Short Domain Investing 101

[-REECE-]

We have skeptics in this industry, we have naysayers, and then we have idiots who can't see the trees for the forest...

Sometimes it's not about seeing the forest for the trees... Sometimes it's not about seeing "the whole picture" and trying to applying basic principles (like traffic or revenue)... And sometimes understanding "the whole picture" leads one to make irrational decisions (like say, skipping out on buying LLLL.coms pre-buyout).

Sometimes we just need to understand what makes each and every tree unique. The big picture just isn't the right way to approach this new market ripe with opportunity...

To invest or intelligently discuss this market, one needs vision, one needs direction, and one needs an understanding of what future elements may come into play and how they may interact with this market.

Saying LLLL.coms without traffic or revenue are worthless is about as stupid and short-sighted as saying that domain names were worthless in 1985 because nobody had an internet connection...

If you don't have vision or direction, you won't succeed in this market or have much success domaining today... Every investment statement you ever get always says something to the tune of "past performance may not reflect future performance", why many domainers for some reason believe that only the tried and true will ever work is beyond me...

There is profit to be made all around us. LLLL.coms were one opportunity, LLLL.net another. Some saw an opportunity with NNNNN.coms and went for it..

The only people I see getting it consistently wrong are domainers stuck in this 1990s mentality of traffic + revenue only, must be X characters, no numbers/hyphens,...

This is a new century... There is a whole world of new opportunities available today. Why people would limit themselves to what has worked in the past and the typically inferior returns that accompany such limited reasoning is beyond me.

We say that domainers have vision, that they see the future ahead of their time, that they're pioneers in the biggest real estate grab of the 21st century... I don't see vision and I certainly don't see forward thinking when one limits their investments to what has worked in the past... I see someone who's either too scared to take a risk -- one which might I add has paid dividends many times over to those who did just that in the 1990s, or someone who truly cannot grasp the changes ahead of us today.

I don't think I need to go on about developing countries, the mobile internet, an increasingly "connected" world,... The information is out there.

If you want to make a significant ROI in a short period of time, you'll need to take risks, be it LLLL.coms, 5L.coms, 5N.coms, or other short domains. There's been many opportunities over the last year to easily double, triple, quadruple, and in some cases earn annual returns in excess of 1000%...

See the future and be part of that future. Live in the past and don't expect anything more than to stay in the past. The more and more I chat with successful domainers today, the more and more I realize that there really is very little luck involved in domaining... Most of those who've made it big (in this century) have one common characteristic -- they have the ability to take risks. You won't get rich investing in a government bond, nor will you get rich today investing in what has already worked...

What do you see for a future? I see a future ripe with possibilities... A future where short domain names will continue to appreciate... A future where many more ccTLDs (and especially short domain names in ccTLDs) will become ever stronger eclipsing the weaker gTLDs. A future where LLLL.coms will be a prized possession in almost every serious domainer's collection and LLLL.nets will be treated with respect...

And finally, I see a future where new domainers wish they had the opportunites we have today.

Dwell on the past or envision a future full of possibilities? It's really your choice, but I know what I'll be choosing.

New to short domains, need a little help? Be sure to read what follows below.

If you're new to domaining, please see: An Intro to Domain Name Investing.

Short Domains Guide ​

C = Character. When seen in a domain name listing, the number of C's refers to the number of characters in a domain name. In the domain name industry, the term Character refers to either a Letter of the English alphabet (A-Z) or a Number (0-9). A domain with many characters may have both many letters and many numbers. When used in conjunction with "V", C takes on the meaning of Consonant.

L = Letter. When seen is a domain name listing, the number of L's refers to the number of letters in a domain name. Letters are sometimes represented as C or V, when referring to a particular Consonant-Vowel letter pattern domain name.

N = Number. When seen in a domain name listing, the number of N's refers to the number of numbers in a domain name.

Premium = A premium domain name is a domain name composed exclusively of letters: A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,L,M,N,O,P,R,S,T. These letters are referred to as "premium letters". A premium domain is, in other words, a domain devoid of: J,K,Q,U,V,W,X,Y,Z. These letters are commonly referred to as non-premium letters. The letters J,K,U,V,W,Y are considered by most domain investors to be of higher quality than the letters Q,X,Z. The letters J,K,U,V,W,Y are commonly referred to as "semi-premium" letters, whereas Q,X,Z are referred to as "bad letters". These terms are used strictly in a reseller setting and currently hold the largest weight in the 3 and 4 letter markets. More information on premium letters and premium domains, along with many examples will be provided in the 4 letter (LLLL) .com section which is included midway through this guide.

As a general rule, Characters can be represented by Letters or Numbers. A 3 letter .com (LLL.com) is in other words, a type of 3 Character .com (CCC.com). Likewise, a 3 number .com (NNN.com) is also considered a 3 Character .com. Because all number and all letter domains, such as LLL.coms and NNN.coms sell for considerably more than other 3 character domains, domainers typically refer to them as LLL.coms and NNN.coms, and not CCC.coms (3 Character .coms), despite them being composed of 3 characters. The following are industry terms and an explanation of their meaning.

2 Characters​

LL.com = 2 Letter .com. Two Letters from A-Z. They may be the same letter or different letters. Examples include: AA.com, BC.com, DJ.com, MX.com, YQ.com.

LN.com = Letter-Number .com. One Letter from A-Z followed by One Number from 0-9. Examples include: A1.com, B9.com, X2.com, Y5.com.

NL.com = Number-Letter .com. One Number from 0-9 followed by One Letter from A-Z. Examples include: 1A.com, 9B.com, 2X.com, 5Y.com. Notice the difference in letter-number placement between an LN.com and an NL.com.

NN.com = 2 Number .com. Two Numbers from 0-9. They may be the same or different numbers. Examples include 11.com, 21.com, 47.com, 90.com.

3 Characters​

LLL.com = 3 Letter .com. Contains 3 Letters from A-Z. Examples include: AAB.com, ABC.com, JHD.com, OOO.com.

LLN.com = Letter-Letter-Number .com. Two Letters from A-Z followed by One Number from 0-9. Examples include: JH7.com, KL4.com, MM8.com, ZX2.com.

