What's with all the subterfuge?

[ddfenton]

What's with all the "anonymous" greyed out man-shaped avitars and nothing-close-to-real-name-handles?
Is this indigenous to domaining or is it just internet caution on public forums? Is this because there's no filters for profile safety? Curious 'cause other professional forums I've operated in aren't like that.

 

[Silentptnr]

Here its required to use the craziest image you can find as an avatar.

Its in the rules.

 

[Silentptnr]

Those are real. They just look different.

 

[ddfenton]

Hmmm. That's a tall order and a low bar given so many are like, question marks. And why?

 

[Silentptnr]

Those havent uploaded. I think it is one of the default choices.

 

[ddfenton]

And you are Obama?

Thanks, though

 

[Silentptnr]

Last time i checked...no.

Im his twin.

 

[ddfenton]

Hard to tell with the shades, baseball hat and glow pops

 

[ddfenton]

seriously, why? Small players vs high rollers kinda thing?

 

[Cdomains]

The image you are talking about is the default image when an avatar has not been uploaded to replace it.

Mine is actually that image modified slightly.

There is no requirement I am aware of that says one must upload a different image.

 

[ddfenton]

Yeah, I get that but with all the defaults, it gives the impression of a lack of concern for crafting a profile and given that domaining is tied into branding, these forums for professional seems pretty generic. Unless it's a really small population of insiders,

 

[ddfenton]

Didn't mean any of this to be sarcastic or judgmental. Everyone is really friendly. I just don't get it and was asking directly.

 

[equity78]

Didn't mean any of this to be sarcastic or judgmental. Everyone is really friendly. I just don't get it and was asking directly.

Many many people, from long time domainers to newer entrants do not use their real name or their real pic. This first and foremost is a casual place and not a professional outlet like say LinkedIn.

Many domain owners do not want anyone knowing much about them unless they have something to sell or promote. There is no advantage in an environment with competitors, sure people might be friendly but they are also a competitor if domaining is anything more than a passing hobby to those involved.

With a name, people can use many tools to find out someone's holdings, track past sales, see if there is a pattern to their end user clientele, perhaps start soliciting those clients, outbid them in auctions in the hopes they can make quick flips. Etc...

Mods in the old days would place links to a developed site of theirs and members who were warned or possibly banned, would click bomb that mod's Adsense hoping to get their Adsense account closed.

For most when it comes to full transparency, the juice is not worth the squeeze.

 

[Kate]

"I believe I can fly"

 

[ddfenton]

Thank you. That is what I suspected. And it shows the newness of the industry. There isn't a business round that isn't subject to underhanded dealings using sensitive information to gain competitive edge. Thus all the hacker paranoia. I think (maybe) the disconnect I'm not getting here is the extent to which there really is a free market and the extent to which the auction houses (I don't know what to call SEDO, GoDaddy and the likes) control the stats and values of stuff that pretends to be kinda sorta like intangible real estate (or IP) but is more like the stock market. To a degree, people like me who register names for their own use, or dapple in the market like using slot machines in Vegas, are important to keep in the mix because we help push the product on the "wholesaler?" level and keep the ball in the air by giving GoDaddy steady income and the industry as a whole, movement. And I don’t know how much information is coming from those invested in keeping everyone in the game. Anyway, I'm kind of rambling here and I get the need for caution. THANKS SO MUCH for your answer!!!!

 

[J.R.]

Domain investing is a profession for few and a hobby for most. Nobody cares about who is sharing the information, as long as you are learning something. Domain investing is probably one of the more open industries, and it is a good thing that it isn't a profession yet, because Uncle Sam will swoop in to take his cut on that day...with more licensing fees, taxes, regulation etc...

 

[ddfenton]

Domain investing is a profession for few and a hobby for most. Nobody cares about who is sharing the information, as long as you are learning something. Domain investing is probably one of the more open industries, and it is a good thing that it isn't a profession yet, because Uncle Sam will swoop in to take his cut on that day...with more licensing fees, taxes, regulation etc...

But I think domaining is a very serious profession for some. Thing is, the design of the business, the registry houses being also the sellers, venue providers and sources of information are all by construct, conflicts of interest, which is why the market crashed when deregulations allowed banks to own other banks and be investment houses and insurance companies, etc, etc, simultaneously. Called monopoly and can kill free enterprise which I see still exists in domaining, which is great. It's a thin line between what Uncle Sam vs Corp America controls, with the latter, I think, having the upper hand.

 

[Silentptnr]

I haven't sold sh*t on LinkedIn.

 

[ddfenton]

I didn't know you could sell anything on Linkedin, everyone is peddling their own wares. .
Does anybody really sell names on Ebay? Some of them are ridiculously high and most are pathetically low.

 

[Silentptnr]

I think most successful domain investors sell on large marketplaces. There are, of course, commissions on those sales. Some also have their own websites, use sales landers, etc.

NP is more of a resource for all kinds of information. One of the best I've found. If you leverage it properly based on your own objectives it can be a great part of domaining.

People actually are pretty professional here in this forum. At least most that I have had the pleasure of meeting.

As far as Ebay, I think it's pretty saturated.

 

[ddfenton]

Do you just list them and hope for the best?

 

[Silentptnr]

It depends. It the domain is valuable enough you might invest some in marketing it.

You can also do auctions on sites like GoDaddy.

 

[ddfenton]

None of those have worked for me but I haven't been diligent and patient which is why I want out .

 

[Silentptnr]

I bet you have hundreds of domain names.

 

[forge]

Does anybody really sell names on Ebay? Some of them are ridiculously high and most are pathetically low.

Your questions are all over the place. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Of course people really sell domains on eBay. It used to be a fantastic venue for doing so. Not so much anymore, though some great deals can still be found there. But you have to wade through a LOT of garbage.