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discuss Early September Snapshot 2023 (random thoughts, domain sales... etc )

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twiki

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More of an invitation to discussion for you. Anyway, here are just some random thoughts and things I've observed without any claim I am an expert here. (The noise in my head looking for way to escape the kettle...)

- Summer 2023 has been the nastiest for me so far. But I did have 2-months gaps with almost no sales in the past, so it ain't completely unusual.

- In 2022 I recovered and entered profit in December, expecting more or less the same in 2023. December has always been best month in sales. Anyway, in the last few months I've been in red overall.

- However If you don't sell YET, my suggestion is, don't worry too much - for now. At least here in Europe (but I also assume everywhere else), 3 things are happening:

1) Some fellows are still in vacation, 2) Some have returned to work but coffee ain't working yet, and 3) Some are VERY BUSY with kids going back to school. E.g. got almost no calls today (different biz) and made a $25 sale at a brick and mortar I have, but it's a nice time for a quick nap ... with head on the table.

- This year my bet is on AI domains. I do have quite some stack of that, .com domains. But if you ask me, this market hasn't yet started properly, still barely igniting. Some sellers have already sold AI domains very cheap so far, dirt cheap; guess hunger had a say in that. But that summer pricing is not going to hold for long. Later, I expect large portfolios in the field with higher pricing are going to kick in.

- Unlike NFT and the sorts, AI is not a fad and it is something awaited for long, much earlier than 2022. It's barely starting if you ask me. So yeah, there will be money in that. It is true though that the "AI" term itself might change at some point, but that is not going to happen in the next couple years or whatever. Later, possibly.

- Sold about a couple domains in the ~1.5 k range so far in September, the kind I didn't expect to sell. Random weird ones. And no, I don't report everything I sell. Anyway - for this eerie silence of early September, I'm satisfied so far. I do however expect things will pick up pretty well starting next week.

- I have just a few .xyz left and will let them drop soon. Glad to get rid of.
Question: Are you still holding on to those money drainers? BTW I only sold 2 xyz domains ever for like 750 and 299. That's ALL there was.

- I have just one .co domain left. Not seeing a future in it as well. However it's an AI domain so maybe yes.

- Managed to get down to 3800 names. Still too many for my taste... The good part is, I'm gonna clear better and better domains here as time goes by. I know some of my followers will be interested in that - anyway if you follow me, you'll see the posts quick in Bargain BIN.

- I'm seeing more and more issues with LTO including public discussions. Personally I won't touch LTO. Especially knowing that depending on what the buyer does with it, it might ruin its future usage completely (banned etc).

- Summer 2023 has been DEAD for me at Sedo. Dunno why. Had some sales here and there in spring though. I have also been selling on Dynadot marketplace in the past years, where this year not so much = nothing since February or so.

- The drop.

As you know I'm following the drop closely as most of my names come from there. I am seeing the first signs of investor strain as in some days there are drops in larger numbers of low-ish value domains (entry level investor names). DC and SN get some of these, others hit the market and get snatched.

However there is no increase whatsoever in good quality domains at drop. That ended in early 2021. And anyway even those meh are snapped by DC. And no, they don't end in auctions which tells me big investors are buying in bulk through DC, actually.

The drop has been extremely boring for me lately. I rarely get one domain or two here and there. most of my portfolio now (the part that sells) is purchased in 2021 or earlier. I also don't see mid-level domainer competition there anymore, no wonder as there's little to no juice to squeeze there.

- Closeouts. More and more disappointing. But who knows, maybe you guys are finding gold - for your particular style. I don't.

- Pricing. To be honest overall I have increased pricing and I still think I'm too cheap. But it goes in 2 -ways. I'm decreasing the prices on domains I want to drop, but not lower than $1000 (maybe $750 on a few which are either terrible or expiring like tomorrow). However most domains are $1.7k or more and I have increased prices on the high 4-fig and the few 5-fig I have.

- Blanket investing. I used to do blanket investing (across a gazillion niches) in the low entry part of the market, that side of it is gone. I'm not doing it anymore and not recommending it. If you need to put $300 or $400 price on your domains, you might be in the bad zone = get out of it. That is the zone where most sales have disappeared. I assume it's individuals and SMBs with little money that now have no reserves = no cash to invest in a new domain.

My recommendation now is, stick to precise niches you're fully familiar with. Fish doesn't randomly jump in the boat by themselves anymore.

- I think in early 2024 there will be even more stress and better names will start dropping. So if I were you, I'd stack up some cash for that moment.

Anyway, good luck there and please share whatch'ya been doing there recently. Thanks!
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Good insights, Twiki. My last sale (2k) was at the end of June. That was my first sale while a domain was still locked.
Since then, enquiries only, but no offers, as I can see on the AN lead center. Maybe my prices scare them, because they don't respond to the AN agents contact attempts. One had a budget of $20, but interested in a 5K name lol
That's why I think the NS5/6 landers kill many leads.
However, I like how the AN agents chase the customers even after months. They seem to know what they are doing.
Anyway, it's early to draw conclusions. I have 415 names and only buy names I intend to hold for 5 years at least.
Let's hope for the best.
 
