Today: MoldInspectors.com SOLD for $7,499 / Domain purchases you regret / BlackDown.org sold for $5,310 / And more!

Here are the new discussions that caught my eye in the domain community today!

Buying 1Word .net / .co domains – Total Budget: $2,500.00 – Do you have any single-dictionary-word .net or .co domain names you want to liquidate for some fast cash? Check out this buyers specified criteria to see if you have what they need.

Buying Your Junk 4L .com (Yes most are junk) – Budget: Up to $1,000.00 – Be sure to double check your portfolio for one of these four-letter .com’s if you want to sell one for some quick cash.

Park, Promote, Or Hire? – Out of these three domain name sales strategies, which one has been the most successful for you? Take a look at what other domain investors are saying.

BlackDown.org sold for $5,310 – For a nine-letter, two-word, .com domain, that’s not a bad mid-four-figure domain name sales report. Should it have sold for more or less than what it sold for?

Domain purchases you regret – I know that we have all made some bad domain name purchases over the years, myself included. What are some of the domains you regret investing into the most?

MoldInspectors.com SOLD for $7,499 – That’s not a bad domain name sales report for a fourteen-letter, two-word, .com for a high four-figures. Do you think it should have sold for more or less than what it sold for?

A few reasons the resale market has declined – Do you think this is a bunch of hype or is there an actual decline in the domain resale market. What statistics can you share and compare with other domain name investors?

Right off the bat, I want to say I’m hardly an expert in jobs, having never had one. I’ve always done my own thing BUT it’s important to understand that my situation may very well not apply to you.

Keep in mind, I’m from Eastern Europe, and that made my decision of doing my own thing a lot easier.

When you know your country is not exactly able to put amazing employment opportunities on the table, taking the leap and becoming an entrepreneur or something else along those lines… is not much of a leap, really, because you’re not exactly giving up or risking all that much.

What I’m trying to say is that it’s a lot easier to be brave when you don’t have all that much to lose 🙂

Sure, the idea of following your dreams and all that sounds great, especially if you’ve just watched a convincing motivational video or whatever. But in the real world, things are a bit more pragmatic than that. You know, questions such as :

1. What are you giving up to pursue the new journey? There’s a huge difference between walking away from a six figure job and saying no to Eastern European job perspectives… which are not exactly in six figure territory!
2. What other obligations do you have? Once again, it’s easier to take chances and do your own thing when you’re single than it is for someone who has four kids
3. Is whatever it is you’re thinking about giving your job up for something you actually love doing? Nowadays, strangely enough, entrepreneurship became “cool” and many people decide to pursue this path not because it genuinely represents them but because they want to live the proverbial dream… even if its not their dream
4. If the occupation you want to quit your job for, domaining for example, involves working from home… is this lifestyle right for you? If you’re an extrovert for example, being alone all day might not be the most amazing decision in the world

… and so on.

It’s not my intention to turn this into a demotivational post, not at all.

I simply want to point out that a decision such as quitting your job to do your own thing is an unbelievably complex one.

Am I saying you shouldn’t do it?

Of course not! I’m simply saying you should do it for the right reasons.

Maybe because you love it.

Perhaps because it’s a genuinely awesome opportunity.

Or because you’re now financially secure enough to give it a try (for example, having a robust buffer fund at your disposal just in case it takes a long time until your new project spreads its wings) and can do your thing without putting your family at risk.

Fair enough?

Today: ScarTreatment.com sold for $3,050 / Domain listed on other platforms I didn’t authorize / NamesCon STRATEGY for 2020. Lets share here / And more!

Here are the new discussions that caught my eye in the domain community today!

Buying 4L without a,e,i,o,u,v,q or CVCV – Budget: Up to $350.00 – If you have any CVCV .com domain names you want to liquidate for some fast cash, be sure to check this investors specified criteria.

Up to $1,500 – .COM – two words MAX with ‘Security’ – Do you have any security related two-word .com domains you would sell for up to $1,500.00. Check out this buyers guideline.

