I'm Brad Mugford, owner of DataCube.com. AMA

[bmugford]

I registered my first domain in the late 1990's, but have been an active domain investor for 15+ years now.

I am going to call this an Ask Me (Almost) Anything.
There might be some questions I am unwilling or unable to answer.

I would prefer to keep the questions related to domain investment, or business in general.

Feel free to ask general questions, or specific questions for instance regarding an appraisal of your domain.

About:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/datacubecom (I have not really used Twitter much, but plan to start using it more.)
LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradmugford/

I am not sure how long I am going to leave this thread open. Let's see how it goes.

Brad

 

[Hanan]

Could you appraise the domain 'tobaq.com'? Do you think it would be a suitable choice for a tobacco company or a similar business?
Thanks.

 

[bmugford]

Could you appraise the domain 'tobaq.com'? Do you think it would be a suitable choice for a tobacco company or a similar business?
Thanks.

It's alright.

On the plus side it is a short .COM that is pronounceable. Those always have some potential.

On the down side, there are many (5) letter .COM like that.

One thing you have to think about is the number of combinations.

LLL = 17,576
LLLL = 456,976
LLLLL = 11,881,376

It could sell or it could sit on the shelf forever. You never know with that type of domain.

Brad

 

[UIunique]

I again come up some questions:
* what is domain investing in your eye: passion, side income, part time investment or anything else.
* What you think about 3 words .com domains. It is right time to go for them as 2 words good .com domains are difficult to find these days.
* what success formula you will suggest for beginners in this field.

 

[truthtopower]

What do you think of the domain name taxlawyer.us. do country extensions like that have potential. And what do you think of country extensions in general

 

[bmugford]

I again come up some questions:
* what is domain investing in your eye: passion, side income, part time investment or anything else.

It is my primary source or income, but not my only source of income. I have other (more liquid) investments as well.

* What you think about 3 words .com domains. It is right time to go for them as 2 words good .com domains are difficult to find these days.

I think of domains in terms of concepts more than words. Some terms are just long and don't have a good replacement. Some 3-4 word terms can be very valuable, for instance LasVegasRealEstate.com.

That is really one concept. (City + Real Estate).

When you start adding superfluous words that is when domains lose value because there are too many alternative options.

* what success formula you will suggest for beginners in this field.

Read a lot first before spending a dime. Have realistic expectations.

When you do start investing, it is inevitable you are going to waste some money. Be willing to learn from your mistakes.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

What do you think of the domain name taxlawyer.us. do country extensions like that have potential.

It's solid. It has a large pool of potential end users, but a limited ceiling.

It's the type of domain I would have priced in a $2K - $4K range and sell every once in a while.

And what do you think of country extensions in general

I like ccTLD in general, especially when they have dominant usage in their country.

There could be thousand of new extensions, but each country will ever only have one ccTLD.

I have a pretty strong portfolio of .US domains.

While not as dominant as other ccTLD, I do well with them.

Brad

 

[UIunique]

Thanks a lot​

bmugford​

for replying to my questions. Please further clarify my confusion by answering below questions as well:​

* According to your example that you shown above that 3 words .com suit well specially for 'geo' type. What other niches according to you suited for 3 words domains.
* Many investors insist on not buying hand register domains but what i find that i can explore more ideas by hand registering rather than finding domains in auctions, closeout or deleted because of competition there. What you think about this.
* These days many investors are using self developing tools to catch domains. What is your thinking about this.

 

[bmugford]

* According to your example that you shown above that 3 words .com suit well specially for 'geo' type. What other niches according to you suited for 3 words domains.

Another example would be a term like "Crime Scene Cleanup". At first glance it seems rather niche, but the term is taken in more than 400+ total domains and is a massive commercial industry.

The .COM is developed. I sold CrimeSceneCleaning.com for $XX,XXX range to an end user.

I also sold another domain in the same field.

Some exact match terms are just long.

* Many investors insist on not buying hand register domains but what i find that i can explore more ideas by hand registering rather than finding domains in auctions, closeout or deleted because of competition there. What you think about this.

Well, in .COM there are around 160 million total registrations. What is available to handreg is rather limited.

Maybe you can get in on new trend at the right time, for instance in the past domains to do with crypto, web3, meta, GPT, etc. However, even if you look at those threads most of the registrations are objectively pretty bad.

There is also a lot of money wasted on "future trend" domains that never pan out.

I have seen people get bogged down with handregs and renewals. There is place for them, but I think it is incredibly difficult to build a business only on them.