LNL.com = Letter-Number-Letter .com. One Letter from A-Z followed by One Number from 0-9, which is followed by One Letter from A-Z. Examples include: B2B.com, G4S.com, B3G.com, Y2K.com.

LNN.com = Letter-Number-Number .com. One Letter from A-Z followed by Two Numbers from 0-9. Examples include: C93.com, D22.com, B16.com, W40.com.

NLL.com = Number-Letter-Letter .com. One Number from 0-9 followed by Two Letters from A-Z. Examples include: 4DD.com, 3NT.com, 7WJ.com, 9QS.com.

NLN.com = Number-Letter-Number .com. One Number from 0-9 followed by One Letter from A-Z, which is followed by One Number from 0-9. Examples include: 2D4.com, 5Y7.com, 6R1.com, 3F2.com.

NNL.com = Number-Number-Letter .com. Two Numbers from 0-9 followed by One Letter from A-Z. Examples include: 40A.com 66V.com, 75J.com, 91R.com.

NNN.com = 3 Number .com. Contains 3 Numbers from 0-9. Examples include: 123.com, 300.com, 444.com, 747.com.

4 Characters​

LLLL.com = 4 Letter .com. Contains 4 Letters from A-Z. Below we define different types of 4 Letter .coms.

Anti-Premium: A domain name that contains only non-premium letters. An anti-premium domain is
a domain which is composed strictly of letters: J,K,Q,U,V,W,X,Y,Z. The term Anti-Premium is most commonly applied to 4 Letter .coms, however it also makes a good adjective to describe the 3 letter crap selling near min wholesale as well. Examples of Anti-Premium LLL.coms include: YXZ.com, VKQ.com, XZW.com, QKU.com. Examples of Anti-Premium LLLL.coms include: WKQU.com, XYQZ.com, YQUW.com, KQJV.com. Anti-Premium LLLL.coms are the lowest quality LLLL.coms on the market and are generally among the cheapest.

Single Premium: We use this term to refer LLLL.coms containing only one premium letter. Examples of Single Premium LLLL.coms include: JHXZ.com, UQTX.com, WQUE.com, EUWJ.com.

Double Premium: We use this term to refer to LLLL.coms containing two premium letters. Examples of Double Premium LLLL.coms include: ASWQ.com, BJKT.com, WVMG.com, HWRZ.com.

Triple Premium: We use this term to refer to LLLL.coms containing three premium letters. Examples of Triple Premium LLLL.coms include: ASDX.com, POSW.com, NWOO.com, XEEB.com.
LLL.coms containing three premium letters are commonly referred to as "Premium LLL.coms". Examples include: SAS.com, RTN.com, NPG.com, RSS.com.

Quad Premium: We use this term to refer to LLLL.coms containing four premium letters. Examples of Quad Premium LLLL.coms include: AAAL.com, FFLE.com, MNGO.com, GHPR.com.

Pronounceables​

We're not going to be particularly strict on the letter Y as to its consonant and/or vowel status in this guide... There is little consensus on where the letter Y should fall. My personal belief is that it should be classified as a vowel when it takes the role of a vowel (examples: RUBY, HOLY), and classified as a consonant when it does not (examples: YAMS, YOLK).

CVCV = A 4 letter .com domain name which follows a Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-Vowel letter pattern. CVCVs are generally extremely pronounceable and are among the most valuable LLLL.coms. Examples include: MELO.com, MOFO.com, ZENE.com, LUMI.com. Many CVCVs are actual words in English or in another language and that partly contributes to their high valuations, on top of their immense brandability and obvious enduser potential.

CVVC = A 4 letter .com domain name which follows a Consonant-Vowel-Vowel-Consonant letter pattern. Examples include: NOOL.com, ROOX.com, BEER.com, MOOT.com.

VCCV = A 4 letter .com domain name which follows a Vowel-Consonant-Consonant-Vowel letter pattern. Examples include: ADDA.com, ELLO.com, INGE.com, UGFO.com

VCVC = A 4 letter .com domain name which follows a Vowel-Consonant-Vowel-Consonant letter pattern. VCVCs are often among the most pronounceable and desirable LLLL.coms, right up there with CVCVs. Examples include: OPAL.com, ONEX.com, ILEC.com, UQEN.com.

Rare​

AABB = A 4 letter .com domain name which contains only 2 different letters, where "A" and "B" symbolically represent two different letters from A-Z. Examples include: CCDD.com, DDJJ.com, MMXX.com, ZZGG.com.

ABAB = A 4 letter .com domain name which contains only 2 different letters, where "A" and "B" symbolically represent two different letters from A-Z. Examples include: CDCD.com, DJDJ.com, MXMX.com, ZGZG.com.

Palindromes = A 4 letter .com domain name which contains only 2 different letters from A-Z. Examples include: CDDC.com, DJJD.com, MXXM.com, ZGGZ.com. Palindromes are commonly referred to ABBA-type LLLL.coms. They inherited the name Palindrome due to their identical nature when reading from left to right or right to left.

Triple Letter = An LLLL.com containing three of the same letter. These are sometimes referred to as Triple letter repeats in the case it is of an AAAB or BAAA letter pattern. Examples include: SSSJ.com, SWWW.com, HHGH.com, IJII.com. Notice how each of these examples showcases the Triple Letter LLLL.com differently. These are all considered Triple Letter LLLL.coms.

VVVV = A 4 letter .com domain name which contains four vowels. Examples include: AEIO.com, EUOU.com, IOUI.com, EAUU.com.

5L.coms​

CVCCV = A 5 letter .com domain name which follows a Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-Consonant-Vowel letter pattern. CVCCVs are among the most popular 5L.com domain names which are registered and resold today.
Examples include: RORRE.com, FOGGE.com, ZINNE.com, VISTA.com.

CVCVC = A 5 letter .com domain name which follows a Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-Vowel-Consonant letter pattern. CVCVCs are essentially CVCVs with an additional consonant at the end.
Examples include: FALES.com, FIRAL.com, SAGEP.com, LINUX.com.

