Is there any real value in domain names any more?

with so many options available.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

Do domain names still have a real value considering that there are so many options available nowadays? I am not talking about the real, one word killer domains but the less well known ones that people seem to snap up and never use.

[gsxraddict]

yes...

Think of domain names as real estate. The longer they exist the more they appreciate. And the Dot Com's, will always be the ocean front properties.

[Val_Resnik]

Are you sure .com's will always be ocean front property? Seems like the only reason that .com's are more valuable now is because that is what came first, so it's what most people are more familiar with now. But who's to say that in 10 years, .us or something won't be as common as .com, and therefore as familiar, and therefore as valuable? Memories fade...maybe in 10 years people will look back nostalgically at a time when .com was thought to be so special.

[robertjr]

Without question, YES! Both two and some three word domains have good value and can bring top dollar at the enduser level.

.com is king and will always be. You can speculate about the future all day long, but if you follow domain trends you will like what you see for many TLD's, but .com is still well ahead of the pack.

[BeeDeeDubbleU]

I appreciate this but my point is that it often seems that if the domain tastywidgets.com has been taken there are so many other variations that are almost as good, e.g. tasty-widgets, tastywidgetsUK, UKtastywidgets, tastywidgetinfo, tastywidgets4u, etc, etc.

[robertjr]

"almost" is the key here in my opinion. Developing those alternatives only increases the value of the original.

[HarleyGuy]

I appreciate this but my point is that it often seems that if the domain tastywidgets.com has been taken there are so many other variations that are almost as good, e.g. tasty-widgets, tastywidgetsUK, UKtastywidgets, tastywidgetinfo, tastywidgets4u, etc, etc.

Marketing 101

Keep
It
Simple
Stupid

widgets.com
or
uktastyredwidgets4u2eatinfo.ws