There are many people who own domain names that have no idea of what they could be worth. Some of these people may have bought a domain name on a whim while others bought a domain name for a project that didn't take off or didn't get started. The domain name appraisal section on forums like NamePros and previously DNForum are some of the most popular sections, and they could be a good place to find a domain name to buy.

When someone with a great domain name asks for an appraisal, it is because they either received an offer to buy their domain name or they are ready to sell it. By publicly posting their domain name in the appraisal section, they can get an idea of what domain investors believe the domain name is worth. I think some of these people also do it as a means of generating a bit of publicity for their domain name.

From my perspective, this can be a great buying opportunity. On occasion, I have seen a great domain name posted for sale in the appraisal forum, and I have reached out to try to strike a deal privately. If → Read More

I was discussing the price of a domain name with a seller, and he shared a few public comparable domain name sales to justify his asking price. One of the comps seemed abnormally high to me. Although the sale price was apparently accurate, the domain name sold many years ago and the market has changed since then.

As a buyer, it is important to look beyond the sale price of the domain name. The date and venue are also important considerations that should be made by the buyer to understand more about the sale.

A domain name that sold (more…) → Read More

I use quite a few tools from DomainTools. One of the tools I like best for prospecting is the Domain Search tool. This tool allows me to see all of the domain registrations in a specific keyword, making it easier to target prospective buyers who own domain names with a keyword similar to mine.

To give you an example, I own KitchenConsultant.com. I think other businesses with longer tail domain names might want to upgrade to KitchenConsultant.com. For instance, if someone owned BestKitchenConsultant.com or KitchenConsultantNYC.com, they might want to purchase the domain name my company owns. Searching "kitchenconsultant" will yield all of the registered domain names with that particular search term.

One thing I like to do when using this tool is to alter my keyword a bit to broaden the number of prospects. Instead of searching (more…) → Read More

Earlier this week, I received an offer for a domain name that had its BIN price listed on its landing page. I proceeded to negotiate with the prospect, and I told him he need to come up to a certain number to get a deal done. A couple of hours passed, and I received an email from Afternic telling me the domain name sold for the BIN price, which was lower than the BIN price on my landing page but in line with what I had emailed to the prospect.

I don't typically have two different buy it now prices for my domain names. I think it is more fair for buyers if my prices are consistent across platforms, and I think it bring up questions if that isn't the case. It is a case of fairness because a person would be (rightfully) upset if they paid $10,000 to buy a name via Afternic but found out that same name had an active BIN listing on Sedo at $7,000 after they already paid.

When I received the initial offer, I should have first looked at (more…) → Read More

With the year coming to a close in a few days, I want to share a few things I have either done or plan to do before the clock strikes midnight on December 31. There is still some time to get things done before the books close on 2017, and I am taking advantage of the remaining few days to get some things done.

Here are 5 things to do before the year ends:

Renew domain names and transfer domain names - I am renewing domain names I know I plan to keep for a while, and I have also been transferring some domain names to other registrars to consolidate my holdings. This is also a good time to turn off auto-renew on domain names I don't want to keep.

Buy office equipment and supplies - I wanted a new laptop for (more…) → Read More

When buying one word .com domain names, I like to ensure there is either a great deal of usage for the keyword in brands or that I can envision the domain name being used as a new brand by a major company. One thing I try to prevent is buying a great domain name where there is only one prospective buyer.

I know some people in the business of domain investing target good domain names that match the brand of a hot startup. By way of a hypothetical example, they might see a company called AAAAAA (made up) that operates on an inferior domain name and purchase the exact match AAAAAA.com with the hopes of selling it to them in the future. The thinking is that if AAAAAA becomes super successful and either starts making serious revenue or gets significant funding, AAAAAA.com will be worth much more.

There is some risk to this strategy. If AAAAAA becomes a widely known brand, it may prevent other companies from using that brand name. If AAAAAA (more…) → Read More