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Liaminvestor

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Hi Guys I'm Starting this "Share your story",

How did you got into domains?

when?

Your First domain registerd?

Your first sale?

Your Favorite domains?

Trends? markets?

interesting sales?

Interesting Negotiation?

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?

Vision?

Strategy?
 
9
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
GoDaddyGoDaddy
The last few Years i built a business, real estate portfolio, and a stock portfolio

a few years ago started looking into the domain Market, registered about 75 domains (garbage domains) and i dropped most of them, went back to focus on my business,

Last Year i looked again in building a premium Domain portfolio for a long term Hold strategy in a upcoming Huge Market, after a lot of research, i found Spanish word Domains, with potential it have, i created a Thread to share the opportunity with other investors.

Strategy 250 Single Words, in Finance, legal, Business, terms that stay forever

Tlds. Com, and .co

Hold Term Goal = 20 Years

My goal is to sell them as Bulk portfolio,

Thats my story :xf.smile:
 
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How did you got into domains? It was a natural evolution of being a tech geek.

when? 1999?

Your First domain registered? Londyn

Your first sale? GIBBER

Your Favorite domains? ANXT, Londyn, I have others but there are some extensions I may register before listing.

Trends? markets? Brandables

interesting sales?

Interesting Negotiation?

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?

Vision? Having a portfolio of domains on hand if I ever need one as it will be cheaper than buying from a reseller.

Strategy? Short, pronounceable and .com for the most part.
 
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How did you got into domains? It was a natural evolution of being a tech geek.

when? 1999?

Your First domain registered? Londyn

Your first sale? GIBBER

Your Favorite domains? ANXT, Londyn, I have others but there are some extensions I may register before listing.

Trends? markets? Brandables

interesting sales?

Interesting Negotiation?

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?

Vision? Having a portfolio of domains on hand if I ever need one as it will be cheaper than buying from a reseller.

Strategy? Short, pronounceable and .com for the most part.
Thanks xwat — since 1999 that's nearly 27 years in the game. Short and pronounceable — the strategy that never goes out of style
 
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How did you got into domains? My father shared about domain investing in 2004.

when?
I started full-time in 2010.

Your First domain registered?
Traders.cc - still have it.

Your first sale?
Argentina.cc for $740 via Sedo.com

Your Favorite domains?
GRO.com which I currently own.

Trends? markets?
I avoid buying any trend domains.

interesting sales?
As always it will be Symphony.com which I sold it for $375,000

Interesting Negotiation?
Many. Can't say which one is on top.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?
Many

Vision?
To stabilize this business so I can get rid of the inconsistency which still exists after having 12,000 domains.

Strategy?
Focusing more and more on .com domains. Currently having 92% .com portfolio.

Thanks!
 
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How did you got into domains? My father shared about domain investing in 2004.

when? I started full-time in 2010.

Your First domain registered? Traders.cc - still have it.

Your first sale? Argentina.cc for $740 via Sedo.com

Your Favorite domains? GRO.com which I currently own.

Trends? markets? I avoid buying any trend domains.

interesting sales? As always it will be Symphony.com which I sold it for $375,000

Interesting Negotiation? Many. Can't say which one is on top.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing? Many

Vision? To stabilize this business so I can get rid of the inconsistency which still exists after having 12,000 domains.

Strategy? Focusing more and more on .com domains. Currently having 92% .com portfolio.

Thanks!
Nice! Symphony.com for $375,000 and still holding GRO.com!
 
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How did you got into domains?

I registered a couple names for business ideas.


2014

Your First domain registered?

I forgot but it was a .com

Your first sale?

It was a 4L random .com

Your Favorite domains?

Software.now, Gem.now, Byte.now

Trends? markets?

I don't buy into trends, just long term vision.

interesting sales?

TheLat.com, not what I imagined it being used for at all.

Interesting Negotiation?

I get a lot of "offers" where people want the name for free, but if they're feeling good, they offer a shirt or something with their logo.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?

Sea.now


Having at lease one 6 figure sale per year.

Strategy?

Buy low, sell high.

.com & .now only
 
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How did you got into domains?

An extension from having an online presence

when?

In the mid '90's

Trends? markets?

LLLL.com's & one word .gl's, end user sales

Vision?

Using AI for Appraisals (supplies priceless info), & creating Sales Landers e.g. DNQR.com

Strategy?

Tuning into Bloomberg TV

Cheers
Corey
 
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I registered a couple names for business ideas.



2014



I forgot but it was a .com



It was a 4L random .com



Software.now, Gem.now, Byte.now



I don't buy into trends, just long term vision.