CVCVV = A 5 letter .com domain name which follows a Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-Vowel-Vowel letter pattern. CVCVVs are essentially CVCVs with an additional vowel at the end.
Examples include: RAGOO.com, PARIA.com, MELOO.com, MONEE.com.

CVVCV = A 5 letter .com domain name which follows a Consonant-Vowel-Vowel-Consonant-Vowel letter pattern. CVVCVs are CVCVs with an additional vowel included before the second consonant.
Examples: ZOOME.com, ROOMI.com, PIECO.com, MOOLA.com.

VCVCV = A 5 letter .com domain name which follows a Vowel-Consonant-Vowel-Consonant-Vowel letter pattern. VCVCVs are essential VCVCs with an additional vowel at the end.
Examples include: ATOMO.com, EFOTO.com, ISAMI.com, OSIRA.com.

Due to the high prices CVCVs and VCVCs have been seeing lately, many 5L.com investors see CVCCV, CVCVC, CVCVV, CVVCV, and VCVCV as five of the most promising 5L.com alternatives to brandable LLLL.coms which are rapidly increasing in price.

Short Domain Name Prices​

For data on 3 letter domain names, please visit: 3Character.com .

For data on 5L.coms, please see: this thread . Data on 5L availability can be found here

For pricing numeric domains, I recommend visiting: Domain Magnate and this thread .

The following LLLL.com data is courtesy of TDVR and 4 Letter Noob. Much of what follows is thanks to the contributions of many domainers who track LLLL.com sales and report them in The LLLL.com sales report thread. A special thanks goes out to these domainers who've truly made a difference: accentnepal, alex, arnie, AussieDomainer, bgmv, bricio, dag, Eg. domains, Ergo, filter, gazzip, italiandragon, KingDon, Malaysia, mwzd, Michael Goldman, Netizen, Nullmind, raredn, rjs essex, Shenron, Spade, ssamriga, SJM211, tetrapak, thetruman, tristanperry, vlad74, VURG, xman and to the countless others who take the time to report and discuss sales.

April 2008 LLLL.com Price Guide​

Data derived from TDVR.com, the largest LLLL.com database. Numbers in parentheses reflect Apr 05, 2008 statistics. Current prices reflect the results of the 430 most recent reported LLLL.com sales within the Apr 06, 2008 through Apr 18, 2008 timeframe.

Minimum Wholesale : $33.00 ($37.00) -> 11%

10th percentile: $41.00 ($45.00) -> 9%

25th percentile: $51.00 ($61.00) -> 16%

Median: $85.00 ($103.00) -> 17%

75th percentile: $392.00 ($388.00) -> 1%

90th percentile*: $1010.00 ($995.00) -> 2%


Prices were unchanged in the pronounceable and higher quality LLLL.com segments over the last 13 days. Prices on the lower end continue to plummet with the hardest hit segment this time being the 25th through 50th percentile (typically double and lower grade triple premiums). As many of you know, I'm a big fan of triple premiums and higher grade LLLL.coms with bad letters in general. Avoiding this market isn't necessary -- but a change of strategy from buying at a certain price to buying based on the quality of the letters (more on this will be explained later this week) is necessary.

* Quad Premiums and pronounceables remained relatively stable in price over the last couple weeks. Min wholesale on quad premiums is approximately $330, down from $350 reported in the previous price guide. CVCVs continue to see appreciation on the low end, while the upper end seems to have temporarily stabilized, as have prices on rares and most other pronounceables.




Approximate Reseller Price By LLLL.com Segment:

** Please use these prices only as a reference. They are meant to reflect minimum, not maximum prices one should expect to pay in the process of acquiring a particular type of LLLL.com. Consider the below prices nothing more than a "Buyer's Guide" to LLLL.com domaining. Prices reported below are intended to illustrate what a typical LLLL.com of a particular type would go for on a typical day at your typical venue... They are not meant to represent what double letter, triple letter, CVCV, VCVC, CVVC, VCCV, other pronounceables, meaningful acronym, or real word LLLL.coms may go for. Always use common sense

Anti-premium: $35

Single Premium: $35

Double Premium: $40

Triple Premiums

$45 with Q

$50 with X

$55 with Z

$65 with Y

$70 with J

$85 with V

$90 with K

$120 with U

$140 with W

Quad Premiums: $330-$1000+ depending on the letters. Quad premiums containing an F or an H tend to report the lowest selling prices. Strong letters include A, S, E.

Examples of what would usually fetch < $400 :

Likely contains: F, G, H

Likely does not contain any: A, S

Likely does not contain any repeat letters or double letters.

AAAB, BAAA, AABB, and pronounceable quad premiums are noticeably absent from the under $500 group, pretty much without exceptions. Strong double repeating starting letters (such as A or S) generally lead to sales above $600.

Factors influencing LLLL.com valuations include the letter quality, brandability, pronounceability, age, frequency, and traffic. The 2 strongest premium letters are A and S. Other higher quality premium letters include E, M, D, I, T, O. The three weakest selling quad premium letters are F, G, and H. Letter position is also important. Certain letters perform better in certain positions than others (although the above rule holds on average across all letter patterns). C,I,L make stronger ending letters than they typically are elsewhere in an LLLL.com. A and O are strong in either the starting or ending position and S is stronger in the starting position. This is by no means an exhaustive list, merely examples of letters which perform better in particular positions.