* These days many investors are using self developing tools to catch domains. What is your thinking about this.

It might work out better for extensions with less competition, or where they all drop at the same time.

When it comes to .COM, it is not that likely you are going to beat the big guys on catching anything that good.

Brad

 

[UIunique]

Thanks

bmugford​

for your kind response to my questions and answering them.
If you don't mind then please answer these questions as well:
* What top 5 factors you consider when you decide that is good domain to buy or not.
* when someone wants to start domain investing with small risk then what is your suggestion for him or her or as part time source of income.
* How you think domain investing will go in next 2 to 3 years.

 

[Igor Mironyuk]

What is doing ICANN? There is regulation organization, that can limit domain reg in specific area like .ru .ir . They are terrorists. Was there such in history?

https://www.theregister.com/2022/03/03/icann_ukraine_russian_domains/

 

[bmugford]

* What top 5 factors you consider when you decide that is good domain to buy or not.

I am not sure if I have the (5) top factors, but here are (5) important ones -

1.) Pool of potential buyers. How many potential buyers are there?

2.) Field. How much money is there in the field?

3.) Alternative options. Is the domain the best version, one of the best versions, or are there many similar options out there?

4.) Upside/Downside.

Upside - What is the max likely sale price?
Downside - What is the liquid value? Could I get around what I paid?

5.) Comp sales. What is a realistic price range looking at past sales?

* when someone wants to start domain investing with small risk then what is your suggestion for him or her or as part time source of income.

With a limited budget comes limited options. I would suggest reading a lot before putting any money in.

When you do decide to invest start small, and dip your toes in slowly. Try to seek opinions and guidance from more seasoned investors.

When you have a small portfolio it can be extremely hard to have any proof of concept if you are even on the right track.

* How you think domain investing will go in next 2 to 3 years.

There are always going to be trends in domain investing. For instance Web3, Meta, GPT, etc.

I tend to stick to domains that have value now. They will likely have value in the future.

Others might do well in future trend domains, but my business model is more of a slow burn over time.

Brad

 

[Corey]

Hi Brad,

What are your top 3 Domain Registrar's

Thank you in advance

Cheers
Corey

 

[bmugford]

Hi Brad,

What are your top 3 Domain Registrar's

Thank you in advance

Cheers
Corey

I primarily use GoDaddy, but because I mainly make one-off end user sales.

Everyone has heard of GoDaddy, and most already have accounts there.

I have found it adds less friction to deals than maybe using a lesser known registrar.

Dynadot is probably the best all-around registrar in my view. I have used them for over a decade.

I have nothing but positive things to say. They are just solid at everything, especially when it comes to pricing and support.

Those are the primary (2) registrars that I use, but I have had positive experiences with others like PorkBun, NameSilo, etc.

Brad

 

[NicTraders]

I primarily use GoDaddy, but because I mainly make one-off end user sales.

Everyone has heard of GoDaddy, and most already have accounts there.

I have found it adds less friction to deals than maybe using a lesser known registrar.

Dynadot is probably the best all-around registrar in my view. I have used them for over a decade.

I have nothing but positive things to say. They are just solid at everything, especially when it comes to pricing and support.

Those are the primary (2) registrars that I use, but I have had positive experiences with others like PorkBun, NameSilo, etc.

Brad

What about Epik, Brad?...

 

[NicTraders]

Hey brad. Genuine question. Why are you an ICA Member? Do you think it's money well spent?
Thanks!

 

[UIunique]

Hi

bmugford, I hope you will be fine along with your family.​

Thanks for always positive response on my questions.
Today i again come up with few questions which are:
* How you think about domain investing for flipping purpose, for developing purpose and for long term investment.
* Because of increasing popularity of chatgpt and now releasing of 'G' tool 'Bard' how do you think about developing domains for the purpose of earning from G adsence and affiliate marketing etc.
Note: Sorry for my bad english but i hope you will quickly pick up idea from these questions that i try to ask.

 

[tonyk2000]

Brad, a few questions for you.

Preamble -

Our industry is far from being ethical. There are many threads right here on NP where the stuff like spamming, frontrunning, bidding on own domains, unethical brokerage, fake sales, auction games etc. is discussed/disclosed, together with the identities of the folks involved. As a matter of fact, each particular thread tends to be forgotten after some time. Moreover, anybody with experience may dig further - and he will find a lot more "interesting" things. I, for one, did - and as the result stopped visiting some blogs/websites/twitters belonging to allegedly ethical and prominent industry participants, as I'm no more interested to hear their opinions on anything.

