Typical Grassroots Domainer Forum Member "A": I have $100, what should I invest in?

[satsdifference.com]

Typical Grassroots Domainer Forum Member "A": I have $100, what should I invest in?

A $100 priced .com?

or

A $100 priced landrushed generic?

or

another DOMAINING solution?


"Most penny stocks suck so the entire low cost entry trade (domaining) for the masses is worthless
Berkshire-Hathaway stocks will always be KING!"





for the masses ("Domainer A" X 90,000 members),

Yelo

 

[Jeff]

Low cost?

If I'm understanding the question ... I think that the relatively small total amount of $100 would skew the answer(s) and thus not most accurately reflect the intent of the question/poll, IMHO. :red:

Just an observation.
-Jeff

 

[Spade]

I would look in the aftermarket - there are deals to be found in the drops auctions - $100 strategically invested could do well - however the problem is a rookie would have a hard time finding a bargain. It takes a very seasoned domainer to know what to look for and be patient enough for the right find.

Justin

 

[accent]

For a raw rookie without time to study the industry - he really would be at the mercy of the wind. But if he had a little time to search for deals and an aversion to learning anything, let him sift the market for two $40 LLLL.coms, and hold the other $20 for renewals.

I would expect his ROI would be impressive in about two years.

 

[TheBulldog]

To be fair, a first time domainer is not likely to post something like that. They are more likely to post "I have burnedokra.net and want to sell it for $42,0000", "why am I not selling it?".

Then they talk about how they got an offer via email for 17K but the buyer wanted them to get a $69.99 appraisals for x site because they didn't trust afternic or something else.

If I got an offer like what you are proposing, I would tell them to put thier money away and read. They won't, and you can watch them touting 4 word dot coms in the appraisal section, but feel good that you at least warned them.

 

[Traveler]

I would suggest they hold on to their $100 dollars. Imerse themselves in these forums and learn everything they can. Start earning NPs by posting, visit some sites for domain name credit and then use everything they have learned to purchase what they think is a domain name worth more than reg fee using the NP and domain name credit they have built up.

Then they should try and market that domain. If they are not succesful at making a profit, then rinse and repeat.

Once they are succesful, use their $100 to purchase domain names based on what they have learned from the above.

 

[soggyindo]

hmmm...
i'd say let them blow the $100 on a bunch of crappy names. in the end it's probably the only way to learn!
:cy:
but thinking more positively...
if they were after parking traffic domains, i'd say they should buy something from the marketplace with some traffic proof. if they think they can do better, let them go crazy with a registrar who allows e-z tasting. tell them to keep anything that doesn't get 4 hits or make 2c a day.
if it's reselling they were after, you'd maybe have to convince them that they need quick turnaround (to help get their eye in). no point waiting 5 years to sell and seeing they were off the mark.
the comment ^ to try sell one thing before they buy another is a great piece of advice...that is absolutely beyond me to achieve...

 

[moped]

Find and reg 11 good dot com/net/org domains at $9 each, hard work finding good coms but they are still out there.

 

[tetrapak]

Easy. Buy 10 .com/net/org domains each with a different niche. Examples: MintChocolateMartini.com, ItalyTravelTips.net (these are not regged). First is a recipe site, second is a travel site. You can basically test 10 different niches. These domains need to have Wordtracker results, which will ensure that once you have set up a minisite you will soon start to get Search Engine traffic. Now, we have come to the most important part. You have 20$ left of your 100$. Buy hosting for 3 months from this amount, and set up accounts for each of the 10 domains. You will need to develope 10 minisites with UNIQUE content. This means writing some short articles. It might be pain in the ass, but believe me, it will pay off. You will also need some graphics added to the site, basic ones will do the job, but be sure they still look nice. Add the Adsense ads and start to advertise these 10 little sites. If you make things right, you will end up with 100$ clear profit by the end of the second month, and ready to invest further, while you still have your money making little cuties.

I know, one can get lucky and receive a x,xxx$ offer on a handregged domain, but developing small sites is the easiest and safest way to go.

 

[-REECE-]

My advice: Develop or get a job.

When it comes to "pure" domaining with $100, the economics just don't add up. Even if you earned a 1000% ROI on your $100 inside of a year -- which is certainly more than most rookie domainers would likely earn, you still only have 1k. When you consider how much time you likely put in to make that 1k, I bet your making far less than the average wage in just about any developing nation.

I used to "believe" that people could start out with very little and be successful... Blame the availability heuristic (there are a few success stories), blame "the pros" for pretending the little guy actually had a chance (despite many of these hypocrites starting out while working as doctors, lawyers, etc and pumping 5+ figures into their little hobby), blame sites like DN Journal for confusing newcomers into thinking there's an endless supply of rich people who'll buy subpar domains for top dollar.

Too many newcomers waste their time looking for "The Handreg" -- that mythical domain that no domainer before them has managed to find. That time would be better spent educating themselves on how this industry works and having a steady stream of income coming in so they can get their heads out of la-la land and approach domaining with the drive and capital necessary to make something out of themselves.

 

[Steven]

My advice: Develop or get a job.

