Daily News & Updates
As promised yesterday, I have something special for you today. It's a pleasure to have Domain Investor and Industry Writer Bob Hawkes for an Industry Expert Interview today. I'm not going to spoil the interview, but Bob has quite an interesting background that comes from being a researcher, teacher, writer and much more. Thanks again to Bob for taking the time to dig deep and share some great insights with all of us. Enjoy!
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I retired and moved coast to coast in Canada, and now live in Victoria, BC. That allows us to be closer to our daughters and their families. As well as the writing I do for NamePros, I am a volunteer writer and layout person for a nonprofit community newspaper in my neighbourhood. I still do occasional outreach with kids, especially in space and astronomy topics. I grew up in a very rural setting. Even before age of 12, I had various ventures, selling berries, vegetables, baked goods, greeting cards, crafts, and more, perhaps a precursor to selling domain names. At the end of my undergraduate years, I considered further studies in science, law, journalism and education. My writing, in domains and beyond, has helped me in retirement follow the journalism path I did not take earlier. I was a huge do-it-yourselfer, having renovated houses, built a cottage, fixed everything under the sun, done auto repairs, made furniture, built ‘golf courses’, and much more. I inherited that from my late father, who built the house I grew up in. One of my daughter’s first phrases, at age 2 or 3, was “do it self” - I agree.
What is your background?
I was a science researcher and a teacher, and at times administrator. My main research was in astrophysics, although I have also conducted atmospheric science, educational, and applied outreach research. I love teaching, and was fortunate to teach fantastic students for nearly four decades. I learned a lot from them.
How long have you been in domain investing and how did you find yourself first getting interested in it?
While I have registered and used a handful of domain names for about 20 years, mainly to support a small home-based photography business, I only started acquiring names specifically for sale in late 2016. I only became serious about domain investing when I joined NamePros in 2017. My early interest was mainly driven by the possibility of making meaningful phrases across the dot, especially with the new extensions. Phrases for specific campaigns have been slow to catch on, but I still love the aesthetic elegance of two words, one on each side of the dot, in perfect harmony. Since then I have expanded into many other types of domain names. My main focus now is in using data to try to answer interesting and useful domain questions.
Let's hear about your domains. How big is your portfolio and what type of domains do you invest in? And as a Canada Native, do you own any .CA domains?
At one point I had about 670 domain names, and I am currently at around 560. I hope to push that down to maybe 400, which I think is about the right size for me to manage.
I use a bootstrap approach to domain investing - I invest in domain names only what I make from domain names. I started with about $40 invested in 8 domain names. They were mainly terrible choices, but I managed to make slightly more than I had invested, and was able to grow my portfolio, before long getting to about 35 names. From that I gradually grew to the current size.
As I sell domain names, my portfolio has grown, hopefully both in quality and quantity, although I still make some poor choices. I mainly do a combination of hand-registration and wholesale purchases at prices not much higher. I do not have more than $85 invested in any one domain name in my current portfolio. A few of my hand-reg names are from Domain Smoke suggestions.
I invest in many things, partly as a learning exercise. I currently have about 75 .com and about 10 each of .org and .net. Right now my portfolio has about 125 country code names, predominantly in .co, if I don’t count .ca. Most of the rest are across a large number of different new extensions, looking more at the match across the dot, than the specific extension. If I look at invested value, rather than the number of domain names, the .com is higher compared to the new extensions.
Until about a year ago, I had only a handful of .ca, but over the past year that has grown to about 70 now. I can see investing more in .ca in the future, as Canadians respect and widely use our TLD.
I am not proposing the above as an investment model for others, just sharing what I have done. I like to dabble in many things, learning along the way, and am only investing money I have made from domain names. I probably would invest differently if I was mid-career with a regular salary.
As far as your portfolio goes, are there any recent or previous sales you can share with us? Do you do any outbound on your domains? And how about a recent acquisition?
I do almost zero outbound - the last time on any name was months ago, unless you count the occasional mention of a name on Twitter or response to NamePros request threads. With most of my acquisitions at low prices, I am reasonable in pricing too, typically asking $400 to $1500. I have sufficient sales at the $125 to $500 level to pay my expenses and allow me to grow my portfolio, but none of my sales so far are particularly significant. As a typical sale, I sold my first .ca not long ago, at about $500 for a 4 letter pronounceable name aino from another language. I look forward to seeing it used by the entrepreneur who bought it for a specific project. It is the kind of name I like in the .ca extension, short and speakable.
In terms of recent acquisitions, while I have owned the acronym CRISPR, that won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, in several extensions including .science for years, I recently added .center and .global versions of the acronym. Not long ago I picked up the aged domain name IdeaOfMine.com - I have a development idea for the phrase. After writing 3 articles on .io, I thought I should finally acquire at least one name in the extension. I now have shawl.io, a short common word with hints of elegance, practicality and protection. I thought the name could work in various technological areas such as security and protection, as well as obvious fashion possibilities. I recently picked up a clearly memorable domain name, memorable.cc!
