discuss Investments

[Daniel Albrecht]

If you could invest 2,000. What would you look for?

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I would diversify it as much as that limited amount offered.

I would invest about 45% in .com (about fraction traffic on .com) because historically that is where best returns have been. I would ask myself what sorts of businesses are just emerging but scale so that there could well be thousands in cities around the world. I would split the .com between made up pronounceable brandables, words borrowed from ancient or other languages, and two word names where the second word is an extension I can get at hand reg cost and sell as pairs. ($900)

I would put a bit in single word .co, io or .ai. ($200)

I would search for one good .org at low cost. ($50)

I would buy one nice .ca because I am a proud Canadian, eh? ($50)

I would put the rest into low cost new extensions that made elegant domain name phrases. ($750 including part of pairs)

I would spend $50 on silly domain names because I sometimes like silly names and my grandchildren would like those best. We would consider horses, monsters and silly rhymes

Bob

 

[Haroon Basha]

500 $ per month via domain parking?

No, domain parking revenue is near dead, forget it. I am talking about buying and selling of domain names. Buy only 4 letter dot com names at cheap price here at NamePros and sell them at Sedo, Afternic, NameJet, Dan, Epik etc Marketplaces.

 

[Haroon Basha]

$ 2000 is too small an investment, need at least $ 5000 to earn an earning of $ 500 per month.

 

[Reddstagg]

I'm a relative newcomer and I would say remember two pieces of advice.

1...buying is easy
2...selling is hard and dedicated

I started off with little money and I have spent under $2,000 so far but the estimated value of my 126 name portfolio is $64,000.

This means that the potential return on investment is roughly 37 to 1.

However, I have a list of another 900 domain names to be registered and their estimated values would be $406,000.

The science comes when determining which of the 900 domain names I should register next.

All are hand registrations by me and I usually come up with the names by watching news programmes, both foreign and domestic, social media, dictionary words of the day, my own environment and reading NP as much as possible.

I have .coms, hyphenated names and less popular domain extensions but I view it as spread betting as maybe, just maybe I might just get lucky once and a domain name which on paper looks un-impressive may just win The National (horse racing).

Good luck with your endeavours and remember, don't always listen to good advice!!!

 

[NameJi]

That is a good strategy but turnover could be very slow. I would prefer cheaper names and quicker turnover. I think it's easier to make money that way. Expensive names usually take much longer to sell. But it's up to each individual to choose a strategy that suits them. This strategy suits you so is one you should follow, but it won't work for everyone. There is a whole load of money to be made with cheaper and faster turnover domains. Neither strategy is really better than the other, as both work. One downside to buying just one domain name is that it could take maybe 5 years to sell, so you'd be waiting 5 years for a profit. Of course you'd also save yourself a load of time as you'd have less to sell.

The lesson learnt over the years is to hold ACEs. It is absolutely great if we can own ACE at cheaper price. The idea is to always buy something that is sellable. The premiums are the ones that are more likely sellable at premium prices.

Here is my buying preference in order:
LLL.com (no hand reg)
LLLL.COM (no hand reg)
1 WORD .COM (no hand reg)
2 WORD .COM (no hand reg)
2 WORD .COM ( hand reg)
1 WORD . OTHER EXTENSIONS ( hand reg / no hand reg)

 

[biggie]

Hi

with $2k to spend investing in domains, it really depends on what type of domainer you plan to be.

do you want to be proactive, sending solicitations, making calls, etc.

or

is the plan to invest, then sit back and wait for inquires, offers and returns?

still, since i'm more of a passive seller, I would take $500 of that $2k and try to purchase a couple of type in traffic domains that earn some ppc revenue. seeking names that have earned at least $2 > $10 a month.

folks say ppc is dead, but I and many others continue to earn $ while we sleep
if you could buy an income of $20 a year, that's 1% return already!

i'd take the rest and buy a 3 letter .org domain
why?
because they have high potential for end-user usage and i have some that earn their renewal fee +some extra $ every year.

imo...

 

[brandpainvestment]

I will buy quality short names.

 

[WatchDogue]

Lets' give you credit when due as you are actively soliciting pre-purchase opinions rather than
asking for post-purchase opinions re your upcoming 2K expenditure.

That said, do factor in that annual domain names renewal costs for unsold names and subtract any potential fees, commissions and, taxes you will likely incur should names be sold as you estimate your
income potential.

