Investing $2,xxx into domains -- Need Advice?!?

[Blake]

Well as the title says I'm fixing to invest around 2k worth of my money into domain names and have a need for advice from senior members and folks feedback on what would be the best course of action. Now my real question is if you were to invest this amount in domains "and maybe you already do that plus some" but i don't and haven't as of yet.....Would you buy off droplists and just grab 200 that are really good? or 1-5 Really good names from other sellers?

So the real deal is with this cash what would be the best course of action in you were in my shoes. I realize a lot of folks spend this amount daily but i choose to invest a little bit at a time but feel right now is the time to increase my investment budget. I started off in this business with $30 and have made my money back and returns into the $x,xxx range etc. I feel strongly about investing right now due to low prices and the state of the market. I'm looking at this as an investment for holding purposes so please bear this in mind. I also do quite a bit of development as well.

One other question floating in my mind is pool and there $60 backorder worth getting that great domain name in this economy....I'm expressing myself for the consideration of other senior members and heavy investors alike.

Please give me some feedback as this will happen the 3rd week of February and I feel that will be the time when i commit to an investment course of action. I thank all who reply and give me advice and as always I value each persons reply and input into this conversation.

 

[copper]

Buy it from reseller would be my choice.
Current economic condition will last much longer than most think.
So, if you register dropped domains...
You can get about 250 just above junk domains.
One year later, you will need another $2,000 to renew.

If you buy domains from another domainer...
You can buy 10 ok domains at currently low prices.
It will only cost you about $80.00 to renew them all.
Or, renew for 5 years for all of them immediately and forget
about them until someone contact you with offers.

I would buy it from another domainers

 

[ZeRohiLL]

I would stay away from drops, unless there is that one domain worth investing in. Stick to the boards and you'll find great deals to be had.

Definitely QUALITY over QUANTITY, if you still want to be doing this in a year.

 

[kev]

There's some great deals being listed on the forums just now.
It's a good time to buy since a lot of people are struggling for money right now. If you have the capital to invest, think about it carefully before jumping into a deal.

It's best to invest small amounts at a time instead of saying I need to spend $2,xxx, since you'll end up wasting your money if you think to yourself I have to spend my entire budget

Good luck :tu:

 

[yandig]

I'd look at some of the upcoming auctions (DomainFest, TRAFFIC, etc...) and try to snag a couple of one-word domains for a heavy discount. It's likely that the economy will dictate fewer buyers for those auctions, so you could get a few great deals.

 

[theuniverse]

invest in good domains from any source that may be from drops,direct registration,...etc.

 

[JamesDavid]

I guess before people give you advice you should state your goal..

Are you looking to turn your $2K into $4K in 3 years or are you looking to buy domains to hold onto for 20 years until you retire. I don't think anybody can give you good advice without knowing your goals....

IF you are in it for the long term and have no desire to turn quick money but rather wait for the big return 20 years from now I would recommend putting into 2 domains from different fields/industrys and also be sure not to buy names that will perish example.... if someone would sell you CRTMonitors.com at a killer price it wouldnt be worth it for you because CRT's will be close to non existent in 20 years, or VHSTapes.com would also be close to worthless...... For LONG TERM investment get generic names, like ChineseFood.com, etc.......

IF your goal is to flip the domains once the market turns then I would invest in say 10 $200 names in hope of only having to renew them for 3 years and then selling them for $400-$600 each....

IF your goal was development, BUY 1 NAME, consider the name carefully look at all the negative and if you still feel good about it put every penny in that one name, this way your force to develop it and focus solely on that name,

Just my two cents, but I think a good thing would be to tell us your goal.....

 

[gingeman]

Buy one generic revenue earning .com with type in traffic which will last. Anticipating approximate price being around the 10 years of revenue mark, look for something making a solid $10-$20 per month and spend all your $2k.
That's what I would do.

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

General advice:

You're better off buying one premium .com domain than regging a bunch of mediocre domains. Take your time in finding this premium domain, and, if possible, find one that excites you from a developing standpoint because domain parking may be on its way out.

Before investing one penny, get to know the biz. Read the sales lists, such as DN Journal: http://www.dnjournal.com/ytd-sales-charts.htm.

Read this forum and domaining blogs.

Stay away from TM domains.

Learn the language of the biz.

Be cautious when buying in the aftermarket; I hate to say this, but I suspect shill bidding occurs regularly, so set your bid and be prepared to walk away. It's so easy to overpay.

Never fall in love with a domain name. Today's "must-have" could be tomorrow's "has-been."

*

 

[thebutler]

LLL domains

I would look around the forums for some very good deals on various LLL type domains. If you are looking for a quick return they should bounce back quickly.

If you are thinking long term (five years) some generic terms that get type in traffic would be a good buy.

Right now you have some control since there appears to be more sellers than buyers for some types of domains.

