Daily Poll: Do You Need the www or HTTP?

October 15, 2018

My wife and I were driving in town over the weekend, and I noticed a pick up truck next to us that was using a new gTLD domain name. Seeing a new TLD being used is relatively rare, and seeing a local company using one is even more rare. I shared the photo on Twitter, and there were some comments about the company not using http:// or www.

Spotted a local company using a .Solutions domain name – https://t.co/Vb73dbVM78. pic.twitter.com/RiAo1naS9Y

— Elliot Silver (@DInvesting) October 14, 2018

I think using the new extension locally is fine for this company, and their usage could probably be cited as one of the reasons for having the new extensions. Today’s question asks if company’s like this should advertise their website with http:// and/or www or if that is unnecessary.

Q: What’s the Easy Way to Get $10,000 Investing in Domain Names?

Elliot Silver

October 14, 2018

Question: What’s the easiest way to get to $10,000 by investing in domain names?

Answer: Start with $20,000.

Joking around… there is no “easy way” in domain names.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday 🙂

Hims.com Subject of UDRP Filing

October 12, 2018

Over the Summer, an article was published on Quartz referencing the Hims.com domain name and how it was reportedly being used at the time:

“Earlier this week, internet users noticed that the hims.com domain name redirected to viagra.com, prompting a theory that Pfizer had nabbed the domain. The theory now appears to be unfounded (hims.com now curiously redirects to menshealth.com), but Pfizer is still right to feel the heat. After 20 years of patent-protection on Sildenafil (ED competitors like Cialis and Levitra use other active ingredients), generic alternatives like Hims have flooded the market in the past year.”

When I visited Hims.com today, I was forwarded to Google.com.

According to the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) website and also seen on UDRPSearch, a UDRP was filed against the Hims.com domain name. Because of the venue where the UDRP was filed, the complainant in this UDRP will not be publicly reported until the conclusion of the proceeding. The filing is listed as case #1810653.

The “hims” company that was referenced as a competitor to Pfizer uses the ForHims.com domain name for its website. Here’s how that company describes itself: “hims is a one-stop shop for men’s wellness and personal care providing medical grade solutions for men’s hair loss, ED, skin care, and more.” LinkedIn shows that this company was founded in 2017.

Assuming the UDRP was filed by this company (which is not a given),

“What Do You Think About GoDaddy’s Appraisals?”

Elliot Silver

October 12, 2018

I was chatting with a prospective buyer about domain names and domain name valuations. This topic is a bit murky, especially when my rationale for pricing is based on select comps, my knowledge of domain names, and “my gut feel.” Although I am not willing to move on my valuation, I can commiserate with the prospect a bit because of the lack of clarity involving domain name valuations.

On a phone call yesterday, he asked me, “what do you think about GoDaddy’s appraisals?” I immediately knew why he was asking – my domain name is priced substantially higher than the GoDaddy automated appraisal. In fact, someone else had submitted an offer to me within the last year and the message field simply had a link to GoDaddy’s appraisal for the name (sidenote: don’t do that). I briefly explained the automated nature of their appraisals, but I thought it would be more effective to illustrate the discrepancy of valuation vs. pricing by GoDaddy itself.

I explained how GoDaddy has acquired some domain portfolios over the past few years, and the company operates a portfolio company called NameFind. I then shared a domain name owned by GoDaddy / NameFind. For the sake of keeping the name I shared private for a couple of reasons, I will use a different but similar example. Cliche.com, for example, is priced at $49,999

Daily Poll: Do You Participate in the Domain Industry?

Elliot Silver

October 12, 2018

NamePros, DNForum, Domain Boardroom, and other domain industry forums jointly boast thousands of members. NamesCon, Merge, DomainX, and other industry conferences around the world have several thousand attendees each year. There are also Twitter conversations, Slack groups, and private domain name discussions happening throughout the world.

Even with all of this communication, there are a whole lot of people “under the radar,” who hardly communicate with anyone. They don’t participate in forums, they’re not actively posting on Twitter or elsewhere, and many have never met other people in the domain industry beyond dealmaking. This group of people is actively investing in domain names, but the people are not active participants in discussions.

This may be a silly question to ask, especially if it means asking people who choose not to participate, but I will go ahead and ask anyway. Do you actively participate in domain industry discussion (Forums, social media, conferences, private groups…etc)?

Domain Name Pricing History Check Before Buying

Elliot Silver

October 11, 2018

Before buying a domain name in private or at auction, I tend to do a fair amount of research. I would not call this research exhaustive, nor do I fully research every domain name I buy. One thing I try to do is see if the domain name was on the market before, and if so, at what price.

For a variety of reasons (including the emergence of Sedo’s network and Afternic’s GoDaddy listings as well as a greater interest in selling domain names), people have been adding buy it now prices to their inventory. Some of these domain names have the prices listed right on the landing page while others have the pricing information available on a marketplace. Prospective buyers don’t always need to inquire to get the price of a domain name – it is much easier to find prices these days.

Knowing the former owner’s asking price is an important data point for me when buying a domain name, so I try to do a domain name pricing history check when possible. If a domain name held a low asking price, there might not be enough margin in it for me, and I would need to raise the BIN price to justify buying it. I must ask myself why I would have better luck selling it than the former owner. Oftentimes, I can’t justify this and will pass on the auction. Conversely, if the domain name had a super high asking price, perhaps prospective buyers simply passed on the domain name and a lower price point would make the name appealing.

Here’s an example:

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DomainInvesting.com

Daily Poll: Do You Need the www or HTTP?

Q: What’s the Easy Way to Get $10,000 Investing in Domain Names?

Hims.com Subject of UDRP Filing

“What Do You Think About GoDaddy’s Appraisals?”

Daily Poll: Do You Participate in the Domain Industry?

Domain Name Pricing History Check Before Buying

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