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

 

[bmugford]

Hi Brad
Thankyou for your insights.

I have often seen you advice on buying names for which there are potential endusers. How much of potential prospects do you think are necessary at minimum when evaluating a domain name? As in drop-regs there are 2 or 3 prospects mostly.

Well, it depends on the type of domain, quality of domain, and price.
It is more of an art than a science.

Sometimes I will buy a domain just because it "sounds good" if it is cheap enough.

Some domains have many potential end users, but lower upside like GEOs.
Something like "Boston Plumbing" would have potentially 100+ end users, but the upside is limited.

At this point I tend to only buy domains that are worth renewing. Others might have a churn and burn type business model, but to me time is a fundamental factor in my business model.

There is just no substitute for time when it comes to making end user sales.

I like a pool of potential end users, because you are not targeting one particular party.
Also, any existing pool tends to grow over time.

2) Do you deem search volume and cpc as an important metric when buying a domain name?

Yes, I factor all that in.

I do put far more weight on commercial value and usage than search volume though.

Brad

 

[koolishman]

After 20+ years selling domains, would you say, DN prices are subjective, to a great extent?

 

[bmugford]

After 20+ years selling domains, would you say, DN prices are subjective, to a great extent?

Without a doubt.

You can generally tell the quality of a domain, if a domain is good or not.
Outside that there are a lot of unknowns when it comes to pricing and likelihood of selling.

Also, I think even with the exact same portfolio people are likely to have wildly different results.

Outside domain quality, there are many other things that go into performance - consistency, organization, negotiation skills, etc.

Brad

 

[chuckworries]

Hi Brad,

Please report the sales of last month.
if you can't reveal the names, just mention the type of names.

Thank you.

 

[Future Sensors]

Basically, you register or acquire domains that you are willing to renew for several years. How rational do you approach the process of domain renewals? Do you have a particular method that you can tell us about?

 

[bmugford]

Hi Brad,

Please report the sales of last month.
if you can't reveal the names, just mention the type of names.

Thank you.

I am not sure if these sales are exactly from the last month, but here is a selection of recent sales -

• 9 Letter (2) Word .ORG - $7,500
• Quad Premium / Non-pronounceable LLLL.com - $7,500
• Lead generation .COM in a home service field - $12,000 (8 X $1,500 payments)
• 8 letter (1) word .US - $5,000
• Dentistry related .COM - $1,950
• (2) Word .COM brand - $5,000
• Surname .COM (not that popular) - $4,500
• (2) word photography .COM - $4,500.
• (7) letter .ORG- $12,000
• (2) Word .COM (Commercial service) - $7,500

I also make plenty of average sales for average domains on venues like Afternic.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Basically, you register or acquire domains that you are willing to renew for several years. How rational do you approach the process of domain renewals? Do you have a particular method that you can tell us about?

It is just a feel thing. I kind of decide where to put the bar when it comes to renewals.
For instance I have been far more aggressive dropping extensions like .biz and .info in recent times.

While I do sell some from time to time, the bar has to be extraordinarily high to renew.

When it comes to .COM, I am really only willing to drop marginal GEOs.

With 160M+ .COM taken, I think it is basically worth holding any .COM that even just sounds good, or you can envision a use for.

Brad

 

[Recons.Com]

Thank you for being open to the Q&A.

You are one of those people that I find myself agreeing on pretty much everything.

Question:

Do you find that having your own portfolio site helps you with your sales? How do people discover the site?

 

[bmugford]

Question:

Do you find that having your own portfolio site helps you with your sales? How do people discover the site?

I would say it helps passively more than actively. Though, it has been ages since I have updated it.
I have a lot of quality domains that are not even listed on there.

I think it helps for branding and credibility, but the vast majority of my sales still come via more traditional means - Afternic, Dan, broker, direct negotiation, etc.

I guess I would put it this way, you don't need a portfolio site to be successful but it doesn't hurt.

Brad

 

[Pradheep]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the opportunity.

1. Have you developed any domains?
2. Have you monetized domains with forwarding, landing page ads (not parking), lead generation? if yes, which had better success?

 

[bmugford]

Hi Brad,

Thanks for the opportunity.

1. Have you developed any domains?

It depends what type of development you mean.

I have done some mini-sites in the past.
I have developed some personal sites.

Probably nothing that would qualify as "major" development though.
I am more a natural investor than a developer.

2. Have you monetized domains with forwarding, landing page ads (not parking), lead generation? if yes, which had better success?

I have done some mini-sites and lead generation stuff in the past. I developed several wedding photography domains that generated leads. I was working with local photographers but it became too much of a pain to manage and track.

Wedding photography is a tough lead gen niche because each photographer can only do so many events.
It is very seasonal and really only something on weekends.

Brad

 

[RegDN]

Hi Brad.
Thank you so much for sharing!
I read your answer after

I had a few questions at namepros and you as an outstanding contributor
This will be helpful to many members

1. you have been investing in domains for 15 years and in those years you have created a portfolio of about 7000 domains, how much money have you invested in creating this huge portfolio and how many sales do you make per year? And how many domains you can sell per month


2. How do you manage this portfolio and how much money do you spend on renewals each year?


3. do you invest in domains full time, and if you want to invest in domains as a full time job, what would you suggest?


Thanks!

 

[Sutruk]

Hi @bmugford . I was going to ask you a few questions but I see that other NP members have already asked you.
So I just want to thank you for your posts and contributions in this forum. You are quite a valuable member here, that's for sure. Always keeping your style and good manners.
And as some members have already said, I also quite agree with almost every of your posts and views here, about domains and about "other discussions and categories".