Funnelblock.com – The word funnel gained popularity in the on-page marketing sector. Coupling it with the word block, another trending word due to blockchain, is it a good combination or a bad one? What do you think it’s worth in today’s market?

NamesCon STRATEGY for 2020. Lets share here – Did you have domains listed in the NamesCon auction? This guy listed one with a $300.00 starting bid and sold it for $1,000.00. He’s planning for the next NamesCon auction to do even better. Are you?

ScarTreatment.com sold for $3,050 – That’s not a bad thirteen-letter, two-word, .com domain name sales report for four-figures. Do you think it should have sold for more or less than what it sold for?

Domain listed on other platforms I didn’t authorize – Has anyone else ran into this before? Where you list a domain name for sale and then realize it’s already been listed by someone else? How do you address that when it’s listed on multiple platforms that you are not a member of?

A short story from my journey – This was an inspirational story about how a domain investor got started and found success. It’s always nice to read stories like this one.

Although there’s no evidence he actually said this, Albert Einstein is credited with articulating the idea that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter who said it, the definition makes perfect sense when it comes not so much to the clinical dimension but rather to general human behavior.

As mentioned multiple times here on DomainingTips, all of us have made silly mistakes at the beginning of our career. In my case, perhaps my first mistake as a domainer was hand registering way too many low quality domains and I think this rings true for many “old timers” who are reading things.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with making mistakes… as long as you learn from them. Or, in other words, losing money is not a death sentence in domaining but repeating the same mistake over and over sure is.

Like randomly hand registering 1,000 domains, failing and letting them drop, only to believe the problem was the domain selection and not the idea of hand regging domains in 2018, 2019 and beyond. So you go ahead and hand register 1,000 other domains, thinking you’ll get lucky this time 🙂

Or jumping on “fad” domains (for example buying lots of mediocre future trend domains), failing and thinking your mistake wasn’t the very idea of buying mediocre fad domains (usually, only the best of the best have any value) but rather that you chose the wrong future trend. So you move on to the next “hot” trend and repeat the same mistake.

… I’m sure you get the point.

Things change in domaining and you need a certain degree of adaptability to do well. It’s perhaps the #1 trait which facilitates longevity in any industry, not just ours. If you’re unable to accept mistakes, learn from them and move on, it becomes very likely that you’ll get frustrated and even bitter.

You’ll assume you aren’t doing well because someone else is at fault. Maybe “insiders” or perhaps big companies that are colluding, conspiracy theories will abound. As sorry as I am to have to say this, the person you see in the mirror each day is the one who’s usually at fault if things aren’t going well and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as you acknowledge this state of affairs and do something about it to break the chain.

In other words, insanity is curable 🙂

Today: How to start investing with a tiny budget / Converting inbound inquiries / Average marketing capital needed to sell a domain asset / And more!

Here are the new discussions that caught my eye in the domain community today!

Looking for Fitness Related .COM – Budget: Up to $1,000.00 – Be sure to check your portfolio for a fitness related .com that meets this buyers guideline. They are looking for a smooth transaction.

I Want to Buy a ONE WORD .co Domain – This investor has a budget of up to $200.00 for the right one-word .co ccTLD. Take a look at their specified criteria if you have one you want to liquidate for some fast cash.

TableLights.com sold for $12,000 – That’s not a bad eleven-letter, two-word, .com domain name sales report for five-figures. Do you think it should have sold for more or less than what it sold for?

Average marketing capital needed to sell a domain asset – Do you have a marketing budget to promote your domains listed for sale? How much do you spend? Check out what other domain investors are spending on advertising their domains before one sells.

Converting inbound inquiries – Do you have a set strategy that works on converting potential buyers that contacted you first? Compare notes with other domain investors that have been finding success.

How to start investing with a tiny budget – Are you strapped for cash, but wanting to get started in domain investing on a tight budget? Take a peek at what other domain investors are suggesting.

How to stay focused with your portfolio – Do you have a hard time focusing on your domain name portfolio? Is it organized and niche specific? How is it converting? Take a look at what other domain investors are doing to stay more focused on their domain portfolio so it doesn’t get out of hand.

