opinion Hand Registering Domains Is Not Domain Investing

[DN Playbook]

Admittedly, this may be somewhat a sensationalized title. But hand registering is only a bridge or gateway to investing in domains. This article discusses why. What are your thoughts? Looking forward to them. Here is the link to the article:

Hand Registering Domains Is Not Domain Investing

 

[xbank]

this thread waste of time!

 

[DN Playbook]

this thread waste of time!

Thanks for your opinion. Why are you here?

 

[xbank]

@DN Playbook You are welcome, better use your time doing more due diligence on the names than really giving and telling about your past purchases, better work today than praising 20 years back hand reggs, keep in mind some people still doing useless reggs even 20 years back, so the essence is in the domain name not how/when/where you acquired it.

*** Tired of This Thread!! I need a life lol!

 

[DN Playbook]

@DN Playbook You are welcome, better use your time doing more due diligence on the names than really giving and telling about your past purchases, better work today than praising 20 years back hand reggs, keep in mind some people still doing useless reggs even 20 years back, so the essence is in the domain name not how/when/where you acquired it.

*** Tired of This Thread!! I need a life lol!

I can see that you are driven by emotion rather than critical thinking. It may be the result of the few sales you have from your hand reg's. I can tell the excitement in you from the domains your are posting on other threads. However, it is blinding you to the point of this thread. You still think this thread is anti hand reg'ing.

 

[Lord Antares]

OP, what do you think about hand regging only with promos (with a large discount)?

Surely, that is less like gambling and more like an educated guess. With a large enough promo, you don't even need to renew, just make a profit in the first year and maybe renew what you think are the highest quality domains.

I'm thinking of that connect reseller promo for 1-2 dollar .coms for like 50 or 100 domains, can't remember. Surely, when the price becomes low enough, you start seeing it as a wise investment.

 

[rohitgoyal]

Sold approx 1250 hand registered domains till date...

I rest my case...

 

[DN Playbook]

Sold approx 1250 hand registered domains till date...

I rest my case...

That's not investing. That's flipping. I rest my case.

 

[Silentptnr]

That's not investing. That's flipping. I rest my case.

It seems the vehicle doesn't matter in your judgment. Meaning whether stocks, nfts, crypto currency, domain name, tennis shoes, or any collectible/tradable item, if a person buys then sells, it's not investing.

In your opinion, a retirement plan is investing. A penny jar is investing. So long as you don't sell.

I guess I just don't understand your distinction between hand registration and aftermarket domains determining whether a purchase is an investment.

 

[DN Playbook]

It seems the vehicle doesn't matter in your judgment. Meaning whether stocks, nfts, crypto currency, domain name, tennis shoes, or any collectible/tradable item, if a person buys then sells, it's not investing.

In your opinion, a retirement plan is investing. A penny jar is investing. So long as you don't sell.

I guess I just don't understand your distinction between hand registration and aftermarket domains determining whether a purchase is an investment.

If I hand reg a domain today and believe it is valuable and am determined to hang on to it whether it sells or doesn't before it expires, then it can be an investment. If I register a domain today with the plan that if it doesn't sell before it expires I will drop, then I cannot call it an investment. But the decision process must include some real world data or experience to exhibit it's value.

 

[Silentptnr]

If I hand reg a domain today and believe it is valuable and am determined to hang on to it whether it sells or doesn't before it expires, then it can be an investment. If I register a domain today with the plan that if it doesn't sell before it expires I will drop, then I cannot call it an investment. But the decision process must include some real world data or experience to exhibit it's value.

So in stocks, day traders are not investors? In crypto, people that sell because the price drops are not investors?

 

[DN Playbook]

So in stocks, day traders are not investors? In crypto, people that sell because the price drops are not investors?

Day traders are not investors. They are traders. And crypto is so new that people buy into it due mostly to hype. Whether something is an investment or is a short-term money grab or a complete loss doesn't determine whether you are an investor or not. Your can have a mix of investments, quick flips, and many losses. But just because I register asdasadsdas.com doesn't make me an investor. Decisions must be made on real world data, win or lose.