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Good insights, Twiki. My last sale (2k) was at the end of June. That was my first sale while a domain was still locked.
Since then, enquiries only, but no offers, as I can see on the AN lead center. Maybe my prices scare them, because they don't respond to the AN agents contact attempts. One had a budget of $20, but interested in a 5K name lol
That's why I think the NS5/6 landers kill many leads.
However, I like how the AN agents chase the customers even after months. They seem to know what they are doing.
Anyway, it's early to draw conclusions. I have 415 names and only buy names I intend to hold for 5 years at least.
Let's hope for the best.
at 415 names, you seem to have not so much renewal pressure. Hopefully you're still afloat! Good luck in the season start.
 
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at 415 names, you seem to have not so much renewal pressure. Hopefully you're still afloat! Good luck in the season start.
My portfolio development is closely related to sales. When I have a sale, I add a number of new handpicked names, maybe 20-30. It's a slow model wih low risk. No sales, no development. Let's see if it works, im at 12K sales now and have a 20K target this year.
 
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More of an invitation to discussion for you. Anyway, here are just some random thoughts and things I've observed without any claim I am an expert here. (The noise in my head looking for way to escape the kettle...)

- Summer 2023 has been the nastiest for me so far. But I did have 2-months gaps with almost no sales in the past, so it ain't completely unusual.

- In 2022 I recovered and entered profit in December, expecting more or less the same in 2023. December has always been best month in sales. Anyway, in the last few months I've been in red overall.

- However If you don't sell YET, my suggestion is, don't worry too much - for now. At least here in Europe (but I also assume everywhere else), 3 things are happening:

1) Some fellows are still in vacation, 2) Some have returned to work but coffee ain't working yet, and 3) Some are VERY BUSY with kids going back to school. E.g. got almost no calls today (different biz) and made a $25 sale at a brick and mortar I have, but it's a nice time for a quick nap ... with head on the table.

- This year my bet is on AI domains. I do have quite some stack of that, .com domains. But if you ask me, this market hasn't yet started properly, still barely igniting. Some sellers have already sold AI domains very cheap so far, dirt cheap; guess hunger had a say in that. But that summer pricing is not going to hold for long. Later, I expect large portfolios in the field with higher pricing are going to kick in.

- Unlike NFT and the sorts, AI is not a fad and it is something awaited for long, much earlier than 2022. It's barely starting if you ask me. So yeah, there will be money in that. It is true though that the "AI" term itself might change at some point, but that is not going to happen in the next couple years or whatever. Later, possibly.

- Sold about a couple domains in the ~1.5 k range so far in September, the kind I didn't expect to sell. Random weird ones. And no, I don't report everything I sell. Anyway - for this eerie silence of early September, I'm satisfied so far. I do however expect things will pick up pretty well starting next week.

- I have just a few .xyz left and will let them drop soon. Glad to get rid of.
Question: Are you still holding on to those money drainers? BTW I only sold 2 xyz domains ever for like 750 and 299. That's ALL there was.

- I have just one .co domain left. Not seeing a future in it as well. However it's an AI domain so maybe yes.

- Managed to get down to 3800 names. Still too many for my taste... The good part is, I'm gonna clear better and better domains here as time goes by. I know some of my followers will be interested in that - anyway if you follow me, you'll see the posts quick in Bargain BIN.

- I'm seeing more and more issues with LTO including public discussions. Personally I won't touch LTO. Especially knowing that depending on what the buyer does with it, it might ruin its future usage completely (banned etc).

- Summer 2023 has been DEAD for me at Sedo. Dunno why. Had some sales here and there in spring though. I have also been selling on Dynadot marketplace in the past years, where this year not so much = nothing since February or so.

- The drop.

As you know I'm following the drop closely as most of my names come from there. I am seeing the first signs of investor strain as in some days there are drops in larger numbers of low-ish value domains (entry level investor names). DC and SN get some of these, others hit the market and get snatched.

However there is no increase whatsoever in good quality domains at drop. That ended in early 2021. And anyway even those meh are snapped by DC. And no, they don't end in auctions which tells me big investors are buying in bulk through DC, actually.

The drop has been extremely boring for me lately. I rarely get one domain or two here and there. most of my portfolio now (the part that sells) is purchased in 2021 or earlier. I also don't see mid-level domainer competition there anymore, no wonder as there's little to no juice to squeeze there.

- Closeouts. More and more disappointing. But who knows, maybe you guys are finding gold - for your particular style. I don't.

- Pricing. To be honest overall I have increased pricing and I still think I'm too cheap. But it goes in 2 -ways. I'm decreasing the prices on domains I want to drop, but not lower than $1000 (maybe $750 on a few which are either terrible or expiring like tomorrow). However most domains are $1.7k or more and I have increased prices on the high 4-fig and the few 5-fig I have.

