Domaining vs Investing

[mh231]

Hello everyone! I'm new here but I've been kicking the domining can down the road for a better part of a month now in terms of research and self education.

I'm an investor. We own storage facilities, businesses, commercial/residential real estate. I have experience in web development and basic programming.

The more I read, the more domaining seems less like investing and more like gambling. The whole hand registering seems like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I keep reading that most new folks to domining will never be able to sell their hand registered domains etc. I understand there's learning curves and in order to learn, generally you have to spend/lose $$$.

Another thing I've noticed is many, many, many folks trying to get into this have no budget and are trying to find the quickest way possible to make money and want to spend as little as possible.

I guess what I'm trying to say...is there a difference in HOW I should move forward with educating myself on domining? I'm not particularly interested in hand registering domains and trying to find one that's worth a few hundred bucks...but I understand that perhaps that's recommended for someone who Is new to this.

In investing we mostly talk about cap rates, interest and ROI. I can generally run figures and produce a rough expected ROI. I'm struggling to find out how to do this with domaining.

Maybe I'm just too new, maybe I need to slow down, maybe I don't even belong here because domaining is not for me. I'm absolutely not looking for another job or a side hustle...I'm looking for a passive/semi passive investment strategy to add to my portfolio. I have a good budget. Our average RE returns are 8-15% but I don't even know how to begin to calculate a projected roi with domains if say I invest $25k.

You other investors, what strategy did you follow when it comes to domaining?

I'm open to criticism, opinions, suggestions, education resources...anything really.

 

[MediaCode]

Hello everyone! I'm new here but I've been kicking the domining can down the road for a better part of a month now in terms of research and self education.

I'm an investor. We own storage facilities, businesses, commercial/residential real estate. I have experience in web development and basic programming.

The more I read, the more domaining seems less like investing and more like gambling. The whole hand registering seems like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I keep reading that most new folks to domining will never be able to sell their hand registered domains etc. I understand there's learning curves and in order to learn, generally you have to spend/lose $$$.

Another thing I've noticed is many, many, many folks trying to get into this have no budget and are trying to find the quickest way possible to make money and want to spend as little as possible.

I guess what I'm trying to say...is there a difference in HOW I should move forward with educating myself on domining? I'm not particularly interested in hand registering domains and trying to find one that's worth a few hundred bucks...but I understand that perhaps that's recommended for someone who Is new to this.

In investing we mostly talk about cap rates, interest and ROI. I can generally run figures and produce a rough expected ROI. I'm struggling to find out how to do this with domaining.

Maybe I'm just too new, maybe I need to slow down, maybe I don't even belong here because domaining is not for me. I'm absolutely not looking for another job or a side hustle...I'm looking for a passive/semi passive investment strategy to add to my portfolio. I have a good budget. Our average RE returns are 8-15% but I don't even know how to begin to calculate a projected roi with domains if say I invest $25k.

You other investors, what strategy did you follow when it comes to domaining?

I'm open to criticism, opinions, suggestions, education resources...anything really.

If you're into real estate investing, simply view domain names as investing in raw land. Raw land that you have to sit on and pay the property taxes year after year until the right developer comes along and wants to buy you out to develop a hotel, strip shopping center, medical building, or whatever on your raw land. The more lucrative their development potential, the more valuable is your raw land. So, location plays a role as does the industry the developer caters to in its development work. So, location (.com) and industry (finance, healthcare, gambling, crypto, hospitality, etc.) are critical to maximizing value on your investment. We wouldn't generally call land investors gamblers. We'd call them speculators, maybe, but more often than not we call them what they are: land investors. Same with domain investors investing in the raw land of the Internet.

 

[karmaco]

It feels like a gamble.

I have hand reg'ed some, I have listened to advice, I have bought some at auction, listened to more advice, I have advertised on all the market places, my own website and social media.

I have not sold any (I started selling in February).

