One of the best sources of domain name inventory for my portfolio is expiry auctions. I spend a fair amount of my time analyzing and bidding on domain names at GoDaddy Auctions, NameJet, and DropCatch.com. I have also bid on a couple of domain names at Park.io and Dynadot, although I have not yet won an auction on either of those platforms.
I think everyone has their own ways to analyze expiry and deleted domain names that are in auction, and I thought I would share a few ways I find them:
My favorite kind of domain name to buy is one word .com domain names. I have done well selling this type of asset, and I think they enhance my portfolio. I don’t own many non .com domain names, but I think one word non .com domain names sell regularly as well. Not all one word domain names are equal, and I want to share some advice I picked up a while ago that serves as a helpful guideline to me.
I am currently looking to buy up to 5 one word .com domain names. as an investment. I am almost always in the market to buy great one word .coms, and I am looking to increase my holdings right now. I have several very specific and non-negotiable requirements for domain names:
As someone who operates a domain investment industry website, I am regularly approached by people looking to sell their domain names. I hardly ever buy domain names when people approach me in an unsolicited manner, but it may not be for the reason you think. Yes, the vast majority of domain names that are sent are domain names I would not hand register, but my preference is to buy inventory types of domain names at expiry auction.
Earlier this week, I passed on a small group of average domain names sent by someone through my contact form. When I passed, the person remarked that they were similar to names he saw that I had recently bought and wondered why I wasn’t interested in making an offer. I gave him some reasons and used my reply as the base of this article.
This morning, I want to share 5 reasons why I prefer purchasing domain name at expiry auctions over buying domain names from people who send them to me:
One of the best ways to know what domain names to buy is to learn what domain names are selling and why they are selling. It is good to read the weekly DNJournal sales report to see the most valuable domain name sales, but buying domain names that are similar to what is selling at that end of the market is difficult, very expensive, and risky. Knowing what is selling in the middle of the market may be the best education for the majority of people who invest in domain names.
Yesterday, Ed Emery shared some background about one of his recent SquadHelp sales:
10 years ago in June, the late and great Lonnie Borck kicked off the launch of the .CO extension by purchasing e.CO at a charity auction for $81,000. Lonnie didn’t know about the auction until the morning of the event, but he drove to New York City to get together for dinner and ended up winning the domain name and supporting one of his favorite organizations. I remember that day like it was yesterday. Lonnie eventually sold e.COย for an undisclosed amount.
The .CO extension officially launched a month after the auction of e.CO, and the registry is celebrating its ten year birthday this month. Over the years, many startups have used and embraced .CO domain names, and the extension has taken off.