- Blanket investing. I used to do blanket investing (across a gazillion niches) in the low entry part of the market, that side of it is gone. I'm not doing it anymore and not recommending it. If you need to put $300 or $400 price on your domains, you might be in the bad zone = get out of it. That is the zone where most sales have disappeared. I assume it's individuals and SMBs with little money that now have no reserves = no cash to invest in a new domain.

My recommendation now is, stick to precise niches you're fully familiar with. Fish doesn't randomly jump in the boat by themselves anymore.

- I think in early 2024 there will be even more stress and better names will start dropping. So if I were you, I'd stack up some cash for that moment.

Anyway, good luck there and please share whatch'ya been doing there recently. Thanks!
Thank you for your time and valuable updates. Same feeling here on your .AI views. Recently read on SEDO that they "still have" 20 thousand .AI domains. Well does that means they are moving or ?
 
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Thank you for your time and valuable updates. Same feeling here on your .AI views. Recently read on SEDO that they "still have" 20 thousand .AI domains. Well does that means they are moving or ?
I have .coms . .AI domains should be moving better.

They move - but I've seen a couple great sold prices and many underpriced in my opinion. Like solid 1-words sold for $1200 in .ai . That will change.
 
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Good insights, Twiki. My last sale (2k) was at the end of June. That was my first sale while a domain was still locked.
Since then, enquiries only, but no offers, as I can see on the AN lead center. Maybe my prices scare them, because they don't respond to the AN agents contact attempts. One had a budget of $20, but interested in a 5K name lol
That's why I think the NS5/6 landers kill many leads.
However, I like how the AN agents chase the customers even after months. They seem to know what they are doing.
Anyway, it's early to draw conclusions. I have 415 names and only buy names I intend to hold for 5 years at least.
Let's hope for the best.
Sorry. A newbie here. What's AN agent, NS5/6? I have been holding one .com for 22 years until finally got the tld's .io, .tv, . ai an .app. Now I have to learn everything about selling domain names bundles🤔
 
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Sorry. A newbie here. What's AN agent, NS5/6? I have been holding one .com for 22 years until finally got the tld's .io, .tv, . ai an .app. Now I have to learn everything about selling domain names bundles🤔
AN Agent - Afternic Agent (or Broker)
NS5/6 - Their 5 & 6 DNS Server addresses - ns5.afternic.com & ns6.afternic.com
 
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- I have just a few .xyz left and will let them drop soon. Glad to get rid of.
Question: Are you still holding on to those money drainers? BTW I only sold 2 xyz domains ever for like 750 and 299. That's ALL there was.
I will let mine expire or sell them at reg cost. I have 30 out of 60 XYZ left. I would bet without Sweatha's promotion on NP, 99,9% of XYZ registrations would not have happened. What about those 2 XYZ that you sold, any legit websites?
 
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I will let mine expire or sell them at reg cost. I have 30 out of 60 XYZ left. I would bet without Sweatha's promotion on NP, 99,9% of XYZ registrations would not have happened. What about those 2 XYZ that you sold, any legit websites?
TBH, haven't checked, this was like 3 years ago. But I would assume whoever bought them had intent of building something.
 
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Thanks so much for the clear account of what is happening from your perspective, and how you are reacting, @twiki .

My portfolio is too small (and probably too poor :xf.cry:) to meaningfully comment on sales. It looks like this year is going to overall be about the same as last year. I had one straight retail sale in August.

I put the available money I had made from domain names almost totally into renewals prior to the Sept 1 increases in .com, .ca and .xyz, so not acquiring much right now, a name now and then.

Pricing decisions among the toughest part in business, and thank you for commenting both in this post and prior ones on what you are doing. I've slightly pushed up some prices, but also moved a few down below psychological barriers. The recent SH study showing that being slightly above a psychological barrier might lead to more sales is interesting, and somewhat surprising.

Thanks again for another great post.

-Bob
 
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AI is the new profit hype for this decade.

I thought about it and realized there's a new hype train every single decade:

90s: domains, ecom, the web
00s: Google / maybe Apple
10s: Crypto
20s: AI

Every single decade, there's always a life-changing investment train. Tbh, in each of those decades there were multiple (like real estate). There were also satellite opportunities surrounding each hype: Like with Google, you now had SERP / SEO and blogging. With Crypto, it was basically trading lol, and I've heard some people made money on youtube by talking about crypto.

Ofc, there was always domaining in each of those industries. ^^

Now we just have to figure out how to make $$$ off of AI. I feel like there's domains, and then there's actually incorporating AI tech into industries... so i feel like it's going to be a golden age for Devs?
 
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1) Some fellows are still in vacation, 2) Some have returned to work but coffee ain't working yet, and 3) Some are VERY BUSY with kids going back to school. E.g. got almost no calls today (different biz) and made a $25 sale at a brick and mortar I have, but it's a nice time for a quick nap ... with head on the table

Pretty much sums up my life :)

Overall, food for thought. Thanks for taking your time to write up this elaborate post.
 
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