IMHO
If it was an investment, there would be more openness about buying strategies, the MANY criteria of a good buy, not just the obvious (people seem willing to share to a point)
If it was an investment the resale price would not be so subjective.
If it were an investment, there would be a better ROI than maybe 1% of the portfolio will be sold.
With investments, you have a good chance of all of the investment being able to be sold on reasonably easily (not the case with domains).

It therefore feels to me more like a gamble than an investment.

I disagree with everything in this post.

Just because your domain choices haven’t sold yet (after only 5 months) doesn’t mean we are not investors. It means you need better quality domains possibly and way more patience.

The first thing we tell newbs is this is not get rich quick. It takes years and years. Impatient people who need money now should pursue other paths. Not domains.

It feels like a gamble because you are new at this and probably bought some not great domains.

You complain this is not investing because “there is not enough openess about buying strategies”. Really? We don’t have to tell you anything. Nobody is getting paid here to guide anyone or answer questions. It is done voluntarily. Be grateful we are willing to answer the same questions countless times.

Figure it out for yourself (like we did) and stop acting entitled like anyone is obligated to spoon feed you their knowledge or strategies.

If you are looking for a sure thing, instant results you won’t get that investing in domains. Or anything really.

 

[bmugford]

Maybe, before making statements about what is an investment, you'd spend time learning what ROI is?

1% you are referring to is about inventory turnover, not return on investment.

1% STR could result in 100% ROI or higher, depending on your costs and prices.

Yeah, the STR only matters so much when it comes to raw numbers.

If I buy 100 domains for $50 each. I spent $5,000.
If I sell (1) for $10K I doubled by money in year one.

The next year I pay $1000 in renewals for 99 domains. I sell (1) for $5K.
I made 5x my money in year 2.

You still have 98 other domains left.

That is how low STR works when it comes to turning an overall profit.

Brad

 

[twiki]

Everything is a gamble. Your businesses regardless if you started it or purchased it from someone else, was a gamble. Even if you are given a 500 billion dollar business for free it's a gamble. You might walk into the business one day and fall down a shaft and get killed.

In Poker, everyone at the table is gambling even the guy that was dealt A-A. The person next to him that was dealt 2-7 can go all in pre-flop and he could win, but the person with the AA has a better chance.

You could make money from handregging a 25 character .net with a hyphen and a number in the name but it's not likely.

It is possible to start a business with 5 dollars and turn it into a million dollar company, but it's not likely.

It is possible to buy a penny stock and make a lot of money but it's not likely.

Domaining like every industry will cause people that get involved in it to lose their money. Rarely do newbies want to hear the truth about this business and they will get the truth delivered to them one day but they will be a lot poorer.

Even if you follow all the right steps in any business, you can still lose your money, the same in domaining.

If someone has 1000 dollars and they want to invest in domains even knowing the risks, and they want to increase their chances of making money they need to find names that are taken and are for sale.

You could find good names on namepros itself but you will have to look a few times a day for many months to possibly see one good name worth the asking price and usually if it's real good by the time you post to buy it someone already got it.

You could find good names on expiring marketplaces and delete lists. If they have no bidders, it's usually not that good of a name. Most people will say "well, my biggest sale was a closeout auction purchase for 5 dollars". Yes, even degenerate gamblers do get lucky sometimes. You know what happens next? They try to chase that luck and give back all their winnings.

What is a good name? If there was a simple answer we would all be happier.

If someone has money to invest and they don't intend to use the name for their own project, buying a domain is one of the riskiest investments you could make, probably buying terra coin has a better chance of giving you gains, and I do not suggest you buy that.

At the same time, if someone has an idea and they don't invest in the best name they could afford, they are big fools.

For the amount of work needed to possibly make any money domaining, you could do 100's of other things for less money and all will have a higher chance of making you money.

Every industry has a few lucky winners. Most people will lose money on every investment they make it life. Become a master of finding ways to lose the least and you might make a profit one day.

If you are a gambler and know all the risks and don't care. Domaining can be a fun costly hobby but it beats a lot of other hobbies that are more likely to kill you.

Sorry for this depressing post but I recently invested in a pharmaceutical penny stock, they sell anti depressants, I figure the more depressed I can get people, the higher the chance their $0.000000023 stock can go.