But overall, I would say I am more a writer and analyst than an investor.
Are there any particular tools or services you use to manage your portfolio or sales?
I use a multi-sheet Numbers spreadsheet, with separate sections for current portfolio, names sold, and expired names. I have a lot of columns, so can sort on name, TLD, creation date, type (1, 2 word or acronym or brandable), expiry date, lander location, where for sale and sale type offer or buy-it-now, asking price, automated appraisals, how much I have invested in the name, etc. At tax time the sold sheet and costs column are a time saver.
For domain names I am considering, I have a second Numbers spreadsheet, this one with a sheet for each extension. On that spreadsheet I use a shorthand for things like how many TLDs the term is registered in, what are similar names that have sold, how many active businesses and organizations listed on OpenCorporates use the term, automated appraisal estimates, shorthand note re what I see in the name, noteworthy sales of similar names, and what I found when I did trademark searches.
Each time I acquire, sell, transfer or renew a domain name, I list it longhand in a big notebook. I know, old-fashioned backup!
When you're not doing domains, what do you enjoy doing?
I love going for long walks, and most days do a vigorous hour or so walk on a route from my home. While COVID interrupted it this year, normally we go tenting at least a week or two each summer or early fall. But our major thing these days is interacting with our three grandchildren, both in person and using Zoom. I read fairly widely in science and technology, as well as in investment. At one time I did more photography and star gazing than I have recently.
How about a favorite type of food. What are some of your go time dishes or kinds of foods?
I am a big fan of pizza and lasagna, and Italian food generally. My late mother made an amazing summer savoury dressing that is a family favourite, now made by several of us over different generations. I have baked pies almost since I can remember. I like to eat them too.
You do an outstanding job with NamesThat.Win, NameTalent.com and the NamePros.com blog. How did you start or become a part of these? What's your balance between writing on these blogs and what has helped you keep them interesting?
Thank you. After I had done a number of posts on a personal domain name blog, and contributed to lots of threads at NamePros, I was approached to see if I would be interested in doing some writing. Having just been through years and years of writing deadlines associated with two editions of a textbook (not in domain names), at first I declined, wanting to feel retired. But a bit later, I decided to write for NameTalent. Then, somewhat later, I did feel confident enough to start writing for the NamePros Blog. I have terribly neglected NameTalent lately, but watch for some new content there soon. I feel very fortunate to be able to write for the incredible NamePros site and community. At NamePros I try to balance different types of articles, so there is something for almost everyone.
We would love to see some of your work. Please share some of your favorite or most popular posts you've written across these blogs with us.
It is hard to choose, but here are some that I feel are good contributions.
NamePros Blog
NameTalent
You've come up with some great topics for your articles, what's your approach to find new topics to write about?
I am a huge fan of tools like
NameBio and
Dofo, and particularly like to write on topics where I see a new way to analyze something. Sometimes my own portfolio questions spawn articles. For example, I was struggling with how to price some recent acquisitions, and wondered how others price in that extension, so did the analysis on
how names in several extensions are priced. Sometimes an idea comes from an item I see on social media. A few posts came directly from a NamePros member suggestion, such as this one on
3-word .com domain sales.
With your background, what do feel you see in domains that the average investor would overlook?
My background in scientific research has helped me use quantitative reasoning, and be conscious of underlying assumptions and biases. I think my editing and evaluation work has helped me stay open-minded and give balance to all sides. I ran a tiny home-based landscape photography side-gig for more than a decade. I think that experience was helpful in bridging creative ideas with what clients actually want. Domain names are more similar than I first realized. I think a lifetime in teaching has helped in the writing and presentation. I hope I successfully apply some of what I learned over the decades in learning environments to my online interactions.
As a Top Member and Contributor of NamePros, you've surely seen a lot. Can you give us a few do's and don'ts for being a part of the community.
I accept that different people have, and appreciate, different styles, and that is what makes the community what it is. But here are my personal thoughts.
- Be respectful, even when it feels like the other person has not been.
- Be understanding, remember you don’t really know what is happening in the life of the people you are interacting with. Don’t make assumptions about motives.
- Be kind. We can all make a difference in the world. That does not mean that you can’t be direct.
- Find the positive, as well as the negative. It is sometimes too easy to focus only on what you disagree about. Try to be balanced in your comments.
- When overwhelmed and emotional, step back. If there is a discussion that frustrates me, I have learned to go for a walk, or sometimes just go to another section of NamePros.
- Be ready to admit you can sometimes be wrong.
- Identify what you can contribute. We all bring expertise and skills - don’t be afraid to share them with the community.
