I don't get it.

[Stockford Dev.]

Ok so I know what people are gonna say, "read the forums", "watch the marketplaces" but I have, I have been reading and researching every resource I can find. So far since all appraisal sites are apparently BS I have developed the following criteria for choosing to buy names. I want names that are: short, memorable, brandable, no special characters or substitions, have more than one possible way to develop, and that all rank reasonably hi in Estibot which I was using for general appraisals since it seemed to give me consistently the low end of the range for appraisals and I don't want to be counting my chickens before they hatched so to speak. But of course when I put them up here even though they follow a lot of these "rules" that I have been reading about they get appraised as basically worthless. So what am I dong wrong, what criteria should I be using to judge domain names, I don't even bother with non dot coms for the most part. So please somebody tell me what I am doing wrong, or point me in the right direction to find answers I want to take this business seriously but I can't if there is no reputable way t learn what domains are worth anything. Any thoughts anyone? One of the domain names that people here ranked as low XX evaluates on every appraisal site I can find for upwards of $15000??? How does someone learn this trade?

 

[techgal128]

Normally when we appraise domains, we give you a reason for why we feel the name isn't great.

I took a look at your appraisal posts and oddly enough, the domains you register don't seem to meet your own criteria. For example:

emergencylocksmithtoday.com = is not short at all
nxttxt.com = not exactly easy to remember
wik-pics.com = this isn't very brandable

etc.

Here are some rules for newbies ALWAYS follow:

1) Only register .com domains
2) NO dashes
3) No more than two keywords

You should consider opening an adwords account and calculating the search volume of the keywords of the domain you are interested in.

 

[Stockford Dev.]

I guess this is my one bump for the day but I just forgot to say that the only advice I have really gotten from any of the experts here is to not try and find 25 "available" names but to take all that money and spend it on one "good" name. I do not understand this either, if I clearly don't at all understand what is a good name to buy for $10 how do I know what is a good name to buy for $500? Is it just back links or age? Because as far as I have heard that doesn't really matter any more Google is smarter than you buying an old closed domain with lots of back links and then transferring that authority immediately to you. Google just doesn't do that any more and in fact I am pretty sure it's "blackhat" and can get you banned.

 

[ruzeen]

Most of the hand-registered domains nowadays are worth reg. fee to nothing. If it was easy to buy a domain for $10 (or even $2 for that matter) and flip it for $1000 everybody would be doing that. It takes skill and experience to "flip" domains.

Hand-registered domains can fetch anything from mid xx to high xxx if developed, based on how well the site is doing. You can't expect to put some content today and sell it tomorrow - nope, it doesn't work that way, you have to prove the domain's worthy with your stats.

For example, I registered [ New Comedies dot com ] about a month ago and it could bring in some decent turnover after development and some basic marketing. It's not going to even give me low xx if I just want to sell the name - although, it is pretty decent.

However, there are several other factors that can give value to a domain name alone.
Some include: the combination of letters on the domain, if it makes sense to develop (ultimate goal for a domain), the age of the domain - more, the better, the number of times people search that phrase (considering a keyword-rich domain like new comedies), etc. You should learn more, as you read more.

I'm no guru, I'm a newbie who started 2 months ago and here is my experience, so far.


Best,
Ruzeen

 

[Keith]

Here's s tip...

Don't register any domains. Instead, buy aftermarket from private sellers. You could watch auctions to see what is selling and at what prices. Good luck!

 

[Stockford Dev.]

Thank you tech gal and I agree locksmith is too long and wik-piks is a crappy name and oweyou1 breaks my own rules too but all the rest of them got evaluated just as poorly, what is wrong with wellwhy.com? and even though yes I agree I basically don't go for anything but dot coms the one dot net I have is considered my most valuable name so that's just confusing too. I don't mean to be bull headed and say the experts are wrong and Im right. That's stupid. I just want to know what I am doing wrong. nxttxt.com is only 6 characters and its the words next text without the E's now I know this will never hit as an EMD but its very brandable short and memorable same with wellwhy.com and uncomfortable.net and ourmoneynow.com and saleskeynote.com. teenagealcoholics.com is a little long yes but certainly a powerful niche if anyone wanted to develop something there, createafile.com, commandsyntax.com, what is wrong with these names. Please I am not trying to disagree I am trying to understand. I spend all my time reading other posts here when I am waiting for replies. I am not going into this blind, but it feels like there is just some kind of key factor that I am missing and I don't know what it is. I'm sorry if it sounds like I am whining I am truly just looking for knowledge. Thanks a lot for what you have already given me I will wether I get any more insight or not keep reading and keep trying to learn. Thanks again.

Clay

P.S Good call on Adwords I will do that.

 

[Keith]

Don't buy/register made up words. Think of products, places, technology, emerging markets...

Pay little attention to search volume as people fall into this trap all the time.

 

[jamesosix]

i disagree with reging domains with dashes in.

If the non hyphened version is gone, and all variants, and all have nothing on them, then go for the hyphenated version.