Game (poker) theory?

Anyway this is definitely a valid angle to look at it, just as at almost anything else investing. No risk, no reward...

Fair warning to those looking at it from the wrong angle = easy money.

 

[HotKey]

^ which translates to: know the worth of your domains. Find your comfort level. Ultimately, the quality of your domains define their value. Good post.

 

[Joshh71390]

Hello everyone! I'm new here but I've been kicking the domining can down the road for a better part of a month now in terms of research and self education.

I'm an investor. We own storage facilities, businesses, commercial/residential real estate. I have experience in web development and basic programming.

The more I read, the more domaining seems less like investing and more like gambling. The whole hand registering seems like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I keep reading that most new folks to domining will never be able to sell their hand registered domains etc. I understand there's learning curves and in order to learn, generally you have to spend/lose $$$.

Another thing I've noticed is many, many, many folks trying to get into this have no budget and are trying to find the quickest way possible to make money and want to spend as little as possible.

I guess what I'm trying to say...is there a difference in HOW I should move forward with educating myself on domining? I'm not particularly interested in hand registering domains and trying to find one that's worth a few hundred bucks...but I understand that perhaps that's recommended for someone who Is new to this.

In investing we mostly talk about cap rates, interest and ROI. I can generally run figures and produce a rough expected ROI. I'm struggling to find out how to do this with domaining.

Maybe I'm just too new, maybe I need to slow down, maybe I don't even belong here because domaining is not for me. I'm absolutely not looking for another job or a side hustle...I'm looking for a passive/semi passive investment strategy to add to my portfolio. I have a good budget. Our average RE returns are 8-15% but I don't even know how to begin to calculate a projected roi with domains if say I invest $25k.

You other investors, what strategy did you follow when it comes to domaining?

I'm open to criticism, opinions, suggestions, education resources...anything really.

It's not at all like gambling. - gambling would mean i could buy 2093482048204820482.monday and theres a statistical chance of it just getting bought based on that stat.

Registering is one method of buying a domain name Unless you have YEARS and YEARS of experience your not going to register anything worth a damn... Im not saying you cant make a few bucks here and there but it's not a passive cash flow thats for sure...

Now imagine you go specifically after 1 word domain names that are undervalued...

think 10 / 15k range that should be in the 40 / 50k range

Now for instance lets say you bought Storage.com for 15k...

Since you own storage facilities you see the value of storage.com... Maybe you dont care... but someone with global dominance who can capitalize on that one word domain name and use it to gain dominance on the internet really doesnt care between spending 50k or 60k on that word... because they bill 2 million a day in fees ... so thats such a drop in the bucket for them.... For maybe the single most important piece of their new Branding campaing that has nothing to do with you ... you just happen to own the domain they want...

now back to the domaining side... if you somehow got that name for 15k... you would hold for maybe 4 /5 years... and you will get offers daily on it some for 10 dollars but you never know.. eventually you swap words with the right party and a deal is agreed upon... The beauty of this industry is every single domain is a 1 of 1... if they WANT storage.com , they will get storage.com... its just as easy as a quck email to the accountants / marketing head for their corporation theyre more interested in getting the name then the specific values... So now your 15k and 4 years just gained you 100k sale...

now is it harder to MANAGE a 50 million dollar portfolio of Houses / rentals / land / or domain names ... 1 million of them weight the same ammount as 1 of them... and also takes up the same ammount of space on my pinky...

This is a 100 percent random scenario but yea I dont think it's that far from the price that name would be able to fetch...

Now your spending your time and efforts looking for ONE good name that already exists on an aftermarket somewhere... people price things differently one mans trash is another mans popouree but unless your registering hundreds of names a day.. big time cashflow is not gonna happen -> and your not gonna be able to longtail successfully when your 1 month in it;s just gonna turn into a bunch of wasted registrations and time waiting for lumps of dog poop to sell

-> your SKILLS are what are going to give you the edge in the game ... It's more of a Business

 

[blogspotter]

If you are smart and have ran and operated other businesses, I think you will figure it out.