Not just for the new investors, but for the seasoned investors as well. Can you provide us with a few tips on being a better domain investor?
I still consider myself a relatively new investor, but I think i would suggest the following.
- Take advantage of the special expertise that you bring to domain investing. If you know a sector really well, consider that as a major focus. If you are a really linguistic and creative person, consider made-up brandable names. If you are a great negotiator, try to be in position to use that skill.
- Be as quantitative as possible in your analysis. Even though each domain name is unique, and many factors are only approximately known, being quantitative can help you make better choices.
- Set reasonable goals, that include being a better investor each year (and yes, sell more).
- Be reflective. At least once a year, think about each name in your portfolio, as well as broader questions of how different marketplaces, landers, etc. are working for you. Make a list of new things to try or change.
- Keep learning and read and listen to a diverse set of views, but always be responsible for your own decisions. If you seek opinions from others, they should be second opinions, after you have formed your own.
- Go slow and never invest more than you can afford to lose.
- Try not to over-rely on simplistic rules.
- Do domain investing in a way that brings you joy and purpose. If you are constantly frustrated, maybe this is not for you. I really like the inspirational messages you share on Domain Smoke!
- Whenever possible delay an acquisition choice to make sure the next day you feel as positive. Try to convince yourself why you should not acquire a name.
- Have fun. Really.
Is there anything new going on that you would like to share with us?
Right now at NamePros I am urging the community to work together to inform our understanding around questions of how to set a minimum offer. I have a number of linked poll questions. I
urge your readers to participate in the research (all of the polls are linked at bottom of the article). A follow up blog post will share what we have learned by working together. Stay tuned! I am excited.
Anyone would like to thank or give a shout out to?
It is always dangerous to mention specific people. The people at
NamePros, both members and those in administration of the site, have been incredibly supportive and encouraging. I would definitely not be as involved, if at all, in domain investing without that site. I have learned in particular from James Iles, who has written at NamePros Blog for a long time and now writes as well on
his own site. I sometimes say I probably would not have stuck around domain names had it not been for tools like NameBio and Dofo, so huge thanks to those who produce them. I have only got to attend one NamesCon domain conference in person, and the first
TheDomainShow online, so have really liked how
TheDomainSocial, started by Michael Cyger, and now continued by Arif, has brought me into direct contact with various people within our community. I think that is how we first met. I continue to learn much from the many writers and podcasters in the field. Most of all thank you to all the positive, welcoming people within the domain community.
If you enjoyed Bob's interview and want to thank him for sharing with us, please feel free to get in touch with him through Twitter NamePros or through his expert listing below.
Twitter:
@AGreatDomain
NamePros:
Bob Hawkes
Bob Hawkes -
Industry Expert Listing
Some of my favorite names going to auction today are
CasinoChips.com,
cmsl.com,
CoolBranding.com,
HempFlex.com,
TotalGeeks.com,
WorkoutHour.com and
RoomAgain.com. Hope you enjoy Bob and everything he took the time to share with us today. Enjoy the list and have a blessed week out there.
Quote of the Day "When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world." - Harold Kushner
Domain's of the Day:
(Our Favorite Names at Auction Today)
TopVideo.com
CasinoChips.com
CasinoChip.com
cmsl.com
dlto.com
BetterSeed.com
SanitizeNow.com
NodeStar.com
gfaf.com
roja.mx
PetChews.com
pcoj.com
CoolBranding.com
HempFlex.com
TotalGeeks.com
FortuneBlogger.com
WorkoutHour.com
RoomAgain.com
QuietBody.com
LittlePurchase.com
CompleteMate.com
GymDrip.com
Click The Links to Access The Live Auctions & Support Domain Smoke
Daily Drop List
(GoDaddy Auctions Closing Today - Click to Join the Auction)
57955.com (Top name on the board today at $5K, 9 years old)
s666.com (Currently at $4,400)
TopVideo.com (Sold for $4,900 previously, 24 years old)
