Enough with the appraisals already!

[DomainBuyerBroker]

I may be just speaking for myself but can we PLEASE give the constant supply of appraisal threads a rest?

I see one crappy hand reg after another with the owner looking for some validation by his/her peers here.

Here's my blanket appraisal on hand regs...If you can hand reg it, it's probably crap.

Do you think you are the first one to discover this "gem" just sitting there? NO.

Many others have probably seen it sitting there FOR YEARS. Remember people .tv is not new. People could have registered that "gem" back in 2001 but they didn't. Why? Because it's not worth the reg fee.

Now just so this post is not purely my rant against hand reg appraisals, I would like to offer some advice:

Find about one dozen domains that you would LOVE to own. I mean really LOVE to own. You would be passionate about developing them or think that you can sell them for a quick profit or hold for long term appreciation.

Now, go after those dozen names. Contact the owners. See if you can work out a payment deal or buy 51% of the name or something. You might be surprised and find a REAL gem for $1000 or maybe even $2000. Now you have a quality name that other people will want.

In life it's usually quality over quantity. In the high reg fee world of .tv domains it's definitely QUALITY OVER QUANTITY.

Whew. Thanks for listening.

Unfriendly comments are welcome

 

[verbster]

A hand reg domain to me is. You come up with an idea in your head, you type in a domain at a registrar, It's available, you reg it. That's a hand reg! Does this make the domain instantly worth $1,000. I would say maybe to you, but nobody else.

You've opened up the gates now....Bet there will be hundreds of testimonials about names searched, reg'd on the spot and sold later for $xxx and higher....I know I've done (and do) that on a regular basis.

Even if they sell for $xx, that's pretty good crap when it means NewCastle Ale instead Bob's generic brew!

 

[sags]

One thing I have learned the hard way, is that a person should never post on an appraisal thread, unless they don't mind it turning up in a Google search with comments like "reg fee" or "less than reg fee" at some later point. Once it is "out there", you can't get it back and it is hard to sell a domain to someone for a decent amount if an old appraisal thread berates the domain name. If a hand regged domain name is a combination of words, as all are these days, it may show up as the first entry on Google. There it is for all the world to see..................with all the negative appraisals.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

sags,

VERY good advice.

 

[gazzip]

For sure Sags, it can be a very big negative ! One of the reasons I very rarely ask for an appraisal anymore


.

 

[Domainate.com]

Honestly, the appraisals section loses its luster when you've been in this biz for a while and pretty much know the value of names...it's nice to get others' opinions on names, but often times it can be people who don't understand the market of the name or whatever and their appraisal is way off. I've had a name appraised at "high $xx unless developed" by the majority of responders sell for over $2,000, and honestly it didn't take a rocket scientist to see the value in the name!

That said, I also don't really go there much anymore and give thoughts on people's names. I get enough PMs as it is from people asking for opinions on names, but I do agree that it seems like most people posting in Appraisals don't read any of the other threads, and even though their name is obviously about as bad as the rest, they think it's magically worth more. I'm especially not too fond of appraisals of low-end LLLLs because they're generally worth low $xx at best and yet there's about a million of them in appraisals...it's like "uhhh...look at the thread below yours, kthx!"

I can't argue that hand reg's never are worth anything. I built up my portfolio based on making nicely profitable sales on hand-regs and then moving up the ladder. I'll still look now and then for good ones. I just got an email this morning on a hand reg from about a year and a half ago, and I won't be surprised if I can get low $x,xxx for it. So yea, now and then gems can be found available (usually expired names of course), but my issue would be that while people can learn by getting appraisals on their name, they can learn even more by reading many of the other appraisal threads, and I think a lot of people posting their so-so names in there simply aren't doing that.

 

[stscac]

Its for the new ones to try and get an idea of how much their names are worth.

Like NT said, it loses it's "usability" for the experienced members

-Steve

 

[kwan]

I can understand your frustration but I'll tell you how it is from a beginners point of view. I came to NP almost a year ago today (I can tell because I'm getting my first ever renewal notices) trying to learn about domaining. I soon learned it's not like any other "hobby" because there's money involved. People are reluctant to give you advice and the only way I knew if a name was worth anything is if a senior member would ask about it in a PM while my appraisal thread stayed empty.

