The Worst "Good" Names That You Can Register to Resell

[Grrilla]

Most of us have, at least, a few names that we consider to be good to very good that just don't seem to get the interest that we think they should. I thought that it might be interesting if we discussed some of our views and experiences in those name categories that should be avoided if resale is the purpose. Selecting name categories that don't work for resale is difficult to quantify, is subjective and there are some glaring exceptions.

I'll start:
1) Names for domain name sales and marketing sites. All of the good keyword domains are long gone, and domain name resellers are not going to pay you much, if anything, for a made-up name that is for a sales, listing, hosting etc site. Resellers are tight wads and, unless the name has some intrinsic quality attached to it, such as, traffic, high keyword value, investment value, (ie 3 letters), etc. domainers are too busy searching and making up their own names to have the time or the inclination to look at yours, let alone consider buying it from you.
I couldn't give away NameScience_com, although after I dropped it, someone did buy it through a drop auction, (SnapNames, I believe). Other "good", (IMO), names that I have in this bad, (for reselling), category include CyberHandle.com, HTTPCO.com, 3Characters.com and WorkingNames.com. (BTW, I am keeping them and they are not for sale and, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't have dropped NameScience although I, recently, replaced it w/ NameAnatomy.com which I am going to put to use in the same way.

2) Names for Graphic Design and Web Development firms- ie ExampleStudio, or ExampleDesign. You may be able to pick up a few bucks if something catches a designer or developers fancy but, generally speaking, I wouldn't suggest loading up in this category if resale is your intention. The best I have ever done w/ these names is a swap w/ an artist for a logo or for a small bit of work. Some names that I thought were fairly decent in this category, but were unable to attract, even, a reg fee sale include, HiDefStudios_com and KamikazeDesign_com. Both were, later, picked up, which is always a nut buster, but that is what you can expect from this category.

3) Software development companies. There are some notable exceptions, here- one member had an excellent 35K sale for Spamzilla, and I had a more modest, but decent sale for Phishzilla. But, despite being made up these are both strong names because of the keyword and the popularity of "zilla". Software developers can also be tightwads and why not? They know their way around the internet and it is a snap for them to work around paying for a domain name by coming up w/ an alternative that works just dandy for them. One of the names I dropped after carrying for 4 years provides an excellent example of this, but I continue to like it enough that I may register it again. (hint- it has to do w/ SPAM).

4) Names that you register while saying to yourself, "Gee, wouldn't that make a great product name!" Large companies pay Ad execs and AdAgencies millions to do market research and to come up w/ ad campaigns to feature a new product name. If you hit one, it may be akin to winning the lottery, but you might have better odds at hitting the lottery than picking a generic future brandname for a company. In addition to the unlikelihood of hitting on a name, there is a good chance that you would have TM issues to contend w/ if you haven't TMd your name and how many of us want to spend the money on a name that is such a longshot, to begin w/? Some names that I registered while under the influence of some wild buying spree: Pro2O_com, Pep2O_com, and FruitMist_com. (I must have been thirsty that night). The sad thing is, these were registered within the past year and I should have know better by then.

There are other categories I could add, but I'd like to hear what some others have to say.

PS Please sound in if my experience doesn't add up to your own. Again, this is subjective and only represents my own general opinion, based on my track record w/ names within these categories.

 

[harpo]

enjoyable read here,,,, thanks for the great posts. Grrilla your openness to share your experience makes me realize why i like domaining and its difficulties and lessons too.
Im in the same boat i really need some organization skills and dev skills ....

here my 2 cents
if you have no tools for domains dont buy
if you have roo much money dont buy domains
if your lonlely and your girlfriend left you so not buy domains
if your parents give you a credit card do not buy domains
if your anywhere sane do not nuy domains,,,
just havin fun kidding

if your buying for resale its a loooong and lonely road...

 

[primacomputer]

One thing I would like to point out is that it can be as much fun to develop interesting ways of monetizing your names as it can be to hunt new ones. Being creative with features of databases, HTTP and HTML can give you incredibly useful results without a lot of work. As with selecting names, the key here is the creativity as opposed to brute force and bulk.

For example, I registered my first adult zilla a few years back as one of my first experiments in “OVT” names. I developed a simple TGP and it started making revenue instantly. I then came up with the idea to use the database behind it to drive multiple niche names. I combined this with another database to present a different “skin” for each name. Doing this with only a handful of graphic files and a single virtual server was an interesting technical challenge. Far more interesting than simply grabbing every smutty sounding zilla that drops.