CasinoChips.com
CasinoChip.com
co-work.com
cmsl.com
ComfortWorld.com
eBookPro.com (Aged 21 years)
dlto.com
BetterSeed.com
ePenny.com
mi88.com
floma.com
SanitizeNow.com (So timely, keep it clean and sanitized)
NodeStar.com
gfaf.com
cbmv.com
PetChews.com (16 years old, sold for $1,700 previously)
WorldCoffeeCafe.com
ResumeCheap.com
pcoj.com
CoolBranding.com (Be Cool with it)
HempFlex.com (Straight flexing)
TotalGeeks.com (Yup, every domainer is a total geek)
Driveimports.com
FocusShop.com
FashionJoint.com
TechPik.com
TruckPilot.com
PassionForPeople.com
BetterGrass.com
FetchedLinks.com
SiteMaximum.com
ReportedSites.com
xpressFunnels.com
BayCoins.com
CleanPools.co (The .com sold for $2,500)
SafeShadow.com
DateVIP.com
CuteHero.com
FortuneBlogger.com
NodeStar.com (At $130+ currently)
GoodYarn.com (12 years old, 1 bidder currently, GoodFabric.com sold for $600)
PianoRent.com
TicketTube.com
SwissYou.com (SwissMe.com sold for $3,900)
cobi.net (23 years old, the .com sold for $3K)
FruityTea.com
MusicResearcher.com
TreeHouseLoans.com
Raymonda.com
VikingCave.com
Summit888.com
ForestReload.com
MindfulnessBar.com
WordShared.com
Ready2Save.com
OpenFilmFestival.com
DefineDose.com
WorkoutHour.com (Get your hour in)
GreenGlance.com
LookingInMine.com
BitPink.com
DetectTime.com
ClearAddiction.com
SportsMorning.com
BrightStrings.com
EarnRing.com
CoastCrow.com
ApprovalLoan.com (Aged 16 years, 1 bidder currently)
911Escrow.com
inOurCase.com
HealingDove.com (This speaks kindness)
TheCoinTalk.com
DollarJuice.com
RoomAgain.com (When it’s time to book a room again, good for a booking app)
GiantProducer.com
QuietBody.com (Shhh! Let the body do the talking)
LittlePurchase.com
CompleteMate.com (The one that has it all)
legalnow.org (The .com sold for $6,600)
GymDrip.com
Strangeinvestor.com (Do you know any?)
CreditCareToday.com
DetectHouse.com
ShadowStage.com
theicelawyer.com
theblockbook.com
HockeyHog.com
Catched Auctions
(Current Catched Auctions - Click to Join the Auction)
roja.mx (Ends Today)
dms.mx
naij.co
HijabNews.co
earning.co
norte.co
studios.xyz
Flippa Auctions
(Current Flippa Auctions - Click to Join the Auction)
ResumesMaker.com (Ends Today)
InsuranceExpense.com
Amazed.com
DietExperts.com
i7d.com
instant.ly
sdc.io
YouAreFired.com
CookingCannabis.com
GrowCBD.com
tattoo.com
MasterCourses.com
Bargain Bucket Domain Names
(GoDaddy Discount Domains with No Bids - Grab them fast, they're Buy Now)
ClubPass.co
CodeVille.co
GetExpert.co (The .com sold for $20K, 6 years old)
AndChill.co (The .com sold for $3,800)
ArtOfCarService.com
crecey.com
AlbertaGardener.com (ArizonaGardener.com sold for $1,100)
LockerToday.com
interactiveCon.com
DepotQuest.com
SavingChanges.com
SpearPay.com
ToddlersLife.com
LeaveYourBest.com
TheBookster.com
LiveBabylon.com
FloorShowcase.com
CutestClub.com (Are you in the club?)
NaturalPurification.com
EducationLifestyle.com
ApronSociety.com (Get together and wear your Apron’s)
intimateAct.com
DreamHouseValues.com
RoosterBrewing.com
ChildSocial.com
GracePsychology.com (Sometimes you just need some grace, 17 years old)
HealthSharp.com
TestedHomes.com
UniquePremium.com
RetroTide.com
BabbleX.com
Vegas1st.com
Upcoming Names to Watch
(Click the link to Watch & Follow the GoDaddy Auction)
fjuj.com
biologyreporter.com
espana.net
mnlg.com
rememberyou.com
apif.com
youloan.com
ikush.com
microzone.com
ADubai.com
TopBase.com
GymFinder.com
icinema.com
fris.com
5031.com
Sponsored Listings
(Click the links below to contact the view the auction or contact the domain owner) Advertising details found here:
Sponsored Listing Info
YOUR AD HERE ---->
Get your domains listed here for exposure on our future newsletters to investors worldwide. You can have them run on specific dates and discounts are available for bulk domain listings.
Names Available For Handreg
(Click through the links to register at GoDaddy.com for just $4.99)
CreativeTonight.com (Get creative with it)
CloudTonight.com
ProjectTonight.com
DrTonight.com (Make it an on call doctor app)
BravoWise.com
AdvancedWise.com
ChampionWise.com (Be the Champ)
EvolutionWise.com
AlpineCast.com
AlpineShow.com
AlpinePal.com
AlpineWiz.com
BeyondMania.com
QuantumMania.com
FunnyMania.com (When the laughing doesn't stop)
BeyondMania.com
WestLocker.com
WestShack.com
WestAnalysis.com
WestBooth.com
NextStepNames.com (Nextttt)
SunDialDomains.com
Handreg of the Day:
AutomaticTree.com
Click to View the Most Recent Lists
(Click to see the most recent lists posted this month)
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