Just for the sake of dissecting this particular trend, how about we go a little deeper?
Breaking the random 17 assets down into categories was just a surface dig that brought us to bedrock. To continue in dissection, we need to break through that bedrock that gives the false impression of being no more digging.
Obviously, 17 random assets will not be accurate compared to the hundreds we haven't even evaluated in this trend. However, the process of crunching and digging into that data will be the same, just on a larger, more complex scale.
Doing the 17 is easier and will give us a potential peak down in the rabbit hole while providing documented steps to rinse and repeat the digging process later, on other trends and to expand on for better accuracy.
Before we dig again, lets change proverbial tools:
We used a shovel to dig through the surface and identify some of the categories, without using any value metrics. The value in the surface dig is irrelevant, because remember, we want to identify the difference between a reseller trend and an end-user trend, regardless what they over-paid or under-paid for the asset.
Moving to the bedrock that stopped us, we now switch from a proverbial shovel to a rock hammer (Or jack hammer) to break through and look deeper.
Subtracting categories:
Now we eliminate all the categories that are more than likely resellers (some may not be, but for the sake of making this quick and easy, we eliminate them and the 1% that may not be).
Consider all the eliminated, reseller trend sales.
The following, we'll label "potential" end-user trend sales:
End-Users:
Jan 2017 - transect.com - Environmental group
Feb 2011 - transmute.com - Product - Patented
Nov 2009 - transpower.com - Product - Filed TM
Hobbyists:
Jun 2012 - translendium.com - Blog
Jul 2011 - transhorse.com - Defunct service/blog / no updates in years
Apr 2007 - transfixed.com - Adult
Dec 2006 - transbank.com - White-Label/TurnKey
Oct 2014 - translex.com - TurnKey Information Resource
Source
Starting With A Hobby:
Let's start by chopping into the Hobby category first.
A closer look reveals that the following is more of an end-user development, so we need to add this one to the end-users list "Apr 2007 - transfixed.com - Adult".
Defining the three investing/buying types for clarity:
Here's how I like to break it down:
- Reseller: This is a domain investor with no intention of developing. They generally park or use a landing page of their own to resell a blank canvased domain for a profit, either to other resellers, hobbyists, or end-users. These investors hand register, pay wholesale, or aftermarket pricing to lower the risk and increase profit potential. (Smallest budget)
- Hobbyist: This is a domain investor with intent to develop an asset themselves to increase value and provide a means for a domain to pay it's own renewals each year, eliminating renewal overhead expenses. This type of investor tests different markets with developments until they find a sweet spot, in which they expand development, optimize monetization efforts in a few different verticals, resell domains or domains + websites with verifiable traffic/revenue/etc., monitors the aftermarket, and pushes forward into entrepreneurship. (Mid-Budget)
- End-user: Contrary to popular belief, this is also a domain investor (They can be independents, partners, entrepreneurs, small businesses, large corporations, non-profits, or even government agencies). They invest in a domain name asset to develop for the purpose of generating revenue or delivering an important message to an online audience/customer base. Every hour and penny they put into that domain names development is still an investment into their digital asset (property), increasing the value, and potential. Most end-users have no intention of reselling a domain asset, however, it does still happen as part of company takeovers and acquisitions. (Biggest Budget)
Source
Note: With the above in mind, lets move the hobbyist asset to the end-user list and add the reported sale prices for perspective.
Updated end-user list:
Jan 2017 - transect.com - Environmental group - 16,000 USD
Feb 2011 - transmute.com - Product - Patented - 4,000 USD
Nov 2009 - transpower.com - Product - Filed TM - 1,650 USD
Apr 2007 - transfixed.com - Adult - 817 USD
Note: The older assets sold for lower rates, which actually isn't that surprising, because the markets back then were more volatile, speculative, and lower valued. The climbing value in the end-user trend is a plus. More comparisons would reveal a better picture, but it gives an idea.
Drill Baby, Drill!:
Now, we dissect the individual industries of the end-user list to help identify why these particular assets were of slightly more interest than the others to an end-user.
- Jan 2017 - transect.com - Environmental group - 16,000 USD - Endangered species, wetlands, regulations, permits, and more must be considered. A Transect report is an online tool that provides the answers you need to help you proceed with your project in confidence. In just minutes, our reports provide - This one plays on the Transition, Transform, and Transact meanings.
- Feb 2011 - transmute.com - Product - Patented - 4,000 USD - Transmute started with a simple idea: integrate thousands of proton accelerators onto a silicon chip that could be reproduced easily. Using a separate linear accelerator for each beam guarantees collimation. Building 50nm x 50nm channels on a 100nm pitch to produce a 20nm beam negates the need for reduction optics. The accelerators would have to be 64mm long to achieve an energy of 3.5KeV. 262,000 accelerators in parallel on each chip could write a path one inch wide. Twelve of these print heads with 3 million beams could write a full 300mm wafer fast enough for HVM. - This one plays on the Transfer, Transact, and Transmit meanings.
- Nov 2009 - transpower.com - Product - Filed TM - 1,650 USD - When you need durable and reliable applied-power products including motors and variable frequency drives, depend on Trans-Power. We offer quality-built, tested and proven components that are designed to provide the steady performance you need for general-purpose applications. Trans-Power components are available exclusively from Kaman Industrial Technologies, one of North America’s leading distributors of industrial solutions. With simplified ordering and off-the-shelf accessibility–plus Kaman’s unmatched service and technical support–Trans-Power can be your source for high-value applied-power components. Whether you need components for manufacturing, logistics or other commercial applications, we’re Powered To Perform. - This one plays on the Transfer and Transform meanings.
- Apr 2007 - transfixed.com - Adult - 817 USD - Created by Bree Mills and her award-winning team at Gamma Films, this is a celebration of adult's most beautiful trans women and cis female performers. - This one plays on the Transgender and Transsexual meanings.
Meaning Summary:
Transition = 1
Transform = 2
Transact = 2
Transfer = 2
Transgender = 1
Transsexual = 1
Note: Looking at the predominant meaning usage (Potential buying triggers/reasons), it provides a better picture of one of the motivating end-user factors. Granted, we only used 17 examples originally. So the comparison is not accurate by any means on the bigger scale, but it gives us an idea how to dissect the more popular sub-trends within an end-user buying trend, to help identify assets that are higher in demand than others. Essentially, making us better investors through deep data targeted research (Very time consuming).
There are a lot of other variables to consider, but I'll stop there for now. It gives an idea. The hard part for someone more interested in that dissection process, will be to gather all the sales reports and rinse/repeat what was outlined above.
Lots of work, I'm not going to do it, too many other things to do. But it might help zero in on more end-user premium assets and help us avoid the reseller premium assets (For those targeting end-users anyways)
Hopefully this was helpful in some way. Maybe someone else can add some other dissection techniques for this trend?