I recently changed a domain on one of my sites from thatisawesome.net (quite long, not that easy to remember as some people may think was it "thatsawesome.net? etc) and changed it to awesome-sauce.com. Much easier to remember, and has slightly better search volume and is a dot com.

And all on the advice of this forum

My biggest thing to first check is search volume. A domain (that is not infringing on TMs) and has a high search volume, will always be more attractive to potential buyers.

 

[Kate]

Ok so I know what people are gonna say, "read the forums", "watch the marketplaces" but I have, I have been reading and researching every resource I can find.

Read the forums.

Sorry, somebody had to say it

I guess this is my one bump for the day but I just forgot to say that the only advice I have really gotten from any of the experts here is to not try and find 25 "available" names but to take all that money and spend it on one "good" name. I do not understand this either, if I clearly don't at all understand what is a good name to buy for $10 how do I know what is a good name to buy for $500?

Yes, that's the problem, you've been given good advice but a newcomer is not experienced enough to invest wisely in aftermarket domains.

Here are my suggestions:
1. Forget about automated appraisal tools completely. Even or especially if they reinforce your beliefs about your choice of purchases. No matter what, no domain will be appraised below regfee but that is nonsense. Few domains will ever sell.

2. Follow the weekly reported sales. Read read read analyze analyze analyze.
See which extensions are in demand, what kinds of keywords, industries, trends etc.
There is no need to reinvent the wheel, just watch the market and understand what kind of stuff people are buying. It's not a skill you gain overnight, there is a learning curve and patience is necessary.

what is wrong with wellwhy.com?

It means nothing, it's very vague and I don't see a clear use for this domain.

nxttxt.com is only 6 characters and its the words next text without the E's now I know this will never hit as an EMD but its very brandable short and memorable same with wellwhy.com and uncomfortable.net

nxttxt means nothing, it's a random 6L domain. Not memorable and prone to typos. There is no shortage of such domains. It's not brandable either. uncomfortable has a negative connotation. Same for teenagealcoholics, it's not commercially viable.

If you bought these domains to develop you could certainly develop them into fun websites. But without development they have no built-in value. There is no compelling reason for buying these domains, I could even find better domains for regfee. And so can other people.

 

[Stockford Dev.]

Thank you so much everyone, from now on I'm not buying a name until I'm sure its category killer and in the mean time I agree that some of my domains are definitely able to be developed so develop, develop, develop for me. Looks like over to StackExchange I go...

 

[DnEbook]

Here is a free ebook i wrote a couple of years ago, even if you get one gem of info i think it is worth the read
~
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/71101

 

[Name Trader]

I don't see any commercial value in wellwhy.com. I don't see any possibilities to develop it into a money making website. If it isn't commercial, then it's value is extremely limited, in part because any potential purchaser won't pay much money for a loss making website. They will go find a hand-reg domain for their needs.

 

[DnEbook]

Thank you so much everyone, from now on I'm not buying a name until I'm sure its category killer and in the mean time I agree that some of my domains are definitely able to be developed so develop, develop, develop for me. Looks like over to StackExchange I go...

Stock Exchange ? ….

 

[techgal128]

i disagree with reging domains with dashes in.

If the non hyphened version is gone, and all variants, and all have nothing on them, then go for the hyphenated version.

I recently changed a domain on one of my sites from thatisawesome.net (quite long, not that easy to remember as some people may think was it "thatsawesome.net? etc) and changed it to awesome-sauce.com. Much easier to remember, and has slightly better search volume and is a dot com.

And all on the advice of this forum

My biggest thing to first check is search volume. A domain (that is not infringing on TMs) and has a high search volume, will always be more attractive to potential buyers.

Regging domains with hyphens can be great if you have the right keywords. For newbies though, I think that they should stay away from hyphens since it tends to make the domain harder to sell 99% of the time.

 

[NameOmnia]

Hi,

giving a look to some of your domains makes me agree with the other pros.
What is a good domain? The most common answer you can get is " a domain that sells " which means everything and nothing at the same time.
Beside this you will have to consider that :
- pretty much everyone here has a different opinion about the domain industry so don't take advice as liquid gold
- the appraisals that a lot of people will give you here on the forum are BS
- there is no exact science in domaining ( for me it's some math + a bit of art and a sprinkle of luck )
- much depends on how long you want to hold on to a domain ( can you wait 3-6-10 years before finding the right buyer ? )
- EMD are imo the old school domaining while Brandables are the present and the future
- Brandables are art, personal taste for sure but with logic
- what could this domain be used for?
- does it make sense?
- would I use for my business/company ( not for a fun website. but for a serious company from which you and your family make a living )

This is just my opinion obviously and I am sure a lot of pros will disagree. The only thing I can tell you is that you will learn from your own mistakes for sure and I wish you to do that sooner rather than later.

Good Good Luck and don't give up

 

[Stockford Dev.]

@evirtual1 thanks so much for the e-book, I'm about a quarter of the way through and not going anywhere till its done. Much appreciated, just curious do you sell or share this book anywhere? Just in case I know anyone else who wants to read it? Trying to get some friends involved lol, need someone in RL to talk to). And lol no StackExchange is just a big coder/programming help and discussion forum.

