Numbered domains

[NotAUser67]

What makes a numbered domain worth something? Number domains are going for high numbers but what makes it So? I know this is a buyers market and a domain is only worth what you can sell it for but what makes these number domains so good?

 

[lambo.com]

Short

Number culture in China where numbers/ number patterns sound like words

Liquid

Consistent demand and floor values

Comparable sales: easier reference points for numeric dotcom sales

 

[NYJimbo]

What makes a numbered domain worth something? Number domains are going for high numbers but what makes it So? I know this is a buyers market and a domain is only worth what you can sell it for but what makes these number domains so good?

If you remove the Chinese factor, much of it is speculating and valuation based on nothing more than "Its a 3N .com, it must be valuable". So many 3-5N .com domains do nothing but sit around waiting to be bought by someone else with a bigger bank book,.

 

[NotAUser67]

If you remove the Chinese factor, much of it is speculating and valuation based on nothing more than "Its a 3N .com, it must be valuable". So many 3-5N .com domains do nothing but sit around waiting to be bought by someone else with a bigger bank book,.

So worth the buy and hold or a big gamble in your opinion?

 

[NYJimbo]

So worth the buy and hold or a big gamble in your opinion?

Honestly cant say. BUT if you do buy them purely for speculating, stay away from domains with "0" or "4". Those aren't really bad to the general market, but bad for Chinese buyers.

 

[lambo.com]

So worth the buy and hold or a big gamble in your opinion?

I own numeric domains. A great thing to have in a portfolio if quality (and bought well).

 

[Kpett]

I'd stay away from the numbers market if you are just starting. Let's say you find a great deal on a 5N.com name for $300. You turn around and sell it in 6 months for $400 on a marketplace like NameJet. Well, once you pay the commission of $80 and if there was a domain renewal for $10, you made a whole $10. Not worth your time.

But if you are in it for the long haul, maybe finding that same deal on a 5N and then sitting on it for 5-10 years (and paying $50-100 in renewals) might get you more profit.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I found this article on the focus of numbered domains in China interesting and informative.

https://newrepublic.com/article/117608/chinese-number-websites-secret-meaning-urls

The Wikipedia article on Chinese numerology is also somewhat relevant:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_numerology

I look at some NNNNN sales in .com in this post, including the top sales of all time. I also examined with some recent sales how well GoValue predicts their prices. The top sale, not surprisingly, for a 5 digit .com was for 88888 which sold for $245,000 in 2013.

https://agreatnameforyou.blogspot.com/2018/08/nnnnn-domain-names.html

 

[NicTraders]

I haven't read the top link MetBob posted so this might contain the same info, but this is one I have bookmarked - https://www.mediaoptions.com/domain-names/understanding-numeric-domain-value-in-chinese-culture.html

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I haven't read the top link MetBob posted so this might contain the same info, but this is one I have bookmarked - https://www.mediaoptions.com/domain-names/understanding-numeric-domain-value-in-chinese-culture.html

No that one by Tess is different. Although both articles cover some of the same, they each add different aspects to the topic. Thanks so much for the link! I really like the stress she places on the use of numbers to in Chinese culture to decrease linguistic confusion.