Hand registering domains is a mugs game - Here's why

[kaz2]

Hi all. I've been thinking abut the subject of hand registrations for a few days now. I was an avid hand registering fan up until about 2 weeks ago when I had a kind of epiphany.

I had been searching for ours on end for the elusive "gem" of a hand register...if, like me, you do just hand registering you will know the feeling of frustration as, time and time again, you find all the decent names are gone.

Eventually you end up registering anything just to feel that the fruits of your labour are worth something right? And hey, it's only $10. Problem is those ten dollars soon rack up...

What happened with me was that I was about to hand register another "gem" I had spent hours searching for. My plan was to put up a simple landing page stating that the domain was for sale. The idea was that people would find the domain through direct navigation as SEO was a non-starter.

I then suddenly realised that, if there were people searching for this "gem" I just registered, then it would have been taken ages ago (unless it had only recently dropped).

I know this may seem obvious to some of you but, for me, it was a sobering moment to realise that the 50 or so domains I have hand registered are useless unless I develop them. The clincher was that I realised that over 18 months I have not had a single offer for one of my hand reg domains.

As a result of this I have decided to start mining the drops instead as you may have a slim chance of picking up something decent that other people actually want. Think of it - 10 useless hand reg domains = $100. With that $100 you could catch 2 or 3 good names on the drop and have a decent chance of selling them.

Thoughts of experienced domainers are appreciated but what I really just want to say is:

Hand registration is a mug's game.

 

[tomcarl]

Up until about a year ago I sold nothing but handregs. Many in low - mid $xxx range.

The problem isn't that Handregs are valueless, there are many that have value or will have value, you're just registering the wrong ones. A lot of new domainers (including myself when I first started) become so used to seeing every name they think of taken, that when they actually come across one that isn't "half-bad" and it actually makes sense, they think they found a gem, but the problem is a domain that isn't half bad or just makes sense doesn't mean it's worth money.

It has to make sense + have established websites already using those exact keywords or using keywords that are highly related. The money in handregs is to foresee future trends. The moment you hear about something hot coming out in the news, on a tech blog, see what's available.

The reality is you probably won't find any valuable handregs in established industries, but new things are being invented every day, new concepts are thought of every second and new services become viral from one day to the next. Once you can get a grasp on absorbing the right information then your handregs will be worthwhile, but if you're not willing to do that then checking droplists will be your best bet, even then you're competing with a lot of other people that will quickly snatch-up the obviously good names before you even check the WHOIS to see if it's still available.

Domaining is a bit more complex than people think, acquiring the right domains is a gift as much as a skill, it takes a "sense" that you'll pick-up over time. It's not as simple as Buy, park and sell. (Maybe for others, but not for me anyway).

A great skill is seeing value in what others don't see, there's many gold nuggets being passed on by those simply looking for the shiny stuff, sometimes you have the clean off the dirt (do your research) and you may find a gem. I sometimes list domains on eBay/NP with $20 - $50 bins that don't get a second look, I then go out and sell them myself to end users for $250+ within a couple of days.

Start reading tech blogs, business blogs, even things like forbes, and see what's available relating to new business and services, OR check the available domains threads in the forums, I flipped a few from there for $xxx in the past.

G'luck

 

[nomen]

I've never heard of a domain that wasn't hand reg'd (registry premiums excluded). This would be my two cents.

 

[Mr.Natwarlal]

I have exactly opposite story.. I never bought any domain other than hand reg (one exception of $1). I sold 4/5 of it for good value which not only covered my reg cost but got $X,XXX profit for me during whole previous year (my first year of domaining & on NP too)..

So I think Hand reg is not worthless at all, three things can fill your pocket even if it's hand reg. Basically You just have to join these three things..

• Domain
• Right Buyer
• Right Time

By the way this is my 750 th post here on NP and I am now eligible for VIP badge NP will give me that as a New year Gift exactly on 31 st December

 

[onebrand.co]

Well, as the saying goes always remember a few things:

- A few good domains are better than a load of not so good ones
- What's good to you may not be to others
- How much a domain is worth depends on the the seller and buyer
- Even if you do not call businesses, you can try to email them
- Spend a little on advertising or marketing, etc

At the end of the day, if you do your due diligence, nature will take it's course (unless your domain name is really really bad like, for example, "idonotknowwhatdomainiamselling.com")

Cheers and Merry Christmas!

