Expiring Domain Auctions 07/22/2022
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Industry Expert Interview With Domain Investor Braden Pollock
We're grateful to have the opportunity to share our exclusive interview with industry expert Braden Pollock. With Braden being a domain investor for over 15+ years, he has a wealth of knowledge that he enjoys sharing with everyone. Braden is an entrepreneur and domain investor that has appeared on countless shows/podcasts, hosted industry conference panels and has invested in 30 companies as an angel investor. He is also the owner of many incredible domains at Legal Brand Domains and the owner of several other businesses.
In his interview you'll get to learn about Braden's background, what it was like when he got started, details about his portfolio, how he grew as an investor after hitting a pivotal turning point in his career, his recent sale of Raven.io for $75K, how he closes big ticket sales with payment plans, his thoughts on what the industry will see in the future and some great tips for investors at any level.
Before we get started.. When I reached out for future interviewees on Twitter a short while back, it was Viktor @viktorthebadguy that suggested getting Braden interviewed here. So a special thanks and shout to you as promised
Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background.
I’m an angel investor (~30 companies so far), entrepreneur and domain investor. I’ve bought and sold a variety of companies and still own a handful of businesses. I’ve always been business-minded, even when I was a kid. I was always hustling. If I wasn’t selling something, I had some sort of venture I was cooking up. I suppose, it’s just always been in my blood.
You've been an active domain investor for over 15+ years and counting. How did you find yourself getting your hands on your first domain and what motivated you to take domain investing seriously?
The first several domains I owned I registered back in the 1990’s. This was way before there was an aftermarket - or before I was aware of one. They were registered for companies of mine at the time - but those domains are long gone now. Unfortunately, I just didn’t see the ultimate value back then.
In the early 2000’s, I started registering lawyer-related domains for clients of my digital marketing company. This is what led me to domain parking and the aftermarket. Eventually I started registering all the good lawyer domains I could think of and putting them on the market. For many years, I focused almost entirely on lawyer names. It wasn’t until the new gTLD’s were about to launch that I pivoted to one-word .coms.
Back in your early days of getting started as an investor, where did you go to learn and educate yourself about domains? Did you ever attend any conferences such as T.R.A.F.F.I.C., DOMAINFest or any others in those days?
My first real exposure to the world of domain investing was at TRAFFIC. I started attending all the TRAFFIC shows, Domainfest and any other domain conference I could find to soak up as much information as possible. I read all the blogs, followed the sales on DNJournal and even subscribed to a couple of print domain investing magazines. (Yes. PRINT!)
The readers love this part of the interview and have been excited to hear what you'll share with us. Can you tell us all about your current portfolio and what type of domains you primarily invest in? How big is your portfolio now? Have you ever partnered with anyone on acquisitions?
I own about 3000 domains with nearly 10% of those being one-word .coms. While my focus is on premium and super premium names, I’m still active in the auctions. Every month a pick up a handful of one-word net, org, io, co, etc.
Do you have an idea of how many domains you've sold since you got started? With the amount of names you’ve sold over the years, did you ever put together any bulk deals? And if so, how did they go down?
Unfortunately, I don’t have good sales records from the early days. And I don’t sell a large volume of names - usually about 30-35 per year at this point. I had more sales early on because they were at a smaller price point. If I was to add my recorded sales from the last 8-10 years and guess at the volume prior to that, I’d probably guess under 1000 total names sold.
About 6 years ago, I sold a company of mine along with a portfolio of ~125 related domains. That’s about the only “bulk” deal I’ve done. I have, however, sold a few bundled deals in the 2-5 domain range. With lawyer names, sometimes we’ll get a buyer that’s willing to buy a package of very specific geo and practice area domains.
Can you share any details about any recent or exciting deals you've closed? How's this year going for you so far compared to last time this year?
Since I announce almost all my sales, I don’t have much I can share with you other than one recent sale. This might already be announced by the time this interview is published. My most recent sale, at the moment, is Raven.io for $75k.
As for overall sales, I’m currently at about twice the dollar volume I was at this time last year. I’m hoping that trend continues.
On the higher end sales, are you a fan of offering payment plans to close a deal? If so, what has your experience been like? Have they all gone smoothly?
Absolutely. If a buyer doesn’t have the cash, I offer payment plans (I currently have several). Sometimes I’ll take an equity stake in the company as well. I try to be creative and work with my buyers as best I can. Usually they work out well. Here are a couple that have gone south: A while back I sold FoodTrucks.com for $250k plus 10% equity but after $57k in payments, the company folded. Several years ago, I sold Parsley.com for $400k and after a 10% deposit, the buyer decided to buy another domain instead. While I prefer to see all my deals come to fruition, I can’t complain too much about the free money.