Study the names that sell in the "end user market" where we SELL.
Study the names that sell in the "Aftermarket" where we BUY.
Add the factor that only 1% of your total names will sell in a year. (the Average STR though some people have higher)

And then figure out a way to Acquire names in such a way that you make a profit.

 

[.X.]

There are multiple tiers of income producing in the industry , and then collecting , which I do .i consider collecting, Investing , the names I collect are either Liquid, one word, or very strong keyword domains . I will at some point end up getting an offer I can’t refuse on these collected names , until then, they stay in my collection , no matter how volatile the industry is , or whatever the case may be, I will not sell them.

Domaining on the other hand is just good fun , from website development trends , through the years I have just jumped in where I can make a dollar, from domain parking to affiliate marketing sales , to Google Adsense and beyond … there are always to make money in domaining itself .. it is just about how much Capitol a person wants to put into it vs how fast of a return on investment vs goal on ROI

 

[satsdifference.com]

Time lost is key to this in its exclusive distributorship

.coms

 

[J. Sharma]

Domain investing means purchasing domain names with the intent to sell them for a higher price or monetize them with advertising. The domain names are generally generic terms or keywords rather than trademarks. Domain squatting is akin to cybersquatting where someone registers the domain name of a trademark owner to try to get them to buy the domain name or seeks to profit from infringing on that trademark.

 

[satsdifference.com]

Any new idea that comes up that's still available to register in .com is the consideration I've learned to love over 23 years in this from our here said shared knowledge

 

[satsdifference.com]

As a proud hand-regger Had to learn the hard way renewal costs (thanks Jeff for the "only .com" debates)

I don't deal in the aftermarket buying but its always been at their Highest levels for .com IMO

For me I find time that I only have to pay attention 75 domains!

 

[twiki]

It feels like a gamble.

If it feels like a gamble to you, then you're probably gambling, not investing.

It feels like a gamble.

I have hand reg'ed some, I have listened to advice, I have bought some at auction, listened to more advice, I have advertised on all the market places, my own website and social media.

I have not sold any (I started selling in February).

There are folks here who haven't sold anything in 3 years in the past. But they persisted, learned and made progress.

If it was an investment, there would be more openness about buying strategies, the MANY criteria of a good buy, not just the obvious (people seem willing to share to a point)

Have you ever read my posts? There's a ton of information, and not about the obvious.

If it were an investment, there would be a better ROI than maybe 1% of the portfolio will be sold.

You can easily reach 10% sales ratio AND make profit if you're discounting enough. Source: I've done this for years and posted about it frequently. Although today I use a different model, it is still one that can always be used.

You're really off with these statements. Off from a general perspective. I do however accept you might not be off from your own perspective.

End note: True domainers might hold their names for 10-20 years. At 1...2% yearly sales ratio, that is a significant amount of their portfolio actually being sold.

It can be gambling - if you are into gambling. Pro domainers here are nothing about gambling. But if you mirror the beginners, throwing handregs at a wall to see if it sticks, then yeah.

Not that it is anything wrong with handregs, if you know what you are doing. I've made 400% ROI on handregs during the last year 12 months. But done with care.

I use business rules, math and projections and it is a constant business, profitable and definitely not risky. Edit: far less riskier than other fields I've been into.

There is even room for adjustment if market goes down like it happens now. I'm not losing any money (in fact having solid income to rely on even in this market, see my posted sales on NP)

Yet people who invested in solid stocks, major indexes and blue chips have actually lost 50% + of their money this year. And yeah, they were definitely NOT gambling.

 

[Eric Lyon]

Hello everyone! I'm new here but I've been kicking the domining can down the road for a better part of a month now in terms of research and self education.

I'm an investor. We own storage facilities, businesses, commercial/residential real estate. I have experience in web development and basic programming.

The more I read, the more domaining seems less like investing and more like gambling. The whole hand registering seems like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I keep reading that most new folks to domining will never be able to sell their hand registered domains etc. I understand there's learning curves and in order to learn, generally you have to spend/lose $$$.

