The LLLL.com sales and discussion thread

[italiandragon]

Hello, I think it would be pretty useful to keep track of all LLLL.com sales , even the little ones under $100 so that , pretty soon , when the available LLLL.com will be finished , we`ll have a better idea on market prices.

It is important that these sales are confirmed. So before to post, make sure payment went OK.

I will start with todays` Sedo confirmed sales:

FISE.com 2,700 Euros
TSRT.com US $760
VEUP.com US $1,700


Also, I found interesting to see this average LLLL, getting bids up to $51 and reserve not me. It says it all.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...110154111735_W0QQ_trksidZm37QQfromZR40QQfviZ1

 

[italiandragon]

OT: does anyone know what happened to our friend from Brasil "bricio" ?

I sent him a PM weeks ago and no response yet...

 

[gladdy]

You made a nice flip!

Yes, except that rare case when you sold me a nice LLLL.com domain for $180 and I sold it few weeks later for $900+
:great:

---------- Post added at 12:54 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:22 AM ----------

By the way, has anyone noticed that there are only 89 expired LLLL.com on godaddy expiring auctions?

 

[xman]

OT: does anyone know what happened to our friend from Brasil "bricio" ?

I sent him a PM weeks ago and no response yet...

I read somewhere that he gave up domaining. He didn't even sell his domains and most of his domain just expired.

 

[Soofi]

I read somewhere that he gave up domaining. He didn't even sell his domains and most of his domain just expired.

I know eh! I read that in today's Joke Daily!! :P

 

[xman]

I know eh! I read that in today's Joke Daily!! :P

I'm not kidding. I know I read it here somewhere but I could be wrong.

Anyways, I just sold o g x i for $500 to an end user (very small start up company). Total investment reg. fee two years ago.

 

[SlimPickins]

congrats Xman! shows that even the buyout registrations have a fighting chance of finding an enduser....

 

[sidekick_33]

That would be a sad story if it is true (Bricio's retirement...) . I hope not!

 

[WORDSWORTH]

I'm not kidding. I know I read it here somewhere but I could be wrong.

Anyways, I just sold o g x i for $500 to an end user (very small start up company). Total investment reg. fee two years ago.

Congrats

NJ: rcaa $410

 

[ecalc]

... It is a different kind of investment than PPC, more speculative but also, perhaps, more rewarding.

Good points, positive thinking drives progress. Risk management stems losses. The bulk of the llll market could be cornered for Wall St peanuts, but it's unlikely. You nailed a major reason - low direct traffic that doesn't begin to pay for rising reg fees. High carrying cost is aggravated by slow inventory turn rates at retail 'end user' ask prices. Low single digit % annual turnover is common for big portfolios. More pitching and price drops can speed the turn but there goes the knock knock 'end user' price dream. This is a market that nobody wants to corner.

Real businesses consume LLLL names. Impressive sales happen. LLLLsales.com top 10 sales reported since 1/1/2009:
toys - developed
body - parked
wife - parked
kiev - parked
ipal - developed
saws - parked
bedo - under construction
cric - does not resolve
sikh - under construction
sued - minisite
Dev status shows the high end still in the clenches of domainers (or money launderers), not 'regular' businesses. Similar snapshots at lower price points may paint a different broad profile. 2009 top llll sales took a haircut from 2008 and if ppc erosion continues it'll take more wind from the sails of high end domainers, reducing top sales prices, muffling PR and giving other price points indigestion. This is how ppc can affect areas not regarded as ppc sensitive.

Another angle. Pick up a PennySaver or similar local ad rag. Look at the display ads. What kind of domain names, if any, are small businesses using? Here's what I see in my large city neighborhood 24-pager:
2keywords.com
3abbreviatedwords.org
2wordbrand.com
2keywords.com
no website
2keywords.org
surnamekeyword.com
surnametire.com
2keywords.net
no website
4words.com
brandinsurance.com
surnamecarpetcare.com
3keywords.com
collegename.com (no edu?!)
4words.org
4words.net
no website
2wordsplusthenumber4.org
I don't see any llll.coms. Is that good or bad? Plenty of untapped sales potential. Clearly a lot of businesses budget $X for their web name. Many could shorten their address with a llll acronym but I see no one on board in this tiny sample even without a hypothetical $$$$ entry point, but adoption rates driving the low single digit % turnover mentioned above are probably hard to notice.