I'd avoid the drops unless you know what you are doing. I would worry about overpaying due to shill bidding (not that it ever happens!!!).

 

[reprint1]

Dont overlook the possibility of buying an active website. If it has 80s design and is not being updated but the name is great, then consider seeing if you can buy it. You then have options: developing and making income or dumping the website and parking or doing quick development and flipping.

 

[Blake]

I want to thank all who have provided insight into there plans and criteria for spending there budget. I am thinking a lot clearer now because of all the feedback. I'm going to give rep to all who posted with very good informative suggestions etc.

To answer the above question about my plans they are very simple:

Develop 1 or 2 websites and flip the rest for what i would hope is a profit.

Thanks to all once again for the feedback it's invaluable to me at this stage in domaining.

 

[networkmsia]

Get 1 super premium one word domain for 2k from a desperate reseller.
then sell it to end user for like 10k or something.....

Beware. This move is highly risky when you invest in the wrong domain.
But highly rewarded as well.

 

[Jeffrey]

You can buy 3 letter .orgs for less than 300$, 3 letter .nets for less than 600$. Just look around, now is the right time to buy.

 

[FreshAvails.com]

Get 1 super premium one word domain for 2k from a desperate reseller.
then sell it to end user for like 10k or something.....

Great Advice. Buy Low, Sell High. Why didn't I think of that?

 

[johnishere]

Buy one generic revenue earning .com with type in traffic which will last. Anticipating approximate price being around the 10 years of revenue mark, look for something making a solid $10-$20 per month and spend all your $2k.
That's what I would do.

Is anybody really buying with that kind of multiple...10 yrs. before break even? What are you guys seeing currently as a typical multiple on domain sale prices?

 

[VirtualT]

You can buy 3 letter .orgs for less than 300$, 3 letter .nets for less than 600$. Just look around, now is the right time to buy.

unless the price goes down further..

 

[WordWalker]

When buying domains, my objective is to buy what I could actually build out as a minisite. If the minisite can pay for itself, it takes the pressure off me at renewal time. And of course, if a minisite is paying its own way, there are now two good reasons for a buyer to pay a reasonable amount for the domain:

1. The domain name is paying it’s own way.
2. It’s a domain name with a minisite.

Of course, that’s easier said than done. You’d have to make the minisite part of the plan. This is my greatest challenge.

Additionally, as the economy heads for the bottom, having a website will distinguish you from 90% of domainers who are just selling a name. I would not be at all surprised if primary players in the auction market one day require a minisite, at a minimum, as a precondition to auction participation. Think about it, a website is the best way to show the potential of a domain name. Even a mock-up that is not functional. While domainers are so quick to point out that mainstream advertising agencies don’t understand our business, we don’t bother to do any of the things that advertisers have been doing successfully for years to entice buyers.

As far as what domain names to choose, I believe the best-kept secret in the business is multiple keyword domains of two, three, or even four generic keywords. Stay far, far away from anything that smacks of a trademark.

People often talk about direct navigation and type-in traffic from single and two-word domains. It’s great if you can get it. But the percentage of registered domains that actually attract strong type-in traffic is very small.

There’s not much talk about the traffic you can get from longer, keyword rich domains due to better search result ranking, but I have always believed that domains created from two, three and even four word, popular keyword search terms or phrases could be significant for this reason:

If the search query from the site visitor exactly matches the domain name of a website with original content, how could a search engine analyze this as anything other than a very high percentage probability of match?

And the best part is, it’s not a trick or a hack, it’s common sense.

Doing a Google search for the words new releases on demand (with or without quotes) will show you what I mean.

NewReleasesOnDemand.com ranks near the top even though the content is in need of an update, and parts of the site have yet to be completed. I’ve seen this work repeatedly with different websites. Another example is a minisite that was launched within the last two weeks. Try a similar search for automatic pencils or engraved pet tags (in quotes for this one).

And because multiple keyword strings are more longtail specific, my guess is that Adsense and affiliate conversions will likely be higher on a percentage basis as well. By its very nature, multiple keyword domains narrow the focus of the search so that results should more closely match what site visitors are looking for.

I would also think in terms of what people will be needing if this economy doesn’t turn around anytime soon. Planning for the early return of a strong consumer market may not be a great choice right now. I suspect jobs, debt, housing and related support services will likely play a key role in searches for the immediate future.

These are just items to think about. Of course, there are never any guarantees. If you choose not to go this route, at least you had the opportunity to consider these choices. Last, I am by no means an expert. I struggle with this stuff every day, but I believe my efforts will ultimately be rewarded. Anyway, that’s my two-cents worth. Good luck!

 

[kidkool]

Buy 1 or 2 premium domains .com. You can get great niche product names for under or around 2k. Don''t just start registering lists of names.

 

[mwzd]

Buy one good .com, nothing else.

Though I agree your investment goals should be clearer.

Cheers