Another thing I've noticed is many, many, many folks trying to get into this have no budget and are trying to find the quickest way possible to make money and want to spend as little as possible.

I guess what I'm trying to say...is there a difference in HOW I should move forward with educating myself on domining? I'm not particularly interested in hand registering domains and trying to find one that's worth a few hundred bucks...but I understand that perhaps that's recommended for someone who Is new to this.

In investing we mostly talk about cap rates, interest and ROI. I can generally run figures and produce a rough expected ROI. I'm struggling to find out how to do this with domaining.

Maybe I'm just too new, maybe I need to slow down, maybe I don't even belong here because domaining is not for me. I'm absolutely not looking for another job or a side hustle...I'm looking for a passive/semi passive investment strategy to add to my portfolio. I have a good budget. Our average RE returns are 8-15% but I don't even know how to begin to calculate a projected roi with domains if say I invest $25k.

You other investors, what strategy did you follow when it comes to domaining?

I'm open to criticism, opinions, suggestions, education resources...anything really.

Domaining Vs investing are actually two different beasts from that same cloth, with different asset assessment strategies.

You mentioned running numbers to find the sweet spots in general investments. You do the same with domains, just with different value metrics.

This is a quote from a related reply I made elsewhere yesterday on namePros that may help clarify:

Personally, I feel that these types of evaluations are the life-blood of the industry. They give a genuine use look at the potential of an asset based on their existing life cycle, trends, niche markets, geography, ranking data, collectability, brandability, reseller interests, end-user interests, target economics, and more.

At the end of the day, a better understanding on how an end-user will brand, develop, market, and scale in multiple industries/markets will help shed light on the revenue potential a business model will have developing a domain asset for-profit. It's that model, that has some of the greater influence to add to the value of a domain asset combined with the hundreds of other value metrics that may or may not apply for added or eliminated value.

The quote is referring to an evaluation done in the Professional Appraisal section of namePros.

Welcome to namePros!

 

[HotKey]

Yep, I agree with that too PBM. Well said.

 

[equity78]

While many use real estate as analogy, I think that it does not really fit. The vast majority of properties will sell at the right price, but except for well known dictionary words in .com, with each domain name unique, many domain names will never find a buyer.

Spot on Bob.

 

[Sjpals]

I disagree with everything in this post.

Just because your domain choices haven’t sold yet (after only 5 months) doesn’t mean we are not investors. It means you need better quality domains possibly and way more patience.

The first thing we tell newbs is this is not get rich quick. It takes years and years. Impatient people who need money now should pursue other paths. Not domains.

It feels like a gamble because you are new at this and probably bought some not great domains.

You complain this is not investing because “there is not enough openess about buying strategies”. Really? We don’t have to tell you anything. Nobody is getting paid here to guide anyone or answer questions. It is done voluntarily. Be grateful we are willing to answer the same questions countless times.

Figure it out for yourself (like we did) and stop acting entitled like anyone is obligated to spoon feed you their knowledge or strategies.

If you are looking for a sure thing, instant results you won’t get that investing in domains. Or anything really.

I am sorry you feel this way. I thought that this was a forum where we helped each other. I most certainly am not acting entitled by asking for help, I thought that was the whole point of a forum.Helping each other, learning from each other. My mistake.

 

[Joshh71390]

This is exactly my point... Investments usually have an expected ROI in a certain amount of time (even houses) and they are pretty much guaranteed to sell. Domains are not like that and are therefore are more of a gamble than investing in my mind.


And I guess I have never seen other domainers as my competition, just as much as I wouldnt see another house buyer as a competitor. I guess I was wrong.

Your wrong...

Investments usually have an expected ROI in a certain amount of time

Houses have an expected Roi ... its the price you wish to sell it - the price you bought it...

Domains have an expected ROI -> the price you wish to sell it - the price you bought it for...


------------------------

and they are pretty much guaranteed to sell. --> Yes every human being needs to live in a house or they die.. a domain is not vital to a humans ability to survive on the planet...

