domain Is this why my domains are rubbish?! listen247.co.uk & others

[The_General]

Hi guys,

This is my first post, so please be gentle! I have done quite a bit of reading on several forums and have been looking at sales and have come to the conclusion that my domain portfolio is worth very little (or nothing at all!) (question at the bottom of the dissecting of my portfolio)

listen247.co.uk
Nobody searches for "listen". Might be brandable but I suspect being .co.uk really limits this.

88p.co.uk
NNL are worth nothing unless .com and even then LN combos do badly

bucknaked.co.uk
"buck" is an American term and it's a UK TLD, this really needs to be .com

iwantavacation.co.uk
Same as above and too many words

decreaseyourdebt.co.uk
creditandloanadvice.co.uk
creditandloanoffers.co.uk
loanandcreditoffers.co.uk
loanandcreditadvice.co.uk
Too many words and too long, especially as they are .co.uk. The top one is the best of a bad bunch

debtbustingloans.com
Could be brandable but it's still very long. A bit better than the stuff above.

moneyace.co.uk
I liked this one for being quite short and 2 words but I think it is probably useless as a ccTLD

moneywhiz.co.uk
No one uses whiz and they might not know if it's whiz, wiz or whizz.

iwantacareer.co.uk
Maybe brandable but too many word. Would probably be ok as a .com

getmefreestuff.co.uk
Too long, too many words - bleh

I would really appreciate your opinions on if I have got the right reasons for this so that I can avoid the same mistakes again!

 

[Name Trader]

I'm not that familiar with the .co.uk market, but your reasoning sounds spot on to me.

 

[The_General]

Thanks for your reply stub, I presume that these days good domains are registered so you can only really get them through a rare auction after being dropped (unlikely) or buying them from the owner, through forums and auction websites like Sedo or goDaddy.

If this is the case, what are your thoughts on lesser known, preferably emerging TLDs? The new TLDs seem to have a tough time of it and if .us can't even get really popular, it doesn't look good for the others!

 

[Traveler]

I think you have pretty much nailed the reasons. Everyone makes mistakes starting out, looks like you have learned from yours, which is a great thing.

 

[techgal128]

For a newbie, you are smarter than some of the regulars here.

Don't tell them I said that.

 

[The_General]

Thanks Traveler, it's good to know. And thanks techgal - I'm sure they have still done better than me at actually selling domains though!

This all leaves me wondering where to go next - try one word brandables in other countries or look for a good .com for sale for less than it's what I think is a plausible value? Is there something else I'm missing?

 

[Name Trader]

I personally don't think much of all these 1000's of new gTLD's coming out. They won't take over the world in the next 10 years, imho. There will still be demand for .com/.net/.org, imho. Most of these new tld's are aimed at people who don't have websites yet (maybe because they are still pre-schoolers). I think it's going to be hard for a domainer to make money there. You are going to need a lot of luck by choosing only on or two tld's and they take off, like .web is expected to do, for example. I see them mostly as niche tld's.

I almost never hand-reg any domains. Maybe between 0-10/yr. You should be buying your domains on Sedo, Afternic, GoDaddy, although the prices are not always to a domainers liking. You should also be buying Pre-Release domains on SnapNames and NameJet. But of course all good domains will attract other domainer competition. It's nigh impossible to buy a good domain without attracting competition. You can find some more moderate domains in the Dropping auctions at SnapNames, NameJet, GoDaddy, but most of the good domains will have been sold in their Pre-Release auctions.

 

[The_General]

That's great info, thanks for your views - time for some more research...

 

[theartist.slk]

For a newbie, you are smarter than some of the regulars here.

Don't tell them I said that.

Lol I love this busted me up.

You do seem to have a good idea of the limitations of your portfolio way to do your research and with that knowledge you should be able to turn the page and start getting more promising names.
Good luck.

 

[NameOmnia]

Hi,

I am not an expert about cctlds but I am sure there are many countries that prefer to register domains in their own extension ( .de .it .co.uk... ) and take the .com as a second choice to internationalize their brand/busiiness.
So you made some mistakes ( like mixing American terms with ans English extension ) BUT there are some names up there that are not bad at all imo. as they can easily find an end user ( with a bit of patience..)

listen247
IWantACareer
88p
MoneyAce

They obviously are brandables not EMDs so if you were looking for generic/keyword rich then that's the mistake. Just be patient and advertise them uk related markets ( like ebay.co.uk and Sedo which I think should have geo websites )

GOOD LUCK

 

[wakeh]

Hi!

I think the first thing to do is look at things with a sensible head. Analyse things and although perhaps the investment looked worthwhile to begin with, perhaps what you thought was good isn't.

You have done just that and to have pinpointed clear and concise reasons for them being invaluable being as new as you are, is admirable.

Just so you know, I have sold 1 .co.uk for $300 and 1 .com for $250. So ccTLD isn't necessarily going to be worth less, its all in the name.

Keep pecking away at it, make sure you apply the same thought process ahead of buying a domain, each of the guys/gals on here will have their routine ahead of purchase.

Best of luck to you!

Wakeh!

 

[Kate]

Always put yourself in the shoes of an end user.
Would you pay $$$ for your own domain names - or would you settle for some available domain instead, that could be equally good ?
You see, nobody likes to pay more than regfee for a domain unless it's outstanding or you need a great domain for a business venture, so it's an investment you can recoup quickly.

I don't see a compelling reason for buying your domain names. That being said, call to action domains like getmefreestuff.co.uk can have value, yes it's a bit long but memorable and it's got some advertising potential. Still a tough sell (even though you can get lucky sometimes) but you could develop it and build a viable site. Obviously, freestuff.co.uk would be real nice and the preferred choice.

 

[The_General]

Thanks for all your replies, I have some more really useful things to think about and you've made my first posting a really positive one!