Would you consider selling a bunch of 2-nd and 3-rd tier domains in order to invest in top tier?
Would you just develop what you've got?
What if what you got is not that great? Do you rotate your portfolio, or hang on to what you've got?
[edited by: Webwork at 1:47 pm (utc) on June 1, 2009]
[edit reason] Tidying up [/edit]
Do you domains receive much type-in traffic?
If they are receiving such traffic does it come a commercial intent versus a social or entertainment intent? For example: UsedCars.tld versus BoredAndLonely.tld versus CelebrityNews.tld?
Traffic numbers being equal commercial intent "let's do business" traffic is likely worth more versus "entertain me" traffic.
Selling or "turning over inventory" is a universal business practice. The smarter domains I know sell certain domains to aggregate funds to buy even better domains - when the market is right for such moves. Right now prime domains are under downward price pressure in the wholesale market while there are signs that the low to mid market for enduser domains may be picking up. So, someone might sell 5 or 10 domains to the enduser market to buy one great, yet underpriced domain.
Development is always an option and probably a good idea IF done very selectively, as time allows.
[edited by: Webwork at 1:57 pm (utc) on June 1, 2009]
Do you domains receive much type-in traffic?
If it was that easy, I wouldn't have posted a question :)
99.9% of domains you'd pick up in the last 2-3 years will have 0 to minimal type in traffic (i.e. not paying reg fee), most of that good stuff was scooped up by big boys.
You had a good example of domain in other thread, which are essentially 4 or 5 word combos. I certainly doubt you'll be able to easily move a bunch of these. So a question is how do you go from accumulating many of these to the next level.
Because to be perfectly honest, I think domainer train has left the station a while back, and whatever's left are peanuts. Either that, or you need a good investment money lying around to get yourself into a game worth playing.
Also, local search continues to emerge and grow as small business owners are, at long last, coming to grips with the new era of marketing. Look for the WebmasterWorld thread where we discussed the relationship between the value of a domain and the value, to an enduser, of the leads that a given domain may generate. I have long held that a core predictor of the enduser value of a domain is the value of the converted leads the domain can generate for the enduder/consumer of those leads. A real estate leads aggregation firm may offer $10-$? for real estate leads but, to a realtor, a single lead that converts can mean a $10,000+ fee - so what's a domain worth that has "slight traffic" but that traffic generates 2 viable leads a year that are worth $10,000+?
In the age of Web driven commerce there are still values that haven't been fully grasped, explored or exploited/seized.
Without actual testing by parking, and somewhat certain I'm not delusional - based in part upon experience with similar domains I've registered in the past - I "imagine" (:P / ;0)) - that IF you A) could risk some money, like funds you would be able to spend entertaining yourself in a casino on the chance of a payoff, however slight; AND, B) IF such domains like those below were cough . . cough . . available THEN a domainer who was looking for commercial grade domains that likely would generate leads, say to a seller's agent OR a so-called "buyer's real estate agent", could - with a bit more analysis (such a projected traffic searching the terms, PPC value for the terms, population size of the related geo-target, etc. - COULD rationalize making a few speculative buys, in part BECAUSE maybe, some day . . an intelligent real estate agent/broker, competing with everyone else on the WWW for attention, might just figure out that a few folks a year would employ direct navigation to find someone selling a home AND that broker, if he/she brought the buyer to the deal, might just capture a 50% share of the broker's fee and that 1 deal could generate $5000.00+ in commissions for the domain registrant, who could also develop a site with a memorable, bill-boardable website name, THEREFORE a small investment in an aftermarket domain might just make sense . . .
Of course that target enduser-buyer OF YOUR speculative domain registration likely requires either a fair bit of intelligence/education and "seeing the future" for what IS coming . . and a willingness to risk a few bucks for a long term payoff of owning a certain slice of the Web's traffic . . so you may have to hold your registrations for a few years . . until the pain of competing and winning in the Web era becomes increasingly clear.
That is, IF commercial quality high value "slow drip" (parking PPC might only cover part of the annual reg fee) lead generating domains, such as those below, are/were available for speculative registration today:
<Going, going, gone>
But everyone knows that all the domains worthy of their registration fee have long ago been taken.
And everyone knows that no one gives away anything of value for free . . so why would I list domains that I could register and resell myself . . 'cause nobody would ever do that . . . :P
[edited by: Webwork at 3:38 am (utc) on June 6, 2009]
Most of those don't end up well, look at collapsing 401K and stock market. ;)
I guess I got the point...the problem is web has been here 15 years, but the "pain to compete on the web" still isn't there for most.
I believe Frank Schilling, one of the most financially successful domainers, didn't start his collection in earnest until the year 2000+, by which time all the REALLY great domains were locked up. Aleksl, you just have to start where things are today, perform your search and analysis, and choose wisely. When folks were dumping domains in 2001-2003 I was able to buy "on the cheap" a number of domains that have paid for themselves many times over for the price I paid in the aftermarket. A similar process is taking place right now, in the "down economy". The opportunity is much the same.
The price of success is often the pain and price of the lessons. I've had my fair share of domaining bumps and bruises, but like the PPC players, IF you don't blow all your money on one big cynicism building domain buying binge, you should have enough money "from the early lessons" to do a better job in the next round of PPC bidding or domain buying.
I would strongly suggest carefully looking at the "domainer event related auctions", and domain sales lists (liquidity market) that are distributed to the domainer-buyer-aftermarket by the larger (bona fide) auction houses or aftermarket liquidity wholesalers, i.e. Rick Latona.
[edited by: Webwork at 12:29 am (utc) on June 2, 2009]