 

[HiTechBiniou]

Hand registered domain are good only for new trends like drone for example that have been around now for few years.
I also find "new" words with Google Alerts.
You have a website of a niche that you really know and master so you put up several Google Alerts and those alerts will often brings new "words" or expressions that you can hand register for future.

 

[Domainzy]

Saying: hand registered domains are worthless is completely inaccurate
Saying: drop domains are worth more than hand regs is completely inaccurate.

Its all about the name, timing and or traffic. Not about how old the domain is.

When people say this domain is 15 years old!!! I always think, so in 15 years no one has started a successful business using that name. But once again, its all about the name/timing/traffic and the effort to sell/develop. Not how old it is.

 

[disaac81]

All great domain names started with a hand-reg. I agree with what you say however mostly, apart from emerging techs that you may be lucky enough to grab before others. Remember also, a name is worth nothing to most people, but might be worth a huge amount to some.

 

[Domainzy]

Great names: (hand reg or from drops)

Gets traffic
Gets clicks
Gets offers

Things you can't know until you register. I renew only names that pay for them selves, Even if i don't get offers.

And of course, if a brandable marketplace is willing to accept the name and make a logo for it.

 

[gilescoley]

NOT TRUE AT ALL!

Look how few responses there are there....not a lot considering how may names are registered every day. If you check you will also notice a lot of those names are drops/expired names so not really hand-regged names

Im not saying its impossible, just a lot harder than buying aftermarket/expired/ names. I have tried and I know a lot of the experienced domainers on here have as well at some stage, and its really not worth the time and effort. You are better off paying a little more and buy a name of the exiting owner. Research end-users before you buy the name as well, that helps a lot

When I say they wont sell themselves, I mean you wont get end-users come banging your door down. In my mind, listing the names at Sedo, Afternic, Godaddy, domain forums etc...and selling them to a fellow domainer is not really "selling themselves"

Try hand-regging a name, then just sit on it and see how long it takes to sell. It does happen though. I regged CloudPros.com and sold it $8K, I wish there were more hand-reg sales like that

Well dont to the guys who are flipping hand-reg names

 

[HiTechBiniou]

Hey funny enough, I just hand reg two great drone domains today!

dronedriven.com was taken !!!

BUT

dronedrivenvideo.com
AND
dronedrivenvideos.com

WHERE NOT TAKEN!

Strange @bretttina didn't see that one!

Do you think I was lucky?

Well I do...

 

[Loro]

The solution... Don't hand reg useless names! I've sold dozens of hand-regged domains for $xxx. It simply depends on how good you are at finding great names and finding people to buy them.

 

[snailman]

I sold a $1 hand regged domain for high xxxx within 11 months. And it is my fault I didn't get very low xxxxx

 

[alien51]

The solution... Don't hand reg useless names!

The problem usually, is that they would not know they are useless names until after 5 years of paying renewal fees and the names remain unsold. LOL

 

[JudgeMind]

Hi JudgeMind, I've been reading alot of your posts over the past few months so honoured you are replying here! I am interested to see that all the had regs you have listed appear to be brandables. Are you able to say what marketplace you listed them on and did you do any promotionfor them?

I list at Brand Bucket and Namerific, so far BB has proven to be the best marketplace, at least for my names. I do not do any self promotion.

 

[bretttina]

Hey funny enough, I just hand reg two great drone domains today!

dronedriven.com was taken !!!

BUT

dronedrivenvideo.com
AND
dronedrivenvideos.com

WHERE NOT TAKEN!

Strange @bretttina didn't see that one!

Do you think I was lucky?

Well I do...

There's a reason why i didn't see them

 

[Banezer]

will advice you to visit expireddomains.net or other drop site, there you can find a decent name to reg. Than cracking ur skull

 

[ImageAuthors]

It never ceases to amaze me ...

The typical domainer will begin by focusing on hand-registering new stuff.

Later he may focus on the drops or pre-release expired domains through large platforms.

And I keep hearing the debate framed as if it's an Either / or proposition.

Why the massive blind spot -- in a domain forum of all places? The idea of buying domains from other domainers in the forum is almost ignored. As if the only source of domains is a hand-registration or a drop!

Everybody in this forum has stuff they're trying to sell, and they buy domains incessantly. Yet they rarely buy from each other!

 

[tomcarl]

I think the argument to that is obvious. If you were a used car dealership, do you go to other dealerships in the area to buy vehicles for your lot?

