Buying Domain Names

Userbase Gets Its .com

A week ago, there was an active discussion about whether a small startup called Userbase should acquire its brand match .com domain name which was in an expiry auction at GoDaddy Auctions. The company has been operating on Userbase.dev, and the company’s founder (Daniel Vassallo) had polled Twitter to seek out opinions on whether he should spend the money required to buy the domain name. The auction ended at $33,500, and it appeared the company was passing on the opportunity.

it turns out that the winning bidder at GoDaddy Auctions apparently defaulted and did not complete the purchase. As the underbidder in the auction, Daniel was given the opportunity to buy the domain name at his highest bid after the winning bidder’s bids were removed. It looks like he is jumping at the opportunity to purchase the domain name for just shy of $25,000:

HODL Applies to Domain Names

If you invest in cryptocurrency or follow the cryptocurrency business, you are probably familiar with HODL (meaning “hold on for dear life”), the term that refers to the strategy of buying and holding cryptocurrencies instead of selling or trading. I think domain investors can co-opt the HODL term when it comes to their domain investments, and I want to share a couple business examples from 2019.

Your Best Domain Name Purchase of 2019?

I bought somewhere between 250 – 300 domain names in 2019 in private or via auction. This number is more than 2018 due in part to taking more chances on closeout purchases via GoDaddy Auctions. It also represents a fairly large number considering my portfolio stands at just about 1,000 domain names.

In 2019, I bought quite a few higher value domain names, including a few LLL .com domain names and quite a few one word .com domain names. I sold some of these domain names already, but I still own many of these purchases.

Video: Following a Domain Auction with an End User Buyer (Subbly CEO)

Ray Dillman-Neu is the founder of the MERGE conference, which is a domain industry conference that is on a hiatus this year. This morning, Ray shared a video posted by Stefan Pretty, CEO of a company called Subbly. When Stefan spoke at MERGE in 2018, the company was operating on the Subbly.CO domain name. The vlog posted yesterday by Stefan shares some behind the scenes look at his life operating his startup.

Buyer Broker and Buyer Interests Should Align

When a domain broker represents a domain owner by selling a domain name, the broker receives a previously negotiated percentage of the sale as compensation for a successful deal. When a broker is working on behalf of a buyer, the compensation structure can not be set up in the same way, as that would pit the broker’s interest against the interest of the client:

Due Diligence: Look at Whois History on Registrant Email Domain Name

Performing due diligence is a critical task before buying a domain name in the aftermarket – both private acquisitions and even on auction purchases. With GDPR in force, doing the necessary due diligence is more difficult, and as time goes by, it will become even more challenging. One area of due diligence that should not be overlooked is related to the registrant’s email address.

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