I Give Up! I am DONE!!!

[BlackCatsAreNice]

Domaining has not turned out to but what I thought it would. One or two sales a year is not gonna enough to feed the cats. The meow meow. Loves em.

I have registered over a hundred domains. Good ones in my opinion. But the world is full of Cheapskates and only one Bill Gates and one Jeff Bezos.

So I bid adieu to domaining and will only be developing my sites in 2020.

Instead of selling to startups, I will be the startup.

Believe me?

 

[Ja Kai]

no

I second that...

 

[BrandMart]

Develop your domains into sites and sell them later.. that might cover up some of your expenses...

Domaining takes time and patience. I tried it, stopped it, moved on to another business and never been more happy...

 

[wwwweb]

Don't give up @BlackCatsAreNice , Since you like the Cat i can give you Cat.Company as free if you like to hold it 0$ for you only , Wish best of good luck for you & family .

Al Marri

Wow pretty generous to give someone a $3,000,000 name for free, hope he takes you on on his offer, one less million dollar listing on namepros.
.

 

[TauseefKhan]

narrowing your focus can help you. it's better to focus on 3-5 industries instead of having domains across many industries. Well, if you decide to come back - this point may be helpful.

 

[wwwweb]

There are a lot of ebooks, and online courses selling people on big money to be had in this industry, take $10, turn it into $1000, take $1,000 buy 10 more names, turn them into $10,000, and so on... obviously we know the story doesn't go like that. In most cases you have to spend several thousands, build a diverse portfolio, get lucky, catch a few sales, try to find some bargains, and hold your breath.

The whole game is turned upside down, newbies can't afford to outbid Huge Domains for $1xx min bid names, and they have no access to closeouts, because API connections are sniping them, now the newbies are up against the other 99% of domainers who are fighting for the few percentage point of scraps these bots miss, and everyone is fighting over.

Now if you want to go over to namejet, and get 0% support, and wait 4-6 weeks, after a few phone call followups to get your names, alongside bidding against the biggest bankrolls in the industry, and some usernames who simply show up last 5 mins to bid you up, have at it.

We haven't seen the second act of the people who bought based on appraisals, and are scratching their heads with $50 offers, wondering where the big money appraisal buyers are.

Now if we head into a downturn maybe in 2021, then the gloves really come off when spending, and credit lines start freezing up, and people stop opening new businesses, or branching out. This happens every 10 years or so within this industry.

 

[Ante4L]

Patience is key. People get discouraged because they hear about $xxK - $xxxK sales and wonder why they aren't getting any. Most of of these people who get discouraged have smaller portfolios and are looking to get rich QUICK.

Fact is, you can. You definitely can get rich overnight. You can buy a name for $100 today, and get an offer of $100K tomorrow. You can also win the lottery tomorrow if you play it today, or win $100K at the casino tonight if you decide to go. You can start the next FB today and get an angel investor next week and become a billionaire. You can invest Bitcoin today and BTC can go on a bull run tomorrow to make you rich. There's a lot of things that CAN happen. Fact is, they probably won't and you shouldn't rely on this wishful thinking. That goes for just about any money making opportunities.

If you stay patient & buy quality domains, you have a chance. A chance is all you need. Be realistic about your expectations and stick to it otherwise, you don't have a chance.

Good Luck

 

[NYJimbo]

There was an interesting thread here named Did you make money domaining in 2019? and I was shocked to see many seasoned people here who said they made no money or broke even or even lost money this past year. I made about $3200 to $3600 profit, all on small sales. That is after renewals and new registrations. It took me a long time to learn what I should not do. Now my "should not" may be very different from other domainers, but I have learned to stick to it and I think it has helped me slowly start making money. I now know that if I build my portfolio next year, the percentages of sales and profits will likely follow the portfolio size.

Some of things I learned:

1) no more experimenting with other TLDs. I now stick with .COM. I may renew some of my other TLDs for a year or two more, but thats it. I do have success with pattern .org and some low priced .TV, but I dont like worrying about them.

2) stay away from trends. Sure, you see people making very nice money on canna, crypto, XR/VR, etc.. names, but there are many people here with hundreds of those names that don't sell.

3) no more chasing outbound unless I already own a name and realize there might be a buyer. I've done all the city, state, country outbound stuff and its very hit and miss. You see someone sell a name like detroitplumber.com for $500 and you think you can do it. You buy 50-100 nice GEO names and they dont sell or you only make enough to cover your costs.

4) dont buy "interesting" names that catch your eye unless you research them. Buy names that make sense and that you think could have a large base of buyers WORLDWIDE.

5) dont buy a name unless you HONESTLY believe you can sit on it for 3 years. If you don't think a name is worth renewing for at least 3 years, you might be breaking some of my rules above. You don't have to keep it for 3 years or more, but if you feel solidly about the name when you buy it, there is less of a chance you will hate it later on.

6) dont buy a name unless you HONESTLY believe you can sell it for $1000 USD. I dont mean you MUST price it that high, but dont buy a name you think might get you $xxx. Yes, you might sell it for $xxx, but if you genuinely researched it and really feel its worth at least $1000 then you are likely buying a name you will feel comfortable holding and not dropping after the first year.

Thats just a few of my rules. I know many of you probably will disagree with some, but we all have different goals. At the very least you must come up with reasons why you buy a name, why you price it and why you hold it. It cant just be random or you will end up with a portfolio of junk.

