Message to Newbies - Domaining is DEAD!

[Clover]

Just a heads up for anyone interested in buying and selling domains. You're better off learning something else. The domain industry just isn't there anymore. Everyone has the good domains already and they want top dollar for them.

The only thing that would get me a little excited is if there was a GOOD new extension about to drop with affordable prices and if you can get access to registering one the hour they are available to, or if you could get one from a reseller for dirt cheap.

I see all these crappy domains in the appraisal section and just sigh, or see people's huge list of wasted money and think "damn, they're stuck renewing them sh!ts even though we all know darn well they'll never sell".
It's DELUSION.

We are in an amazing time right now, you can make money many other ways online, just find one that suits you. Domaining isn't one of them, if you are new.

Learning AI is where the future is, companies will pay you to figure out a ChatGPT prompt that helps them organize data, amongst many other things. You can use AI to bulk produce Youtube videos. You can use it to make creative picture to sell. You can use it to scan real items and sell the structural design to 3D printer users. These are just a few things, just Google "How to make money with AI". You can even use it to create websites easily.

You could get an online telephone support job.
Day trade.
Stocks are even better than this crap.

Invest in yourself and learn.

 

[phaethon]

OP is obviously not successful in domaining and bitter..

 

[Michael Castello]

I understand your frustration. The issue is not that the domain business is dead, but most people are sitting on dead land. Build something on it. Create value on it, breathe life into it. You can even use AI to help you.

I get that Google has taken all the advertising revenue from the internet. Yes, that is the greatest tragidy, but domain names are the greatest way to own something on the internet. All the other socials that people use are great at getting people into it, but the content and data you put there is owned and manipukated by them.

I own a lot of great domain names like Traveler and Nashville. I just bought WestlakeVillage.com which is an area close to where I live. I’m enjoying creating content on it and have even gotten a few businesses to comp some of my dinners and time there. I just started, and I will be using affiliates like bookings.com and viator to garner commissions. At some point I can sell the name for much more than I paid for it,

These are the opportunities that are abundantly available if you just take the time to do it, I enjoy it, so it’s not really work for me. I own the online brand for Westlake Village. It matters when I tell people in the area that I own WestlakeVillage.com. I can even offer email to those in the village like [email protected]

I think that is empowering. At some point the internet will become more immersive and these properties will become more valuable. Do not become a slave to AI. At some point the relationship you may have with it now will be a moot point later. Keep the control,

 

[phaethon]

You can have a look at the OP's gems he tries to sell and you know the deal.
I think he created this thread hoping someone would buy his domains.

 

[phaethon]

I thought domaining was dead till last night that I had two sales on the same day for $3.500!

 

[dnbknowledge]

Do you saw recently LLL drops on DC? Some companies don't give a reg fee for LLL com
So domains are not liquid anymore.

WWW3 coming soon between Russia and Nato. Better to build a bunker on bora bora and buy foods and batteries

Bunker.xyz not sold for $50,000 yet?

LLL dot coms dropping because end users forgot about them is something that happens every now and then, nothing unusual.

WW3 is not coming, the Ukraine war is a regional conflict and Russia has a hard enough time projecting strength with a neighboring country.

You've been watching too many doomsday preppers

 

[phaethon]

Are you the same guys that create this

How can anyone new be successful without a large bankroll?

I'm successful in the sense that I was able to sell all my newbie hand reg domains for profit, bought a thousand dollar domain, and broke even by the time I got out of this "industry". So, no I'm not bitter, I'm content, I got in and got out before wasting more money and time. I'm just being real with people, and you can hate on that all you want, I expect many others to say similar.

Why do you generalize based on your own personal experience?! Just accept the fact that it didn't work for you and move on! There will always be better soccer players, scientists, Investors and better domainers.

 

[karmaco]

The OP clearly didn’t have the patience to learn what is a good domain. For newbies thinking you can register any old junk and sell it yes for you domaining is dead from the word go.

This niche is not for everybody. It takes alot of grit and persistence. And learning. Anybody who wants an easy buck with no acquired skills should look elsewhere.

Of all the people who come in here saying they are new very few have the skills needed or the patience.

 

[Joe N]

No large bank roll required, just a willingness to learn and be patient. Build slowly. I started in 2016, and I only carry a portfolio of a few hundred names, but I make a tidy profit each year with very little time investment thanks to learning what sells.

 

[A1EX]

I do agree that the prices for junk domains is INSANE these days... you can search for nearly anything and people always seem to want over 10k... But it's dead if your new and you look at it like "this is going to make me rich fast!" and your doing it not because you like it, but for profit only... I have a portfolio of around 50 names name, 50 names = roughly $500 renewals/yr. I don't have a ton of great names (I wholesale a ton of domains, to try and break even) but hold a few good ones I keep private. With my 50 names, I sold 3 decent ones and my profit was about $5500 in 2023, that pays for a lot more names, or just some spending cash... obviously this isn't my day job, but I just enjoy the hunt. I love searching auctions and trying to find gems, I buy names that I personally like, post them for reasonable prices, and others buy them sometimes... if they don't oh well I like it any maybe someday I will develop it...

I guess what I am getting at is if you are new, do this if you ENJOY it, or want to see if you will enjoy it. It's like $15/day for lunch nowdays, $10 is not so bad for something you get to keep for a year. I see newbies on here all the time "What name should I buy?" or "What's going to get me the most money?"... They ain't gonna make it...