 

[Silentptnr]

Day traders are not investors. They are traders. And crypto is so new that people buy into it due mostly to hype. Whether something is an investment or is a short-term money grab or a complete loss doesn't determine whether you are an investor or not. Your can have a mix of investments, quick flips, and many losses. But just because I register asdasadsdas.com doesn't make me an investor. Decisions must be made on real world data, win or lose.

Real world data is not always reliable. Investing is not a science. If it were, everyone would be millionaires. Education is paramount, but I think there is always an element of luck in investing. I do believe there is a difference between short term investing and long term investing, but both are investing. Bottom line, I do believe hand registering domain names is investing contrary to the post title. If I register a name today and it sells a month later (which really does happen), it was still an investment even though it was gone in a month. I don't decline to sell if the price is right just because I just got the domain. Just so I can call myself an investor. I think your distinction is collector versus investor. A collector invests for appreciation and may or may not ever sell. An investor buys with the intent to sell for a higher price.

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

So the domain that is available in the aftermarket came from where? It was handregged sometime ago right?

 

[DN Playbook]

So the domain that is available in the aftermarket came from where? It was handregged sometime ago right?

OMG [insert hand over face] you are not getting the point of this OP. Please read the thread.

 

[Cocoonbay]

Using the term investing when it comes to domains that have little to no hope of profiting above reg price is dignifying a practice that will break your bank. Yes, you can certainly have domains in your portfolio that can legitimately be investments. Let me reiterate that I am not against hand regs. Just hand regs of domains that are not worth the price of a registration or worth renewing. And I understand that that is somewhat subjective. But just as with other investments, you need to register domains based on reliable information and understanding of the buyer pool.

Your own logic is working against you.

Your metric for what is considered investment appears to be the certainty of profitability.

If a person can hand-reg "domains that have little to no hope of profiting above reg price" and a person can also purchase domains that have little hope of profiting above purchase price, surely the issue cannot be that either approach is inherently unprofitable, but that the quality of the domains purchased in either case.

Even if you make the case, validly, that buying from the aftermarket is likely to result in more quality names, it's also a fact that domains in the aftermarket are typically significantly more expensive than hand-registered ones. That means while a person might sell more from a portfolio of aftermarket domains over time, the profit margins will likely be lower on each sale, compared to a person doing $10 registrations, and making high margins on a lower proportion of sales, especially given that, as others have established, it's possible to get to a high degree of accuracy when selecting hand-reg domains.

 

[DN Playbook]

@Cocoonbay The debate of profit margins from hand-regs versus profits from aftermarket acquisitions is a separate one. Investments are based on available data, the experience of the domainer and intent, IMO. If the domain in the mind of the domainer is not worth hanging on to or develop then it was a gamble. If you don't see value in it, then how can you expect someone else to. The fact is that it is so easy to register many domains, especially with the .99c offers floating around, that one can easily be tempted to register worthless names, not sell any or just a few for a few bucks, then give up feeling that domaining is a waste of time. There has to be thought involved, irregardless of quick profits. But just saying "I registered a bunch of new names, therefore I am a domain investor" is fooling yourself, IMO. There is more involved than just simply reg'ing a domain.

 

[FolioTeam]

I think investing, in this space and in other fields for that matter, means different things to different people. There's no one-size-fits all definition here. That's why we have different types of investments based on time and risk. Trying to pigeon hole investing and investments into one meaning goes against reality.

For me, investing (after you take away all the fanfare and noise) is all about the bottom line which is profit. It's about getting more than what you put in.

It doesn't matter if that profit comes a day after or 10 years down the line. As long as you are moving forward with more wins than loses, that's all that really matters. This is irrespective of whether you are investing in hand regs or aftermarket domains.

