their perfectly legal holdings of their property. You can theorise what you would do if you had some valuable domain names, but if that really was a reality, you may find you make different choices.

Your posting was almost 11 years ago and so perhaps you have changed your view on this topic.

There is still potential to make money from domain names, in made-up words (aka brandables) but it takes a lot more work, time and creativity to create those, than obvious names or names made of keywords.

 

[xwat]

There are so many top level domains I am not sure why you are speaking about greed. All of my domains were registered for possible future use for me. I may never use them but I have the domains if I need them.

If someone wishes to have a domain they either will pay or they can go to another TLD which is a perfectly cromulent option.

 

[xwat]

One more point I wanted to make. Some of you have mentioned that investing in some of the new tld's is an available option for newbies. Although it's a good point, buying into new tld's is not an even playing field either.

It sounds like you want to invest but want what other people have so it is not fair?

 

[Vertibox]

There are so many top level domains I am not sure why you are speaking about greed. All of my domains were registered for possible future use for me. I may never use them but I have the domains if I need them.

If someone wishes to have a domain they either will pay or they can go to another TLD which is a perfectly cromulent option.

I am pretty sure the OP and anyone else who talks about a lack of available domains/valuable domains, are talking about .com names and nothing else.

There is no shortage of names available for the vast majority of tlds, which are mostly low value/worthless.

 

[Kyle Tully]

Let's face it, all of the good names were taken in the 90's and early 2000's.

Perhaps most of the GREAT names were registered then but there are GOOD names available every single day

It also seems they are being hoarded away and ridiculous amounts of money are wanted for them.

If they are great, don’t they deserve ridiculous amounts of money?

This industry seems too greedy and only the well-to-do can afford any investments within it. Am I the only one that sees it this way?

You can grab good names every day for less than $50 that sell for $5000. Almost anyone with a decent job and some disposable income can get started in domain investing. If you can’t afford it then you’re not ready to invest and instead should be focused on building your income.

As for greed, I suspect you would be singing a different tune if it was you who took a risk 30 years ago and registered a bunch of one word .com and held onto them all these years.

 

[nicenic]

Totally get the feeling, though domains behave differently because scarcity is absolute, one name, one owner, so pricing ends up following leverage and timing rather than hobby-style trading.

 

[xwat]

I am pretty sure the OP and anyone else who talks about a lack of available domains/valuable domains, are talking about .com names and nothing else.

There is no shortage of names available for the vast majority of tlds, which are mostly low value/worthless.

Of course they are. A truly starving man does not turn down a cheeseburger because they are waiting for a top level steak. It is a sense of entitlement.

 

[biggie]

I am pretty sure the OP and anyone else who talks about a lack of available domains/valuable domains, are talking about .com names and nothing else.

There is no shortage of names available for the vast majority of tlds, which are mostly low value/worthless.

Hi

it was 10 years ago when OP started the thread.
however in retrospect, from then until now, there have been lots of valuable terms available in com , that reflect the signs of the times.

from canna to crypto, nft’s to chinese premium, not to mention ppc was still kicking… all that availability that became available-
shows that OP didn’t have a future tense mindset or was just throwing shizzit against the wall to see what sticks


imo…..

 

[Joshh71390]

...

This is kind of arguing in a circle. Im using that for a lack of better words, not trying to dig into you...

Yes a lot of greed, but also that greed is why you are interested in the domains to begin with... You are saying that you wish some domains werent registered so you "theoretical you or anyone" could buy them and be able to sell them...

The problem is if they werent worth money, you would not even be searching / trying to buy them.

Think of the movie water world ... im sure the characters in this movie just wish dirt/sand wasnt so expensive. If they were in our shoes, they would not be hording piles of dirt, they wouldnt even think about it. The only reason you long to be able to register a one word .com for instance is because of the value it holds. if they sold for 10 dollars, you wouldnt be buying it -> reselling it for current value you would buy it and sell it for 10 dollars.

 

[xwat]

The problem is if they werent worth money, you would not even be searching / trying to buy them.

This is 100% true. It is easy to want a do-over now that you know but while the OP is looking out on what they missed on they are missing out on more things they will look back on and want a do over. It was pretty clear that domain names were going to have value and that .com would be the primary from the start. None of this snuck up on anyone.

There are still good domains out there. There are a few .com's I may register this weekend.