Negative attitudes toward domaining

[estibot.com]

I've seen a bunch of articles and posts on other forums accusing domainers of being a greedy bunch of exploitators, basically suggesting that all domain registrations for sales purposes are bad-faith...

I disagree. Given the high competition in business these days, and the huge demand for good domain names, I think what we are doing is Digital Brand Management Consulting (sounds impressive, no?)

So what I'm saying is, it's OK for me to charge $5,000 for a good name, because I've done the research and secured a great name for a business that will benefit from my work. Plus, I'm providing the company a way to gain a competetive edge, a valuable service indeed. If I hadn't secured the name, their competitors might have gotten there first.

I think domaining is akin to logo design. Look at the logo designers - they are charging big bucks for just thinking up a brandable design.

Conclusion: Domaining is a respectable business, and it's OK to charge a sizable sum for a name.

 

[Kate]

Many people don't know the difference between investing in domain names and cybersquatting. The mainstream media do little to clear up confusion and often depict us domainers as evil/shady people.
They must be thinking we are vultures thriving on failed businesses...
Truth is, many of us have a day job and do not make a living from domains.

Then you have the people who are jealous because some domainers strike it rich. Sometimes a domain grabbed for reg fee can turn into a very nice sale.
Domaining is not just about parking, it is also about developping domains into thriving sites that provide a service.
I think that from the moment you are successful in anything you do, you will be hated somehow :lol:

 

[Keynes]

In some ways, such prevailing sentiments are a product of 2 factors: 1) The perfect inelasticity of supply for a given name 2) The growing demand for domains among businesses and people. Combining these 2, it makes sense that we're derided, more or less, by certain members of the business/investment community. We own and retain rights to virtual real estate -- it's respectable business to be in, and those who seek to dismiss it are drinking wine with sour grapes. On our end, as domainers, we have to ensure that we play fairly: respect genuine TMs, use our domains in fair use, have professional negotiation/sale practices and operate with integrity.

 

[SpareDomains]

domains are investments, you buy stocks hoping they will go up, you buy real estate hoping the area in which you bought the land or house increases in value, I can see people being upset with trademark buyers, but if you are buying clean names hoping for a sale I see no reason for others to be upset with this, you pay for the name and keep it renewed each year then it should be your decision what you do with it whether that means parking, developed, or a sign that says buy me now 1,000, I have personally had buyers come to me and say "I don't mind paying for someone's research and hard work" Any business that is serious will spend thousands of dollars on their business plan and a few k for the perfect domain name means nothing to them.

 

[estibot.com]

domains are investments, you buy stocks hoping they will go up, you buy real estate hoping the area in which you bought the land or house increases in value

I agree, but the concept of owning a domain is somewhat vague... it's more like a lease. Maybe some of the antipathy stems from that.

I have personally had buyers come to me and say "I don't mind paying for someone's research and hard work".

Exactly.

 

[gpmgroup]

There is nothing worse than making a genuine offer for a domain and the seller automatically doubles it. Most sellers know how much they want for a name so they should mark the price, or at least an OIRO (offers in the Region of) guide price.

Can you imagine walking into a supermarket without any prices and when you get to the till the cashier asks you to make an offer for each item you want to buy, then to make it worse they look you up and down and decide how much extra they might be able to screw out of you and then tell you the price is 3X or 4X what you offered.

One particular domain selling site doesn't help with their complete disrespect for buyers, in fact i've now heard they are automatically sending domains with offers on to auction. Sheesh!