TheLat.com, not what I imagined it being used for at all.



I get a lot of "offers" where people want the name for free, but if they're feeling good, they offer a shirt or something with their logo.



Sea.now



Having at lease one 6 figure sale per year.



Buy low, sell high.

.com & .now only
Interesting! thanks @King
 
0
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How did you got into domains?

An extension from having an online presence

when?

In the mid '90's

Trends? markets?

LLLL.com's & one word .gl's, end user sales

Vision?

Using AI for Appraisals (supplies priceless info), & creating Sales Landers e.g. DNQR.com

Strategy?

Tuning into Bloomberg TV

Cheers
Corey
@Corey Mid 90s — you basically watched the internet get built from scratch
 
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@Corey Mid 90s — you basically watched the internet get built from scratch
Before we got into the internet we were using BBS's even though the Internet did exist at that point. And I know that was not just in the US either.
 
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Thanks for starting this interesting topic, @Liaminvestor!

How did you got into domains?
I had used domain names in a small home-based business, and a local travel site, and from that got interested in some other domain names.

when?
In terms of domain names as something to be bought and sold, only in 2016.

Your First domain registerd?

I still have the one for our now closed home business, which was my first registration in 2001. Chignecto.ca it is the name of a bay that is part of the Bay of Fundy, home of the highest tides in the world. I liked the sound of the name, and it is distinctive and known in the region, both important for the business. I have domain names going back to 1996, but not that I registered.

Your first sale?
The first number of months I exclusively bought and sold on Namecheap and their marketplace. I actually had a few dozen sales, but all for tiny turn arounds, buy at $1 sell for $10 to $25. I mainly then registered new gTLDs and .co. I think the very first was a tiny sale of MeteorTech.co. I have had a deep interest in things meteor, and liked the combination. Fun fact: at time I am writing this it is unregistered again. I am not recommending you register it. While buy at $2 sell at $20 (back then) is NOT a strategy long term, the many sales over a short period helped me fund the early days and helped me learn which names had a market. I don't take that approach any more.

Your Favorite domains?
There are so many. My favourite changes from month to month. I think to have better trust in AI we need to focus on using multiple AI that have been independently trained to have more confident results. I like my Multipath.ai a lot. I also like Manufacture.one for a one-of prototyping/3D printing/ etc. service. Canadian.homes is another favourite. There are so many....

Trends? markets?
Partly to inform my writing at NamePros, I try to be very diversified, investing in many different extensions, sectors and types of names. This is not a good strategy for investing success, where sharper focus is probably better.

interesting sales?
I find any sale interesting! :xf.smile:Seriously though, it is hard to pick one. But I like names that get promptly used in a meaningful way. A few years ago I sold rebound.cc. I like the term a lot, and was so happy to see it in use for a free global event where people anywhere can register and do their own gravel surface cycling event. Each year they have hundreds of thousands of riders, from all over the world, covering a total of millions of km. This year's event is May 30, if anyone reading this is a gravel cycling fan. Why not sign up? Yes there are prizes. And did I say free?

Interesting Negotiation?
I hardly ever do more negotiation than a few simple back and forth via a marketplace re offer and price. Sorry but nothing interesting to contribute.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?
I wish I had many to report. I have the name Watt.cc, that I like a lot in our increasingly electrified world, and also a LN and used in many businesses. I have had quite a few offers on a few different marketplaces, but still holding the name. I'm not looking for a lot, but plan to hold out for the order of my BIN.

Vision?
My vision is definitely getting worse, even with my glasses — thanks for asking. Oh, that is not what you mean! :sneaky:That is a big topic. I see a future for domain name use in marketing campaigns, not just as the main website. I like clever phrases for this. We will see.

Strategy?
Have more discipline. Try to focus only on names that would place in your top quarter of entire portfolio to gradually improve quality. Have fewer domain names. Easy to write about. Hard to achieve.

Thanks again for the topic! Best wishes to all.

-Bob
 
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How did you got into domains?

At the local pub, an intoxicated ad agency owner wanted (loudly) to buy a domain from a friend of mine. He really acquired it for 20k EUR a couple of weeks later. Then I started to familiarize myself with the domain aftermarket. But I still consider myself a hobbyist, and I'm not in this for the money.

when?

A few months before the Covid hit.

Your First domain registerd?


I can't or want to remember, some awful .com for sure.

Your first sale?

Finnish word .fi (on Sedo).

Your Favorite domains?


The next ones. I don't have feelings for domains I already own. I guess I like the hunt more than the catch.

