It's all made up

[maven]

Full disclosure: I'm just a kid and I've found out what a domainer is less than a year ago.

That being said I went from “this is kind of stupid” to “maybe I should learn more” to “this guys are genius” to “I should get into this before is to late” to “that's an exception” to “that's another exception” to “that's actually the rule” to “this is so stupid”.

I've analyzed close to two hundred portfolios and the majority of names are not worth register. I see the word end-user a lot, but the truth is that the majority of domainers are the end-user for the majority of their names. Just because you don't know how to use it doesn't mean that you are not the end user, if you don't let it drop nobody will come after you.

Even the very pillars of this industry have hundreds, and in some cases, tens of thousands of worthless domains. You can literally register something for 10 bucks and put a 10k tag on it.

I mean, for God's sake, casualcasualties.com was registered last year and you can grab it today for just 94888 usd. You snooze, you lose.

The guy with the pigeons keeps renewing incomeproducingproperty.tv every year like clockwork, since … wait for it … 2011. That's obviously a money maker, but I'm to young to understand.

And there are thousands of examples … if the name has no logic, no meaning, no inherited value then is even better because it's a brandable. That means that you buy it for a premium and is up to you to build the value. If you can't do it, is your fault, the name had the potential to be big (and now you ruined it, buy another one). If you can brand airbnb I think is safe to say that you can brand anything. Your chances will undoubtedly increase if you buy the brand (basically a five dollar logo), not just the name, from a brand marketplace. There is one that sits on a inventory of between 4.5 and 22.5 mil. USD in artwork alone. No, is not BS … is BB.

So yeah … it's not all made up, but 99.9% is!

 

[Nerevar]

It does not matter if you sell 1% of your stock like in domaining, or 99% like in drinks retail.
If you do make profit, even by doing something that looks stupid, it's a good business
If you do not make any profit, it's an expensive hobby.

 

[MapleDots]

The problem (as I mentioned numerous times before) is the exorbitant amount some people ask for domains. I visited a site a few weeks back and the guy seemed to think every domain was worth 100k.

If you look at actual sales very few domains ever hit 100k. A lot of successful domainers deal in the 1k-5k range and make a good profit. I visited a site this morning (member from here) and his domains were actually priced within reason, what a pleasant read that was.

 

[hxp]

You snooze, you lose.

Pretty much.

 

[campout]

It's not "all" made up. Also remember that a successful business model in domaining often involves only selling something like 1% of your names a year.

 

[carob]

Any industry exists because there are buyer and there are sellers - nature of the commodity is what makes this 'domain industry' unique.

The supply of domains is infinite.

Demand for aftermarket domains could disappear at any time.

Imagine that of all the rocks on all the beaches in the world there are just a few rocks that some individual feels matches their own appearance enough to pay for as a fashion accessory. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to match the right rock to the right buyer. Happy surfing.

 

[Cdomains]

Very true although 95 percent of the domains in the hand reg of the day thread will never sell. Its knowing what you can call an investment and whats money down the drain. Id rather assume everything is money down the drain untill its sold than everything is an investment unless it doesnt sell in ten years if that makes sense lol.

Yes, I agree, most of the names posted in the hand reg thread are probably never going to sell.

But, I have seen a few good ones in there, on occasion!

 

[comati]

the majority of domainers are the end-user for the majority of their names.

unfortunately, that's true

The guy with the pigeons

lol, good one

you buy the brand (basically a five dollar logo)

again truer words have never been spoken

There is one that sits on a inventory of between 4.5 and 22.5 mil. USD in artwork alone.

where did you found that info?

Great opinion! But please don't forget that even trash has some value.

old saying "some people trash is other people treasure"

Most of us don't have the luxury of having a small portfolio filled with 1 word dotcoms from the early days to make profits from.

i for one wish that I had fewer and better names ... actually i'm working on it as we speak

there are other languages then english

can I interest you in something like FinanzielleIntelligenz.com or SmarteImplantate.com or maybe, Spielautomaten-spielen.com (coz the hyphen is not a deal breaker for DE)? :p

So yes, you are completely correct.... however, you only see the domainers that don't know their craft. Look at huge domains.... thousands of soso domains at around 2k each but they are hugely profitable.

they get a lot of expired names, just visited some of the recent ones and you are spot on 1995 usd a piece.
i've noticed that they say pool.com was sold recently for 5K and my heart skipped a beat ... i guess it's a typo and they are referring to pool.com.au sale

 

[1Darko]

Any industry exists because there are buyer and there are sellers - nature of the commodity is what makes this 'domain industry' unique. It comes to the million$ (literally) question - what is the the real value of the domain. How can a domain possibly be registered at $10 sell for thousands or more in few weeks time. It does happen, not to mention there is lot of hype though. This 'commodity' is like no other, a few years of registration fees adds up to price exponentially or it can be be just sitting there with no inquires. But one sale can possibly cover for about 100/200 domains that are just sitting there.