And furthermore.. your just acting like you can profitably buy and sell houses every time... -> but you think that domaing sucks cause your 6 dollar domain wont instantly resell for xx.xxx dollars... well most houses require a substantial deal more effort then i can gaurentee you put into your domaining career yet...

------------------------

And I guess I have never seen other domainers as my competition, just as much as I wouldnt see another house buyer as a competitor. I guess I was wrong.

this is just being passive aggressive ... What was your original point... that noone will teach you how to domain.. Or something like this? well guess what Ive spent atleast 2 hours sofar commenting on this thread just trying to give you tips.. and the only think you do is instantly try to give a cleaver response to debunk everything people say...

if you want to get rich hand registering domains then no its not possible in your first year.. without xxx,xxx dollars to start with..

and if you want to put the same ammount of money you would in flipping a house... then i promise you... it will be a lot more simple to compare the two...

your asking un answerable questions and then arguing with every response... how could we elaborate about your domains without seeing them first of all... how could we elaborate on your successess if we knew nothing about what you did to sell them... did you regster them and then close the browser? if so thats the same thing as buying a forclosure.. and then never even visiting the property then a 3 months later u go to some house flipping forum saying this sucks i should of been rich by now....

def from wallstreetmojo .com im not sure the exacts but this sounds broad enough...

The most common examples of investment types. Investment, in general, refers to the purchase of anything for future use with the goal of generating a regular cash flow or increasing the value of something over time so that it can be sold for a higher price than it was purchased for, i.e. capital gains.

If you just blindly buy houses because they are for sale... and then try to relist them in 2 months... I got hand it to you ... if you are profitable doing that... then dont even bother domaing... because you are wasting your time doing anything but finding the next flip...

on the otherhand... buying a domain for 100, 200 300 500 dollars... is only profitable if THERE IS A HUMAN BEING THAT WILL BUY IT FOR MORE THEN YOU PAYED FOR IT...

thats the concept of the pretty much the entire economic system we use today... so im not making anything crazy up here... You buy something ... and you either made a bad investment or a good investment... with an active investment like this... you need to actively SELL the domain... listing it on auctions... emailing buyiers... someone doesnt just wait till 6pm on thursday and then just click buy on every domain forsale at Namecheap... you need to find a person who wants to buy it from you... would you be able to flip a 25 sq foot house that i sold to you for 50million? i mean its an investment right?

 

[Sjpals]

Your wrong...


Houses have an expected Roi ... its the price you wish to sell it - the price you bought it...

Domains have an expected ROI -> the price you wish to sell it - the price you bought it for...


------------------------

and they are pretty much guaranteed to sell. --> Yes every human being needs to live in a house or they die.. a domain is not vital to a humans ability to survive on the planet...

And furthermore.. your just acting like you can profitably buy and sell houses every time... -> but you think that domaing sucks cause your 6 dollar domain wont instantly resell for xx.xxx dollars... well most houses require a substantial deal more effort then i can gaurentee you put into your domaining career yet...

------------------------


this is just being passive aggressive ... What was your original point... that noone will teach you how to domain.. Or something like this? well guess what Ive spent atleast 2 hours sofar commenting on this thread just trying to give you tips.. and the only think you do is instantly try to give a cleaver response to debunk everything people say...

if you want to get rich hand registering domains then no its not possible in your first year.. without xxx,xxx dollars to start with..

and if you want to put the same ammount of money you would in flipping a house... then i promise you... it will be a lot more simple to compare the two...

your asking un answerable questions and then arguing with every response... how could we elaborate about your domains without seeing them first of all... how could we elaborate on your successess if we knew nothing about what you did to sell them... did you regster them and then close the browser? if so thats the same thing as buying a forclosure.. and then never even visiting the property then a 3 months later u go to some house flipping forum saying this sucks i should of been rich by now....

def from wallstreetmojo .com im not sure the exacts but this sounds broad enough...