Trends? markets?

As a late comer, I've tried to focus on hand-regging new/trending words (e.g. Moonjoy.ai+.io after the Artemis II flight, or "claw" dotcoms, etc.). Additionally new gTLDs such as .now and ccTLDs .si .fi (I'm currently downsizing the latter).

interesting sales?

I don't think so.

Interesting Negotiation?


One guy talked himself into buying the domain at BIN, so he actually negotiated with himself. I didn't have to say a word, except "thank you". I don't understand why he even sent the email, tbh. Unfortunately I seem to be unable to find it now, I would frame it.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?


Most of my domains are BIN priced, I very seldom receive any offers. But I've learned my lesson, I don't decline a good offer. I can leave money on the table, I don't think about that anymore.

Vision?


To the moon.

Strategy?


Just winging it. But I do own Strategy.Now
 
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Thanks for starting this interesting topic, @Liaminvestor!

How did you got into domains?
I had used domain names in a small home-based business, and a local travel site, and from that got interested in some other domain names.

when?
In terms of domain names as something to be bought and sold, only in 2016.

Your First domain registerd?

I still have the one for our now closed home business, which was my first registration in 2001. Chignecto.ca it is the name of a bay that is part of the Bay of Fundy, home of the highest tides in the world. I liked the sound of the name, and it is distinctive and known in the region, both important for the business. I have domain names going back to 1996, but not that I registered.

Your first sale?
The first number of months I exclusively bought and sold on Namecheap and their marketplace. I actually had a few dozen sales, but all for tiny turn arounds, buy at $1 sell for $10 to $25. I mainly then registered new gTLDs and .co. I think the very first was a tiny sale of MeteorTech.co. I have had a deep interest in things meteor, and liked the combination. Fun fact: at time I am writing this it is unregistered again. I am not recommending you register it. While buy at $2 sell at $20 (back then) is NOT a strategy long term, the many sales over a short period helped me fund the early days and helped me learn which names had a market. I don't take that approach any more.

Your Favorite domains?
There are so many. My favourite changes from month to month. I think to have better trust in AI we need to focus on using multiple AI that have been independently trained to have more confident results. I like my Multipath.ai a lot. I also like Manufacture.one for a one-of prototyping/3D printing/ etc. service. Canadian.homes is another favourite. There are so many....

Trends? markets?
Partly to inform my writing at NamePros, I try to be very diversified, investing in many different extensions, sectors and types of names. This is not a good strategy for investing success, where sharper focus is probably better.

interesting sales?
I find any sale interesting! :xf.smile:Seriously though, it is hard to pick one. But I like names that get promptly used in a meaningful way. A few years ago I sold rebound.cc. I like the term a lot, and was so happy to see it in use for a free global event where people anywhere can register and do their own gravel surface cycling event. Each year they have hundreds of thousands of riders, from all over the world, covering a total of millions of km. This year's event is May 30, if anyone reading this is a gravel cycling fan. Why not sign up? Yes there are prizes. And did I say free?

Interesting Negotiation?
I hardly ever do more negotiation than a few simple back and forth via a marketplace re offer and price. Sorry but nothing interesting to contribute.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?
I wish I had many to report. I have the name Watt.cc, that I like a lot in our increasingly electrified world, and also a LN and used in many businesses. I have had quite a few offers on a few different marketplaces, but still holding the name. I'm not looking for a lot, but plan to hold out for the order of my BIN.

Vision?
My vision is definitely getting worse, even with my glasses — thanks for asking. Oh, that is not what you mean! :sneaky:That is a big topic. I see a future for domain name use in marketing campaigns, not just as the main website. I like clever phrases for this. We will see.

Strategy?
Have more discipline. Try to focus only on names that would place in your top quarter of entire portfolio to gradually improve quality. Have fewer domain names. Easy to write about. Hard to achieve.

Thanks again for the topic! Best wishes to all.

-Bob
Bob — thank you for sharing, and for everything you contribute to this community through your writing.

Rebound.cc ending up as a global cycling event with hundreds of thousands of riders! Interesting :xf.smile:
 
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How did you got into domains?

At the local pub, an intoxicated ad agency owner wanted (loudly) to buy a domain from a friend of mine. He really acquired it for 20k EUR a couple of weeks later. Then I started to familiarize myself with the domain aftermarket. But I still consider myself a hobbyist, and I'm not in this for the money.

when?

A few months before the Covid hit.

Your First domain registerd?

I can't or want to remember, some awful .com for sure.

Your first sale?