This is perhaps one of the trickiest questions in domaining, an industry where “hopium” tends to abound, along with many mistakes such as the ones I’ve mentioned earlier this week.

The word “potential” is very dangerous in my opinion, because you can use it as an argument in favor of a losing strategy indefinitely. Let’s assume you’ve hand registered 2,000 domains based on a certain strategy. Maybe geo domains, perhaps something else, we’ll just call it StrategyA.

At which point is it time to pull the plug on StrategyA?

Well, maybe the first renewal cycle. Unfortunately, you’ll have to pay let’s say $18,000 per year to keep your domains, which essentially means you’ll need to generate $18k in sales just to break even. Ouch!

If your renewal season calculations are disastrous, such as for example generating only $2,000 in sales (which are not nearly enough to offset your $18,000 renewal bill), it would probably be wise to consider dropping the entire strategy, eating your $16k or whatever loss and moving on.

Unfortunately, the word “potential” creeps up on you and whispers in your ear that if you only wait another year, it’s all going to be just so wonderful. Plus, you’ve already invested money in these domains, so why let that go to waste?

This idea that you’ve already invested money and it would be a shame to pull the plug is actually a logical error, commonly referred to as the sunk cost fallacy (I’ve linked to a one minute video about it over on my One Minute Economics YouTube channel) or, as they say, throwing good money after bad.

Don’t do it… just don’t!

If the numbers make sense after the first renewal cycle, good for you, keep up the good work.

If they don’t, ask yourself:

1. How close to break even you were, because sure, if you’re only down let’s say $1k or so, the risk/reward ratio associated with giving it a go for a while longer makes sense
2. If you were not close to breaking even, what kind of a reason do you have to keep going… do you for example know someone who has tried a similar strategy, had a very bad first year and then recovered? Ask yourself if you at least have SOME rational reason behind your decision

… whatever you do, don’t just play the “well, it has potential” card because that’s unfortunately a surefire way to lose the farm 🙁

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose… it’s just as true for domaining as it is when it comes to pretty much any industry. Those who do well in the long run are definitely not people who never lose, who don’t screw up. Not at all, everyone makes mistakes.

A wise domainer, however, knows how to pull the plug. Please remember that good money management can be just as important as having solid domain selection skills, being good in the sales department (negotiation expertise, hustle, etc.) and so on!

Today: Defining a domain names value / 97688.com sold for $4,597 / Should you turn domain privacy off? / And more!

Here are the new discussions that caught my eye in the domain community today:

Buying pronounceable LLLL.COM and dictionary words .co.uk domains – This buyer has a total budget of up to $20,000.00 and looking for four-letter .com’s in bulk. Do you have one that fits this buyers criteria?

Buying 2 word .coms with specific keywords and CVCV.com / VCVC.com – If you have any two-word .com’s with specific keywords, CVCV .com’s, or a VCVC .com, you could be up to $5,000.00 richer. Take a look at this buyers guideline.

Byepage.com -What exactly does a “Bye Page” look like? Is that the popup that say’s goodbye before you leave a website, or could it be something else? What would a domain like this one be worth in today’s market?

Should you turn domain privacy off? – There’s a mixed consensus when it comes to domain privacy. Some prefer it on so they get less spam and other prefer it public so they get more domain purchase inquiries. What about you?

97688.com sold for $4,597 – That’s not a bad domain name sales report for a five-number .com in the mid-four-figure range. Do you think it shpuld have sold for more or less than what it sold for?

Defining a domain names value – Do you have a domain appraising or evaluation strategy that hits the nail on the head? Take a look at how other domain investors determine value in a domain and share your strategy too.

Increasing domain renewal fees causing large portfolio holders sell – Has anyone else started to see some of the larger portfolio holders dropping or selling more domains for a fraction of what they used to?

As of 2003, the “Safer Internet Day” is celebrated on the 5th of February each year. If nothing else, it at least gives us a decent enough opportunity to at least think about how secure our experience on the Internet is.

