Sharing My Domain Research Process Feedback Welcome From Experienced Investors - 18th May

[tricknguyen]

Hello guys, I'm just a newbie, then I just come to domain field 2 month ago.

I have been building a research process based on feedback from this community and from experienced investors in some private groups. I wanted to share my report and get honest feedback on where my analysis is wrong or could be improved.

A bit of context: I'm 14 years old and not actively buying yet, this is purely a research and learning exercise for now. Because I know in this field, everyone will have a personal way to filter, then investing in different way. That's why I made the post for everyone could help me add feedbacks to make my research completely.

Recently, someone reminded me not to only look at auction lists, but to also check drop lists because there is a lot of volume and some good deals can be hidden there. So today I included both auction inventory and drop-list inventory in the process.

The Framework I Used

For this round, I tried to filter names using this pattern:

1. .com only
2. No hyphen
3. No number
4. Low price / low bid count
5. Sounds like a real business or startup
6. Clear commercial use case
7. Quick Google check for existing companies or brands
8. Quick trademark / existing-use risk check
9. Spelling and memory friction check

1. Wayback calendar check before deciding whether to do deeper history review
2. Set a max bid before bidding
3. Do not chase if outbid

One thing I added recently is the spelling/memory friction check. A name can look brandable, but if people may not remember how to spell it after hearing it once, I lower the max bid.

Inventory Reviewed

Today I reviewed:

• GoDaddy auction export
• Namecheap auction export
• GoDaddy drop-list names under $25
• 0-bid / low-bid names
• Names ending within roughly 24-72 hours

The first machine filter produced a lot of names, especially from the drop list, but most were not strong after the human/business filter.

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Initial Shortlist

After the first pass, these were the names I thought were worth checking manually:

• PestMarketing.com
• RetailTrove.com
• ActumLegal.com
• EcoCarCare.com
• RmaSoftware.com
• CrispHome.com

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Manual Checks and What Changed

RetailTrove.com
At first, I liked this because it sounded like an ecommerce, resale, or retail analytics brand. But a quick search showed a new RETAILTROVE trademark application signal. Because it looked too exact and too recent, I decided to skip it.

EcoCarCare.com
The commercial use case is very clear: eco car-care products, detailing, waterless car wash, etc. But I found existing Eco Car Care businesses and exact/near-exact usage in the same category. I decided this is too risky for a small auction buy.

ActumLegal.com
This sounded like a legal or corporate-services brand. But searches showed Actum Legal and other Actum legal/consulting entities. Maybe not a guaranteed problem, but not clean enough for me.

CrispHome.com
Good homeware/home-services feel, but there is CrispHome.net, Crisp Home + Wear, and other similar existing usage. I decided to skip because the buyer-risk profile felt too crowded.

PestMarketing.com
This has a very clear use case for pest-control marketing, SEO, PPC, or lead generation. But I also found PestyMarketing.com, which appears to be an active related business. I still think PestMarketing.com is descriptive and useful, but I would only bid very small.

RmaSoftware.com
This became the cleanest remaining candidate. RMA software is a real B2B category around returns management, warranty, repair-shop software, and reverse logistics. It does not seem dependent on only one obvious buyer.

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Final Shortlist

RmaSoftware.com
Max bid: $8
Reason: clear descriptive B2B category name with multiple possible buyer types.

PestMarketing.com
Max bid: $5-$8
Reason: very clear niche service name, but existing PestyMarketing.com lowers confidence.

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Skipped

• RetailTrove.com — exact trademark application signal
• EcoCarCare.com — existing businesses in the same category
• ActumLegal.com — existing Actum legal/consulting entities
• CrispHome.com — existing CrispHome / Crisp Home usage

Any feedback is appreciated. I'm trying to improve the process and learn where my thinking is wrong.