 

[biggie]

I get 1.5% on my bank savings, so would rather put money there than get traffic revenue of 1%. It just sin't enough return for me. I am focused on being more active but also have a few domains that I'm happy to hold for longer.

Where do you find the domains that have income? I might take a look and see if there's any that provide a return of more than 1%. Is 1% usually the maximum you get or the average?

Hi

If you notice, I put the minimum of 1% which is comparable to a domain that makes close to $2 a month.
should you find some names that earn $5 or $10 a month, then your ROI goes up.to 5% or more.

but that 1% was a factor for the total budget of $2k.
if you calculate it for $500 spent for the traffic domains, then a return of $20 a year on that expenditure is close to 5%.

the point....
you can use those earnings to renew the names that produced the income, and any extra $ goes to renew the 3 letter .org or can be additional capital to buy more.

it's possible to buy domains that earn $20 or more a year, for $500 or less on various platforms, including domain forums.

imo...

 

[brandpainvestment]

Yes.

More weightage on four letters, lll.com, lll.net, lll.org, ccc.com, 4N.com, 5N.com etc.

 

[Reddstagg]

Literally and figuratively speaking we are just gamblers and risk takers.

Some of the buzz is just making money...today.

If I wanted to make money on five years time I would just take out a pension. How much fun would that be? Prudent, sure. Just not fun.

Remember fidget spinners? No one needed them but almost overnight a market and thus the basic economic principal of supply and demand kicked in and a billion dollar worldwide industry was created.

How many people jumped on the bandwagon and lost money thinking that they would buy a 1000 and clean up.

Knowledge can be learned by just about anybody from any walk of life, country or ethnicity but experience has to be lived. This is what I believe I can bring to the table.

I don't think that I have made too many mistakes so far, so it must count for something.

A sprint is usually more breathtaking than a marathon.

No right or wrong way I guess, just my way.

Now where did I put that pen .com

 

[NameJi]

If one goes a liquid premium, while you will be able to sell it, you must be very sure you got it at a great price or you run a risk of loss. If not liquid, then even at a 5% sell through rate, odds are about 20 years to sell. Are we sure that branding trends will not change in that ten years? If not, I see risk that what is regarded as quality today, may not be so when the domain is likely to sell.. Now that is true for all domain name types but I just prefer not to put all of my investment on just one domain name.

@Bob Hawkes Yes, as in any business there is a certain degree of risk involved in the premium acquisitions. One strategy is to acquire premium or ultra-premium domains for product development and sell on the way or use them for your products in the worst case. The bottom line is, one should know what/why he/she is acquiring, should know how to sell or know how to put them to use for their benefit.

 

[Mister Funsky]

If you could invest 2,000. What would you look for?

My ex wife...she took my pre-marriage black book when we split. I am sure many of the numbers are not good (some may have had rotary dial roots) but it would be a hoot to see if any still worked!

As far as domains go, I would invest in some logical 4L and a few top 2 word domains...both in coms.

 

[Domains@ddict]

4L and 5L pronounceables names in .com

 

[brandpainvestment]

Thanks! Got it. What about to create new names instead of buying a 4/5L.com/org/net? And does it make sence to invest into new endings like .blackfriday? xyz? (wtf), shop, tv or citynames?

Stick to .com only in initial days. When you will expert, you can go for others.

Save your capital first.

 

[Daniel Albrecht]

I would diversify it as much as that limited amount offered.

I would invest about 45% in .com (about fraction traffic on .com) because historically that is where best returns have been. I would ask myself what sorts of businesses are just emerging but scale so that there could well be thousands in cities around the world. I would split the .com between made up pronounceable brandables, words borrowed from ancient or other languages, and two word names where the second word is an extension I can get at hand reg cost and sell as pairs.

I would put a bit in single word .co, io or .ai.

I would search for one good .org at low cost.

I would buy one nice .ca because I am a proud Canadian, eh?

I would put the rest into low cost new extensions that made elegant domain name phrases.

I would spend $50 on silly domain names because I sometimes like silly names and my grandchildren would like those best. We would consider horses, monsters and silly rhymes

Bob

sounds like a good "beginners guide" Thanks Bob!

 

[Bob Hawkes]

Can you please break up the portfolio allocation here.

It is just off the top of my head at 3:30 AM here but I edited my post with $ amounts in each section. They would be mix of hand reg, registrar marketplace and NamePros acquisitions to make the dollars go far.

Bob

 

[nhauctions]

All valuation tools are worthless.