Questions -

Have you ever had a temptation to go over to the dark side? If so, how you dealt with it?

You're ICA member. As a matter of fact, not all ICA members share the same ethical values. Don't you have some sort of internal conflict here?

This thread has enough views and questions from new members. What can you recommend them - do they still have a chance not to fall into the traps (= lose money and go offline) as a minimum, and to build maybe small but stable and ethical own domaining business as a maximum?

 

[TheRockHopper]

Would you advice me to invest in one-word .us domains?

what do you think of a name like hoodie.us?

 

[bmugford]

Hey brad. Genuine question. Why are you an ICA Member? Do you think it's money well spent?
Thanks!

There are very few organizations that support domain registrant rights.

I think the money is well spent, because I support the cause.

ICA does have some "wins" like for instance it was heavily involved in the campaign against the .ORG private equity takeover, that was eventually rejected. That would have been a bad deal for every registrant.

I wish the ICA could do more, but it is a small organization with a limited budget.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

* How you think about domain investing for flipping purpose, for developing purpose and for long term investment.

I generally think of domain investing as a long term investment. That is how I think about most investments.

There is no substitute for time when it comes to extracting value from domains.

* Because of increasing popularity of chatgpt and now releasing of 'G' tool 'Bard' how do you think about developing domains for the purpose of earning from G adsence and affiliate marketing etc.

It might be worth it in some situations. That is not really my field, but those tools could certainly make it easier.
However, if it is easier then the field might become more diluted.

Personally, I would only develop something if I have a passion for it.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Brad, a few questions for you.

Preamble -

Our industry is far from being ethical. There are many threads right here on NP where the stuff like spamming, frontrunning, bidding on own domains, unethical brokerage, fake sales, auction games etc. is discussed/disclosed, together with the identities of the folks involved. As a matter of fact, each particular thread tends to be forgotten after some time. Moreover, anybody with experience may dig further - and he will find a lot more "interesting" things. I, for one, did - and as the result stopped visiting some blogs/websites/twitters belonging to allegedly ethical and prominent industry participants, as I'm no more interested to hear their opinions on anything.

There are issues with ethics in the domain field? That's news to me.

On a serious note, it seems like there is scandal after scandal involving shady behavior.

Questions -

Have you ever had a temptation to go over to the dark side? If so, how you dealt with it?

I think everyone has been tempted at some point. It can be frustrating to see people being rewarded for doing unethical things.

There are certainly ways you could game the system to your advantage. I won't go into details here, because it might give some people ideas.

I try to let my morals and ethics guide me.

You only have one reputation. It is one of the most valuable things you have.

You're ICA member. As a matter of fact, not all ICA members share the same ethical values. Don't you have some sort of internal conflict here?

Sure. I don't agree with the ICA or members on everything.

The ICA is composed of many different members with different interests. It is not a monolithic group.

I have had disagreements with the ICA in the past on various issues.

I have made public comments on some. I have addressed some privately.

I think the ICA serves a role, but is not perfect by any means.

One real world example is I brought the Brent Oxley situation to the ICA. His domains were locked by GoDaddy.

Brent was getting nowhere dealing with GoDaddy directly.

The ICA dealt with GoDaddy and helped resolve that situation.

Now Brent is someone I might not agree with on many issues, but it was a registrant rights issue. That is what mattered to me in that situation.

This thread has enough views and questions from new members. What can you recommend them - do they still have a chance not to fall into the traps (= lose money and go offline) as a minimum, and to build maybe small but stable and ethical own domaining business as a maximum?

I think everyone is likely to lose money at the start. The key is learning from your mistakes.

Even if you make all the right decisions, it can take a long time to show a proof of concept.

You also need realistic expectations. This is a business, not a lottery.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Would you advice me to invest in one-word .us domains?

what do you think of a name like hoodie.us?

Sure. I own and have sold many .US domains. These include terms like Cloud, Tech, etc.

Here were some recent auction buys for example -

Acid.us
Anna.us
Bailey.us
Chop.us
Crime.us
Firewall.us
Forget.us
Harris.us
Martin.us
Skate.us
Strategies.us

Hoodie.us is alright. It is certainly worth owning, though the upside is limited being a .US.

Brad

 

[Igor Mironyuk]

Brad, are you sold domain(s) via WhatsApp?

If yes, recommend groups names please.

 

[TheRockHopper]

In terms of steady sales, which is superior; .org or .net?

 

[bmugford]

Brad, are you sold domain(s) via WhatsApp?

If yes, recommend groups names please.

I don't really use WhatsApp.

Brad