Is 3D Dead? Where Does That Leave The 3D Domain Names?

Elliot Silver
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47

It’s very difficult to predict what technology trends will be popular and which will fizzle. Buying domain names based on future technology trends is a bit like playing the lottery… except there are guaranteed winning tickets with the lottery.

Have a look at the first sentence from this New York Post article from September 5:

“The next big thing in TV — 3-D — is proving such a bomb with consumers, the first victim may be ESPN’s sports-in-3-D channel.”

Judging by the thousands of 3D domain names for sale on Sedo, Afternic, and other domain sales platforms, it looks like there are going to be a lot more losers than winners in the 3D domain lottery.  Based on what I’ve seen, some people justify these purchases as $8 lottery tickets, which is fine I suppose, but when people buy dozens or hundreds of names to cover their bases, it becomes a big problem.

I don’t want to sound preachy here, but think about the reality here when you’re buying domain names. There are gamblers and domain investors. Investing in domain names can be a bit of a gamble, but it shouldn’t be a total gamble.

When you buy a domain name, are you investing or playing the lottery?

Domain Veteran Nat Cohen Starts Blog

Elliot Silver
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5

I think Nat Cohen is considered to be one of the original domain investors. His two companies, Telepathy, Inc. and State Ventures, LLC, own top generic domain names like Retirement.com, Maryland.com, NorthCarolina.com, and hundreds of three letter .com domain names (just a small sample). Nat has developed several websites, including OceanCity.com, and he is quietly involved in a number of other web-related projects and properties.

Although Nat has been vocal and active in private, he has remained more reserved in public. His companies have had more than its share of battles with larger companies trying to poach its domain names (like Crew.com, Geometric.com, and PLA.com to name three off the top of my head), and likely as a result, Nat has been an advocate for the rights of domain investors.  Nat is a supporter and current board member of the Internet Commerce Association.

This is beginning to sound more like a  eulogy  than an exciting announcement, so let’s get to the good news…

I am excited to hear that Nat is going to be blogging, albeit irregularly, at  DomainArts.com.  There are a lot of good blogs covering domain names, but there aren’t a lot of people who have the same level of experience in the domain business as Nat.  I strongly recommend that you add this to your blog reader so you don’t miss an article.

Here are Nat’s first three posts:

Free Domain Appraisal

Elliot Silver
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316

I get asked all the time what I think a particular domain name is worth, and today I would like to offer this space for you to request a single domain name appraisal on this slow Labor Day. I will do my best to give my gut feel on domain names that are submitted, and I hope others will provide their valuation thoughts as well.

The one rule here is that people can only ask for one domain appraisal each, or I won’t answer. The reason is simple. I don’t have the time to give everyone an appraisal on many domain names, so it’s easier to say just one.

Please keep in mind this is my (and commenters’) gut feel on valuation with perhaps a bit of additional outside research, like search volume, Wordtracker, # of advertisers…etc. If you have very industry-specific domain names, there’s a good chance I won’t have a clue about how much your domain name is worth, so it’s probably best not to submit it.

If you think there’s a chance I will tell you that your domain name isn’t worth anything, and you don’t want to hear that, I advise you not to submit it for a free appraisal. People seem to love to comment when there’s an opportunity to put others down, and despite this call out, I am sure it will happen. I don’t censor comments, so keep that in mind, too.

If you don’t like my rules, feel free to pay for an appraisal elsewhere or visit the appraisal section at DNForum.

Prague Post Interviews Domainer Jan Barta

Elliot Silver
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0

Czech Republic’s English-language newspaper, The Prague Post, posted an interview with “Tech Tycoon” and domain investor, Jan Barta. As you may recall, Barta’s company owns Elephant Orchestra, which owns and monetizes domain names. The company is a frequent sponsor of and exhibitor at various domain industry events, as well as other more mainstream conferences like AdTech.

The interview discusses “where digital business has been, where it’s going and whether there is another tech bubble on the horizon.” The interview covers everything from Barta’s domain monetization to his insight on whether there is currently a tech bubble.

Barta has done quite well investing in domain names and monetizing domain names, and this is an article you may want to check out when you have a chance.

Tell Us About Your New Domain Related Products or Services

Elliot Silver
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14

I get a few emails a month from people asking me to review their new product or service. I generally have a quick look, but unless it’s something I know will help or improve my business, I can’t spend the time going through it, let alone reviewing it for others. It takes time away from my work, and it wouldn’t be beneficial to anyone for me to post a half-assed review.

That being said, I do want others to know about new domain name related products and services that are out there and available for domain investors to use. Something that might not be necessary for my business may be very helpful to someone else.

In the comment section of this post, I welcome you to post information about your new domain name related product or service. To make this as beneficial as possible, please let us know the following about it:

  • Name of your product/service and where it can be found
  • Summary of what you are offering
  • Reason why it’s different than what’s already out there
  • Price of the service and special discount or offer to ElliotsBlog.com readers (ie first month free, 10% off…etc)
  • Who manages/operates the product or service

As I mentioned a week ago, I am on vacation until the end of July and comments may take a bit of time to be published.

Domain Market / Domain Asset Holdings Changes Landing Pages: No More PPC Links

Elliot Silver
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2

I happened to come across a domain name owned by Mike Mann’s Domain Asset Holdings, and I noticed the company recently changed its landing pages. A cross check with some other DAH landing pages confirmed this. The changes between the new landers and old landers are pretty distinct, and because Mann is often on the leading edge when it comes to domain acquisitions and sales, I think it’s something others should note.

As you can see in the embedded image above (and by visiting an example like PublicEmployees.com), gone are the PPC links that were usually shown. In its place are links to Mann’s businesses like SEO.com, Phone.com,  DomainMarket.com, and many others. In addition, links to Mann’s charitable causes are also prominent.

According to Mann, this was a business decision because it is more profitable to upsell and cross-sell his products and services than to earn revenue from the PPC links that were previously on the landing pages. “If we merely sell a few accounts at our other companies with all that traffic its much more valuable,” said Mann.

It’s no surprise that there are brightly colored for sale links and contact information for people looking to purchase one of the domain names. I’ve heard from a couple of people that offers on domain names parked at Frank Schilling’s Internet Traffic are considerably greater than before, likely because of the bright orange strip at the top announcing a name is for sale, and I would imagine the bright green call to action on Mann’s domain names will ensure offers continue to come in to his sales team.

It will be interesting to see how long this change lasts, and it will also be interesting to see if other tests are in the works. It seems like a bold move from Mann though.

As I mentioned a week ago, I am on vacation until the end of July and comments may take a bit of time to be published.

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