Quad Premiums containing 3 of the same letters (eg: SOOO.com, MMMQ.com) tend to sell at a significant premium, regardless of the quality the letters are. Only 4 sales of quad premium triple letters occured in the last 2 weeks, 1 (FFFN.com) sold for $850 and the other 3 sold for $1437, $2250, and $2500. It's fairly safe to say all quad premium triple letter LLLL.coms will fetch $1XXX at auction (FFFN, being 3 times the second weakest premium letter is more of an exception than the rule). As a whole, (including non-premiums), triple repeats are generally ~ $500-$3000+ depending on whether the triple letter LLLL.com contains bad letters, receives traffic, is aged, has numerous potential endusers, desirability as a collectible,... The names are commonly referred to as AAAB and BAAA, reflecting that they contain 2 different letters, where A and B represent 2 different premium letters from the set of 17 premium letters (A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,L,M,N,O,P,R,S,T). When the triple letter pattern is broken up (eg. ABAA, AABA), we tend to see prices in the $300-$1200 range (depending on if premium or not, as well as factors mentioned above). Triple repeat letters containing at least 1 bad letter tend to sell for $500-$1500. AABB type LLLL.coms tend to sell for between $500-$2000+, with $500 being the floor for combinations containing 2 bad letters (eg. XXQQ.com) and $1000+ being what all premium conbinations (eg. TTII.com) would typically fetch. Palindromes (ABBA type LLLL.coms) tend to sell for approximately $300+, with premium combinations extremely difficult to obtain under $800 and frequently sell for $1XXX. Upon doing some research, I've been able to conclude that AABB > AAAB/BAAA > ABBA for quad premium specimens. For other LLLL.coms, the pattern is typically AAAB/BAAA > AABB > ABBA. Important to note that in general AABB > ABBA.

10th percentile:

vzjz.com $37.00 04/10
bqys.com $37.00 04/12
PNZQ.com $37.00 04/15
vxbz.com $37.00 04/07
kvyv.com $38.00 04/09
xfqr.com $38.00 04/12
qwza.com $39.00 04/15
pxkg.com $39.00 04/09
ptjv.com $39.00 04/14
lwxw.com $39.00 04/13
dzws.com $40.00 04/07
jjqr.com $40.00 04/15
gzjv.com $40.00 04/11
thqu.com $40.00 04/06
qayh.com $40.00 04/13
ckqn.com $40.00 04/14
klhq.com $40.00 04/15
yfuw.com $40.00 04/14
VPYW.com $40.00 04/10
uvxd.com $40.00 04/14
wpjz.com $41.00 04/06
XJQV.com $41.00 04/17
xdnk.com $41.00 04/09
zkqa.com $41.00 04
thzv.com $41.00 04/09
xmmq.com $41.00 04/09
zxtf.com $41.00 04/09
jrwg.com $41.00 04/14
gwsx.com $41.00 04/11
zthz.com $41.00 04/13
zgfv.com $41.00 04/09
yfkm.com $41.00 04/09
qcpk.com $41.00 04/07
rqby.com $41.00 04/09
qdru.com $42.00 04/12
mzgh.com $42.00 04/12
kuln.com $42.00 04/13
zfwa.com $42.00 04/11
gkiy.com $42.00 04/07
dzvb.com $42.00 04/07
skzw.com $43.00 04/15
qshz.com $43.00 04/07
zkvx.com $43.00 04/07
KGQK.com $43.00 04/15
MQRW.com $43.20 04/15
zcfl.com $44.00 04/09
wmsz.com $44.00 04/09
qgqd.com $44.00 04/09
sxrh.com $44.00 04/09
Vctq.com $44.99 04/12
jdzk.com $45.00 04/14
pzrl.com $45.00 04/09
zvws.com $45.00 04/14

Names at the 10th percentile tend to have at least 1 bad letter and 1-2 semi-premiums.

25th percentile:

zodq.com $46.00 04/15
yrjy.com $46.00 04/09
rqpa.com $46.00 04/09
nqvt.com $46.00 04
hmpx.com $46.00 04/15
qjac.com $46.00 04/09
rqat.com $46.00 04/09
wxqu.com $46.00 04/09
srbj.com $46.00 04/15
qvvj.com $46.00 04/17
dqge.com $46.00 04/15
kvmw.com $46.00 04/15
wmzg.com $46.00 04/15
wrqz.com $46.00 04/09
zhqa.com $46.00 04
kyjv.com $46.00 04/15
vyeh.com $46.00 04
imqb.com $47.00 04/09
wllq.com $47.00 04/09
lzxg.com $49.00 04
xyqg.com $49.00 04
ljkq.com $49.00 04
nczw.com $49.00 04
lxkm.com $49.00 04
RTFZ.com $49.10 04/10
xvdv.com $50.00 04/11
qvvx.com $50.00 04/17
lqyn.com $50.00 04
mhmq.com $50.00 04/17
gdxr.com $50.00 04/13
OUNQ.COM $50.00 04/11
qsgr.com $50.00 04/17
dqcf.com $50.00 04/17
rqoc.com $51.00 04/09
ZLSE.com $51.00 04/10
fkxe.com $51.00 04/10
xnct.com $51.00 04/11
yjlu.com $51.00 04/11
zkns.com $51.00 04
kjsh.com $53.00 04/15
gqhr.com $54.00 04/11
grzr.com $55.00 04/15
qspg.com $55.00 04/10
xbdn.com $55.00 04/09
vdjp.com $55.00 04/06
hcxn.com $55.00 04/10
OPRZ.com $55.00 04/10
RZGS.com $55.55 04/15
jtnu.com $56.00 04/15
hovj.com $57.00 04/07
psvw.com $57.00 04/07
iwyw.com $57.00 04/09


Names at the 25th percentile tend to have 1 bad letter and 1 semi-premium, or 2 semi-premium letters.

Median:

pztm.com $80.00 04/12
YOYF.com $80.00 04/11
sozf.com $80.00 04/06
wsvt.com $80.00 04/15
vagf.com $80.00 04/15
mtje.com $80.00 04/15
xuir.com $80.00 04/10
ujfm.com $80.00 04
zwgq.com $80.00 04/10
wkuc.com $81.00 04/10
HCRK.com $81.00 04
idxo.com $81.00 04/16
sqrz.com $83.00 04/07
eulj.COM $83.00 04/17
hwiu.com $84.00 04/16
uusy.com $84.00 04/17
mefz.com $84.00 04/10
wkzz.com $85.00 04
hxbn.com $85.00 04/12
osqe.com $85.00 04/13
vvgl.com $85.00 04/14
zcir.com $85.00 04
avrf.com $85.00 04/14
cqpn.com $85.00 04/14
gocw.com $86.00 04/17
aowf.com $86.00 04/14
sfiv.com $86.00 04/17
xrul.COM $87.00 04/17
JWLL.com $89.00 04/17
pgtu.com $90.00 04/09
izuj.com $91.00 04/15
nsmk.com $92.00 04/11
ivhn.com $92.00 04/10
NCAX.com $93.00 04/10
qcrd.com $94.00 04/07
xjcf.com $95.00 04/09

Names at the 50th percentile tend to have a maximum of 2 semi-premiums or 1 bad letter and 1 semi-premium. They often have only 1 bad (or semi-premium) letter and may include repeat letters.

