Someone recently asked me which domain blogs I read on a daily basis, and I listed them below:
Frank Schilling’s Seven Mile Blog
Owen Frager’s The Frager Factor
Sahar Sarid’s The Conceputalist
Jay Westerdahl’s DomainTools Blog
Industry Wide Price Increase
I just received an email from Moniker notifying me of the price increase on domain names. On October 15, 2007, the price of registering .com and .net domain names is increasing by $.50. While this 7.2% price increase may not seem too bad, it can add up depending on the size of a person’s portfolio. I haven’t received an email like this from other registrars, but I imagine everyone will be in the same boat.
“INDUSTRY WIDE PRICE INCREASE – OCTOBER 2007
As you may (or may not) have heard, there will be an industry wide price increase on October 15th 2007. .com and .net prices are going up approximately $.50 each. If you own domains that you’re looking to hold onto for long term, save money by renewing and/or registering today!” — Source: Email from Moniker
Add Me to Your Google Reader
I recently changed the server for my blog. Instead of being located on TopNotchDomains.com/Blog, it is now located on ElliotsBlog.com. If you would like to add me to your Google RSS feeder, please use this link:
CuckooClocks.com & the Value of Domain Names
As usual, Frank Schilling gives a great example of why domain names are such a great unique business opportunity. As a domain investor, I often look at domain names with “rose colored glasses.” I try to buy names that are popular and have the highest paying keywords to help offset the cost of my acquisition. When I make a few dollars on a click, I am happy. However, it is very probable that I am leaving a considerable amount of money on the table by selling a “hot lead” for such a small price.
Frank, who frequently uses his RumCakes.com domain name as an example, uses CuckooClocks.com to illustrate why a great generic domain name is so valuable to an end user in that particular business, rather than to someone in the domain investment business:
“My wife bought this cuckoo clock from cuckooclocks.com .. This clock cost $2,219.00 (we paid the old price :- / ) .. How many uniques a day do you need to close a clock sale?.. 2, 5, 7 ? How much could you make selling cuckoo clocks?.. — Source: SevenMile.com
Ordinarily, a domain name like cuckooclocks.com might be worth a few thousand dollars to a domain investor based on traffic and expected annual ppc revenue. The owner would hope some of the web browsers click on the paid advertising links on his site to make a few dollars. However, for a person who actually sells cuckoo clocks rather than advertising space, this domain name is worth much, much more. Instead of trying to convince a web user to click on his link to earn a couple of dollars (or less), he is trying to get that person to buy a clock for a few thousand dollars.
Instead of a domain investor hoping that 1,000 visitors click on a link at $1.00 per click, the owner of cuckooclocks.com only needs 1 person to buy a $2,000 clock with a 50% profit margin. This is why generic domain names are so valuable to companies, and it’s also why many domain investors want to create small businesses around their generic domain names.
Personalized Brokerage Service
When selling domain names, I believe most people either rely on end users contacting them or rely on selling to other domain investors. I think there is a market for a domain brokerage that is paid to contact potential buyers of domain names on behalf of domain owners.
The brokerage would collect stats and information about a domain name and present it to potential buyers. This is similar to my post in July, but instead of running an auction, the company would set a BIN price for a particular name or group of names that would be of interest to a company.
Currently, I believe most domain brokers work the opposite way. They receive information about a domain name and blast an email out to a random group of domain buyers. If a more personalized email was sent, the potential buyer could be enticed to make a purchase. It’s the heart of direct marketing (where I have my Master’s Degree), and it would be a great win/win/win for all parties.