The clearest picture of the llll market is probably the rear view mirror provided by the chart at llllsales.com - kudos to the publisher for a great tool. Tepid price movement since March 2009 suggests weak or long lag correlation with equities. I sense more influence of the broad economy and the strong arm of ppc gatekeeper GOOG (operations, not stock price) on this 'non-ppc' niche. Good luck to all here, not knockin' it, just kicking the tires.

 

[accent]

... This is a market that nobody wants to corner. ...

Agreed ----- at the moment. But imagine double the current internet usage, or triple.

Internet sales were up last Christmas, although just in single digits, go back several years and you find 30-40% yearly growth. Just holding those gains in this recession shows a lot of strength.

Four years of 30% overall internet growth (compounded) is triple the current market. That would put a lot of pressure on LLLL.coms, and at that level I would expect cornering the market would be profitable. A lot of assumptions in those numbers, certainly, and the more time "lost" to recession the more renewal payments eat the profits.

Your list from pennysaver shows that many (most) businesses do not see the potential value of a quality domain name. This hit high comedy when recently a lawyer for the Dallas Cowboys football team (worth many hundred million dollars) bid $250 for Cowboys.com. But, if the merchandising value of quality names is really there (I think most of us believe it is) and if alternatives do not arise, the mainstream will eventually "discover" domains. Darwin will see to it. And won't we all be happy when they do.

 

[Soofi]

ecalc, very calculative and thought about post up there. repd+

thanks for making it

 

[nombre]

Another angle. Pick up a PennySaver or similar local ad rag. Look at the display ads. What kind of domain names, if any, are small businesses using? Here's what I see in my large city neighborhood 24-pager:
2keywords.com
3abbreviatedwords.org
2wordbrand.com
2keywords.com
no website
2keywords.org
surnamekeyword.com
surnametire.com
2keywords.net
no website
4words.com
brandinsurance.com
surnamecarpetcare.com
3keywords.com
collegename.com (no edu?!)
4words.org
4words.net
no website
2wordsplusthenumber4.org
I don't see any llll.coms. Is that good or bad? Plenty of untapped sales potential. Clearly a lot of businesses budget $X for their web name. Many could shorten their address with a llll acronym but I see no one on board in this tiny sample even without a hypothetical $$$$ entry point, but adoption rates driving the low single digit % turnover mentioned above are probably hard to notice.

ecalc in this example i think you are dealing with local businesses whose primary business is not the web but who just need an address ...any address....i really see the value in the llll.com market as primarily an internet startup market ....i.e. ...web based businesses looking for unique addresses to set themselves apart, they are not worried as much about search engines and are more concerned with memorability .... bing would be a good example, i just don't think that the average everyday "on the ground" business is looking for unique, catchy, 4l, 5l or 6l names, that makes 4l, 5l, 6l, all somewhat of a long-term hold until the right guy comes along ... for example, i see it as unlikely that "on time dry cleaners" whose been in business for 50 years is gonna get catchy and buy "otdc" ....they would'nt want to risk confusing their customers by getting fancy ...business that are _based_ on the internet would be the prime customers for 4l,5l,6l ...

 

[Soofi]

ecalc in this example i think you are dealing with local businesses whose primary business is not the web but who just need an address ...any address....i really see the value in the llll.com market as primarily an internet startup market ....i.e. ...web based businesses looking for unique addresses to set themselves apart, they are not worried as much about search engines and are more concerned with memorability .... bing would be a good example, i just don't think that the average everyday "on the ground" business is looking for unique, catchy, 4l, 5l or 6l names, that makes 4l, 5l, 6l, all somewhat of a long-term hold until the right guy comes along ... for example, i see it as unlikely that "on time dry cleaners" whose been in business for 50 years is gonna get catchy and buy "otdc" ....they would'nt want to risk confusing their customers by getting fancy ...business that are _based_ on the internet would be the prime customers for 4l,5l,6l ...

Nombre, I think all these corporations were small & start ups at one point, way back in the days.. and every smb desires to be like one of them someday, so everybody who has a business would need something catchy to make their presence felt and grow along. I think ecalc had a very calculative post up there.

cheers to you as well for your post!

