Your biggest mistake?

[notlikeyou]

What was your biggest mistake when you started domaining?


I think it would be valuable for others to see what works & what does not.


For me I would say it's not buying more LLLL.coms when they were available, & not selling them while they were at the peak.

 

[Badger]

Ive made too many mistakes since setting out.. I guess the main one being the fact that seeing as though im now in my ~13th or 14th year of being, in some respects a "domainer" per se, I probably wouldnt be making this post if I hadnt made this whopper of an err/omission/ sleeping on the job mistake..

Does that make sense..? lmao..

If I can however offer some candid advice to anyone setting out:

1. Dont set out with the intent of finding an angle or garnering the system - they have all been found, have are all gone and you'll be hung out to dry if you try, what you think, is your blackhat eureka moment.

2. Research, research and research before buying.. Check things like seeing if your killer .net or ccTLD is available or cheaper in .com.. Check Google external keyword tool for monthly searches on that term etc.. If it's a phrase, how many google results are there for it in an "exact" match.

3. Don't get sucked in too deep on new extension releases.

4. Try and have a solid idea of what you intend to do with your domain before you buy it ..

Aside from that; treat domaining like a hobby, enjoy the experience, dont let it take over your life, limit how much time you spend doing it and dont, for a single minute, think that you will be able to give up your job and do it full time.

 

[theuniverse]

started domaining lately even though i knew before about domaining.

 

[dax44]

i remembered another:

not making more use of the grace delete option at dynadot

I am not talking about tasting here - just 'cold light of day' changes of mind..

and .. ha ha .. I found this on YouTube - c'mon own up whoever you are!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C4lxYRWpGE

 

[ThreeD]

My biggest mistake is probably that I didn't get into domaining when I started hanging out on the web in 1992 or so

 

[MicroGuy]

My biggest mistake was being overconfident in my ability to pick money making domains. My new approach is to try and make 50%+ ROI instead of using the lottery approach.

Reg fee = Buy for $10, Sell for $15
Aftermarket = Buy for $500, Sell for $750

In my view, there are too many people trying to reg @ $10 and sell for $750. This is the lottery approach. It's 10x easier to use a realistic approach.

The old adage, "you get what you pay for" applies more so to domains. If you want to own a valuable domain, go buy one. Oh..and have fun!

 

[dax44]

My biggest mistake was being overconfident in my ability to pick money making domains. My new approach is to try and make 50%+ ROI instead of using the lottery approach.

Reg fee = Buy for $10, Sell for $15
Aftermarket = Buy for $500, Sell for $750

In my view, there are too many people trying to reg @ $10 and sell for $750. This is the lottery approach. It's 10x easier to use a realistic approach.

The old adage, "you get what you pay for" applies more so to domains. If you want to own a valuable domain, go buy one. Oh..and have fun!

great advice - this actually summarises a lot of different people's views and experiences in a simple and memorable way

rep added.

(OMG - is it just coincedence that I just mentioned your video?? :o )

 

[MicroGuy]

(OMG - is it just coincedence that I just mentioned your video?? :o )

That's wild. I didn't notice the mention until just now. Thanks & rep back at ya!

 

[dax44]

why thank you!

actually i really love the way you phrased your advice.

its so easy to get caught up in buying domains. you know how it goes: you see a great little .info unregged - dictionary word, $1.99 - got be worth it , no? well , in a word - no. unless you count selling it for $5 'worth it'.

another way to phrase it would be more universal - the higher the profit, the higher the risk.

 

[tata668]

Reg fee = Buy for $10, Sell for $15

The problem I see here is the time needed to find/manage all those 5$ making domains. How much does your time worth?

 

[MicroGuy]

The problem I see here is the time needed to find/manage all those 5$ making domains. How much does your time worth?

That's the point. There's too much focus on reg fee domains.

 

[-Adam-]

Investing in 3 word domains.
Investing in .mobi
Not developing right away like I should of.

Could I say my biggest mistake was not being in the domain game business back before the burst? Nope because at the time I didn't know about it so I wouldn't consider it a mistake and it has not affected my life directly.

 

[jdenwar]

My Biggest mistake:
"Selling my domains for little profit few years ago"

If i have hold those domains upto now, I would make a lot of $$$$

Domainers, have patience....lol

 

[DNBro]

My biggest mistake in domaining as on date, after seeing the upword trend of LLLL.com in Jan, Feb 08, i had reg ton of LLLL.infos. Now I'm compelling to drop all of them

 

[kedaar]

Hmm,

There were two mistecks from my side.

1.Entering so late (last year) into this market though my online presence is since 1999.
2.Over overconfident in my picks and not ready to accept it.

 

[yilduz]

1.Entering so late (last year) into this market though my online presence is since 1999.

Yeah, that's me, too.

 

[DiggleNamer]

This is one of the most informative and candid posts I have seen yet. Thanks.

1. Not appreciating the value of an extension. I purchased 6 generic keyword .md domains at $150 each and I can't sell them, even to the medical profession.

what are yours? mine are:

addictions.md
advice.md
diagnosis.md
homeopathy.md
malpractice.md
relationships.md

I think the extension has legs if these sites are developed

 

[Ms Domainer]

*

Mistakes galore!

-- Within three months of beginning to domain, I sold a reg fee domain for $800.00. While this is totally cool, this sale made me overconfident and cocky.

-- Regging about 200 ETV domains (What was I thinking?). And then I compounded the mistake by transferring them to my current registrar.

-- Believing that Lexiconist [dot] com was going to make me rich because it's a one-word dot-com (Ha, Ha!).

-- Hand regging without some kind of plan in mind.

-- Hand-regging crap names.

-- Failing to do the PROPER and often difficult research before buying on the aftermarket.

--Once I jumped into an auction confident that someone else would also jump in and outbid me (I just wanted to watch the auction); I ended up with a domain I didn't really want. UGH! Never again. Now I only jump in when I'm confident that I would actually WANT the domain for $60.00.

--Regging two-word .mobi domains.

--Not recognizing true opportunity.​

I'm sure there are more goofs and future goofs as well (we'll see if my small investment in .me pans out).

*

 

[mwzd]

My biggest mistakes:

- Buying too many names at too many registrars.

- Not factoring in renewal fees.