With the economic depression in full swing, most of us self-employed people are looking for a little security and extra income.
When I started my business 12 years ago, serious people were predicting the Dow would have reached 600,000 or so by now, and I was counting on being retired at 30. Well, reality happened, and now I’m looking for anything that I accumulated during my dotcom days that still might be worth something. (Anyone want to buy an Apple Newton 2100?)
First of all, let me establish that I’m not now, and have never been, a domain squatter. I don’t buy domain names that are people’s names (other than my own), and I’ve never even bought a domain name thinking that I might be able to make money by selling it later.
I am, however, a serial Website starter. If I get a goofy idea for a Website, I’ll buy a domain name and spend just enough time building the site to get it out of my system (if it’s a dumb idea) or to see if anyone visits the site (if the idea has any potential at all).
This is how I wound up with a list of domains that includes such gems as: Texas-Shaped.com (“the place to buy anything in the shape of Texas”), StickOfButterOnAStick.com (“it’s bad for you”), and WebEightPointOh.com (“the official site of the Web 8.0 conference”).
Armed with the best of my potentially valuable, but currently under-utilized, domain names, I set out to find out what the experts think I can get for them, and then to try to get some of that. I didn’t expect to get $5.1 million -- $2.1 million would have done just fine.
My first stop was the domain appraisal service at GoDaddy.com, which offers two levels of appraisal: the express appraisal and the certified appraisal. Since I’m on a deadline and a budget, I chose the express appraisal. For $5.99, this automated process looks at several factors, including the length of the domain name, the number of words in it, brand recognition, and commercial use. I bought three appraisals and submitted my domains.
After a few minutes, I got notices in my inbox that my GoDaddy appraisal results were ready. My hands got a little sweaty and my pulse quickened as I anticipated all the riches that my awesome domains would bring me.
Texas-Shaped.com received an appraisal of $48 to $134.
StickOfButterOnAStick.com was also appraised at $48 to $134.
WebEightPointOh.com is my big money-maker at $54 to $157.
Clearly, these estimates were unacceptable. I decided to get some second opinions -- maybe there were some sites that would make me feel better without costing me anything.
Indeed, there are a lot of sites that offer free appraisals. The first one I visited said that Texas-Shaped.com is worth $1,500 to $2,300. I liked these guys better, and I felt pretty dumb for shelling out dough for my first appraisals! The next site I visited, though, said the same domain was worth $20.
Well, after spending nearly $18 and not being any more informed about how rich my domains are going to make me, I decided to just try auctioning off one of them.
Sedo.com seems to be one of the most popular places to list domains for sale. A few of the domains currently on sale on Sedo include such beauties as “insuremypet.net,” “footylove.com” (just $400!), and (my favorite) “elvisliv.es.” I listed Texas-Shaped.com and sat back to wait.
The next morning, I had no offers, and one visitor (I suspect that was me). I’m sobered by the fact that there are currently “over 11.5 million domains for sale” at Sedo. Absent a real blockbuster domain name or a stunt (like theRecordBreakingDomain.com, where an optimistic young man has been trying to break the record for the most expensive domain since 1995), this could take some time.
Maybe, I thought, if I write a blog post about it, traffic will pick up.
Domain names, like so many other etherial concepts are only valuable when they have cache (/kashay/). That is to say, they will only be of value when they have a niche to drive them. Honestly, do you think greendog.com was worth anything until Macy's produced the GreenDog clothing line?
I love some of your domains and think StickOfButterOnAStick(SOBOAS) is wonderful. If you could only find some cache (/kashay/) to drive it up. As for those free valuations of your domain name? You've a better chance of taking your money and investing it in the stock market. At lest you get an honest minute by minute valuation of your investment.
Yeah, I like your idea of blogging through the trials of trying to unload "useless" domain names that you hold. I hope you registered them with one of the discount registrars. I remember how, early in the cycle, domains were registering for hundreds of dollars a year. How funny is it that I can register a domain for 10 years for $40.00US. My how the economy changes. I would challenge you though to make it into a video blog. Use your trusty digital video camera (web cam) and Microsoft's Movie Maker to chronicle your events. I think it would be interesting -- of course I think "60 Minutes" is interesting -- and so did my grandparents. What does that say about me?