If you actually enjoy this... start as a hobby, post a name for sale that you don't care if it sells because YOU think it's cool... if you grow, that's awesome, if not... your having fun!

If your an old-head that registered a ton of good names "back in the day", then yes, you have a HUGE advantage... but if you don't think you didn't need money back then, then your way off base. It's wayyy cheaper now then it used to be...

"After 1995, prices typically started at $100 per two years of registration.

As much as 30 percent of this was a fee that went to the National Science Foundation to create an 'Internet Intellectual Infrastructure Fund'. This fee was later reversed in 1997, bringing the charge down to $70 for two years."

Imagine spending $35-$50/year for that .com, not $10, and you are unsure if the internet was going to go anywhere or not, knowing if it's even really "legal" to sell the names you have, knowing that most people don't even understand how the internet works, let alone want to spend money on something that that cannot physically hold...

If you took that gamble back then, respect!

Ok, rant over, I am rambling now...

 

[Michael Castello]

There's a market for literally anything, that doesn't mean it's good to get into.
Might as well get into selling old dolls you find in dumpsters with that kind of look, surely you can clean it up and sell it to an antique shop. There ya go.

Likewise, there will be people that are not good a jumping dumpsters.

 

[eyedomainous]

DOMAINING IS NOT DEAD!
The web is a perpetual domaining money machine for whatever emerges.

We all know the old domainer business model is virtually dead.

There is much more to Domaining than the old Naming Name Trade.

We are in an amazing time right now, you can make money many ways online...

 

[Jv1999]

You're not wrong.

If you're 2dumb to research domaining
, Then yes please do work for telephone customer support.

And you're right, all the ultra domains are going to be taken or need a high bankroll.

But then again, someone registered ordinal domains for $8 and sold them for $5k last year, so.

 

[Recons.Com]

I personally think you're right. The environment is constantly changing. What used to be profitable may not necessarily be so now. I know someone who registered a large number of domain names 20 years ago and made money from them. They kept reinvesting, but in recent years, they've accumulated many domain names that are difficult to sell. Of course, there are also some high-quality ones being sold, and people inquire about them, but they tend to offer lower prices. Some prices are even lower than the purchase price. So, they have no choice but to continue accumulating and wait for a better market environment to sell them off someday.

This makes no sense. If it is not profitable, why then they don't have choice but to continue accumulating? The logical course would have been culling the non-profitable portion and keeping the profitable ones and stop adding if they don't know how to make it profitable.

 

[BaileyUK]

Domains are no different to any other, easy access market investment. Far too many buy into the simplicity without having a clue of what drives the value. Instinct alone is not a good indicator of a worthwhile domain. Identifying what will probably make for a worthwhile stock investment takes years of experience. Domains are fundamentally no different.

The domain market is far from dead. The identifiers for good investments are just more complex today than they were many years ago. I find it quite strange that a domain seller should choose to advertise how poor a domain is ie, "Previously registered for 10 to 20 years " So it took the original registrant 10 years to realise what a poor domain. this was.

 

[OceanKing]

As said earlier, as long as domains exist, there is an after market for that always.

 

[Future Sensors]

domains ain't dead it's just that sales became 40% of what they used to be few yrs back...and this for 70% people.

Nice stats @alcy.

Did you know that 3.14% of sailors are Pi-rates?

 

[Joe N]

It definitely isn't something for new people to get into, and it for sure isn't how it once was.
I do like how you quoted that last part along with your message. There are some advantages at play, but imo "domain" in and of itself is not really there anymore, people may get lucky here and there but it's not really something to have as a sole source of income, or even close.

In the grand scheme, it's no different than any other investment vehicle. You get out what you put into it.

If you're not passionate about learning how to sell domains, and not willing to put in the hours, it's probably not for you.

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Domaining dead or domain forums dead?
Time is money and value is needed

 

[Jannes]

Yes, lots of (other) opportunities out there, but everything that easily comes up to your mind (including "how to make money with AI" guides) is or will be ultracompetitive and oversaturated or even spammed to death, thanks to AI and its scalability.

 

[envos]

eCommerce is Dead! Trading is Dead!

Seriously, trading domains for money will never end until there are domains.

If by "domaining" you mean buying reg fee domains and reselling them, well that was never productive anyway.

 

[BrandedUk]

I will buy more domains

 

[freety85]

I understand your concern. It might not be your cup of tea. However it is not impossible to make it work. It is hard work though, requires lots of grinding, you need to be able to adapt all the time and pay attention what kind of domains get picked up on auctions, closeouts and more importantly what gets sold. Doing some networking and getting a mentor would not hurt either. Don't leave your 9-5 until your make money consistently and you make at least 2 times more than your yearly salary. Once you have a decent amount of saleable names success will come overtime. Of course there are other ways to make money online, but I assume you don't go over a crypto forum and post it is too late to buy bitcoin. Good luck with your future endeavours, but I would not give up that easily, you have everything you need in this forum to make this domain trading work...

 

[Buyitnow]

Do you saw recently LLL drops on DC? Some companies don't give a reg fee for LLL com
So domains are not liquid anymore.

WWW3 coming soon between Russia and Nato. Better to build a bunker on bora bora and buy foods and batteries

Bunker.xyz not sold for $50,000 yet?

 

[JB Lions]

Another one, earlier than expected

https://www.namepros.com/threads/le...stered-domains-15-30-years-ago.1319750/page-2