discuss Is Domaining Getting Harder Today?

[Ali Mustafa]

Many domain investors often say the same thing.

Domaining was easier in the past.

Years ago many good domains could be registered by hand. Opportunities were everywhere.

But today we also have better tools. Marketplaces are bigger. Data is easier to access. AI tools help research domains. Buyers come from all over the world. At the same time many investors say it is now much harder to find good domains. Strong .com names are already taken. Competition is higher. Renewal costs are rising.

So it raises an interesting question.

What do you think? Is domaining getting harder or has the game simply changed?

 

[Leo2k]

many investors

May be this is the reason people who started long back find a difference?

 

[bmugford]

It has certainly become harder, and more expensive.

There are only so many investment grade domains worth owning, and the vast majority have been registered for a long period of time.

While AI and other tools can be helpful, good domains are going to have heavy competition.

Most good domains are obvious and don't need tools to find. It's just common sense.

Unless there is some brand new field, there is also not much worth hand registering.

Brad

 

[Ali Mustafa]

It has certainly become harder, and more expensive.

There are only so many investment grade domains worth owning, and the vast majority have been registered for a long period of time.

While AI and other tools can be helpful, good domains are going to have heavy competition.

Most good domains are obvious and don't need tools to find. It's just common sense.

Unless there is some brand new field, there is also not much worth hand registering.

Brad

That is a very interesting point & the limited supply of investment grade domains probably plays a big role in this & I also agree with what you said about obvious names. Many strong domains are simple ideas that anyone can recognize immediately which naturally creates competition.

Maybe the biggest difference today is not the tools but the number of investors looking for the same opportunities.

 

[bmugford]

That is a very interesting point & the limited supply of investment grade domains probably plays a big role in this & I also agree with what you said about obvious names. Many strong domains are simple ideas that anyone can recognize immediately which naturally creates competition.

Maybe the biggest difference today is not the tools but the number of investors looking for the same opportunities.

While end users price have gone up over the last several years, I think reseller prices have gone up even faster.

If you just take an average two word .COM that might sell for mid $X,XXX to an end user, years ago you could acquire that type of domain for low $XXX.

Now, that type of domain sells for mid $XXX to low $X,XXX reseller.

The margins have been squeezed where most of the prices don't make sense to a typical domain investor.

Brad

 

[Ali Mustafa]

While end users price have gone up over the last several years, I think reseller prices have gone up even faster.

If you just take an average two word .COM that might sell for mid $X,XXX to an end user, years ago you could acquire that type of domain for low $XXX.

Now, that type of domain sells for mid $XXX to low $X,XXX reseller.

The margins have been squeezed where most of the prices don't make sense to a typical domain investor.

Brad

Good point Brad Agree also If reseller prices rise faster than end user prices, the margins for investors naturally become smaller. That probably makes things harder today.

 

[katerleonid]

I agree that domaining has become more expensive today (good .ai / .com domains are more expensive than 10 years ago).

But on the other hand, one thing that almost didn’t exist when I wanted to start domaining in 2009 was the large number of marketplaces where you can sell domain names.

 

[markfromslo]

The problem is that there are fewer potential buyers, alternate TLDs are more acceptable, and there are too many domainers.

 

[biggie]

Hi

if, and thats big IF, you’re willing and able, to pay the cost to be the boss, then it’s not hard at all

when you can bid above the rest, to get the best…then you can be one of the personas’ that get their nuts held in esteem.

to them, you make this shit look easy
and of course that too, is big reason why you got these brand newbies thinking they gonna come in on day one and flip shit like you, cuz they saw a video on you tube

 

[DomainRecap]

When domain investing first started, it was an emerging market, and opportunities were everywhere so unless you were a drooling idiot, it was easy to make money.

Today, domain investment is a mature market with significant barriers that limit both access and profitability, resulting in a much, much more difficult area to navigate and make consistent money.

Or as the Domain King puts it, there will never be another time when virtually every business entity in the world is scrabbling to buy a domain.

