HYPHENATED .COM domains are BACK IN FASHION!

[Rob Monster]

Just sold sushi-man.com from an Epik SSL lander for $4200. This is one of Epik's O&O domains. I don't normally report sales but these days we are routinely asking for $10K+ for good hyphen .COM names and seeing sincere engagement.

The great gTLD experiment has been run. I now routinely sell even ccTLD registrants are upgrading from their ccTLD to .COM if they can afford it. I was late to acknowledge it but the risk-reward equation for speculators overwhelmingly favors .COM.

When it comes to hyphenated .COM, SEO is your friend. I recommend to use SSL landers but any SEO lander will probably do the trick to drive inquiries.

 

[NickB]

This shows how to set capitalization. It wasn't obvious to me either at first.
https://www.epik.com/support/knowledgebase/adding-or-modifying-domain-transform-and-keywords/

Great help Bob - thanks for that, was wandering how to do this

 

[The Durfer]

hyphenated has to make sense, ie, Coca-Cola is better than CocaCola but Pep-siCo isn't better than PepsiCo.

case closed.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Am I the only one surprised that four people actually voted for the last option "Nah, .com is toxic sludge?" Now I can understand seeing opportunities in other extensions, new or country code or even other legacy options, but seeing .com as toxic sludge seems to me, well, a little bit harsh perhaps?

Re hyphens, totally agree that it has to make sense. I think the strongest case is when the word is often spelled with a hyphen in writing. That is followed by cases where strictly speaking the hyphen should be used because it is a compound adjective (which I am slowly learning for the first time now that I write for the NamePros Blog. Most people do not follow these rules in their writing, but given that grammatically correct domain names have an advantage I would give more weight to hyphens that strictly speaking are correct according to the expression. And of course they have value when the word is very high value, even with a hyphen, or the market for the name is mainly Germany and some nearby countries where they are desired.

One final comment. @namemarket above makes the good comment that the case for hyphens as word dividers to aid in search was important ten years ago when Google search was different, but that case is now absent. That is an important point, as is his comment re radio test. However, there may be one additional factor that makes hyphens still relevant and that is that now branding is more visual than it was 10+ years ago (I think), and in some cases the hyphen can help visual use by making the independent words stand out. Also they can clarify the meaning clear as many words could be split in different ways.

By the way I did some research to add to my earlier stats re hyphens, but will keep you waiting on the edge of your seats until I double check the numbers and write it up.

Bob
(AKA I can't believe he only owns one hyphenated-domain )

 

[NickB]

Am I the only one surprised that four people actually voted for the last option "Nah, .com is toxic sludge?" Now I can understand seeing opportunities in other extensions, new or country code or even other legacy options, but seeing .com as toxic sludge seems to me, well, a little bit harsh perhaps?
(AKA I can't believe he only owns one hyphenated domain name )

I think (hope) they are on a wind up!! Don't give them any ammunition

 

[bmugford]

Am I the only one surprised that four people actually voted for the last option "Nah, .com is toxic sludge?" Now I can understand seeing opportunities in other extensions, new or country code or even other legacy options, but seeing .com as toxic sludge seems to me, well, a little bit harsh perhaps?

That is just some people trolling.

Brad

 

[equity78]

That is just some people trolling.

Brad

Yeah I have run so many polls over the years on blogs and here, and you purposely put the absurd option sometimes and there are always some who pick it. At least this one is public voting so you can see who said .com was toxic sludge.

 

[equity78]

Am I the only one surprised that four people actually voted for the last option "Nah, .com is toxic sludge?" Now I can understand seeing opportunities in other extensions, new or country code or even other legacy options, but seeing .com as toxic sludge seems to me, well, a little bit harsh perhaps?

Re hyphens, totally agree that it has to make sense. I think the strongest case is when the word is often spelled with a hyphen in writing. That is followed by cases where strictly speaking the hyphen should be used because it is a compound adjective (which I am slowly learning for the first time now that I write for the NamePros Blog. Most people do not follow these rules in their writing, but given that grammatically correct domain names have an advantage I would give more weight to hyphens that strictly speaking are correct according to the expression. And of course they have value when the word is very high value, even with a hyphen, or the market for the name is mainly Germany and some nearby countries where they are desired.

One final comment. @namemarket above makes the good comment that the case for hyphens as word dividers to aid in search was important ten years ago when Google search was different, but that case is now absent. That is an important point, as is his comment re radio test. However, there may be one additional factor that makes hyphens still relevant and that is that now branding is more visual than it was 10+ years ago (I think), and in some cases the hyphen can help visual use by making the independent words stand out. Also they can clarify the meaning clear as many words could be split in different ways.