Finnish word .fi (on Sedo).

Your Favorite domains?

The next ones. I don't have feelings for domains I already own. I guess I like the hunt more than the catch.

Trends? markets?

As a late comer, I've tried to focus on hand-regging new/trending words (e.g. Moonjoy.ai+.io after the Artemis II flight, or "claw" dotcoms, etc.). Additionally new gTLDs such as .now and ccTLDs .si .fi (I'm currently downsizing the latter).

interesting sales?

I don't think so.

Interesting Negotiation?

One guy talked himself into buying the domain at BIN, so he actually negotiated with himself. I didn't have to say a word, except "thank you". I don't understand why he even sent the email, tbh. Unfortunately I seem to be unable to find it now, I would frame it.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?

Most of my domains are BIN priced, I very seldom receive any offers. But I've learned my lesson, I don't decline a good offer. I can leave money on the table, I don't think about that anymore.

Vision?

To the moon.

Strategy?

Just winging it. But I do own Strategy.Now
@Jannes Beautiful! (y)
 
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Thanks for suggesting I post here Liam.

Here’s some of my domain story;

I went deep into domains starting in Feb. 2010 starting out of boredom. I had hours at a time late at night where I’d have to be sitting up “on watch” with nothing to do while my crew slept. I had access to a computer and after some random searches starting learning about domain names.

I don’t know if .info is still the same drop time but back then they’d be released at 2am my time and I’d register them for pennies each as “good” ones dropped. That lead to my first sale; Vacca.info for $77 (net) through Sedo.

I spent many hours every day learning as much as I could about the domain name industry (my wife hated it back then!)

Over the years, the time spent on learning reduced dramatically and the sales prices increased exponentially.

My most recent sale was yesterday, a name sold at my BIN price of $30,000 at Afternic.

I sold way too many names for way too cheap over the years causing me to regret (partially) almost every domain sale I’ve ever done - but of course it’s the sales that kept me going.

A couple memorable sales for me were;

- selling platoon.co and finding out afterwards that the buyer was Apple - they never ended up using the name though
- picking up 22j.com at expiring auctions from a smaller registrar for $129 and putting it up for auction the next day on Sedo, then watching it get bid up to $10,099

My strategy these days isn’t too involved. I don’t spend a lot of time on domains, but I try to remember that good domains deserve good prices, so every now and again I log in and adjust the BINs a little higher
 
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How did you got into domains?
Working with hosting and servers, my initial introduction was with the technical aspects of domains. Later on, I realized some domains were better than others (not technically or functionally).

when?
It wasn't one specific moment to landmark the occasion, but a gradual curiosity and intrigue that I didn't really understand until I joined @NamePros

Your First domain registerd?
This would have been a work-related name for a website, but I remember discovering an expiring domains reverse auction at a registrar and eventually purchasing one sometime thereafter. I won't lie and say I remember what the name was, specifically, but I can confidently say it was 3+ words and 20+ characters long :ROFL:

Your first sale?
Someone reached out to buy the .net version of the .com they already owned for $XXX. After that, my interest piqued and I began buying domains with the intent to sell in aftermarket.

Your Favorite domains?
I like short, generic domains (preferably with reasonable renewal fees).

Trends? markets?
Honestly, I don't domain full-time so I don't really get into trends when they are trending. I try to stick to stuff that has more timeless appeal.

interesting sales?
Every sale is interesting to me!

Interesting Negotiation?
Most sales of mine are BIN purchased through third-party marketplace, so not much practice negotiating.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?
Umm..no

Vision?
My vision is to hopefully have fewer and more in-demand names.

Strategy?
So far, I only stick to .com and few other TLDs, but never gotten into latest like .ai, but finding they are really the top right now.
 
5
•••
Thanks for suggesting I post here Liam.

Here’s some of my domain story;

I went deep into domains starting in Feb. 2010 starting out of boredom. I had hours at a time late at night where I’d have to be sitting up “on watch” with nothing to do while my crew slept. I had access to a computer and after some random searches starting learning about domain names.

I don’t know if .info is still the same drop time but back then they’d be released at 2am my time and I’d register them for pennies each as “good” ones dropped. That lead to my first sale; Vacca.info for $77 (net) through Sedo.

I spent many hours every day learning as much as I could about the domain name industry (my wife hated it back then!)

Over the years, the time spent on learning reduced dramatically and the sales prices increased exponentially.

My most recent sale was yesterday, a name sold at my BIN price of $30,000 at Afternic.

