Don’t Buy a Domain Name with One Buyer in Mind

Elliot Silver
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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

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Be Courteous and Reply

Elliot Silver
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I received an email a couple of weeks ago from someone who was frustrated with the lack of response he received after emailing a small group of domain brokers to represent some of his domain names. He was a bit upset, frustrated, and disappointed with his experience. This should not be the sentiment someone has after trying to connect with a domain broker.

There are many people seeking a domain broker. This assumption is based on the number of people who ask me to broker domain names despite a message on my corporate contact form that says “Top Notch Domains, LLC is not a domain broker and does not offer private domain consulting services.” I am sure domain brokers are inundated with requests for brokerage services and there is more inventory than broker availability. I would also guess that the vast majority of domain names brokers receive are of little value, let alone worthwhile to bring to market. Responding is important though.

Domain brokers have the most contact with people from outside of the domain name space. They work with buyers and sellers who have no connection to the business of domain names beyond buying or selling a particular domain name. The business of domain investing is relatively opaque, and dealing with a friendly and knowledgeable person can help change the negative stigma associated with domain investing. Even when there might not be a realistic business opportunity, sending a personal email reply is a good practice.

In 2007, I sent an email to

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Buyer Dropped a Domain Name I Sold

Elliot Silver
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A couple of years ago, I sold a domain name to an end user buyer for mid 4 figures. Last year, I saw the domain name expire and it was headed to auction. I reached out to the buyer and my contacts at the registrar, and the domain name was renewed a day before it would have gone to auction. Unfortunately, this happened again and because the buyer was out of the country, the domain name could not be renewed in time.

During the auction, I worked with the buyer and won. I re-sold the domain name to the buyer for the exact price of the auction. I confirmed that the domain name is now set to auto-renew, and the buyer has an active credit card on file. I didn’t have to work with the buyer to win the domain name back, but I felt it was the right thing to do and my effort was appreciated.

I am not sharing this story to get platitudes or other praise. I am sharing this because

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Time to Inquire Again

Elliot Silver
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The end of the year may be a good time to make deals happen if you can get them closed before people go on vacation or otherwise close their books for the year. Based on my own schedule and what I am seeing, I think the next 10 days is probably the best time of the year to make some domain name acquisitions.

As the year finishes up, there are people and companies looking to hit their numbers for the quarter or the year. There may not be a whole lot of opportunities to drive revenue as the year is winding down, and a nice offer on a domain name may help the business add easy revenue to get closer to their target. I am going to be going through my emails from the last year to see if there are deals worth pursuing. I am an opportunistic domain name buyer right now, and I am willing and able to move quickly to close on a deal. I think now is a great time for domain name purchases.

In my opinion, the next week to ten days is critical. For a deal to happen, especially one in which multiple sign-offs are needed, the purchase agreement needs to be signed and the domain name needs to be in escrow in the next ten days. Figuring

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One Major Difference Between Domain Names and Real Estate

Elliot Silver
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People regularly compare domain names to real estate, and I think it is generally a good comparison. When a domain name owner is negotiating the sale of a domain name to someone unfamiliar with this “virtual real estate,” it can be helpful to use physical real estate as a comparable asset class.

There are several important differences (like tax treatment and asset class among others) between domain names and real estate, but I want to share one major difference people probably don’t think about – the branding aspect.

I am evaluating a couple of major lease and lease to own offers on domain names my company owns. One issue with a deal that involves a future payment where a buyer or lessor is allowed to use the domain name in the interim is the goodwill of the domain name can potentially be harmed. If the company goes out of business, is a scammer or spammer, or if something bad happens to the company using the domain name, the domain name brand could be irreparably harmed.

Allow me to illustrate with an example:

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Follow What Domain Names are Selling

Elliot Silver
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One of the most important aspects of being a domain investor is knowing what a domain name is worth. I think this is actually the most important thing, because without the ability to value a domain name, it would be impossible to make investment decisions without knowing the value of a domain name.

To learn about domain values and understand what domain names are worth, I use a variety of tools and observe many different things to fill my head with intelligence I can use to make purchase and sale decisions. Here are many of the ways I follow the market to see what is selling:

Read the DNJournal weekly domain sales report and keep an eye on the year to date report. This is a great way to see what is publicly selling since many brokers and some brokerages report their higher end deals. I also like share links to these two reports when a prospective buyer asks me to justify an asking price or I feel the need to educate someone about domain name sales.

Use the search functionality at NameBio. The team at NameBio archives domain name sales that are publicly reported, and it also has archives other public sales that it is able to track. Visitors can use NameBio’s search functionality to get more specific and follow along with certain types of domain name sales. For instance, someone who

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