For an investor at your level, do you find it’s become more difficult to acquire top-tier, premium domains in the more recent years? Has the increased competition or demand for these domains, as an investor, changed your acquisition strategies?
Yes and no. There’s plenty of top-tier inventory on the market. The problem is pricing. I can rarely buy a good domain in the 5-figures anymore. Most of the names I acquire are now in the $200k-$500k range. There are very few good deals anymore. There aren’t many investors buying in this range so it’s less a matter of competition. It’s more a factor of sellers understanding the value of their assets.
Over the years, there has always been something new and shiny that comes around in the domain industry. Did you ever invest in any trends or extensions that didn't go as planned?
For sure! I figure if I don’t fail sometimes, I’m not trying hard enough.
I bought a portfolio of .wine domains when they launched and that was a bust. Same with .lawyer. I spent 6-figures on a portfolio of two and three character .ws names which no one seems to want. I once acquired a small portfolio of .LA names that didn’t work out. I bought LLLL.coms during the bubble and probably a few other endeavors that haven’t turned out well.
Once you became a seasoned investor, was there a sale or a turning point where you saw yourself taking it to the next level?
Back in 2008, I acquired GoldDigger.com and GoldDiggers.com (for a combined $10k) from a guy that was changing the name of his site. The following month I submitted them to the TRAFFIC auction where they sold for $75k. That was the first pivotal sale for me. The next one was during the new gTLD debates. The discussions were all about which new gTLD was going to be the big winner and how they would affect the legacy TLD’s. The general consensus was that nothing could challenge or diminish the value of one word .coms. That’s when I decided to focus my attention on top-tier domains.
Life outside domain investing.. What do you enjoy doing most in your free time?
I spend a lot of time in my gym. I usually exercise twice a day; a cardio warm up in the early morning (usually a 4 mile run) and then weight training later in the day. I recently started playing tennis again and just took up pickleball - so let’s see how that goes. When I’m not home in LA, I’m in Lake Tahoe enjoying all that the lake and mountains have to offer.
If we rolled the clock back to when you first got into domain investing, is there anything you would have done differently?
Absolutely! I would have pivoted from lawyer domains much earlier to focus on premium names. I spent too much time and capital on speculative domain investments. If I would have just focused on the tried and true top-tier .coms, I would be much further along. Although I’m not complaining!
When you think about the future of domain investing, do you have any thoughts about where the industry is headed?
We’re certainly going to see many more new TLD’s launch, not to mention blockchain domains. As the general public continues to learn that a domain doesn’t always end in .com, we’ll see more adoption of alternative extensions. We’ve seen some alternative extensions trend, eventually losing their luster, like .me and .guru, as newer extensions come into favor. That’s particularly true for those that cater to more niche markets such as .io, .xyz, .vc, .gg, .ai, .eth, etc.
For the new or seasoned investors out there reading this interview, can you provide us with a few tips on being a better domain investor?
Don’t jump into brandables unless you understand that sector. The investors that do well by hand-registering made-up words, know what they're doing (I’m not one of them!) These investors maintain databases of root words and keywords. They study current naming conventions and what’s trending. They understand how to prepend and append words to create new, desirable, brandable (and trademarkable) terms. They make it look easy. It’s not. Proceed with caution.
Regardless of the sector you decide to focus on, your annual sell-through-rate (STR) will probably be in the 1%-2% range. And that’s if you’re doing everything right! Keep this in mind so you can calculate your probable revenue and annual holding costs. Be sure you have enough margin (profit) to cover your renewals. The prospect of doubling your money when investing in a domain might sound good but ultimately it won’t pencil out when you factor in your STR and overhead. You make money on the buy side, not the sell side. In other words, don’t overpay when buying inventory. I see far too many auctions end up well into retail pricing territory.
Is there anything new happening that you would like to share with us?
NamesCon! I’m excited to finally get back to seeing all my old friends again. I’ll be moderating as usual and look forward to seeing everyone in Austin.
Anyone you would like to thank or give a shout out to?
For sure. I’d like to thank all the domain bloggers and folks like you that put auction lists together every day. You guys do it because you love the industry, not because you’re making much money. You make the industry better by constantly putting content out there for the rest of us. Thank you!
If you enjoyed Braden's interview and want to thank him for his time, feel free to contact him via Twitter or through his sites below.
Twitter:
@BradenPollock
Braden Pollock - Industry Expert Listing
Websites:
BradenPollock.com &
LegalBrandDomains.com
Quote of the Day "Trust your gut. Forgive yourself. Be grateful." - Cheryl Strayed
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Daily Drop List
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