 

[HotKey]

@Cocoonbay The debate of profit margins from hand-regs versus profits from aftermarket acquisitions is a separate one. Investments are based on available data, the experience of the domainer and intent, IMO. If the domain in the mind of the domainer is not worth hanging on to or develop then it was a gamble. If you don't see value in it, then how can you expect someone else to. The fact is that it is so easy to register many domains, especially with the .99c offers floating around, that one can easily be tempted to register worthless names, not sell any or just a few for a few bucks, then give up feeling that domaining is a waste of time. There has to be thought involved, irregardless of quick profits. But just saying "I registered a bunch of new names, therefore I am a domain investor" is fooling yourself, IMO. There is more involved than just simply reg'ing a domain.

I get what you're saying, but I think you're quantifying domain investing with initial domain worth. Regardless of whether someone chooses how quick to drop or how cheap the domain was acquired for shouldn't really determine whether or not it was an investment. Really, even if one acquired the domain for free it could still be considered an investment.. even time put into it is something of an investment.

Most this stuff can get worn down to the point of the apples and oranges idiom unless we choose to consider that investing is investing, whether it be via time money or both or how much of it and the path taken to get to it. Proper diligence is always the better path, but it doesn't necessarily negate the trail-blazers whom look to the unknown. Even with a map, there's always unforeseen circumstances.

I am for smart hand-registration investments, not influenced by spur of the moment cheap registrar offerings. But if price was a determinant in that hand-reg, does it remove the investment factor? What does that say for registry premium pricing? Are we just going to assume that they know value from the get-go?

 

[DeniseDahmer]

You can build a great portfolio without chasing the masses in auctions. Extensions like .org and .me and newer extensions still provide opportunity. Two word .coms you can still find decent ones that got dropped. Of course if you have the luxury you can skip the grind and pay 25000 for a six to seven figure name but if you don’t have a lot of capital grinding for four and five figure gems is a viable strategy.

 

[Atone]

Just my experience only ,last four sales all hand regs 3 at Brandbucket one with Alter . 8270 USD highest sale from a small amount of 34 names at BB. So me personally I have a soft spot for the hand reg and for a hobby I am happy with my progress so far . Cheers. But didn't I register some crap at the start yes indeed I did .

 

[Atone]

I forgot to mention just waiting for payment from BB for a misspelt hand reg double no no in some circles I will post in completed sales when finalised.

 

[DN Playbook]

@Atone

That is fantastic. What is your criteria for hand registering invented brandable names?

 

[Reallybigidea.com]

all aftermarket dotcom domains are handregs

 

[Atone]

@Atone

That is fantastic. What is your criteria for hand registering invented brandable names?

Hi just believing in your own judgement ie not asking for others opinions, I like Alliteration and I try not to add names in a saturated situation ie try and get on first page somewhere at the start not buried 15 pages deep competing with 1000 other similar names.

@Atone

That is fantastic. What is your criteria for hand registering invented brandable names?

@Atone

That is fantastic. What is your criteria for hand registering invented brandable names?

 

[F.E.]

To be completely honest, I haven't read your whole article (read two paragraphs) and only title (it's like those clickbaits from bbc and others) that drove me here, and would like to argue against "hand registering is not investing" title.

Here's a definition of investing, by Investopedia:
"Investing is the act of allocating resources, usually money, with the expectation of generating an income or profit."

Which clearly states "with the expectation of generating an income or profit". So if you believe that you're investor because spending more money than majority of new domainers, you're wrong.

For example, I just hand registered over 10k in various ngTLDs - .tech being major with 2k hand regs, and spent over $92k in total.

I have already covered my .tech registrations by selling 3 .tech domains, and already in process of negotiating 2 more. All inbound.

Now, a whole point of this title feels like devaluing low budget domainers, why? Because you've been lucky enough to move from that point? Nah.

Hand registering one single .com is still investment, same as buying one valuable .com. It's just different type of risk-taking.

p.s. investing is speculation, gambling and so on. Who can guarantee you that your domain will still worth the same as you paid for 2 years ago? This is nice debate to run, but probably a wrong title and whole POV from OP's side.