The only way for me to learn was to hand reg a bunch of crap and play with those names in parking, auctions, developing, etc. All in all it cost me about $1,000 for just over 100 names and I was lucky enough to get that much back from 1 or 2 lucky sales.

In the last year I finally learned enough (I hope) to indeed start looking for high priced names to buy for resell or to develop. No way was I able to do that without the past years experience. And I wouldn't have learned that from just one wrong $1,000 purchase.

 

[Sam]

How about this . I have paid for around 10 domains in my life. ALL the rest were hand regges. Very nice ROI so far from them.

 

[-REECE-]

I'm always on the lookout for "the next big thing". Who'd have thought wiki.com -- regged well after what my limited thinking at the time considered gems, would ever fetch so much?

I have no clue what the next wiki.com will be, but if I think I've found it, you can bet that I'll drop a reg fee on it!

That being said, some (okay, MOST) of the stuff being asked for appraisals on is garbage. Most of them are new to domaining though, so I don't hold it against them. I've been trying to answer an appraisal or two a week, just to help the new people out. Sadly, most of them have very distorted views of what domains are worth, however, it's always nice to help someone start their domaining adventures, knowing full-well what they're getting involved in

 

[htmlindex]

I may be just speaking for myself but can we PLEASE give the constant supply of appraisal threads a rest?

Well, if you don't want to see them, just don't visit the Domain Appraisals section, simple solution

Here's my blanket appraisal on hand regs...If you can hand reg it, it's probably crap.

I would have to disagree, there are still names available that can be hand regged that do have some sort of value, you just have to search harder & be a lot more picky on what you reg

 

[markmiddleton]

The Appraisals Thread, should be switched to the "What I Sold Thread". I think you might get a better idea of current prices for a compairable domain, without asking.

Personally I love this idea, let people have a little leeway to advertise similar names they own and you have a winner.

All boards should have a 'what I sold forum' and if we are very lucky, some small snippets about 'how I sold it' .

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

I can understand your frustration but I'll tell you how it is from a beginners point of view. I came to NP almost a year ago today (I can tell because I'm getting my first ever renewal notices) trying to learn about domaining. I soon learned it's not like any other "hobby" because there's money involved. People are reluctant to give you advice and the only way I knew if a name was worth anything is if a senior member would ask about it in a PM while my appraisal thread stayed empty.

The only way for me to learn was to hand reg a bunch of crap and play with those names in parking, auctions, developing, etc. All in all it cost me about $1,000 for just over 100 names and I was lucky enough to get that much back from 1 or 2 lucky sales.

In the last year I finally learned enough (I hope) to indeed start looking for high priced names to buy for resell or to develop. No way was I able to do that without the past years experience. And I wouldn't have learned that from just one wrong $1,000 purchase.

Congrats on the success of your "hobby".

I started this thread to sort of protest against all the .tv appraisals and my comment about hand regs being crap is specifically directed to .tv hand regs.

This post was moved out of the .tv forum, why I do not understand.

So, I'm not against hand regs and speculation at all. I just get bothered when there when someone picks up a crappy .tv domain and asks for yet another appraisal.

 

[Michelle]

. I just get bothered when there when someone picks up a crappy .tv domain and asks for yet another appraisal.

Thats where a community comes in. Feeling they can ask again and again respected members to help them learn domaining so that one day.. they dont reg crap

 

[Ronald Regging]

My first domain sale was a hand regged domain that I sold within a week for $500. All of the domains in my sig are hand regs and I'm quite fond of them. I have probably sold about 30+ hand regged domains in the past year ranging from $xx to mid $xxx. Some I pick up for quick flips, others I market to end-users.

Unfortunately I'm not really able to reinvest my earnings (need money for real life stuff), so I haven't been able to really move up in the domaining ranks so to speak. For people with a limited budget and a passion for domains, hand regs are where it's at. Sure its tiresome and you might only find 1-2 decent domains to register a week, but the key is learning what people are looking for and being able to make sales. If you can flip a hand reg domain in a day (which I've done), and make 4x your cost, it's a good deal any way you look at it. If you pick up something thats particularly nice, then you hold it until you get some decent offers.

Not everyone has the money to go out and invest thousands of dollars in domains, so you shouldn't be so quick to judge someone's knowledge and ability as a domainer based on this criteria. Sure if I didn't have to worry about real life money and could have reinvested, I'd probably have bought a bunch of domains by now, but would they be much better than the ones I already have? With only a couple grand to invest, probably not.

