Top 10 Domain Industry Annoyances

As much as I enjoy working within the domain industry, there are still plenty of things that annoy me on a daily basis. I want to share my top ten list of things in the domain industry that I find annoying.

There are probably plenty of others that I missed, so feel free to post a comment with some of the things that annoy you. These are in random order.

1. Scammy emails from companies offering “brand protection” if I just buy my keyword domain name in 10 ccTLDs at their registrar I’ve never heard about.

2. Domain appraisal scam emails that feign interest in a domain name I own, but are really trying to get me to buy a worthless appraisal from them for my domain name.

3. Mass inquiry emails sent to all domain owners who own a certain type of domain name (like LLL.com or geodomain names). I’ve never seen a remotely fair offer come from one of these (no, 3 letter .com names haven’t sold for $1,000 for many years).

4.Renewal letters sent to me in the mail trying to get me to agree to transfer my names for ridiculously high prices.

5. Non-buyer replies to a domain sales thread on a forum that triggers an email to me.

6. Seeing Domaining.com filled with the same news story written by five people. Sometimes it can’t be avoided when bloggers get the same exciting press release at the same time.

7. Getting information about an “exclusive” story, only to see it on four other blogs within an hour.

8. Non-paying bidders and offers that fall through while the aftermarket venue can’t or doesn’t help.

9.  People who post comments on blogs and on forums whose views of the domain industry are bearish. I don’t understand why someone would spend hours a week on a business they think is dying or dead. There are plenty of people who only work in this space and live extravagantly.

10. Reading forum posts or blog articles that are interesting, but commenters feel the need to take the discussion way off track.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

30 COMMENTS

  1. the most annoying thing for me is when you find a buyer for a certain domain and you think sell will go through and buyer opted out.

  2. @ ron

    If it weren’t for those blinking ads, I would have no interest in spending my time writing this blog 😉

    I have lots of other things to do with my time, but if advertisers are going to pay me for the time it takes to write, then I will oblige 🙂

  3. @ Eliot said:

    People who post comments on blogs and on forums whose views of the domain industry are bearish

    Isn’t it the truth? That and going to eleaborate lengths to diss your domains . . . Especially since this industry has changed on some levels to the point of upheaval, can anyone really say what will be tomorrow?

    #s 5 & 7 is an elite problem of one of the top domain bloggers, not simply an industry annoyance!

    @ron s

    main page that constantly blink at you when you are trying to read the blog?

    May I add, slow-loading and glitchy? 🙂

  4. @ Louise

    These are things that annoy me – maybe not others 🙂

    Also, I think #5 bothers more than just me… I simply delete comments on my blog if they’re unrelated. On forums, I have no ability to do anything.

  5. I hate people who diss new TLDs and it turns out these guys own lots of ccTLD and other TLD like TV CO ME…etc. They are afraid the value of their crap is going down when new TLDs come out so they have to diss them. DUMB. We know who you are!

  6. Domainers telling me that dot whatever is good investment but they keep preaching dot com is king…and

    giving a list of drop names–if they are so damn good,why don’t you buy them yourself!!!

    oh—I sold a domain name for $$$$$$$$$ but cannot tell cos of NDA, so just F up in the first place.

  7. How about those static nav bars at the bottom which stay stationary while you scroll? My first task is to minimize or delete the static nav bar. If it doesn’t delete or hide, that is REALLY an annoyance!

  8. To be honest, I find this industry overall to be a bit scummy and scammy….and I LIKE domaining. All of those reasons you’ve listed, Elliot, are why I’m keeping my head out of the crowds lately. I still read yours and Michaels blogs but I’m pretty much done with commenting on posts and in the forums. The level of discourse can be so petty and vindictive and the arguments tautological. Domainers that get angry with you and call you names if you don’t sell them a domain? Seriously? Who acts like this? Petulant children, that’s who. I’ve met some great people in this industry but on the whole I haven’t been impressed. I guess any industry that can boast ‘easy’ money will attract a certain type of person. (I know it’s not easy. It requires foresight and an innate knowledge of language and trends. I just meant easy in terms of labour for capital.)