I don't think they are totally worthless, as long as you don't take them too seriously. I think they can be used to pick out some good domains. For example, I'd buy almost any closeout domain that was valued over $4,000. I wouldn't expect to sell it for that but there is some value in the higher valuations.

 

[nhauctions]

Average.

But you are investing in stocks not in index.

I should have been more specific. I usually only invest in index funds, as it's almost impossible to beat the index long term. I mentioned stocks as a general term. But if you're a good stock picker you should be able to get a decent return.

For clarity, I only have a very tiny percentage of my net worth in domains. It's more of a side hobby at the moment. So just looking to have some fun and make a little extra. My main investing is elsewhere.

 

[nhauctions]

Hi

If you notice, I put the minimum of 1% which is comparable to a domain that makes close to $2 a month.
should you find some names that earn $5 or $10 a month, then your ROI goes up.to 5% or more.

but that 1% was a factor for the total budget of $2k.
if you calculate it for $500 spent for the traffic domains, then a return of $20 a year on that expenditure is close to 5%.

the point....
you can use those earnings to renew the names that produced the income, and any extra $ goes to renew the 3 letter .org or can be additional capital to buy more.

it's possible to buy domains that earn $20 or more a year, for $500 or less on various platforms, including domain forums.

imo...

I will look into this, as it's something that I hadn't previously considered.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I'm a relative newcomer and I would say remember two pieces of advice.

1...buying is easy
2...selling is hard and dedicated

You may be a relative newcomer, @Reddstagg but you certainly have the basic principles of domain investing right on!

I think a part of the selection process for any of us should be to acquire domains that we legitimately feel will be valuable to companies since that will help us in the selling part. We also should consider that we personally may be more effective in selling certain types of domains, and that somewhere down the list can enter the consideration.

While totally agreeing with @NameJi that quality is king, and even recognizing that quite possibly your strategy of a single domain, probabilistically, may well result in the best returns, I personally have difficulty in putting my entire investment in just one domain.

Just buy one premium single word domain name between 2-5K. Renew 5 years, add a lander, forget. rinse and repeat.

If one goes a liquid premium, while you will be able to sell it, you must be very sure you got it at a great price or you run a risk of loss. If not liquid, then even at a 5% sell through rate, odds are about 20 years to sell. Are we sure that branding trends will not change in that ten years? If not, I see risk that what is regarded as quality today, may not be so when the domain is likely to sell.. Now that is true for all domain name types but I just prefer not to put all of my investment on just one domain name.

Bob

 

[DpakH]

May invest in quality 2L,3L,4L dot com with a trademark free word

 

[nhauctions]

I will like to know your strategies

Basically I just look for closeout domains on GoDaddy, cheap domain on here, etc. I try to pay around $10-$30. I only buy .com names, as I think they're easier to sell and I don't know enough about any others. When I choose a name I try to make sure that there are at least a few end buyers that I can imagine. So maybe .net and .org are already in use or the name is just a decent business name. I try to avoid names that sound nice but don't have any business use. I keep things pretty simple.

The reason I'm buying low priced domains is because I'm still learning. I reckon I'll learn more buying 100 names for $20 each than buying 4 names for $500 each.

I'm planning to do this until early next year and then take stock and see if it's worth continuing.

I also have a few other projects/experiments on the go, so will drop those that aren't working. If one thing really takes off I'll focus on that exclusively.

 

[MTB]

Basically I just look for closeout domains on GoDaddy, cheap domain on here, etc. I try to pay around $10-$30. I only buy .com names, as I think they're easier to sell and I don't know enough about any others. When I choose a name I try to make sure that there are at least a few end buyers that I can imagine. So maybe .net and .org are already in use or the name is just a decent business name. I try to avoid names that sound nice but don't have any business use. I keep things pretty simple.

The reason I'm buying low priced domains is because I'm still learning. I reckon I'll learn more buying 100 names for $20 each than buying 4 names for $500 each.

I'm planning to do this until early next year and then take stock and see if it's worth continuing.

I also have a few other projects/experiments on the go, so will drop those that aren't working. If one thing really takes off I'll focus on that exclusively.

Good post!

 

[brandpainvestment]

Thanks! Got it. What about to create new names instead of buying a 4/5L.com/org/net? And does it make sence to invest into new endings like .blackfriday? xyz? (wtf), shop, tv or citynames?

Buy something which someone wants to get. Short names do this job. Not only it protects value for long term it also creates immediate liquidity which others can't.

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