75th percentile:

uwai.com $362.00 04/10
LNAF.com $370.00 04/09
hcnl.com $371.00 04/14
bgdo.com $379.00 04/10
pgmn.com $381.00 04/12
pgmn.com $381.00 04/12
FHOR.com $389.00 04/09
aldb.com $390.00 04/12
eweh.com $393.00 04/06
huhy.com $400.00 04/11
HCNL.com $400.00 04/06
dtao.com $400.00 04/15
XEGI.com $400.00 04/11
lmae.com $400.00 04/17
bdto.com $401.00 04
pyou.com $401.00 04/12
ticd.com $402.00 04/14
OUFI.com $407.00 04/09
IKNU.com $408.46 04
LBCB.com $410.00 04
NTDL.com $411.00 04/06
bgro.com $412.00 04/14
FMOM.com $415.00 04/10

Names at the 75th percentile generally contain a maximum of 1 bad letter and often include only 1 semi-premium. Double letter and double repeat letter combinations (eg. ETTW.com) are also commonly found at this percentile. Low grade pronounceables (including VCVC) sometimes find their way into this category, as do lower quality quad premiums.

90+ percentile:

swnb.com $,1510.00
goxa.com $1,520.00 04/18
rihu.com $1,566.00 04/17
Xaxo.com $1,600.00 04/14
fied.com $1,633.00 04/17
pohe.com $1,862.00 04/16
hods.com $1,900.00 04/13
Lidy.com $1,950.00 04/17
mtra.com $1,950.00 04/14
hscf.com $2,000.00 04/09
rivi.com $2,000.00 04/16
EPMS.com $2,099.00 04/06
sooo.com $2,250.00 04/12
ilsi.com $2,300.00 04/09
alaa.com $2,300.00 04/17
nool.com $2,389.00 04/09
pzza.com $2,499.00 04/10
TTII.com $2,500.00 04/16
dcgi.com $2,500.00 04/16
ONNN.com $2,500.00 04/18
conx.com $2,600.00 04/12
tosu.com $2,600.00 04/16
pevo.com $2,700.00 04/16
fehu.com $3,000.00 04/15
pldn.com $3,075.00 04/09
bkyn.com $3,500.00 04/16
ledu.com $4,002.00 04/09
msdb.com $4,200.00 04/09
geci.com $4,302.00 04/09
ipex.com $5,000.00 04/07
boso.com $5,100.00 04/09
UKOO.com $6,500.00 04
Swin.COM $7,000.00 04/17
imls.com $7,500.00 04/16
phli.com $8,600.00 04/06
MDPI.com $9,000.00 04/16
UDVD.com $15,000.00 04/09
popa.com $15,270.00 04/11
Reos.com $25,000.00 04/16

Names at the 90+ percentile generally consist of quad premiums, VCVCs, CVCVs, other pronounceables, dictionary words, and LLLL.coms having AAAB, BAAA, ABAA, AABA, AABB, and ABBA patterns. Enduser sales of lower + higher quality LLLL.coms are becoming increasingly common at this percentile.

Pronounceable Performance

Documented below are the sales of VCVC/CVCV reported since the last price guide. VCCV/CVVC will be covered in May.

CVCV:

popa.com $15,270.00 04/11
boso.com $5,100.00 04/09
geci.com $4,302.00 04/09
ledu.com $4,002.00 04/09
fehu.com $3,000.00 04/15
pevo.com $2,700.00 04/16
tosu.com $2,600.00 04/16
rivi.com $2,000.00 04/16
Xaxo.com $1,600.00 04/14
goxa.com $1,520.00 04/18
gahe.com $1,112.00 04/17
QESU.com $631.00 04/11
qome.com $571.00 04/18

XEGI.com $400.00 04/11







VCVC:

ipex.com $5,000.00 04/07
OSOC.com $499.00 04/06 (it deserves to be mentioned, quad premium VCVCs generally go for much, much more. This sale is NOT the norm)
EDIJ.com $337.76 04
OQOT.com $285.00 04
urav.com $210.00 04/17
uqoz.com $110.00 04/12
izuj.com $91.00 04/15
End of guide.
Release date: Apr 18, 2008.
Next release on: May 08, 2008.

 

[-REECE-]

Glad I could help

It really was intended to be motivational and written to not only encourage investments in short domain names but to encourage never giving up and always keeping an open mind about what the future may very well hold.

When .mobi came around, I really thought NNN.mobis were going to be all the rage... With it being so hard to type on most of the cell phones at the time (way more qwerty keyboards out there today than back in Sept 2006), an investment in NNN.mobis -- the shortest .mobi domains allowed just made sense. I had prepared about 10k to invest in the extension and followed it intensely from 2004 until right up until launch... Then I got cold feet right when I should have gotten my feet wet :td:

Had I put my 10k in NNN/LLL.mobis like I was initially intending, I would have very easily have walked away with 50-60k profit from that... I was pretty depressed to watch what unfolded afterwards... To see flowers.mobi sell for as much as it did and ask myself why I didn't risk at least what I could afford to lose.

I messed up big... I spent the next couple months moping about how I missed out on "the opportunity of a lifetime" and telling everyone about how there'd never be an opportunity like that again (1000% ROI inside of 2 months on NNN.mobis). I could have given up, thrown in the towel, called it quits... And believe me, after seeing so much money vanish right in front of my eyes, all the while I was making absolute chump change in comparison... It sure was tempting.

