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Still Registering New Names

Elliot Silver
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31

Even though my primary focus is on buying quality domain names in the aftermarket, I do spend some time researching new domain names to purchase for registration fee. I use Google’s Keyword Tool, personal knowledge about the subject, current events, and the amount of advertisers who pay for marketing campaigns in search engines.

I think I am most influenced by things happening around me for the registration “inspiration.” I had a friend that spent many hours per week looking things up on Wikipedia (at work) during his spare time. He would receive an email from a friend or see a news article on the BBC, and he’d immediately search Wikipedia for more knowledge.

I am sort of like this with domain names. Instead of searching for more knowledge about a subject of interest, I search for available .com domain names that might have eventual value. Although most of my purchases are speculative, it can be more enjoyable than gambling… well maybe as enjoyable as blackjack 🙂

Here are some of my recent domain registrations:

PorcelainInlay.com
PorcelainInlays.com
RedBelliedPiranha.com
RedBelliedPiranhas.com
CoalAshRecycling.com
CoalAshDisposal.com
HockeyGoalieHelmet.com
HockeyGoalieHelmets.com
CelebrationOfLifeParties.com

What have you recently registered?

i.Biz, TX.biz & NY.biz Among 1 & 2 Letter .Biz Names to be Auctioned

Elliot Silver
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1

A little over a month ago, it was reported that Overstock.com would launch a new website on O.biz, one of the first (maybe the first) websites to operate on a one or two letter .biz domain name. This morning, I received word that Moniker will auction off a number of one and two letter .biz domain names at the upcoming TRAFFIC auction in New York on October 28, 2009.

The .biz domain names that will be in Moniker’s live auction are:

–      i.biz
–      ny.biz
–      ez.biz
–      ok.biz
–      hd.biz

Moniker will also have several names in the extended online auction including:

–      tx.biz
–      hi.biz
–      ha.biz
–      ur.biz
–      lo.biz
–      kc.biz

Other one and two character .biz domain names were recently auctioned, with e.biz achieving the highest sales price, selling for $66,001. Most of the other single character .biz domain names sold primarily in the $5-10,000 range with some higher outliers.

I won’t predict how these auctions will play out, but I hope the registry and Moniker are contacting potential end user buyers. As with any extension, the success is related to customer awareness. A company like Overstock branding and marketing O.biz would be very good for domain investors who own prime names.

Development: A Domain Investors’ Dilemma

Elliot Silver
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6

This might sound strange coming from me, but as a domain investor, domain development often brings up a dilemma for me. In order to generate the majority of my revenue, I rely on the sale of domain names that were usually recently acquired. I buy domain names at great prices, and I sell them for fair prices in the aftermarket.

Most of my acquisitions would be considered “ripe for development,” and most people could immediately imagine what should be developed on these domain name. For example, I recently sold MountainBikers.com and CDStore.com, and it’s fairly obvious what type of content should be on those sites.

For the most part, I look at a majority of my domain names as pure investments. Aside from a vested financial interest, I have very little interest in being the developer. I buy them specifically as investments and hope to re-sell them at a profit without adding content. However, there are times when I do want to develop a website on a particular domain name, and that leads to internal business conflict.

When I buy a $10,000 domain name and hope to sell it quickly, the $10,000 investment is in the form of a salable asset, which hopefully will be converted back to $10,000 + profit in short order. When I keep a $10,000 domain name for development, that $10,000 is no longer liquid. I can’t pay my bills with a domain name. I also feel added pressure because my bank account holds $10,000 less. Additionally, I need to spend time and money researching and building a website.

I am counting on building a revenue generating website on that $10,000 domain name, which would not only earn more from advertising along the way, but it will also increase the value of that asset. As most people can tell you though, development isn’t easy, and there’s no guarantee that the domain name will earn more in advertising revenue than you would had you kept the money in the bank and were earning interest.

Holding domain names right now is smart due to the economy, but because of my business model, I need to be selling to pay most of my bills. Whenever I get a domain name I have a particular interest in developing, I always have to think twice about whether it’s worth putting that investment funding on the sidelines. In some case it’s not, but in some cases it sure is.