By the way I did some research to add to my earlier stats re hyphens, but will keep you waiting on the edge of your seats until I double check the numbers and write it up.

Bob
(AKA I can't believe he only owns one hyphenated-domain )

I only one and it's a word that many times is written with a - start-ups.org.

 

[DoughMayne]

Re hyphens, totally agree that it has to make sense. I think the strongest case is when the word is often spelled with a hyphen in writing. That is followed by cases where strictly speaking the hyphen should be used because it is a compound adjective (which I am slowly learning for the first time now that I write for the NamePros Blog. Most people do not follow these rules in their writing, but given that grammatically correct domain names have an advantage I would give more weight to hyphens that strictly speaking are correct according to the expression. And of course they have value when the word is very high value, even with a hyphen, or the market for the name is mainly Germany and some nearby countries where they are desired.

^
Good call about compound adjectives...after doing research yesterday, I purchased ones that actually made sense in writing...ie:

Life-Sized.com, Leg-Warmers.com, Strawberry-blonde.com, One-Fourth.com, Four-Hundred.com, Spanish-Speaking.com, Heart-broken.com, Light-brown.com, Mid-Winter.com, Second-rate.com, Nose-Bleed.com, Full-Length.com, Three-Fourths.com, Multi-angle.com, Piping-hot.com, Spine-Chilling.com, Scary-looking.com, Head-aches.com, Tooth-brushes.com, and many more all to be sold on either Hy-phens.com, HyphenatedDomains.com, Hyphenated-domains.com, or Hyphen-domains.com....I'm thinking Hy-phens.com. What do you think? I'm also up for another bulk-sale if interested...and yes, I picked up Bulk-Sale.com too.

 

[wwwweb]

Re hyphens, totally agree that it has to make sense. I think the strongest case is when the word is often spelled with a hyphen in writing. That is followed by cases where strictly speaking the hyphen should be used because it is a compound adjective (which I am slowly learning for the first time now that I write for the NamePros Blog. Most people do not follow these rules in their writing, but given that grammatically correct domain names have an advantage I would give more weight to hyphens that strictly speaking are correct according to the expression. And of course they have value when the word is very high value, even with a hyphen, or the market for the name is mainly Germany and some nearby countries where they are desired.

^
Good call about compound adjectives...after doing research yesterday, I purchased ones that actually made sense in writing...ie:

Life-Sized.com, Leg-Warmers.com, Strawberry-blonde.com, One-Fourth.com, Four-Hundred.com, Spanish-Speaking.com, Heart-broken.com, Light-brown.com, Mid-Winter.com, Second-rate.com, Nose-Bleed.com, Full-Length.com, Three-Fourths.com, Multi-angle.com, Piping-hot.com, Spine-Chilling.com, Scary-looking.com, Head-aches.com, Tooth-brushes.com, and many more all to be sold on either Hy-phens.com, HyphenatedDomains.com, Hyphenated-domains.com, or Hyphen-domains.com....I'm thinking Hy-phens.com. What do you think? I'm also up for another bulk-sale if interested...and yes, I picked up Bulk-Sale.com too.

You missed the point, the names you are grabbing are not enough in demand that someone would be willing to pay for the hyphen premium.

An example of one Rob purchased Equity-Group.com that is your gold standard of kind of hyphen names to get.

 

[DoughMayne]

Wrong, the point is, I should be able to flip these great names and for at least $20 and double my money

 

[Abdullah Abdullah]

Three years ago I had virtual-dating and I put it on NameJet auctions. Well, it failed that time. I certainly believe good keywords are very good and have huge potential

 

[wwwweb]

Wrong, the point is, I should be able to flip these great names and for at least $20 and double my money

Flipped to whom? Nobody is going to throw good money at these garbage domains. Yes, they are utter GARBAGE. You could have spent that money on 1-2 names that had a decent chance of selling. Piping-Hot.com really? Sorry, for being harsh, but you need a reality check.

You know it all, case closed.

 

[DoughMayne]

Flipped to whom? Nobody is going to throw good money at these garbage domains. Yes, they are utter GARBAGE. You could have spent that money on 1-2 names that had a decent chance of selling. Piping-Hot.com really? Sorry, for being harsh, but you need a reality check.

You know it all, case closed.

Funny. Yesterday I sold 9 hyphenated domains for $1000 that I registered for 8.47 each. Case reopened.

But I do see your point, a name like equity-group obviously will make a bigger sale, but I'm okay will bulk-sales and small money, quick flips.

So yes, I know Piping-Hot.com is a horrible name, but it's a common saying that is spelled using a hyphen, so while it might not be worth hundreds...I think it's worth at least $20-100 for the right person...which I'm okay with selling at that price. Spread the love. Peace.