The important part of this true story isn't that I made a mistake... We all make them. The important part was that I didn't let this mistake stop me. I got back into domaining and started thinking about what could potentially be the next big hit.. I saw the similarities between short .coms and short .mobis and when I saw so many naysayers talking about how people would use short dotcom redirects on the mobile web, rather than short .mobis, it really dawned on me that the perfect market to explore should be the short .com market if I was truly convinced that a mobile web and increasingly connected developed world were in our future. So that's what I did... I started researching the LLLL.com market and the rest is history :hehe:

The more I look around, the more opportunities I see. Short domain names are exploding in value in so many extensions right now... What an unbelievable time to become a domainer! I'm buying my first LL.ca on Monday. It's going to be one of the rarest specimens there are -- a double premium, repeat letter LL.ca. These have appreciated 500%+ since the buyout and it's impossible to get any for under high X,XXX anymore, with double premium repeats fetching XX,XXX.

My 620 quad premium LLLL.nets that I registered for $6.20 at the beginning of February are now getting bulk pm offers to buy 20, 50, 100 at $10+ per (61% profit in a month!).

I see NNNNN.coms registered a few weeks back now often being resold for 100% profits!


Everywhere I look, I see money being made with short domain names... 2008 really should be proclaimed The Year of Short Domains, because that's exactly what it's shaping up to be!

oh boy im glad i join np with helpful people like you guys. :imho: this post gives me hope and inspiration haha

 

[-REECE-]

Agree 100% Ergo.

I don't honestly see LLL.coms going up all that much anymore, if what we've been seeing lately is any indication of the future...

I like BQB for the acronym "Better Quality Business", it being a palindrome and it being my very first LLL.com and that's really the only reason I bought it. Investment potential? Not much.

It's kind of grown on me though and I'm now incorporating/starting a business with the name.. LLL.coms still seem more professional to many people out there and I do think starting a business today with an LLL.com is still a better idea if you can afford to splurge that kind of cash on a name.

Honestly, I think the diversity of new choices domainers have today (LLLL.coms, LLLL.nets, NNNNN.coms, L-L-L.coms, LLL.mobi, NNN.mobi, LLL/LL.ca,....) is hurting prices on pretty much everything previously associated with domaining. If you look around, some of the only domain names going up in price lately are short domain names... Pretty much everything else is selling at 2005-2006 levels (eg. a steep loss from last year's highs) from what I've seen.

I definitely agree with you in regards to OBQB one day being seen in the same light as BQB today (although I'm not so sure about something considerably more obscure like ZBQB).

There will come a point in time where a person with a handful of LLLL.coms is looked up to with the same admiration as someone with a handful of LLL.coms is looked up to by newer domainers today. That imho is guaranteed.

RISK is the main point in domaining. Do you think those big holders of LLL.com domains got rich within months? It took more than 5 years before LLL.com skyrocketed to minimum 6000$ mark on the worst one. And I plan only to increase my collection of LLLL.com domains during nearest 5 years Look at the internet 5 years ago. Compare it with today's internet. Now look at the future internet in 5 years! The changes are made constantly and somthing like OBQB.coms will be so desirable domain as BQB.com today

I've been blessed with the opportunity over the last few months to chat with several of the other domainers who bought 1000+ LLLL.coms pre-buyout and the rationale behind their decision...

It really is amazing how many of us had similar backgrounds and had similar reasons for exploring the LLLL.com market and eventually investing big in it. Sometimes you almost feel like investing in short domains is "common sense" when you chat it over with some of these guys... It's been a real treat to hear some of the different reasons why people invested big in LLLL.coms.

Answers ranged from a vision of a mobile web and developing nations causing increased demand for short domain names, to ever increasing LLL.com prices. Some saw the high prices associated with LLL.nets and had come to realize that there are considerably more enduser sales for LLLL.coms than LLL.nets and while that may not be true on a percentage basis, that they at least warranted prices greater than 1/26th the value of an LLL.net (currently $800 according to 3Character.com).

Others saw increasing prices on generics and LLL.coms as getting "out of hand" and realizing that new speculators needed to go somewhere -- reasoning that they'd go to short domain names because of their relative simplicity. I still can't call the LLLL.com market simple and I'm often stumped when trying to appraise people's LLLL.coms, but must agree that in comparison to generics, it certainly is alot easier to understand, making it a more desirable market to enter for newer domainers -- especially when the barrier to entry is under 100 bucks.

Then we have Lorenzo's often given reason about how they should be a minimum of 1/26th the value of LLL.coms, and that many of the anti-premiums/single premiums are particularly desirable in foreign markets.

And then we have me who compared them to LLL.mobis and NNN.mobis and rationalized the potential these had for the mobile web initially.

I had the same sort of feeling about LLL.ca pre-buyout... I looked at what people were paying for LL.ca, saw what LLL.coms and LLL.co.uk went for and wondered why the hell these weren't all regged.

It's really amazing when you look over the diversity of answers and reasons why people chose to invest. I'm sure that I forgot a few, but even just looking over these, don't so many of them just scream that LLLL.coms are a bargain? There were so many reasons why people chose to invest and when you look over most of them, most of them make a whole lot of sense.. I've had a few people called it intuition or "going with their gut", but most large investors in LLLL.coms seem to have made very calculated risks and that's what domaining's all about

A good read. We are on the same vision Reece.

 

[Shenron]

/me jumps in...

RISK is the keyword!

I take it, serisously, and I'm not a Casino gambler.
I've been taking the risk for over 15 years now, Forex, Commodities, Stocks and whatever else you remember.

I've won most of the time and at the end, but my heart needs peace and domains are a calm place to put my money in.

I've learned quite a lot over the last couple of years and specially the last couple of months, I just regret I didn't join NP b4.

I hold over 500 LLLL.com/.nets nowadays, and now the keyword is HOLD!

Good luck to all!