Perhaps it’s time for a “domaining edition” 🙂

In other words, why not spend a minute or so thinking about your current security protocols as a domain investor and what (if anything) could be done to improve them:

1. First and foremost, PLEASE use Two-Factor Authentication (commonly referred to as 2FA) whenever this option is offered to you. If your registrar offers this option, take advantage of it. If you have this option when logging into your email account (at the very least your most important account or accounts), take advantage of it. Think about it: by adding another layer of security to the “username + password” dimension, you’re making it a lot harder for those with malicious intentions to compromise your account(s). Use whichever 2FA option works best for you: SMS, phone calls, Google Authenticator, the list could go on and on… just do SOMETHING!
2. Secondly, don’t be an excessively cheap bastard (and this is coming from a proud self-proclaimed cheap bastard!) and at least buy a decent antivirus package… it won’t break the bank and while by no means a guarantee, it’s at least better than nothing
3. Understand that not even the best antivirus in the world can protect you against yourself… more specifically, against your dangerous browsing habits. If you think watching certain types of movies (wink-wink) on your work laptop is A-OK just because you’ve purchased antivirus software, think again. In my opinion, common sense is far, far more effective than software when it comes to protecting you
4. Whenever you’re typing in sensitive data, develop the habit of checking the URL bar and making sure you’re on the right website. This is especially important if we’re talking about websites related to let’s say crypto or another industry where phishing threats are more widely spread
5. Don’t let other people use your computer unless you absolutely have to… you can be the most prudent Internet user out there but if you let your buddy use your laptop to watch movies online on shady websites…. yeah, bad idea!
6. Be careful and picky when it comes to Wi-Fi networks. Personally, I’ve never used the Wi-Fi network of let’s say a public restaurant or anything along those lines. You can tether your phone, use a mobile modem or figure something else out, use your imagination

… I’ll end this list here, but feel free to add to it.

In my opinion, people in general and domainers in particular don’t exactly have the habit of thinking about online security all that much, at least not until they have a darn “good” reason to, like a security breach, virus infection, ransomware situation and so on.

Don’t take Internet security for granted, just don’t!

Despite being a *very* small industry, the turnover rate in the domaining business is nothing short of impressive.

Yet another confirmation of the “history might not repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme!” adage.

Think of it as multiple fad cycles, with new investors who smell money coming on board, reading a bit and thinking they now have it all figured out… after all, they just read three articles about domaining on the Internet, time to invest! 🙂

They then proceed to make the same mistakes many of us (myself included) make. Continue Reading

Today: Football related domain name discussion / OrganicBouquet.com sold for $4,688 / How to find all taken TLDs for a domain name / And more!

Here are the new discussions that caught my eye in the domain community today:

Buying a Brand Name for Secure Video Viewing – Budget: Up to $10,000.00 – Do you have any secure video viewing related brandable domains in your portfolio you would sell for that much? Check out their guideline.

Offer Domain Needed – Budget: Up to $500.00 – Be sure to check your portfolio for a “Offer” related domain you want to liquidate for some fast cash. Taske a look at this buyers specified criteria.

Track domain inventory – Is using a spreadsheet a thing of the past for tracking domain name inventory you own or are you still doing it? Take a peek at what other domain investors are doing to track their domain inventory.

How to find all taken TLDs for a domain name – Are you researching domains and basing value on how many other extensions are registered too? Share some of your research and compare notes with other like minded investors.

Football related domain name discussion – Are you a big football fan? Are you investing into football related domains or thinking about it? Take a look at what other domain investors are saying about it.

OrganicBouquet.com sold for $4,688 – That’s not a bad mid-four-figure domain name sales report for a fourteen-letter, two-word, bouquet related .com domain. Do you think it should have sold for more or less than what it sold for?

Outbound – First impression – Fake Name vs. Real Name – Have you ever used a fake name to protect your identity when sending outbound emails, in fear the recipient might report you for spam? Does using a fake name hurt your credibility when you find an interested party? Check out what other domain investors are saying.