If you just blindly buy houses because they are for sale... and then try to relist them in 2 months... I got hand it to you ... if you are profitable doing that... then dont even bother domaing... because you are wasting your time doing anything but finding the next flip...

on the otherhand... buying a domain for 100, 200 300 500 dollars... is only profitable if THERE IS A HUMAN BEING THAT WILL BUY IT FOR MORE THEN YOU PAYED FOR IT...

thats the concept of the pretty much the entire economic system we use today... so im not making anything crazy up here... You buy something ... and you either made a bad investment or a good investment... with an active investment like this... you need to actively SELL the domain... listing it on auctions... emailing buyiers... someone doesnt just wait till 6pm on thursday and then just click buy on every domain forsale at Namecheap... you need to find a person who wants to buy it from you... would you be able to flip a 25 sq foot house that i sold to you for 50million? i mean its an investment right?

Apologies if I came across as passive aggressive. All I was trying to say (and quite badly, I guess) is that houses are always expected to go up in price and they are reasonably easy to sell. Domains are not like that at all, as you say, not everyone needs a house.

 

[Sjpals]

To do the same you have to understand how domain demand behaves, how to evaluate domain quality and estimate sale through rate. You have to be really tuned with the market and you have to be really good at recognizing patterns...

You see it as gambling since (at the moment) you lack the instruments to properly evaluate the asset class you are trying to deal with.

If done correctly, this stuff can be extremely profitable and predictable.

and therein lies the problem… there is not enough information widely / freely shared to evaluate the domains properly

 

[domaineed]

Hi,

It can be either investing or gambling. Totally up to you, imo.

 

[PurpleMan]

I think I will spend another month studying up and if after that, I'm still interested I'll set up a smaller "burn fund" where I can start playing around and make the mistakes.

Since this would be a long term play for me, I'm in no rush.

You will succeed

 

[Sjpals]

Be aware that there will be a lot of contradictory/conflicting information that you'll have to sift through and make judgements on along the way.

For example, conventional advice says to buy short, perfectly spelled names, yet you'll see some oddities (and downright stinkers) selling in the daily domain sales section here and anywhere you look for data, e.g. Namebio/Sedo sales (via TLDinvestors.com). Similarly, some don't get brandable domains or the marketplaces for these and prefer to buy dictionary word names, while others believe companies aren't into in naming themselves something generic like partnersolutions. whatever, and feel a unique brand name like wovanko /sparkslice is the way forward.

Some will say only buy at auctions where there are other bidders, yet some have sold names that they bought at auctions where they were the only bidder (like Logan Flatt).

On pricing names, a commonly held belief among some in domaining is the price of the name is whatever the buyer is willing to pay, while others believe the price is whatever the domain owner thinks it should be (usually based on whether the prospective buyer has a big enough idea for the name's use).

When it comes to selling, you'll find those who believe in setting a price (known as 'buy it Now'/BIN) while others think that devalues the name and enjoy long, drawn-out negotiations over weeks/months as they feel this helps increase the name's value.


The range of strategies to approach this venture is huge, so best of luck here.

yes, I am beginning to despair from the amount contradicting information

 

[Sjpals]

The problem with what you want domaing to be is ...it's not a Savings Bond... or a CD ... it's not an investment vehical in the sense that it's a product offered with a set payout after a certain time... Its an investment the same way buying a house is an investment... Or buying a factory... Your asking your compition to zap their knowledge into your brain over night... it's just not physically possible if you want to learn how to be a profitable domainer.. the info is on this site...

This is exactly my point... Investments usually have an expected ROI in a certain amount of time (even houses) and they are pretty much guaranteed to sell. Domains are not like that and are therefore are more of a gamble than investing in my mind.


And I guess I have never seen other domainers as my competition, just as much as I wouldnt see another house buyer as a competitor. I guess I was wrong.

 

[alcy]

it only looks like gambling if we didnt put 1000s hours to learn it.. namepros and namebio are yer friends... remember gambling is casinos and bitcoins.. in domains after 1000s hours of study u drive 90perxent of car... in terms of decision..vs outcome.. etc