 

[Grego85]

Personally I think its easier, but I'm not going for growth or anything these days, just being playful.

 

[Ali Mustafa]

Some really good points here. It seems like most agree the barrier to entry has increased not necessarily because opportunities disappeared but because margins have tightened and competition has grown.

@katerleonid I agree the growth of marketplaces has definitely made selling more accessible compared to earlier years.

@markfromslo interesting take on fewer buyers and more competition, that probably adds to the pressure on pricing and margins.

@Grego85 thats a unique perspective & i think the approach and goals of the investor also play a big role in how “hard” the market feels.

Overall it seems like the market hasn’t necessarily become impossible, but more competitive and capital-intensive compared to before.

Maybe the real shift is:

Before → easier to find opportunities
Now → harder to find but easier to scale if you find the right ones

Curious to see how this evolves over the next few years especially with AI and new extensions entering the market.

 

[Liaminvestor]

I believe that there are to little domainers compared to the market size

370M domains registered to many domains, and domain investors community is to small

if there would be much more domainers, would be much more resales, there would be much more movement for domains, there would be much more infrastructure and market places to sell domains, and we also need more brokers approaching end users and buyers

and the early Domainers, with experience, and holding premium domains would benefit the most

 

[bmugford]

I believe that there are to little domainers compared to the market size

370M domains registered to many domains, and domain investors community is to small

if there would be much more domainers, would be much more resales, there would be much more movement for domains, there would be much more infrastructure and market places to sell domains, and we also need more brokers approaching

and the early Domainers, with experience, and holding premium domains would benefit the most

The problem is there are only so many generic domains with realistic resale potential.

The vast majority of domain registrations have no investment value.

Just look at the daily expired list. More than 99% of the domains I wouldn't want for free.

Of the domains with investment potential, most are consolidated in a limited number of hands.

Brad

 

[Ali Mustafa]

I believe that there are to little domainers compared to the market size

370M domains registered to many domains, and domain investors community is to small

if there would be much more domainers, would be much more resales, there would be much more movement for domains, there would be much more infrastructure and market places to sell domains, and we also need more brokers approaching

and the early Domainers, with experience, and holding premium domains would benefit the most

Interesting perspective but more domainers could increase activity also it could also increase competition and push reseller prices even higher.

The real issue might not be the number of domainers but the quality of inventory and alignment with real end user demand. More participants dont always mean a healthier market if margins continue to shrink.

 

[Liaminvestor]

The problem is there are only so many generic domains with realistic resale potential.

The vast majority of domain registrations have no investment value.

Just look at the daily expired list. More than 99% of the domains I wouldn't want for free.

Of the domains with investment potential, most are consolidated in a limited number of hands.

Brad

there are still thousand generic good ones sitting on go daddy and sedo with no movement, more players, would get more movement,

 

[Liaminvestor]

Interesting perspective but more domainers could increase activity also it could also increase competition and push reseller prices even higher.

The real issue might not be the number of domainers but the quality of inventory and alignment with real end user demand. More participants dont always mean a healthier market if margins continue to shrink.

it goes both directions, but would benifit a lot early investors holding good domains, and lots of experience

 

[bmugford]

there are still thousand generic good ones sitting on go daddy and sedo with no movement, more players, would get more movement,

Domains have to make sense investment wise.

Unless end user demand and budgets go way up, rising reseller prices just squeeze margins and make domains less appealing as an investment.

Brad

 

[Ali Mustafa]

there are still thousand generic good ones sitting on go daddy and sedo with no movement, more players, would get more movement,

More movement does not mean more value. Most domains don’t sell due to lack of demand not lack of investors.

Quality drives liquidity not quantity in my opinion

 

[Liaminvestor]

Domains have to make sense investment wise.

Unless end user demand and budgets go way up, rising reseller prices just squeeze margins and make domains less appealing as an investment.

Brad

Companies are not looking to waste money, they spend because they need Premium domains, save them cpc advertisments etc