When it comes to "pure" domaining with $100, the economics just don't add up. Even if you earned a 1000% ROI on your $100 inside of a year -- which is certainly more than most rookie domainers would likely earn, you still only have 1k. When you consider how much time you likely put in to make that 1k, I bet your making far less than the average wage in just about any developing nation.

I used to "believe" that people could start out with very little and be successful... Blame the availability heuristic (there are a few success stories), blame "the pros" for pretending the little guy actually had a chance (despite many of these hypocrites starting out while working as doctors, lawyers, etc and pumping 5+ figures into their little hobby), blame sites like DN Journal for confusing newcomers into thinking there's an endless supply of rich people who'll buy subpar domains for top dollar.

Too many newcomers waste their time looking for "The Handreg" -- that mythical domain that no domainer before them has managed to find. That time would be better spent educating themselves on how this industry works and having a steady stream of income coming in so they can get their heads out of la-la land and approach domaining with the drive and capital necessary to make something out of themselves.

Great advice Reece

 

[soggyindo]

My advice: Develop or get a job.

great - but how did that cat get so clever...?

:p

 

[robertjr]

great - but how did that cat get so clever...?

:p

Cat nip.
:tu:

The other green leaf.

 

[-REECE-]

Omega 3 enriched cat food :sold:

great - but how did that cat get so clever...?

:p

Cat nip.
:tu:

The other green leaf.

:lala:

 

[VURG]

This was my suggestion to a similar request for advice in a noob thread.

One Idea: Do the experimental domaining process.

Start small:

$20

You can only get 3 domains here or one nice $20 domain. Work out how to get a profit. Keep reinvesting your profits.

When in profit add $40 to your investment pool.
When in profit again add $80 to your investment pool.
When in profit again add $160 to your investment pool.
etc...

If you keep working out how to get in profit then you should discover if you have a talent for finding gems or finding the right buyers or both. If you get stuck at a point trying to get in profit, it may be time to move on.
__________________________________

Domainers with a low investment should have time as a strength and there is still a lot of room for growth and development by flipping domains to time poor domainers who have more money and there should always be opportunities to do this. It is a good learning process to develope better domaining skills.
_____________________________________

In the early stages the process of picking the gems out of the rough is usually a rushed process. (Impulsive spending is often a domainers biggest regret.) I think that it is great to generate a list of 1000 available domains, drop it down to a list of the best 40, drop it down to a list of the best 5 and finally pick the best one or two. I used this process to hand pick Hatez.com, Frily.com, Thuzz.com, Chocy.com and Munth.com last year which are very easy domains to flip for profit.

I try to pick auctions that I think that I will lose because I know that I got a bargain when I do win them.

I don't expect that the profit from finding the gems in the rough but it is a start to a domaining journey. Most entreprenours agree that you usually require 3 years full-time + investment before you start making good money and domaining is no different. To me the learning process is the most important early on and there are some things you can't learn without spending money.

 

[accent]

Great post Reece. Over-expectations is the biggest enemy of the new domainer. Witness the "If I put in $XXXXX how much would I make in 6 months?" threads we often see.

 

[jacal1]

so they can get their heads out of la-la land

Don't you mean ooll-ooll land?

(Just trying to help.)

 

[-REECE-]

Hehe thanks mate

Don't you mean ooll-ooll land?

(Just trying to help.)

I don't expect that the profit from finding the gems in the rough but it is a start to a domaining journey. Most entreprenours agree that you usually require 3 years full-time + investment before you start making good money and domaining is no different. To me the learning process is the most important early on and there are some things you can't learn without spending money.

Couldn't agree more. It took me 6 years (part-time) before I saw my first decent profit in 2006. I didn't have much money when I started and rather than waste my time investing what little I had, I tried to learn what I could, reading whatever I could get my hands on. Much harder back then as there weren't near the domaining resources out there that are out there today.

I was a lurker on Namepros for 2+ years before I started getting part of this community in a serious way -- always reading, always learning. I really wish Namepros was around back when I started... People today have it easy. Markets like LLL.coms and LLLL.coms are easy as heck to make money in -- you just have to put in the time to learn I wouldn't doubt it's numbered in the thousands of hours for me. That time has paid off very handsomely lately, but it wasn't luck. I created my success just like new domainers today will have to create theirs.

Stick to one market. Learn that market, breathe that market, speak of that market so much that your entire family knows of that market (mine does )

Too many newcomers approach domaining haphazardly. "I'll try this, I'll try that, I'll try this... Something has to work... Someone paid 2.6M for Pizza.com, let's go out and reg a whole bunch of 4 word pizza domains!"

I don't know where it comes from, but too many new domainers today think they're in a race against time. It takes months to really learn an actual market... Figure out what drives this market. Don't read DN Journal once and all the sudden think you're an expert on 3 word dotcoms! Test out what knowledge you've acquired by starting small. Expect to lose money. Don't waste your time trying to recoup losses -- move on. I bought a domain (OOLL.com) yesterday for $500 which already has a $1000 offer on it and which I expect to flip within a couple days for $1500+... Money can be made very quickly, but you have to know what you're doing.

 

[Jeff]

^ Great advice ... for both those new and newer to domains -and- Namepros Geezers™ alike! :blink: :imho:

Thanks again Mr. Reece, VURG, and others contributing to this thread! :music:
-Jeff