But I can see a your point, there are exceptions to every rule but I think unless a domainer is liquidating a great domain in need of some quick cash (which doesn't seem to happen that often) there just isn't much profit to made.

Touches on the point I made myself, people want only what's obviously sellable. I regularly list domains on a few marketplaces at mid $xx that I end up selling to an end user for $xxx+ because it didn't sell fast enough for me. They don't do research to uncover the potential behind a lot of domains, and as much as I like giving back to the community and helping out, there's so much info you can give before you are holding someones hands through the process of being a competitor, might as well invest that time into selling it yourself.

 

[forge]

Why the massive blind spot -- in a domain forum of all places? The idea of buying domains from other domainers in the forum is almost ignored. As if the only source of domains is a hand-registration or a drop!

Everybody in this forum has stuff they're trying to sell, and they buy domains incessantly. Yet they rarely buy from each other!

Most likely because the prices asked or the prices expected are typically ludicrous, from a reseller perspective. The NP "Wanted" thread is a pit of despair.

 

[ImageAuthors]

Most likely because the prices asked or the prices expected are typically ludicrous, from a reseller perspective. The NP "Wanted" thread is a pit of despair.

True enough. There are some difficulties. But so few people in the forums even try to buy from one another.

My hunch is that fewer than 20% of members have ever bought from another member. And fewer than 5% of people do more than 20% of their domain buying from other domainers.

 

[HiTechBiniou]

There's a reason why i didn't see them

Care to share that reason please?

 

[Domainace]

Everybody in this forum has stuff they're trying to sell, and they buy domains incessantly. Yet they rarely buy from each other!

The case often made is that these domains on the forum have already been through the sales mill. Lots of eyes have seen them, and nobody wanted them. So they are less likely to ever actually be sold.
And I'm just talking about the decent names, not the 98% of them that are just rubbish names.

That said, I have turned some nice deals here - and it's always more fun to sell an end-user a domain that no other domainers wanted, even for $1. I know... It's a cheap thrill

Some very successful domainers who are just looking to keep cash flow going and cut down inventory are good sources. They know that some will sell, but don't know which ones, and can't afford to keep them all. Sometimes you can even sell these back to the same person you bought them from if they get an offer from an old lead.

Others good deals are from less committed or newer domainers. They have a lot of bad domains, but a few decent ones mixed. Their problem is they don't know which is which. They may dump a domain that hasn't sold in one year, even though it's got great future potential in a market that hasn't quite developed enough. All they had to do was wait. Or maybe they are flippers, but the domains they choose are not good flipping domains. They simply require patience.

Still, I can't see buying 20% from other domainers. Their price expectations are usually not in line for that. Oddly enough, whenever domains for sale here are titled as "priced to sell fast" (or some variation of that), they are almost always way overpriced. The best deals speak for themselves.

 

[Maxwell]

I don't think it's a mug's game at all.

IMO If you haven't received an offer in 18 months with 50 or so domains, then the real epiphany should be that you might not be very good at registering domains. If you invest in new tech and search droplists, and have a good eye for what's good and what is not, then you will eventually receive inquiries.

The higher quantity of decent quality handregs you have, the higher chance of a sale. The way to do it is to buy, say around 20 for $1-$3 each (with GD coupons), you definitely shouldn't be buying at $10. Then if you sell even just one for $xxx then you've already recouped your investment for every domain and made a profit.

At the start of my domaining career I bought about $150 worth of handregs, with GD coupons this got me about 60-70 domains. I sold only a few of them in the first 6 months, but it was a success because they sold for great prices, one of them over $2,200. Definitely not a mug's game.

Eventually you end up registering anything just to feel that the fruits of your labour are worth something right?

This is one thing that is very true though, I believe this is a huge reason many people register worthless domains. People feel like registering domains and will have a little search session, not find anything special at all, then register the best of what they found. I know for a fact this is a common reason why newbies register so many bad domains.

If I can't find any domains that I think have enough potential to sell, then I don't buy. This is key to having a "potent" portfolio.

 

[David Wells]

Hey funny enough, I just hand reg two great drone domains today!

dronedriven.com was taken !!!

BUT

dronedrivenvideo.com
AND
dronedrivenvideos.com

WHERE NOT TAKEN!

--

I see this post was a couple years back, curious if these domains sold yet?

 

[HiTechBiniou]

Nope! Nerver get to sell those two domain names.
And as a matter of fact, they are available right now if you want to register them...
Good luck selling them.