Many people have come to the assumption that all good domain names went many, many years ago, so it’s pointless trying to get into the market. There is some logic to that assumption; all the really good generic names did go years ago, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to get involved. There are a number of ways that newcomers can pickup good domains that can be developed into revenue sites, or sold on to others.
Secondary Market
There is a thriving secondary market in domain names, with online marketplaces, auctions and individual resellers. The main players in secondary domain sale marketplaces are sites such as Sedo. Sometimes you can find a gem on eBay, but more often than not, there’s normally a collection of awful names at over-inflated prices. There are also many individuals and companies selling domain names, simply search Google for phrases such as “domains for sale”.
The secondary market decides the price of domains, however, so you need to be a serious buyer and understand how domains are priced. You won’t get much for £50, and most good domains are in the hundreds or thousands, with some breaking into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.
This article in Forbes magazine pins the average price of an aftermarket domain name at £1757, with an ongoing upward trend - the average price increased by 37% in the last year - not many investments are doing that well in recent times! With the general economy depressed, now is exactly the right time to be diversifying into domains, before the prices begin to shoot up, and premium domains become an unaffordable proposition for many people.
Drop Catching
When a domain name expires, the existing owner gets a warning email from their registrar to inform them that they will lose the domain, unless they renew it. They will get further emails over the following 3 month period, including emails from Nominet (who run the whole of the .uk registry). If, after this three month period, the name hasn’t been renewed, then it will drop, and be available for anyone else to register.
The domain will drop at a random time on the drop date, anywhere between midnight and midnight. A growing number of individuals and businesses are polling the status of good names that are about to drop and will attempt to register the name the moment they spot that it’s available. This process means that generally a good domain is normally re-registered in around 10ms - so once a good domain drops, it’s almost instantly with someone else.
Some previous owners complain that this is a violation of their (ex-)domain name and that it shouldn’t be allowed. But quite frankly, if you go for a period of three months where the domain will not resolve, meaning any web site would be dead and email would stop, then you didn’t really want it.
Foresight
When I said earlier that all the really good generic domains went years ago, I didn’t really mean it.
What I meant, in a more accurate manner, was that all of the really good generic domains of things that existed at that point in time went years ago.
What is still available, and what makes each day an exciting proposition for domainers is new stuff. New product categories, new technologies, new discoveries. Everything like this comes with new generic terms, and if you are quick, you can get the relevant names.
Of course, this can be a bit of a punt. I mean take cars & vehicles going into the future: Are we going to have Hybrids, or Hydrogen Full Cell or Low Carbon Vehicles? Are we going to have Zero Pollution or Zero Waste cars, or some other kind of of alternative energy cars? Or will they be known as something else entirely? Who knows? But if one of those names becomes the generic term to describe such a vehicle, then I’ll be sitting pretty.
So, yes, very good domains are long gone, but very good domains are still available and will continue to be available to those with money (after market), or time (foresight) or technical skills (drop catching). In fact that covers nearly everyone who wants to get ahead in the world, so there is a way for anyone to enter this market. Good luck!
How to get good domain names
by admin on July 11, 2009
Many people have come to the assumption that all good domain names went many, many years ago, so it’s pointless trying to get into the market. There is some logic to that assumption; all the really good generic names did go years ago, but that doesn’t mean that it’s too late to get involved. There are a number of ways that newcomers can pickup good domains that can be developed into revenue sites, or sold on to others.
Secondary Market
There is a thriving secondary market in domain names, with online marketplaces, auctions and individual resellers. The main players in secondary domain sale marketplaces are sites such as Sedo. Sometimes you can find a gem on eBay, but more often than not, there’s normally a collection of awful names at over-inflated prices. There are also many individuals and companies selling domain names, simply search Google for phrases such as “domains for sale”.
The secondary market decides the price of domains, however, so you need to be a serious buyer and understand how domains are priced. You won’t get much for £50, and most good domains are in the hundreds or thousands, with some breaking into the hundreds of thousands of pounds.
This article in Forbes magazine pins the average price of an aftermarket domain name at £1757, with an ongoing upward trend - the average price increased by 37% in the last year - not many investments are doing that well in recent times! With the general economy depressed, now is exactly the right time to be diversifying into domains, before the prices begin to shoot up, and premium domains become an unaffordable proposition for many people.
Drop Catching
When a domain name expires, the existing owner gets a warning email from their registrar to inform them that they will lose the domain, unless they renew it. They will get further emails over the following 3 month period, including emails from Nominet (who run the whole of the .uk registry). If, after this three month period, the name hasn’t been renewed, then it will drop, and be available for anyone else to register.
The domain will drop at a random time on the drop date, anywhere between midnight and midnight. A growing number of individuals and businesses are polling the status of good names that are about to drop and will attempt to register the name the moment they spot that it’s available. This process means that generally a good domain is normally re-registered in around 10ms - so once a good domain drops, it’s almost instantly with someone else.
Some previous owners complain that this is a violation of their (ex-)domain name and that it shouldn’t be allowed. But quite frankly, if you go for a period of three months where the domain will not resolve, meaning any web site would be dead and email would stop, then you didn’t really want it.
Foresight
When I said earlier that all the really good generic domains went years ago, I didn’t really mean it.
What I meant, in a more accurate manner, was that all of the really good generic domains of things that existed at that point in time went years ago.
What is still available, and what makes each day an exciting proposition for domainers is new stuff. New product categories, new technologies, new discoveries. Everything like this comes with new generic terms, and if you are quick, you can get the relevant names.
Of course, this can be a bit of a punt. I mean take cars & vehicles going into the future: Are we going to have Hybrids, or Hydrogen Full Cell or Low Carbon Vehicles? Are we going to have Zero Pollution or Zero Waste cars, or some other kind of of alternative energy cars? Or will they be known as something else entirely? Who knows? But if one of those names becomes the generic term to describe such a vehicle, then I’ll be sitting pretty.
So, yes, very good domains are long gone, but very good domains are still available and will continue to be available to those with money (after market), or time (foresight) or technical skills (drop catching). In fact that covers nearly everyone who wants to get ahead in the world, so there is a way for anyone to enter this market. Good luck!