 

[nombre]

Nombre, I think all these corporations were small & start ups at one point, way back in the days.. and every smb desires to be like one of them someday, so everybody who has a business would need something catchy to make their presence felt and grow along. I think ecalc had a very calculative post up there.

cheers to you as well for your post!

don't ... let me sound a note of agreement with you, the internet is going to get more and more important as a place to do business and i totally agree that smart businesses will (should) be looking for a catchy presence, any even reasonably memorable 4l,5l,6l will definitely pay off over time :D

 

[noy.com]

well, it would be impossible to see all the names in LLLL.com

100% of LLLL.coms make less than 1% of all .coms registered.

Also, billboard advertising is different. You try to get somebody to remember your service and site in a second while passing by. And "great quality windows doors .com" might be easier to remember than "gqwd.com". But then if you are into twitter, facebook, web ads etc., you'll want to have gqwd.com. Not to mention that for current service users regularly going into your website, it matters if they have to type in 20 letters or just 4.

 

[Soofi]

don't ... let me sound a note of agreement with you, the internet is going to get more and more important as a place to do business and i totally agree that smart businesses will (should) be looking for a catchy presence, any even reasonably memorable 4l,5l,6l will definitely pay off over time :D

haha thanks, but hey you dont really have to if you dont wanna sound one :P

 

[SlimPickins]

here's a question: a different spin than the "what if" interest to (business) endusers is what about when the LLLL is also a surname or first name? Not as typical as smith, jones, williams etc, but a name nonetheless? I have at least 3 llll's that are names and wonder about any shift in value based on that..... again, not a common name (at least in the US) but certainly a name. I myself would LOVE to have my surname in .com.... but not sure that most people would unless they built their job around it. I haven't located any "high profile" people with these names (but I just recently realized that they were names at all!) but figured would get other opinions on it. Anyone else had luck with name/LLLL's by contacting people about the chance of securing their family name?

 

[Soofi]

well, it would be impossible to see all the names in LLLL.com

100% of LLLL.coms make less than 1% of all .coms registered.

Also, billboard advertising is different. You try to get somebody to remember your service and site in a second while passing by. And "great quality windows doors .com" might be easier to remember than "gqwd.com". But then if you are into twitter, facebook, web ads etc., you'll want to have gqwd.com. Not to mention that for current service users regularly going into your website, it matters if they have to type in 20 letters or just 4.

totally depends on how and what for, you are going to use it!! :tu:

---------- Post added at 12:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:45 PM ----------

here's a question: a different spin than the "what if" interest to (business) endusers is what about when the LLLL is also a surname or first name? Not as typical as smith, jones, williams etc, but a name nonetheless? I have at least 3 llll's that are names and wonder about any shift in value based on that..... again, not a common name (at least in the US) but certainly a name. I myself would LOVE to have my surname in .com.... but not sure that most people would unless they built their job around it. I haven't located any "high profile" people with these names (but I just recently realized that they were names at all!) but figured would get other opinions on it. Anyone else had luck with name/LLLL's by contacting people about the chance of securing their family name?

SP, people do that quite often.. just got to wait for them though. Some do it early enough and others wiat fo rthe day when they actually feel the need of doing so..

 

[WORDSWORTH]

617 LLLL.com domains are expected to drop on 18th January. This is around twelve times the average. Most are single or double premium with at least one of QXY or Z. I checked the creation dates of a small sample and all were 31st oct or 1st Nov 2007, i.e. during the last days of the buyout. 1,194 are due to drop over the next 5 days, including a modest 42 that will drop today. I'll be watching these drops very closely to see how quickly they are scooped up and if there are any stragglers. It may be that I'll be able to publish some lists of available LLLL.com domains over the next few days, even if just for a short time.

 

[nombre]

a lot of this depends on how much people/businesses perceive themselves to be a part of the internet

i just checked clooney.com, i don't know who owns it but i'm damn sure that george clooney has enough money to make the owner an offer he can't refuse but he apparently isn't interested

there are a ton of businesses that provide local products and services that strictly need a domain as a business card .... nothing more ...they are going to put up whatever is simple and cheap

most of them will choose their domain name by thinking about it for about 15 minutes or less

the 4l,5l,6, name market is really aimed at a different audience
i.e. business/people that really value their internet presence and want something unique

"hot happy donuts" would be nuts to change their name to hhd.com unless they had a wad of cash to advertise it and if they are making money they won't give a hoot about owning hhd.com

those of us who are really interested in the internet have to remember that _most_ people don't have the slightest interest in how the net works:imho: