Suggestions on what to register?

[squid]

Hi,
In the past I've never had any luck with registering names, generally what I buy sells for below what I've registered it for, or Doesn't sell at all. I've kinda hoped on the LLLL.net bandwagon, but I'd much prefer to invest in some quality .com's.

Anyway, my question;
What sort of domains should I register? Are there any guaranteed sellers, like "Education domains" for example, "learnmaths.com" etc.

Is it best just to guess at what you think is valuable, or are there good methods of checking if a domain is valuable?

I've never really delved into the domain registering side of domaining, Just reselling bad names.

Tips etc. would be very helpful, such as lists of good available names etc

Thanks,
Sam.

 

[copper]

There is NO such thing as free lunch.
However...
http://www.namepros.com/available-domain-names/

 

[RicoShay]

Hey Sam, as mentioned above use the available domains forums here but still be careful what you register.

Personally I use a number of tools before I register anything (I should've started doing this right from go, but u live n learn).

Firstly I check that the domain contains a good keyword/s or is at least brandable. Do a search on google and see what kind of results you get back. Check to see if there are any companies advertising (PPC) using those keywords. If they are then they'll show up as "sponsored ads" on google.

Use various sites like keywordtracker.com and overture tool to see what kind of searches are done using those keywords. I find Estibot to be extremely helpful. Not for the valuations, but for the metrics/info it provides on number of searches daily etc.

Hmmm... thats all I can think of right now, maybe all obvious stuff... but hope it helps.

 

[raredn.com]

Hi,
In the past I've never had any luck with registering names, generally what I buy sells for below what I've registered it for, or Doesn't sell at all. I've kinda hoped on the LLLL.net bandwagon, but I'd much prefer to invest in some quality .com's.

Anyway, my question;
What sort of domains should I register? Are there any guaranteed sellers, like "Education domains" for example, "learnmaths.com" etc.

Is it best just to guess at what you think is valuable, or are there good methods of checking if a domain is valuable?

I've never really delved into the domain registering side of domaining, Just reselling bad names.

Tips etc. would be very helpful, such as lists of good available names etc

Thanks,
Sam.

Spend a bit more and go quality 'aftermarket' forget the handregs :tu:

 

[npcomplete]

Good thoughts above. I would add:

Stick to things you know and love. That way the search is a labor of love. It also means that you may have contacts in the target field, and that when you are trying to sell something you can talk to customers in their own language/terminology. All too often I see names purchased by people that are outside of their field of expertise and they don't have a clue on where to sell, how to sell, worth, or timing. For example in technology it is important to get a leap on the competition by buying early but not too early. If a technology will take decades to be commercially viable, then that may not be the best purchase right now.

As a general rule you want *all* investments in the "sweet spot" of the appreciation curve. Buy too early and the slope of the appreciation curve is near zero since the domain or other investment will be worth little for many years. The same is true late in a development cycle, where the rate of appreciation is also low but the value is high. Somewhere in the middle there is a period where the *rate* of growth is significant. So basically:

buy too early: low value, low rate of appreciation
buy too late: high value, low rate of appreciation
buy "middle": value changing from low to high, high rate of appreciation

If you are working in a field you know then it is easier to see when this timing issue is right. If you are outside your field of expertise, then everything will just be one big blur.

There is a saying in the financial markets that "news that everybody knows is worthless" - which describes late stage investment. The flip side is knowing things that nobody else knows, and won't know for decades - that investment is too early.

 

[Trickac14]

reg some 5L brandable names that you think will stick out and can be pronouncable and then sale them on ebay

 

[Corey]

have you considered expired domain names with existing traffic?
try freshdrop.net

Cheers
Corey

 

[soggyindo]

Good thoughts above. I would add:

Stick to things you know and love. That way the search is a labor of love. It also means that you may have contacts in the target field, and that when you are trying to sell something you can talk to customers in their own language/terminology. All too often I see names purchased by people that are outside of their field of expertise and they don't have a clue on where to sell, how to sell, worth, or timing. For example in technology it is important to get a leap on the competition by buying early but not too early. If a technology will take decades to be commercially viable, then that may not be the best purchase right now.

As a general rule you want *all* investments in the "sweet spot" of the appreciation curve. Buy too early and the slope of the appreciation curve is near zero since the domain or other investment will be worth little for many years. The same is true late in a development cycle, where the rate of appreciation is also low but the value is high. Somewhere in the middle there is a period where the *rate* of growth is significant. So basically:

buy too early: low value, low rate of appreciation
buy too late: high value, low rate of appreciation
buy "middle": value changing from low to high, high rate of appreciation

If you are working in a field you know then it is easier to see when this timing issue is right. If you are outside your field of expertise, then everything will just be one big blur.

There is a saying in the financial markets that "news that everybody knows is worthless" - which describes late stage investment. The flip side is knowing things that nobody else knows, and won't know for decades - that investment is too early.

smart! i never thought about buying too early, though i'm okay at avoiding the buy-too-late thing.
rep added, i feel a little wiser


:p

 

[DavidH]

Think about who you are going to sell a name to - do you want to flip it to another domainer or sell to an end user. If selling to an end user, is it worth real money to their business?

I specialise in buying reg fee names (as I have no spare money to buy higher value names) usually containing two words in boring industrial, business and commercial niches and then selling them to end users usually for a few hundred dollars apiece - I have increased my activities contacting end users to actively promote names and it is beginning to pay off.

What niche do you know best? Start there with, imho, dot com names - you will know probably better than most other domainers what words or phrases make sense, have particular meaning or are valuable to companies in that niche.

Good luck.

DavidH

 

[flying]

Yeah,
I aggree with you, these domains may be valuable.

have you considered expired domain names with existing traffic?
try freshdrop.net

Cheers
Corey