 

[DnEbook]

@evirtual1 thanks so much for the e-book, I'm about a quarter of the way through and not going anywhere till its done. Much appreciated, just curious do you sell or share this book anywhere? Just in case I know anyone else who wants to read it? Trying to get some friends involved lol, need someone in RL to talk to). And lol no StackExchange is just a big coder/programming help and discussion forum.

Ah stackexchange ….. i see

Perhaps you can just share the link to the e-book on Facebook or just cut and paste the link and pass onto your friends, if you do enjoy perhaps do a quick review, 400 free downloads and no-one has bothered as yet ….. not to worry. it's a free ebook and my way of giving something back ……cheers

 

[alien51]

the only advice I have really gotten from any of the experts here is to not try and find 25 "available" names but to take all that money and spend it on one "good" name. I do not understand this either, if I clearly don't at all understand what is a good name to buy for $10 how do I know what is a good name to buy for $500?

What this simply means, is that if a domain is really good, it is very unlikely that you will find it unregged for just 10 bucks. Knowledgeable professionals in domaining have already vacuum sucked all the beautiful and sell-worthy domains. So for you newbie to make money, you buy the domains owned by these knowledgeable domaining professionals, then RESELL them to people who actually need those domains (that would be the End-Users). You earn money by pocketing the difference.

Because you got the domain from the inventory of a knowledgeable domaining professional, it is generally safe to assume that this guy owns it because it will sell well (just pure logical arithmetic here). So you practically eliminated the "how to choose a good name" dilemma. You trusted someone to pick the good names for you.

So say you purchased the domain for $500, you resell it for $1,500. You earn $1,000. Because it's a quality name, it's easier to sell because many people want it.

Compare it to say you purchased a dirt-crap domain "you believe" is high quality for just $10 bucks. You try to sell it for $500, and you can't find any buyer. What is happening here, is that you are playing cheap, but you're not even making a sale.

Try to examine the domains at BuyDomains dot com for reference purposes. Or if you want, you can resell their stuff. That's how other domainers operate. They resell stuffs from the inventory of people who know how to pick good stuffs.

 

[Hypersot]

So say you purchased the domain for $500, you resell it for $1,500. You earn $1,000. Because it's a quality name, it's easier to sell because many people want it.

hmm, I'd like to leave a comment on the above

I believe most of us new to the biz have three problems:

1. The appraisal. There's no way we can appraise correctly anything, so what you mention on the above paragraph doesn't work, at least in the beginning

2. The Experience. To appraise we need experience, to get experience we either:
a. Trade on cheap domains (aka regfees , or...?)
b. Watch the domain exchanges for a very-very long time until we feel we're ready and then make a bold $500 move (which I personally don't feel comfortable with)

3. The Resale. Even if we have a domain that we believe it's worth more than we bought it for. How do we sell it to the end-user is again a task that needs wisdom/experience and a lot of watching/reading from others.

To be honest, I don't see any other way other than do some cheap trades just to get experience for the greater things. Getting domains from the so-called knowledgeable/experienced people is not something that I find viable.

How are we to know that the guy that sells the xxx$500 domain is actually worth even the $500 that we'll pay? and even if it's worth that much, why sell it to us and not to those that want it for $1000-$1500?

And to be perfectly honest, people don't help that much in the appraisal section. I find much more help in random threads like this rather than in the location where the help should have been abundant.
For all of you that have been in this forum for ages, all the past threads are more or less known, but for us it is like reading all the school years studies from scratch

Anyway, sorry for the wall of text but I wanted to make those comments for some time and I thought this thread was a good excuse for it

btw. I really appreciate all the info that it's being given, always

 

[biggie]

the only advice I have really gotten from any of the experts here is to not try and find 25 "available" names but to take all that money and spend it on one "good" name.

I do not understand this either, if I clearly don't at all understand what is a good name to buy for $10 how do I know what is a good name to buy for $500?

:talk:


Hi Stockford


you have asked a very good question, one that many may have thought, but failed to ask.

it's really about the "mentality" you came in this game with.

maybe you read somewhere about domains, and wanted to get into "flipping"...well, that's the first mistake.

cuz, every newbie seems to think it's so easy to just buy a domain one day and resell it the next.

when we say, spend your money on one good name, that means "invest" for the future.

majority of so-called flippers, don't invest for the future, they buy hoping to turn the name in a day, a week a few months at best.

investors buy for the "waiting game"....they buy a good name and "wait" for the right buyer.


the "new school flippers" tend to reg a lot of crap and then list on flipppo or gd auction, hoping for sale.



old school flippers buy category movers, like LLL/NNN/LLLL/NNNN/NNL/LLN/com/net/org etc, one and two word .com/net/org etc, domains that are "already in demand" and try to turn those over quick for smaller profits than an "investor", who may hold the same names longer for higher returns.

so, maybe think about whether you aspire to be a domain investor or a flipper.

but I'd say find a mentor or follow some of the active members posts, read into what they post for sale, what's in their sig, ask about names they've sold, how long they had them before selling, etc.

Good Luck!

imo....