Anyway, an idea expressed is never wasted. Keep on plugging and I'll keep on watching.
Domain Hoarding has proven to be a by chance business where most people have lost money in the hope of high-price sales. There are little economies of scale- the 10th, 100th, 1000th domain costs approximately the same. And you have to pay every year.
You will be interested to know that even till 1995 BBC.com was not with British Broadcasting Corporation. Their original URL was bbc.co.uk. But so many people tried to access it through bbc.com that they later had to acquire it from its original owners. Domains are nevertheless important.
Lol , don't think that google will let their domain expire as it happens to many domainers , google set their domain name to be on automatic renew , i thin google pay 1 million dollar year for it's domain name google.com but e only pay 10 ollar a year or less than it .
Yeah the big business born with Domain name , today's domain names are really able to give you millions of dollar , domain name is as real estate , all of us have to registered 1 domain atleast for it's personal identity or business identity online .
I've recently falled to a rich domain domain name WWW.FOOTBALLFIRST.NET , i plan to launch big Football Social Media , focusing on the european football and the global football report , when i registered the domain i didnt blieved such as domain name is available , but it was the only extension available for registration for this name , big ideas will bring you big money .
On 2006 i registered a domain also GOOGLEMAG.COM and few months later a 1000 dollars offer were receved but i declined that offer , i'm waiting the big GOOGLE to come to me , i've fough to be on the TOP results of the keyword GOOGLEMAG on the largest search engine GOOGLE , ASK , YAHOO, MICROSOFT and i finally succeed that battle .
This is how we gro our business with a big think , Macha-allah .
These days i'm investing my money on the DOTMOBI EXTENSION , i see this extension to be the future extension for internet mobile , as internet is going mobile TV also going mobile , this extension is well , that's why i registered more than 20 DOTMOBI domains ONE OF THEM IS ALREADY SOLD .
Yeah , sure over the last 10 month i registered a website and i resell it after one lmonth of registration when a french company came to propose me a good price and i thought it was a big deal and i finally sold it .
a friend googlemag has registered GOOGLEMAG i adviced him that google might sue the domain :p but he said google is uncapable to get his idea , i told hiom that wait and see , he's gifted on domain registration , but he assume lot of risks .
I knew the guy who owned telecombusiness.com and made millions. "You got to know when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em," he quoted famously back in the day--what great timing. In fact, that was 1997 when I was at Sprint and I bet that he made more from selling that than Sprint has made in cummulative net income in the 12 years since.
Like Chris, I've got some domain names. I'd be worried that they wouldn't even be worth the $5.99 appraisal fee. And then, it's a little collecting baseball cards in that a domain is only really worth what someone will pay; another friend of mine who scooped up Frank Thomas rookie baseball cards for about $100 each in the early 1990s because his stats were on pace to make him the next Babe Ruth. Finding someone to pay $10 each would probably be tough at this point. Maybe he could throw in a free domain name.
Reminds some of us of early cellular: buy the RF licenses, avoid any build outs, be patient, wait for demand, and one day, maybe you'll get some nice bids. A collection of eclectic domain names - probably like holding onto obscure but possibly forward-looking stock. Regs, FB
It is indeed a very interesting concept. I had no clue domain prices could go as high as that. I also own a few domains in my local language and now i look forward to getting them priced. I am not sure if the websites offer evaluations for domains in other language. (If there is not such website offering appraisals for domains in my language, i will start one right now!)
Secondly, this post inspires me to start investing into creative domains which i might be able to sell off later at high prices. Another aspect is to buy domains after or related to famous company names. I can sell these off to those companies later at higher prices ;).
I am sure most of the other readers also look at this as a new money-making concept in the dotcom arena.
Great post! I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it,especially since it costs so little to make and host a domain,why should anyone pay exorbitant amounts for it is beyond me.Similar thinking applies to Gold Prices currently as far I am concerned.
Anyways,this excercise is nothing if not a humbling experience to all of us,who believe the Web is going to "revolutionize our lives & Change the world"....
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