 

[DoughMayne]

If you look at hyphenated domain sales on namebio, you'll see about 10+/- hyphen domains are sold everyday, for an average price of about $400/500.

 

[senorita Rosario]

Just sold sushi-man.com from an Epik SSL lander for $4200. This is one of Epik's O&O domains. I don't normally report sales but these days we are routinely asking for $10K+ for good hyphen .COM names and seeing sincere engagement.

The great gTLD experiment has been run. I now routinely sell even ccTLD registrants are upgrading from their ccTLD to .COM if they can afford it. I was late to acknowledge it but the risk-reward equation for speculators overwhelmingly favors .COM.

When it comes to hyphenated .COM, SEO is your friend. I recommend to use the Epik SSL landers but any SEO lander will probably do the trick to drive inquiries. The Epik landers happen to work like a champ and will help you sell hyphen names especially with

hi,
i just registered two domain in epik. Do you think it is good to get buyer? any tips to use epik?

 

[Rob Monster]

hi,
i just registered two domain in epik. Do you think it is good to get buyer? any tips to use epik?

I think it is best to use the SSL landers, and wait for your buyer.

It is covered a lot here:

https://www.namepros.com/threads/discuss-your-epik-experience.1146613

 

[Rob Monster]

Flipped to whom? Nobody is going to throw good money at these garbage domains. Yes, they are utter GARBAGE. You could have spent that money on 1-2 names that had a decent chance of selling. Piping-Hot.com really? Sorry, for being harsh, but you need a reality check.

You know it all, case closed.

For the hyphen names, I would go with brandables, not product categories.

So for example:

Bowling-alley.com sounds good but tough to re-sell.

Fast-lane.com is a natural hyphen brand.

I would pass on the first but buy the second all day long.

You're welcome.

 

[massive1019]

Hi Rob Monster, I have been trying to get verified at epik but I've not received any response concerning it. Want to list my external domains. Please do something about it.

Regards
NameSharper

 

[Rob Monster]

Hi Rob Monster, I have been trying to get verified at epik but I've not received any response concerning it. Want to list my external domains. Please do something about it.

Regards
NameSharper

I just approved you for selling and landering/parking external domains. You also have NP pricing now. Good luck.

 

[Mary Muse]

Funny. Yesterday I sold 9 hyphenated domains for $1000 that I registered for 8.47 each. Case reopened.

But I do see your point, a name like equity-group obviously will make a bigger sale, but I'm okay will bulk-sales and small money, quick flips.

So yes, I know Piping-Hot.com is a horrible name, but it's a common saying that is spelled using a hyphen, so while it might not be worth hundreds...I think it's worth at least $20-100 for the right person...which I'm okay with selling at that price. Spread the love. Peace.

With ALL due respect, if not for Rob and his specific thread, these would never sell.

You got so lucky and I'd be very surprised if any appreciable ROI comes to Rob, even with his global exposure.

 

[Rob Monster]

With ALL due respect, if not for Rob and his specific thread, these would never sell.

You got so lucky and I'd be very surprised if any appreciable ROI comes to Rob, even with his global exposure.

If it is a brandable, I like them a lot.

So, I would not jump on Hot-Stuff.com or Piping-Hot.com, but I would jump on Hot-Biscuit.com. It is a hand-registration that is open now. I will take it today if nobody else does. $5.49 at Epik.

Why?

If you go to Charleston, you can stand in line for an hour on any weekend morning to get a biscuit at Callies Hot Little Biscuit. There are many copycats that care calling themselves Hot Biscuit. It is a play on words.

However, hot-chicken.com is taken but is actually less interesting. Why? No business is calling themselves "hot chicken".

I believe the key is this:

1. Secure a great brand name.

2. Work to get ranked in search with the landing page. Now the people who actually want to be called "Hot Biscuit" for example have to deal with the fact that they lose traffic to YOU. It is like a rock in a shoe.

 

[massive1019]

I just approved you for selling and landering/parking external domains. You also have NP pricing now. Good luck.

Thanks for doing the needful... Another problem I'm having is the lander. I have updated my ns to ns3.epik.com and ns4.epik.com, still not responding.

 

[Rob Monster]

Thanks for doing the needful... Another problem I'm having is the lander. I have updated my ns to ns3.epik.com and ns4.epik.com, still not responding.

What domain? PM @epik for private support questions.

 

[massive1019]

What domain? PM @epik for private support questions.

Thanks for your quick response...really appreciate.

 

[DoughMayne]

Hy-phens.com and all of it's contents (50+ domains) are for sale. Hearing all offers! Fully brandable business, or great to add to your portfolio! Hearing all offers. Thanks!