discuss Why $10,000 for a Domain Name is still cheap

[john_karr]

It is an old article,but it is a good read.

Domain names are now an integral part of any business. Whether the use is primarily for email, a company website, or part of a marketing campaign anyone starting a business must secure a domain name.

The difference between a domain name and other marketing expenses however is you are acquiring a presence which help future customers define you, not leasing one.

Owning a premium domain has become expensive with the average price of a domain name hovering around anywhere between $5,000 and $20,000 however how expensive is this?

The real question is not how much a domain name costs but how much value the right domain name can bring to your business.

Take a look at your marketing budget and see what $10,000 buys you. Not a whole lot after all – well, at least anything you can own for eternity at a one-time cost.

http://www.businessinsider.com/why-10000-for-a-domain-name-is-still-cheap-2011-4

 

[garptrader]

As someone who works in finance, it baffles me at times how much companies will spend on all sorts of normal business expenses - paying thousands of dollars for routines advertising / marketing programs, paying outside consultants, attorneys, auditors, IT professionals, software, hardware, travel, etc but when it comes to domain names, they are so often viewed as trivial items. The thought of spending five figures on a domain is not widely accepted. But I have seen five figure invoices for attorneys, IT professionals working on a project, audit fees, travel and those expenses were considered normal.

 

[otismo]

We must always remember RISK. The Internet is still evolving technology.

 

[tech_noir]

Corporate stupidity at its best.... It somehow still astonishes me how a company is capable of smending millions in promoting a brand, but sees a 10 000 for an actually remeberable domain, which would save much, much more on advertising and marketing in a long run.

I've used to work in web companies living on advertising on their wersites and in advertising agencies as well and remember years ago (now people are more aware and literate in Bulgaria at least) how common it was this scenario during planning:
Well... we have this budget, let's distribute it....
- XXXX goes to TV advertising, expected reach about 4 millions. Maybe... At least this is the reach of those shows. Don't tell anyone people turnn the volume down, change the channel, go to the toilet (the client definately does not want to know peopl are pissn during their add)...
- XXX goes to press adds, expected reach about a million. It is OK because we'll got people's eyes longer on the adds .
- XX goes to radio addvertising. People still listen to radio in their cars, right...
- XXX goes to billboards. People will look at them acasionally. The effect is not clearly known, but he advertiser will be impressed.
- Should we include X for online advertisig? We got clear statistics, interaction... Bang for the buck is way better than anything else. We can show nice stats and analysis for the client!

...and at the moment the pretty planner imagines the extra work, she crosses her eyes and writes an additional X to the billboards....

 

[mhdoc]

I read the threads on this subject and while the comments reflect actual actions in the marketplace it seems like there must be an opportunity in there somewhere.

If there is so much value in the right domain but the major players can't/won't see it, there should be a major opportunity for a developer & an industry expert to team up. In real estate terms it seems like a sharp developer should be looking for domainers willing to do a lease with an option to buy.

The developer would then know how long they had to prove the income potential of a business built on that domain. With proof of concept and the domain purchase price locked in, they should should be able to finance the purchase or find a buyer for the business.

If the domainer is confident in the value of his domain, locking it up for a year or two shouldn't be a hardship since they would get their price or the domain back after a reasonable time.

Does that make any sense?

It seems like an active solution like this would be more proactive than sitting around hoping potential buyers wise up.

 

[tech_noir]

Give the Darwinism some time... sometimes things just need evolution.
I remembr as a teenager in year 1996 how much I dremed about having about owning a computer, my (single) mother paid for a course of "Using internet" and I wokred lather for these people for half a yeer practically for free. Meanwhile my mothr actually bought me my first computer... (helped trough as my aunt and uncle were comuter engineers since 80s). I remeber how people laughted at me "What is that "Internet"? Get a life! ", "And what exactly you do on that... computer?".... when I was writting my first websites doing my first graphics. Now the same people that laughted so much morrow "Well... what do you kno about people's financial problems, you get nicely paid...", "Web is eating our business, I don't know holw long we''ll survive...".
I believe that... well just a bit older geeks who were "playing" in basements with computers, writting operating systems, registering hp.com etc. are now respected a bit for making an unpopular and funny decision at the right time. At the other hand it is hard for the geek to think about business. And it is not so easy to grow big very fast ouside the IT. It still needs experience and bankers to believe your idea (especially after the .com crash).
In a long run the more flexible and competaive wins due to the better profits/expenses ratio. Someone is nicely seated on the market for decades, pays the sallaries of 50 people and their accomodaton, taxes, etc. but does not want to pay the monthly expences for just one of his employees ecause it is "too much" and blabla-brand-bla.com is cheaper (optmisaton!). Someone invests that expense and serveral times more it in easily remembable (and cheaper to get rembered) brand + automation of the business that makes these 50 sallaries + office, taxes etc. obsulete. In time of course the first will slowly (and most often unmentioned) turn into dinosaur, by fighting (or just sittng) on the same market for the same peace of the pie but with 50+ times higher expences per sale.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

lol I'ved used that same article as a marketing tool CONVINCER tool. basically instead of me having to have to explain to a potential interested buyer what he or she should pay. I refer them to this article!

instead of wasting my breath!

Plus it is so effective! and concise and informative. Kinda Rams the idea home that domains are worth alot of money. not $100-$200 bucks.

 

[deez007]

@Avatar thats actually very clever mate.. I think I'm gonna adopt the same sales tactic and show potential buyers this article as well.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

work smarter not harder. use it well. in fact I use alot of already created content and pdf's to "do the talking" for me. It can get exhausting trying to be original all the time. lol know what I mean? like for example selling my Chinese IDN Geo domains. I've used a jumai.com pdf to explain that the Chinese are for example flocking to Palo Alto which is number 3 on a list of US cities where the Chinese heavily invest in real estate. And I own PaloAlto.com in Chinese. so yea there you go. lol why should you buy my domain? just go to Juwai and check that PDF and then send me a check! lol

this article mentioned here is just as similar a tool as that one.

 

[john_karr]

lol I'ved used that same article as a marketing tool CONVINCER tool. basically instead of me having to have to explain to a potential interested buyer what he or she should pay. I refer them to this article!

instead of wasting my breath!

Plus it is so effective! and concise and informative. Kinda Rams the idea home that domains are worth alot of money. not $100-$200 bucks.

@Avatar629 What was the end result?

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

Honest? Nothing! Lol haven't really gotten down to really marketing. Just a few mentions here and there. Some bites then lost interest but that is the nature of the game.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

This article is "effective" at getting your foot in the door. because EVERYONE wants to SAVE MONEY. if you pitch a domain as a TOOL to save people MONEY in advertising COSTS? Trust me. That's EVERYONE's Bottomline.

 

[WhoaDomain.com]

If you have a good keyword domain. You've effectlve eliminated their need to pay for pay per click advertising......AT LEAST FOR THAT SPECIFIC KEYWORD or WORDS. Words have so much POWER these days.