 

[Sinbad]

It's not an end, it's Beginning of a new Journey.

 

[imadoer]

Maybe you should take a dn academy course.

If you dont dont put at least 10k hours in this dont feel like your a failure feel like you havent put enough effort into it and your just whining.

 

[Aroon Bhattia]

to be fair, some domains that are bought for a high value are a joke!! doesn't matter on the name no more, just if someone needs it!!

 

[twiki]

Took me 8 years to truly get my foot in the door and to actually be able to make a good living at it. I gave up once or twice near the beginning but ended up coming back. Domaining is addictive and don't be surprised if you find yourself dabbling every once in a while.

@BlackCatsAreNice lean back, take a deep breath, think about what you could have done better and renew your top ten best domains. Chances are with time and experience you will eventually realize a sizeable sale.

If not, enjoy your kitty cats, mine is a Russian Blue and is one of the gentlest creatures to ever walk the planet.

Had 2 Russian Blues, one was my first cat when I was a child. Amazing cats, great personality.

 

[Name Trader]

You might take some inspiration from this guy, he also had a really bad start.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/br...-a-year-into-domaining-and-im-pumped.1171361/

 

[Donmarick]

Good luck in develop

 

[lock]

I tried to restore a car once I sanded for few days and gave up. I see similarities.
I also got second wind and completed that restoration wide bodied fully molded in end.
I also came back to domaining as easier than doing all the work yourself.

 

[Recons.Com]

I am in my 3rd year now and have often wondered how many people have unofficially dropped domaining since that time. This is hard no doubt about that. My favorite line is I wish I got into this in 2000 whatever instead of 2017. People later to the game like us have to be scrappers.

i like the idea of keeping your best names and taking a break to reassess. We have seen others do that. Sometimes they come back sometimes not. Its not for everyone and takes the patience of a saint and a whole lot of talent and money.

Probably a lot have dropped. Sometimes someone answers to an old thread here on NP bringing to the light again and you read through it and don't recognize any of the names of participants. They all had ideas, portfolios etc. and are gone since.

 

[Prince. JOSEPH OWOR]

Having read through every comments and feedback from the NamePros Gurus , I have come to appreciate every single contribution each of you have made and I say thanks. I am learning day by day.
I also appreciate the comments of
@wwwweb
@Joe Nichols
@MapleDots
@Bob Hawkes
@iKhalyfah
@DanSanchez

Thank you for such positive responses

 

[handpicked]

In times of difficulty just remember: “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” - Theodore Roosevelt

 

[corpdot]

I am also a newbie in domaining for less than a year with 100 domains but only with 1 sold so far.

I am not talking a domain names of hosting.com, domain.com etc tho of course they are good domain names. However, in my opinion, determining a domain is good or not good very subjective as a domain name would have different meaning to different people. It is just about the right time to the right people for your domains!

Good luck!

 

[gtldomainer]

My story is no different from yours. Have held some 100 names so far with some profit but nothing spectacular. But I am content with all I have ‘profited’ coz thats What I really believe, I deserve. Few hours a day, with some $100 initial ‘investment’, and just 3 years into the game, how can I expect to hit the jackpot yet? Be reasonable and put the hardwork, positivity, and strongly believe, you will be rewarded, I know you will do just fine.

 

[ForexTopNews]

It's a side gig, or hobby. Nothing more.
If you make a great sale it's gravy.

Some people collect aluminum and old sinks as a side gig. We collect domains.

Good Luck.

 

[Winfluence]

Domaining sucks for most of us in the beginning... If you give up that's a lost opportunity to learn from your mistakes. No industry (not just domaining) is right for you with a give-up mentality. Gotta stick through the hard times and be determined and humble enough to realize what you are doing wrong and learn from others...

 

[1Darko]

@BlackCatsAreNice Thanks for sharing your story! Obviously you hit the wall. My advice would be to think about a reset and restart. In this thread you have already got very good advice from our strong namepros community.
It seems you are able to self-reflect which can help you get stronger and more successful.
Whatever you decide - it will be the right decision.
I wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

 

[manpreet]

Domaining has not turned out to but what I thought it would. One or two sales a year is not gonna enough to feed the cats. The meow meow. Loves em.

I have registered over a hundred domains. Good ones in my opinion. But the world is full of Cheapskates and only one Bill Gates and one Jeff Bezos.

So I bid adieu to domaining and will only be developing my sites in 2020.

Instead of selling to startups, I will be the startup.

Believe me?

Appreciate your decision!

Good to know you will still be related to domain names, if not the secondary purpose, then the primary purpose of their existance.

Domain Names were created primarily for Development purpose only.

 

[Domain8849]

Hi, everyone, How many guys here are professional domain investors? For me, it's just a hobby. I doubt if it can be a career.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Hi, everyone, How many guys here are professional domain investors? For me, it's just a hobby. I doubt if it can be a career.

I think the vast majority of NamePros members view it as something between a hobby and a side-gig. That would include me. While in some sense once we make money it might be considered professional, it is not in the sense you mean of your main occupation.

That said, there is no doubt that there are quite a few people who do this as a full-time career and some of them have been doing so for 10 years or more. That is quite the accomplishment, in my opinion, knowing how difficult domain investing is. I hope sometime someone starts a thread where those who do it full time for at least say 2 or 3 years share their experiences.

Thanks for your reflection and best wishes.

Bob