Also as an example of what you can find on a hand reg even though it saddens me to this very day... I managed to (fresh) register a person's name last June, who then ended up being involved in one of the biggest news stories of this year. Unfortunately when I had the domain, it got next to no traffic and I sold it for next to no dollars
But I imagine the owner probably made several grand off it in PPC. And to be honest, I'm not too disappointed, because it taught me that there are gems out there and that every new day brings new opportunities.

 

[markmiddleton]

A hand reg domain to me is. You come up with an idea in your head, you type in a domain at a registrar, It's available, you reg it. That's a hand reg! Does this make the domain instantly worth $1,000. I would say maybe to you, but nobody else.

I felt this needed a response also:

Not to the educated, that kind of thinking to try and find a decent name is ridiculous. Instead, they use google adwords, wordtracker, ovt, sedo prices, research, rl experience, namebio prices, (yes I love that site, keep developing!), google search results, knowledge of the industry and practical experience to pick domain names; among many other factors, here are a few of mine to balance:
http://www.namepros.com/domain-name...heory-of-two-word-domains.html?highlight=word

Their gut feeling only comes into play after all of that, at least in my purchases nowadays.

People who are investing more serious money in their purchases, shouldn’t be lumped into this category either, I wouldn’t say I am up there yet but I’ve put around 5k into domains thus far and although I’ve taken some out, most of its tied up in names. I plan to put about the same in over the next two or three months. (Thus far a few .com purchases and around 500 new names).

 

[texasspecial]

I started here in February, a complete noob. My first few posts to the appraisal thread netted no responses. But by reading the other threads, I get a quick education in methods of valuating a domain. In that respect, it's VERY helpful. Agree or disagree with the appraisals, but thanks to those who are good enough to offer a figure or say the domain is worth nothing, but maybe if you develop it...

The challenge is keeping the thread strictly to appraisals. I've seen a lot of them degenerate into discussions about names and/or arguments why the poster thinks their domain is worth more than it was appraised.

Also, from what I've seen, you can analyze a domain up, down and sideways, but until the money hits your bank or Pay Pal account, there's no way of knowing what it's actually worth. I've watched auctions where names have gone for $x,xxx where I'd think they'd go for $xx, and vice versa.

Are people looking for affirmation? Perhaps. Frankly, the best service the appraisal thread gives might be as a reality check.

Oh, and I'm still at least 3/4 noob.

The world is coming here. MONDODOMAINS.COM

 

[htmlindex]

I started this thread to sort of protest against all the .tv appraisals and my comment about hand regs being crap is specifically directed to .tv hand regs.

This post was moved out of the .tv forum, why I do not understand.

Even if you're talking about .tv, I still believe that there are decent names available to be hand regged, just got to look at 2 word names, instead of 1 word names

 

[sirengirl]

The cynical viewpoint of the poster is quite apparent from the first sentence. but just like the channel on your TV if you don't like it, or don't want to see it don't turn it on, just flip that dial! We all start somewhere, and I admit I now cringe when I see a cut and paste of an appraisal done on Leapfish. Hand reges are often drops, or domain owners who forget to renew sometimes excellent names, with backlinks, page rank and the like. Your name exclusively.tv many would concur isint very good becuase it's hard to spell, but it dosent mean it's a crappy name. Name pros as a community has a appraisal sections to help one another, even if it means an affirmation. This also means the person asking for an appraisal shouldnt get defensive if someone says its worth pennies. It's all subjective.

Lighten up and climb a tree! :cy:

 

[TheBulldog]

Even if you're talking about .tv, I still believe that there are decent names available to be hand regged, just got to look at 2 word names, instead of 1 word names

Even that I would disagree with... If you look in the tv section you will find people daily registering one word keyword domains and explaining why and what they will be developed into. Some words have extremely high search responses, and no one has even touched them yet.....take a look around.

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

sirengirl,

Good post. You say "Name pros as a community has a appraisal sections to help one another, even if it means an affirmation."

However, there is no appraisal section in the .tv forum so at least half the posts are appraisals. Now if people posted or requested ideas for development, that's a different story.

I just hate to see money wasted on pure speculation. People expect to hand reg a name and then get an appraisal for $1000 or something.

Unless the "appraiser" is going to follow his/her appraisal with an offer of a similar amount, appraisals are a waste of space.

They should have their own section.