 

[bmugford]

1. you have been investing in domains for 15 years and in those years you have created a portfolio of about 7000 domains, how much money have you invested in creating this huge portfolio and how many sales do you make per year? And how many domains you can sell per month

I have no idea honestly, but it would be a substantial total sum.

However, I didn't come into the field with that amount of money.
It was buy, sell, rinse, repeat for many years.

So when I sell a domain, I would buy more domains. Eventually when you do that, you just end up with a large portfolio via reinvesting.

2. How do you manage this portfolio and how much money do you spend on renewals each year?

I just keep track with excel, and consolidate domains at a single registrar to make management far easier.
Portfolio wide, renewals are probably around $55K.

3. do you invest in domains full time, and if you want to invest in domains as a full time job, what would you suggest?

It is my primary source of income, though not my only source.
It is the closest thing I have to a full-time job though.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Hi @bmugford . I was going to ask you a few questions but I see that other NP members have already asked you.
So I just want to thank you for your posts and contributions in this forum. You are quite a valuable member here, that's for sure. Always keeping your style and good manners.
And as some members have already said, I also quite agree with almost every of your posts and views here, about domains and about "other discussions and categories".

Thanks for the kind words.

Brad

 

[TCK]

Is it a coincidence that your AMA, or Ask Pros Anything, is at the same time as bill hartzer?

 

[bmugford]

Is it a coincidence that your AMA, or Ask Pros Anything, is at the same time as bill hartzer?

Apparently.

I had "AMA coming soon" in my signature for the last week or two.
I just decided to put it up today. Then I saw Bill's AMA afterwards.

I assume it is coincidence. There was no coordination on my end, or with NamePros.

I think there is enough room for (2) AMA though.

Brad

 

[TCK]

Apparently.

I had "AMA coming soon" in my signature for the last week or two.
I just decided to put it up today. Then I saw Bill's AMA afterwards.

I assume it is coincidence. There was no coordination on my end, or with NamePros.

I think there is enough room for (2) AMA though.

Brad

I totally agree. Thought maybe it might be related in some odd way to Epik. I am hoping to start my own AMA. Just trying to figure out how that works.

 

[bmugford]

I totally agree. Thought maybe it might be related in some odd way to Epik. I am hoping to start my own AMA. Just trying to figure out how that works.

I should give @twiki credit. It was that AMA from a few months ago that even gave me the idea to do it.

Brad

 

[tonyk2000]

Brad, do you still remember the very first domain you _sold_ - year, price, venue, etc.?

 

[honestbobby]

Hello

Well great thoughts.. Great contribution..a lot to learn for beginners like me from yours journey and experiences... If possible keep sharing and ask me anything strictly for beginners should be more beneficial for beginners like me..

Thank you

 

[Bean]

Hi, Brad, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and insights!

Let's say you're starting from scratch today but you are equipped with the domaining knowledge you've accumulated over the past decades.

You have $500 to invest (in domains/domaining).

1) Please outline your strategy, how would you use your $500?

2) Obviously there are no guarantees in domaining and $500 is not a lot of money. This will probably sound silly but I'm just curious, how do you estimate your chances of being able to actually build a sustainable income source from the initial $500?

Thank you!

 

[Haroon Basha]

Hello Brad,
I am a great fan of yours, since recent days, I am continuously reading your very constructive messages on NamePros. Thank you for sharing your best experience. Today I have a few questions, please shed some lights:
1. Which Nameservers return good Sales?
2. Which is the best tool or website to see the LATEST Trending Keywords?
3. What are the sure shot tricks or strategies to secure a desired Pending Delete name?

Thank you very much.

 

[bmugford]

Brad, do you still remember the very first domain you _sold_ - year, price, venue, etc.?

That is a good question.

I don't remember the actual domain, but it was a LLLL.com well before I was a domain investor.

I bought a handful of domains back in 1999 - a few for my business and some LLLL.com.
There was nothing all that spectacular that I registered.

At the time registrations were $70 ($35/year for 2 years) via Network Solutions.

It was one of those LLLL.com I sold in probably in 2001-2022. It was during the .COM bubble collapse for mid $XXX. The buyer contacted me via email and we agreed to a deal.

That kind of sparked my interest in domains, though I did not really invest heavily until years later.

Brad

 

[bmugford]

Hi, Brad, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and insights!

Let's say you're starting from scratch today but you are equipped with the domaining knowledge you've accumulated over the past decades.

You have $500 to invest (in domains/domaining).

1) Please outline your strategy, how would you use your $500?

2) Obviously there are no guarantees in domaining and $500 is not a lot of money. This will probably sound silly but I'm just curious, how do you estimate your chances of being able to actually build a sustainable income source from the initial $500?

Thank you!

Well, everyone starts somewhere. $500 is not an insignificant amount of money.
It can get you some decent domains.

It helps to have a larger budget, or I should say it CAN help.
If you are making bad decisions, a larger budget is just a shortcut to losing more money.

I think the key on a limited budget is to not waste money.

The best sources of domains are probably venues like GoDaddy closeouts, NamePros marketplace, and hand registrations. It is probably going to be hard to compete on expired auctions without a larger budget.

I would probably stick to domains in a $25 - $100 price range, let's say $50 on average.
Now these domains are not likely to have massive pools of end users, but they would be sellable domains.

You basically need to get that first sale, and with standard STR and that budget it can be tough.

Outside just waiting around, you have to figure out a way to hustle and make it happen.
This could be on NamePros, social media, proactively reaching out to potential end users, etc.

Brad