I sold way too many names for way too cheap over the years causing me to regret (partially) almost every domain sale I’ve ever done - but of course it’s the sales that kept me going.

A couple memorable sales for me were;

- selling platoon.co and finding out afterwards that the buyer was Apple - they never ended up using the name though
- picking up 22j.com at expiring auctions from a smaller registrar for $129 and putting it up for auction the next day on Sedo, then watching it get bid up to $10,099

My strategy these days isn’t too involved. I don’t spend a lot of time on domains, but I try to remember that good domains deserve good prices, so every now and again I log in and adjust the BINs a little higher
nice story! @m-i-k-e !
 
1
•••
How did you got into domains?
Working with hosting and servers, my initial introduction was with the technical aspects of domains. Later on, I realized some domains were better than others (not technically or functionally).

when?
It wasn't one specific moment to landmark the occasion, but a gradual curiosity and intrigue that I didn't really understand until I joined @NamePros

Your First domain registerd?
This would have been a work-related name for a website, but I remember discovering an expiring domains reverse auction at a registrar and eventually purchasing one sometime thereafter. I won't lie and say I remember what the name was, specifically, but I can confidently say it was 3+ words and 20+ characters long :ROFL:

Your first sale?
Someone reached out to buy the .net version of the .com they already owned for $XXX. After that, my interest piqued and I began buying domains with the intent to sell in aftermarket.

Your Favorite domains?
I like short, generic domains (preferably with reasonable renewal fees).

Trends? markets?
Honestly, I don't domain full-time so I don't really get into trends when they are trending. I try to stick to stuff that has more timeless appeal.

interesting sales?
Every sale is interesting to me!

Interesting Negotiation?
Most sales of mine are BIN purchased through third-party marketplace, so not much practice negotiating.

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?
Umm..no

Vision?
My vision is to hopefully have fewer and more in-demand names.

Strategy?
So far, I only stick to .com and few other TLDs, but never gotten into latest like .ai, but finding they are really the top right now.
@domainbox.io interesting!
 
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Thanks for the invite via DM to this thread...
For me (and I'm sure others as well that have been around a while), the story changes, trends come and go, niche interests burn out while others ignite, constant pivots and adjusting, learning curves, new ventures reshape target objectives, etc...

How did you got into domains?
Founded an online design and brand management agency, which took me down the domain industry rabbit hole.

Discussion thread (2015) on the above video interview: https://www.namepros.com/blog/eric-lyon-interview-part-1-video.847439/

Discussion thread (2017) on the above interview: https://www.namepros.com/threads/brand-development-tips-what-not-to-do-in-a-video-interview.1021858/

After those videos, the following took place:
Change of departments (2018): https://www.namepros.com/threads/eric-lyon-changes-departments-at-namepros.1071871/

When did you get started?
2005

Your First domain registered?
ScorpionAgency.ws - See 2015 interview above...

Your first sale?
2005 (Confidentiality agreement)

From there, it's been scattered sales over the years. I've probably sold well over 1k+ domains since 2005 (The majority on namePros and a few in person) - In person sale example (2015): https://www.namepros.com/blog/closed-an-unexpected-domain-sale-with-a-stranger-at-dennys.846071/ - You can probably still find numerous closed/completed sales threads on namePros as well from 10 to 15 years ago.

Your Favorite domains?
I'm assuming you mean that I own... I'll just name 3: ScorpionAgency.com (Developed LLC since 2005), WorkCamped.com (Since 2019 with over 20k members today), and OfficeDrift.com (Since 2017 - Removed front-end and only used for back-end project/venture development environments today)

Trends? markets?
This changes all the time since I'm perpetually inundated in research (ccTLDs Analysis, Professional domain evaluations, gTLD Analysis, etc.). The sweet spot is constantly changing. Back in the day, it was all about GEO .com's and today, it's short (1 to 5-letter) gTLD's in various extensions. That may change again soon as well along with the changing of time, trends, niche interest, etc.

interesting sales?
The Denny's sale I mentioned ^up there was interesting (2015): https://www.namepros.com/blog/closed-an-unexpected-domain-sale-with-a-stranger-at-dennys.846071/

Interesting Negotiation?
See above, same...

A domain getting good offers, and still refusing?
The only domains I refuse offers and negotiations on are the 3 listed above, since they are active ventures and philanthropies. I have no interest of selling them in my lifetime.

Vision?
Expand/scale operations and slowly add new domain assets as I go.

Strategy?
Continue my current research and cherry pick as I discover an go (ccTLDs Analysis, Professional domain evaluations, gTLD Analysis, etc.).
 
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