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General Domain Information

Do You Own Your FirstNameLastName.com?

Owning your first name last name .com domain name is a flex for some people. It can make it easier for people to find you online, and it allows you to own your exact identity online. For people who are in a business selling their own services like domain brokers, consultants, or attorneys, having your first / last .com domain name is akin to a brand matching domain name.

I don’t own my first/last name .com, but I made sure I bought the matching domain names for my kids, and an industry colleague acquired my wife’s and gifted it when we got married.

Experimenting with Spaceship SellerHub

I’ve been impressed by the growth of Spaceship and its recently launched SellerHub. The sister company to Namecheap has shown a great willingness to engage with its customers, and the platform quickly implements suggestions and feedback. I like working with businesses that value and prioritize customer feedback. The low 5% sales commission is a nice sweetener as well.

About two weeks ago, I added a swath of domain names to Spaceship’s SellerHub as a test. At the moment, I am only listing domain names on the platform without using its landing pages.

Great NPR Podcast Explains the Value of Domain Names

Several weeks ago, Rick Schwartz shared that he would be a guest on an upcoming Planet Money podcast on NPR, where he chatted about domain names. The podcast was released yesterday, and it was one of the best podcasts I’ve heard that explains the value of domain names and the role domain investors play in the marketplace.

In addition to having Rick Schwartz as a guest, Snagged Founder Rob Schutz was also a guest. On a related note, I think Rob is able to offer some really good insights about domain name since he has considerable experience in the startup world, and works with numerous founders at various stages of corporate life. Rob was able to offer his insights as a domain broker while sharing some thoughts about the value domain names being to various startups.

Capturing an Eye Catching Domain Name

Have you ever stopped what you were doing to take a picture of a domain name? Maybe you passed a billboard while driving on the highway and went completely out of your way to pass it again and take a picture. Perhaps you were taking a walk in the city and you saw a domain name that made you stop and whip out your phone.

I probably have dozens of photos of random signs, billboards, and other advertising materials with interesting domain names. Most of these are exceptional domain names that caught my attention, but there are plenty of images of cringy domain names that I don’t understand how any business with common sense would consider using. Sometimes I write about these domain names – like Direct.com – and sometimes I share elsewhere.

An Active Credit Card Doesn’t Solve Business Continuity

Domain investors with valuable domain name assets need to have a solid business continuity plan. Simply having domain names on auto renew connected to an active credit card with a far out expiration date doesn’t solve the issue of domain name renewals in the short term.

In order for a credit card to continue functioning, monthly payments need to be made. Monthly credit card payments can be set to auto-pay, so domain names continue to be renewed and the credit card is automatically paid each month. However, in order or all of that to work, there needs to be enough cash in the connected bank account to cover the bill each month.

Spaceship Touts Over $1m in Commission Savings

Spaceship launched its Seller Hub earlier this year, and the company has been quickly implementing changes based on user feedback. The platform offers sales landing pages, and domain names listed on its platform are integrated within the search stream at Spaceship and sister company, Namecheap.

One of the advantages to listing domain names for sale on the Spaceship Seller Hub is the lower commission as compared to Afternic, Sedo, and other platforms. These two external platforms have had domain name listings syndicated across Namecheap, and Namecheap / Spaceship CEO Richard Kirkendall has been touting the savings of listing directly via the Spaceship Seller Hub:

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