ahh ... we're still on our way up the first loop of the roller-coaster for LLLL and L-L-L dot coms (ie, don't be surprised to find things going upside down at some point in the ride). Just have to get that caveat out there - would agree that LLLL and L-L-L are a good bet, not yet a proven model to follow until we see how they actually play out over the next few years. :imho:
Maybe better to look for guidance from the more proven LLL.com, NNN.com, CCC.com - and for comparison, also take a look at what's been going on with LLL.us ...
1) short, scarce, easy to remember, easy to map to end users = $xxxx+
2) NNN was a surprise to many but very strong in the "short, scarce, easy to remember" department - and easily found end users in China.
3) CCC was maybe an even bigger surprise ... Firing on just 2 of the 4 cylinders (that is, short and scarce, but not so easy to remember or map to most end users) ... still now consistently strong $xxx trading range for resellers. Pretty good for a reg-fee or $xx pickup a few years ago.
4) LLL.us was also a surprise to many I think, but not (yet) the way speculators hoped. Bouncing around in the low $xxx range, it hasn't taken off (yet) - and so has been susceptable to "corrections" in price of around 20% or more as holders lose patience and sell at a loss to move on to hotter areas.
(This is all just off the top of my head, I haven't actually been trading the LLL/NNN/CCC/.us markets so would look for more accurate data and insights from those who have actual experience in these areas over the last few years ...)
Anyway ... lessons to be learned? Scarcity is key, .com outperforms ... From LLL.us we see that it's easy to overpay on the way up and then get stuck waiting for the next leg of the journey. (Remember this if inclined to speculate overmuch on random CVCV.com high-flyers etc.)
Rule of thumb for me is not to pay too much for anything I wouldn't be happy with as an end user, no matter what other resellers are doing. So if I were in the markets a while ago following this guideline, I would have missed out on the bulk of the CCC.com though might pick up a few that actually made sense to me (see items 3 and 4 - easy to remember and map to end users).
And, while some resellers may be getting impatient with LLL.us, I might pick up a few at this point, just because I like them (short and memorable) and the price is reasonable now. For those based in other country codes such as .de / .in / .cn / .ru / etc etc etc, also seems like the respective LLL and NNN and even (maybe) CCC might be worth another look for the long term.
Haven't really yet thought about this carefully enough to put any of my own money into anything beyond a few reg-fee CCC.us pickups for my own use though!
Probably plenty more opinions and advice from others on this board, hopefully you'll hear more from folks who actually know what they're talking about ...!
Good luck, be careful, have fun ... (not necessarily in that order).