**BTW... I'm in for BQB :D **

 

[rkbdomain]

Reece:

Great post! Wholeheartedly agree. One thing I would add is that many of the old-timers are missing out on a huge trend that is propelling short domains, namely the Asian market, especially China, where internet use is rapidly growing and will continue to grow very fast for the next 5-10 years. This is part of the reason why numeric domains and LLLL's have done a lot better than people expected. I have seen old school domainers complain, who would buy some domain that is full of XQYZ's? Or, who would pay a lot of money for domains that are just some numbers? And they mock and laugh. But they have no clue, because tons of domains with "bad" letters by western standards are actually developed websites already in China, and many more will be over the next 5-10 years, and domains that are just a string of numbers are huge in China as well, like 173.com which sold for over $300k and the two NNNNN's that are in the Alexa Chinese top 100 domains. So, I think a lot of people are just going to be floored when they realize what an impact this has on the values of short domains over the next few years.

 

[ecalc]

The only people I see getting it consistently wrong are domainers stuck in this 1990s mentality of traffic + revenue only

Blue chip traffic names have produced steady streams of income and asset appreciation for more than ten years, outperforming most other investment vehicles during the same time period. Many successful investors remain bullish and focused on traffic/revenue names, ignoring domain opportunities being mined by others. It's difficult to buy your characterization of traffic/revenue domainers as "consistently wrong." Consistently focused on traffic/revenue is more like it. To each his own.

 

[buckshotdots]

Excellent post! I was blown away...Kept saying "yes" out loud after almost every paragraph. :great:

rep added, gary.

 

[Shasta]

Your article is great and I really agree with everything your talking about. Like you I can really see the potential value in short domains. I also feel that we are in the beginning of a new wave of thinking regarding domain names as collectibles and investments.

In the past the big players were the major domainers, buying and selling domains for XXXXXX figures and more. However, most people can instantly get into short domains and within a few years make a profit. Thus, I consider it to be a great investment choice for the working class. Your savings and loan pays about 5% interest, however, even at 15% growth per year which is actually pretty low for a domain, and deducting $7 for registration fees, short domains are a wise choice.

LLL.com, LLLL.com, LLLLL.com, LLLL.nets, NNNNN.coms, L-LL.coms, etc., are what I consider "Investment Quality Domains". In fact, yesterday I created a sales website extolling the LARGE benefits of SMALL domains.

 

[grapesac]

And finally, I see a future where new domainers wish they had the opportunites we have today.

oh boy im glad i join np with helpful people like you guys. :imho: this post gives me hope and inspiration haha

 

[Andrei P.]

To tell the truth I missed LLLL.com buyout. But I made approx 50k during last 3.5 months on investing into LLLL.com and LLLL.net (if I would sell all of them today at slightly below market price). Not very bad for noob I could invest into LLL.coms but I'm sure that I wouldn't made even 10k with my investments. And I still see that LLLL.com have much more potential than LLL.coms. Trees can't grow to the sky and LLLL.coms are still saplings

 

[-REECE-]

Great job Ergo!

I'm diversifying myself to 20k-20k-20k between LLL.coms (both of which are being developed), LLLL.coms, and LL/LLL.ca. I have about 5k worth of LLLL.nets.

As for the more speculative investments, I have 10k invested in .mobi aftermarket purchases, 1000 VCVC.infos and 90 N-NN.coms.

It's a nice mix of various short domain segments, each with different risk levels. By doing this, I limit my risk should any 1 of these particular segments collapse, but do unfortunately limit the return a bit by not going "all in" in one or 2 segments.

I made approx 50k during last 5 months on investing into LLLL.com and LLLL.net. Not very bad for noob I could invest into LLL.coms but I'm sure that I wouldn't made even 10k with my investments. And I still see that LLLL.com have much more potential than LLL.coms. Trees can't grow to the sky and LLLL.coms are still saplings

 

[accent]

Thing is about traffic domains - and I remember practically yelling this at some oldtimers a year or two ago: THEY ARE ALL TAKEN! -- Unless you want to go head to head with Bonkers on snapnames. There really is little chance of getting a traffic domain at anything like a reasonable price. That market is "mature". Good on you for those who are in it, but the boat has long left the harbor and I can't swim that far.

Yeah, it is all about calculated risk. Noobs note what Reece said ---> he researched LLLL.com well before he took his now-legendary plunge. Just because there is a buyout thread does not mean that those domains will do somersaults just as soon as the buyout is completed. There may be a lot of fools gold running around. Check out the first pages of the CCC.net and CCC.info threads in the available domains section. You will find my old posts there, and my money spent on domains that have barely doubled in a year and a half (some of the CCC..net) or that I had to drop 'cause they were not worth renewing (a few CCC.net, and the CCC.info). Money that could have bought three-premium, one semi-premium LLLL.com at the time, all I wanted at reg fee.

Not all bad, this story. Although my CCC foray has not been very profitable, it got me going just in time for the LLL.mobis. I did get some of those, and still have them. Which brings another critical issue ---> when to sell? Every bit as important as what to buy. Lots of different approaches there, and it is as much related to the personality of the owner as it is to the domains.

 

[Andrei P.]

RISK is the main point in domaining. Do you think those big holders of LLL.com domains got rich within months? It took more than 5 years before LLL.com skyrocketed to minimum 6000$ mark on the worst one. And I plan only to increase my collection of LLLL.com domains during nearest 5 years Look at the internet 5 years ago. Compare it with today's internet. Now look at the future internet in 5 years! The changes are made constantly and somthing like OBQB.coms will be so desirable domain as BQB.com today

 

[theSun]

A good read. We are on the same vision Reece.

 

[diddie]

This thread will remain for the posterity, this is all so true. I haven't seen the boat departing at the end of last year but i'm catching it now and there's still room onboard

 

[vlad74]

What do you see for a future? I see a future ripe with possibilities... A future where short domain names will continue to appreciate... A future where many more ccTLDs (and especially short domain names in ccTLDs) will become ever stronger eclipsing the weaker gTLDs.

Guys, do you think NN and LL in extenions like .vg, .tc, .ms, etc (i.e. without home market) with regfee below $30 per year is a good investment or waste of money?

 

[filter]

Guys, do you think NN and LL in extenions like .vg, .tc, .ms, etc (i.e. without home market) with regfee below $30 per year is a good investment or waste of money?

IMO, it's an expensive lottery ticket which may never pay a significant return compared to reg fees invested over the next 5 to 10 years. So of course I've regged a few just because I like them and want to have a "super short" domain for my own use - and then yes there is the off chance that in the very very long term the demand for these as will increase to a point to allow outsize returns - but I'm not counting on it, and don't see a great risk/reward ratio in it compared to other options at this point.

Would recommend getting one or a few if you have "extra" money after more serious investments, but really just for your own gratification as a domain collector - and okay, yes also the long-shot "lottery" play, you never know what will be in demand a decade from now - short domains seem like a decent bet in the very long term ...

 

[rkbdomain]

It really is amazing how many of us had similar backgrounds and had similar reasons for exploring the LLLL.com market and eventually investing big in it. Sometimes you almost feel like investing in short domains is "common sense" when you chat it over with some of these guys... It's been a real treat to hear some of the different reasons why people invested big in LLLL.coms.

That's the way I felt about the NNNNN.com buyout I participated in a few weeks ago. I saw that this was a great investment opportunity after getting a sense for the market. What I saw was the LLLL.com buyout had happened a few months ago and already prices were skyrocketing on these, and I looked back at all the LLLL threads from around the time of the buyout and saw that there were a lot of naysayers who simply didn't understand the value of these letters. I understood that the LLLL's were not just crazy domainer speculation but that there were actually end-users that wanted random letter combinations. And I saw the same potential with the NNNNN.com's. Not only were there very few of these left (about 20,000 when I started buying), but there were only 100,000 of them total, much less than the LLLL's (450,000+), and in fact these numbers got decent type-in traffic and had tons of potential uses besides US zip codes which already accounted for about 40% of the market.

Anyways, the big thing that did it for me was that I saw that a few Chinese investors were making huge buys of the NNNNN.com's, and that these domains already had many developed sites in China, many more than I had originally thought would exist. I, too, had the initial bias of "who would want a website that's a 5-digit number", similar to the bias I think many people had about "who would want a website with 4 junk letters", but when I looked carefully at the data and actually saw the developed Chinese sites that are springing up all over the place, I realized that two of the top 100 Chinese sites were actually NNNNN.com's. Similarly, in the case of the LLLL's I realized that what may be a "junk" letter to a westerner is a "premium" letter in Chinese. And given that China is probably the fastest growing segment of the internet, my mind was made up. I think the NNNNN.com buyout would have happened this year even if I hadn't started the countdown thread, but it probably would have been mainly people from China and we westerners would not have had a clue until after the fact.

So, I guess my advice to people looking for the "next big thing" is to challenge your biases. If you are thinking about investing in a type of short domain, look at the market, who is buying these things, are there developed sites, what are the possible uses for them, what will the uses be for them in 4-5 years, etc. Actually get some statistics about the state of the market to analyze, and compare to other types of domains. This isn't a science, of course L-N-L could be the next big thing for some reason we can't think of today, and that can't be proven with metrics that analyze the current market. But there are other types of domains where the metrics might be very good compared to the current market situation, and there is an investment opportunity simply waiting to happen. Maybe that's the NNNNN.nets, the LLLL.nets, the NNNL.com's, etc. Who knows, but I would urge everyone to think carefully and critically about the future of domains in order to try to make wise investment decisions.

 

[theSun]

NNNNN.com is currently way underpriced. Numbers always have higher value than letters. NNNN.com are already going from $500-$1000 already, then NNNNN.com should be at least $70+. Another insight of mine is if they were only 30k available for the public to register! Now it is a GREAT time to get some, honestly.

 

[VURG]

Interesting Post!

Short Domains are what I have always focussed on with domaining. I started with LLLL.com and went to others. I looked for a domain forum that had discussions on 4 letter domains and found a couple of discussions in Namepros and came here and that is what I have mainly talked on this forum since. My favourite short domains are brandables like Vurg.com.

I understand the frustration with the .mobi and watching domains appreciate and missing out on buying names that I knew were bargains. I saw this with LLL.mobi and L-L-L.com it was highly frustrating at the time. I have felt like a spectator with domaining for the last 12 months as I have been downsizing and spending most of my spare money on renewals. I have made my profits and my losses with domaining and I am not sure if I have overall covered my losses or not. (If I priced my time, I haven't)

However, I came into domaining with the goal of becoming a consultant, not a trader.

I believe that traffic domains have a huge future and so also do short domains. I found short domains more fun and that easier to understand. If I had more consistency with finding good traffic domains that I am sure many others on this forum have than I would be more interested.

My attitude is that we are the first generation of short domainers* and that many domains that are readily available today will be scarce property in the future. CVCV meant nothing two years ago and now people pay thousands. This is just the beginning.

*ShortDomainers.com was available last time I checked

 

[DotCN]

absolutely great post

 

[sundari]

Good post

Good post.

Reps Added.

 

[The Stealthy One]

Nice pep talk! Thanks for that!

 

[Ross]

SHHHHHH! Stop telling everyone the secrets of the domaining world! LOL j/k

Great post Reece!

All i have to say is invision something unique and something you believe in otherwise it wont work.

 

[NTW WEB]

Wow, we felt apprehensive stepping into the 'Lion's Den' of domaining with our ideas but posts like yours, Reese are inspirational.

We jumped over the cliff with our 'domains that look like phone numbers' but are starting to get some traction now that Vegas.mobi sold for $20K and we have put 1-vegas.mobi up for sale as a good alternate. Thanks!!

Numbers That Works is about new ideas because we came up with domains that look like phone numbers and/or are translated using a phone keypad ~ Thus 'Numbers That Work'

Our best example is using the keyword 'pizza'.

1-Pizza.com (1-Dash dot com Format)
1-Pizza.mobi (1-Dash dot mobi Format)
1-74992.com (74992 spells Pizza on a phone keypad)
1-74992.mobi (1-Dial dot mobi Format - uses number)​

The 1- mimics a phone number so it's a great memory trigger for people using a phone to connect to the web.​

So here's the thing:
We think it will take a while but at the end of the day, will people that own 1-Dash Domains value them at PPC or as a marketing tool for mobile surfers?