  9. 11. Forum thread hijackers
    12. Lowballers. they waste their time and seller’s time without doing research about market value of a domain.
    13. Buyers who don’t read sale requirements like offer range.
    14. Sellers who hide behind Whois privacy. Those who offer domains via email and won’t even reveal who they are.

  10. All due respect, and #10 notwithstanding

    commenters feel the need to take the discussion way off track

    did anyone see Lana Del Rey’s new video? It’s amazing! Just like a Tommy Hilfiger ad! Or Ralph Lauren. Beauiful.

  11. @ Dev

    I think you’ll find that in every industry though.

    On the other hand, there are an awful lot of people who have made a few sales and think that makes them “experts.” There are very few barriers to entry in the business – just $10, a credit card, and Internet access, and you’re a domain investor 🙂

  12. “Non-paying bidders and offers that fall through while the aftermarket venue can’t or doesn’t help.”

    Seriously…I don’t even see how domaining can be a formal business if this is allowed to happen.

    The wan.com auction on Godaddy.com comes to mind. Not saying anything about the eventual winner just the rolling commentary during the actual bidding…following, it was frightening to think that Domainers expected and accepted that the entire affair was a sham…

    Not good at all…

  13. @Elliot

    These stuff happens with all domainers actually. You are dedicated to work but interestingly Elliot you are not heart person and don’t share your knowledge because i get your reply very formal like Miser.
    Open your views, discuss you will definitely win.

  14. @ Perris

    I don’t mind sharing (and enjoy it much of the time) but I’m just saying it wouldn’t be worth it if I wasn’t being paid by advertisers to write.

    If I was going to donate my time to something, it would be to a non-profit organization like Ronald McDonald House. I don’t consider giving my time and human capital to people who use it to try and make money something that is valant.

    If I sent you a “very formal like Miser” it probably means you asked me to buy some crappy domain names and I sent a “thanks, but I am not interested” reply. Perhaps if you owned better domain names, you would have received a different email.

  15. @Elliot

    I offered you domain which in range of low $xx,xxx which are not crappy. But, please don’t mind I am not insulting in that way. Just your openness and discussion will improve you more. Good Luck!!

    • @ Perris

      Your accusation was offensive to me.

      Why don’t you share the name you felt was worth low $xx,xxx. Just because I don’t want to buy your name (whether good or bad) does not make me “miserly” in your words. As I mentioned earlier, in the last week, I bought a 3 letter.com name, PetCollars.com, and BrandManagement.com. As you might imagine, those names were expensive.

    • @ Perris

      I just checked my email for your email address. You emailed me about a 3 letter .com name a few weeks ago I had no interest in buying. You then emailed me asking “I would like to take suggestion from you that how can I protect my lll .com from UDRP?” and I recommended you speak with an attorney.

      Interestingly, someone with the same name as you emailed me in the past about buying names that person didn’t own, including CreditScores.com and CTI.com. The email didn’t mention anything about being from a broker so I assumed it was a scam. Was that you? These were the emails I received:

      “Sir

      Are you interested in buying Creditscores.com?

      Thanks”

      “Sir

      http://www.cti.com is for sale. Do you need it?

      Thanks”

  16. I couldn’t resist… Something in the style and signature that are somewhat to much 🙂

    1. Metal t***r(C*** Group)
    2. The famous .co preacher

  17. 9. People who post comments on blogs and on forums whose views of the domain industry are bearish. I don’t understand why someone would spend hours a week on a business they think is dying or dead. There are plenty of people who only work in this space and live extravagantly.

    Right on point. If you can’t make money in the domain market, then you should be spending time finding a new job instead of complaining.

  18. Nice one, El.

    I answered your blog article, but your points and the comments by your readers were so spot on, I had to move my response to my blog, fearing that Wikipedia may think your comment section is trying to compete with them, or that someone may mistake your blog site for a “beginner novelist submission” site.

    If anyone wants to read my positive take on El’s article and the comments following up, you can see them on my blog.

    Thanks for making me THINK in a constructive way, El. You can’t help your genius, can you? 😉

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