One has to really understand, be in weeds, and have first hand experience to understand this industry. If you tell a layman about domain industry, they will be 'awed' by hearing the success stories and more likely to jump in just because it really does not cost much to get in. Of course people do not hear 100s of stories about domainers losing money and quietly exiting out. Technically, you hear stories only from those who stay in industry and survive. Most of general public would not even believe or know that domains can be (re)sold. If you personally stay away from domains for extended period of time and come back, all the domains will look same and will not mean anything more than some English letters rearranged.

So the message for new comers is that, try to test the water first before buying 50 or 100's of names. Try to get some (domain) marketing experience (you have nothing to lose as you can carry that experience somewhere else as well). In a year or so, if you just breaking even, that is still ok as it is the norm with other businesses - they are not successful in first 2/3 years. "But" the number of inquires/leads should give you idea about how good your names are. If you think that by registering names by replacing few letters/vowels or similar sounding names, you can also sell a name, you are grossly mistaken. Most domainers consider 2-3% to be a successful rate. So you have to be right only couple of times out of 100s of times.

How to register those 'couple' of names? If you cannot make other people think on the same line as you did (when you registered the names), then probably that was not the right approach. Talking of hand registered names and that is where this is most profitable for your business to just stay 'afloat', your success depends on whether you there to register a name "before" lot of other people thought of the name and found it registered.

Best.

This is so true and beautiful written. If you like it, print it, frame it and put it on the wall ! At times when you not sure - read it! Thanks!

 

[D Haynes]

Not completely true, you discount the possibility of buying names as a long term investment. In this case, a name sold is an investment lost. However, I do agree that a domain name portfolio should be managed, and it should be subject to regular pruning, and hopefully that will generate a profit on an individual sale.

Very true although 95 percent of the domains in the hand reg of the day thread will never sell. Its knowing what you can call an investment and whats money down the drain. Id rather assume everything is money down the drain untill its sold than everything is an investment unless it doesnt sell in ten years if that makes sense lol.

 

[frank-germany]

Very true although 95 percent of the domains in the hand reg of the day thread will never sell. Its knowing what you can call an investment and whats money down the drain. Id rather assume everything is money down the drain untill its sold than everything is an investment unless it doesnt sell in ten years if that makes sense lol.

I frequently sell domains I have completely forgotten

so how do you calculate that?

 

[kandyan]

Good read.. lots of valid/valuable points..

 

[dotcomdomainer]

I've been saying that domainers are actually domain collectors but many don't realize it. For domainers to be their own end users, they must own domains worth developing to begin with. Too many names are garbage and unusable and they have no future.
Domainers must also be in the mood for developing their domains, but often they have no use for them.

Domaining can be profitable but it's not lottery. Because you get a chance to pick your ticket. The only thing you need to pick the right ticket is discernment (hi @Bannen) and adequate funding. Investing is not the same as gambling.

People expecting big payouts for no work will be disappointed with domaining. If you want to make money, you have to be dedicated and treat it like a real business. But the vast majority of domainers are hobbyists. I'm not exagerating, see for yourself how many (few) are incorporated, how many have a CPA, how many pay taxes on domain sales, how many even keep accounts...

It's pretty normal that the majority of domainers are losing money. It's a specialized trade, not everybody can do it. Not without dedication, patience, a sound business plan and the willingness to learn.

I agree, you should also write a book or a blog. It could be really helpful for all of us.

 

[D Haynes]

I frequently sell domains I have completely forgotten

so how do you calculate that?

I guess you can't calculate that. I'd say if you've forgotten you had the name, you've already accepted it as money down the drain, then when you sell it it's a nice surprise.

My personal opinion is that if you forget names you own, you own too many.

 

[Cdomains]

My personal opinion is that if you forget names you own, you own too many.

Many times I go to reg a domain and find I already own it.

Too many domains to keep track of.

Working on fixing it.

 

[D Haynes]

Many times I go to reg a domain and find I already own it.

Too many domains to keep track of.

Working on fixing it.

Im sure many people make a proffit from large portfolios where they have more names than they remember but its not an optimised business model. I mean how can anyone be in the business of sellig when you dont know what you have to sell.

 

[MapleDots]

Im sure many people make a proffit from large portfolios where they have more names than they remember but its not an optimised business model. I mean how can anyone be in the business of sellig when you dont know what you have to sell.

I know a very successful domainer who does nothing, and I mean nothing, his domains don't resolve and he counts exclusively on whois lookups. He says if you want the domain you will come to him. I can't argue with him because he does it full time, has waaaaayyy more domains than me and makes a lot of money.

 

[D Haynes]

I know a very successful domainer who does nothing, and I mean nothing, his domains don't resolve and he counts exclusively on whois lookups. He says if you want the domain you will come to him. I can't argue with him because he does it full time, has waaaaayyy more domains than me and makes a lot of money.

Yeah there's not a lot I can say against that lol. I guess if you have good names and enough of them, your bound to turn over a certain amount.

 

[Haykay2005]

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