I just acquired another domain name in the aftermarket after some internal (and external) debate, and I hope to be able to share the finished product in a few weeks. In the meantime, I will feel added pressure from taking some liquidity out of the business for a period of time while developing, but I think it will pay off.

You’ve Got to Know When to Hold ‘Em, Know When to Fold ‘Em

Elliot Silver
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14

“You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.
Know when to walk away, know when to run.
You never count your money, when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’, when the dealin’s done.”

I saw Rick Latona’s post today about his company exiting the mini site space, and I immediately thought of Kenny Rogers’ 1978 song, The Gambler. Rick’s company, AEIOU.com, has decided to exit the mini site development space, citing the lack of profitability, “The reality is there is no money in web design.” Although I disagree with what Rick said about web design because I know people who do quite well, I believe he has much bigger fish to fry, and I can commiserate with that decision.

I spent some time building my own mini sites, and although it’s enjoyable to see a project completed on a good domain name I own, the reality is that they often aren’t worth my time and effort. Like Rick, I have bigger fish to fry. When I have started new mini site projects, friends have told me I should focus my efforts on my bigger projects (Torah.com, Burbank.com, Lowell.com…etc), but for me, it was more of a learning experience than anything.

The mini sites I built are earning more money than when they were parked, and instead of having them sit idly, they have pages indexed in Google. However, in retrospect, they weren’t really worth my time and effort, since that time could have been better spent doing other things that are more profitable (researching, buying, and selling domain names for example). Chalk it up to a learning experience I can have as a full time domain investor.

Anyhow, like the Kenny Rogers song, it’s important to know when you’re taking time away from profitable endeavors and doing something that isn’t going to help your bottom line, it’s time to throw in the towel. I’ve pretty much thrown in the towel on developing mini sites on my own to save money, and there would have to be a compelling reason to do another one since my lesson has been learned.

CatOwner.com – Domain on Sale

Elliot Silver
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0

I am selling CatOwner.com, a domain name with a registration date of 1998. Marchex owns the plural CatOwners.com and they also own DogOwner.com as well. Cat owners spend millions of dollars per year on food, medicine, and supplies for their cats. Many love their cats like they love children.

The acquisition price for this domain name is just $1,800. I think this could make a great forum or blog. Multi-venue posting, and first to post “sold” will get this great domain name. The domain name is registered at Moniker.

Domain Contracts Can Be Critical

Elliot Silver
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7

I had a situation last week where I wanted to close on a domain name, but the seller had concerns about the domain sales agreement I sent. Since I use a standard domain agreement I had created by a domain lawyer based in New York, I was a bit taken aback by his concerns. I thought about it for a few minutes and realized that I may have been the same way had someone random offered to buy a domain name I owned and then sent over a two page legal agreement for me to sign.

I explained to him the different sections of the agreement, which included a section discussing the cost and payment terms, a section where it states that the domain name isn’t encumbered and/or had no trademark issues, a confidentiality clause, and other standard contract sections. I even explained that when he buys a big ticket item like a car or television, and even when he checks off a box of terms and conditions when registering a domain name, he is signing a contract.

In the end, I opted to move forward without the agreement rather than kill the deal. I was able to determine he was the original registrant 12 years ago (only able to see Whois history dating back to 2001), and everything matched up. Since I paid via Escrow.com and it’s a generic name, there were no special details added to the standard agreement.

On deals where certain conditions need to be met, it’s very important that a contract is used to protect both buyer and seller from any legal troubles that may arise down the road. It’s important that both parties’ expectations are laid out in the agreement, along with the ramifications if terms aren’t met. Rick had a post about his Property.com deal this morning, and you can see why an agreement can be very important, especially when it involves more than a domain sale.

I recommend using a sales agreement on most deals that you do, especially because you can re-use a boiler plate agreement that you paid for once. A standard domain sales agreement is one tool that is good for you to have on hand, and it isn’t very expensive to have created for your business.

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