Another Week Another Grand

Sounds cocky doesn’t it? It’s not easy out there but as stated previously people still have money to spend and to put in safe places. People can lose money in banks, lose money in shares, lose money in property but only in the short term, in the long term property value rises again and as we all call domain names virtual property then we know too that domains are a safe haven for investment in the medium to long term. Yes three to five to ten years, even twenty, the net won’t change overnight.

We as domain hoarders and developers have to translate the value of domain names to end users and investors across the board and show that there is no better place to park your money than in domain names right now, let’s look at the bigger picture and the life of a domain name. A uk domain can be regged for two years minimum and maximum before renewal is due, so it starts its life knowing when it will end and we all know too that if the leaseholder fails to renew; either forgetting or the asset becomes surplus to requirements then we can grab it on the drop.

If that occurs then we get to resell prime virtual real estate the second after it’s dropcaught. Take some of my sales this last week, brandshopping.co.uk, exclusivelingerie.co.uk, discountshoppers.co.uk – really liked that one, singlesscene.co.uk, sourcebrands.co.uk, onpiste.co.uk, birthdaynewspapers.co.uk and worc.co.uk let’s say I did over £1k minimum and I have an offer in for designhub.co.uk (LEEOWEN) it’s low, inadequate but I may accept after negotiation. That’s reselling.

I tend to go for catchy, memorable or meaningful names, not always prime top of the league generics as competition is fierce, if I went after those all the time I may get lucky once every 60 days ruth.co.uk, however at least this way I gain a steady stream of income to fill my stomach and wine and dine my girlfriends now and again. It doesn’t pay all my bills, I still need that big one every 60 days, which is due this month, to clear a back log of running costs which enables me to stay in business.

Why should someone invest in domains? it’s simple, a business or individual lets a domain drop not always knowing its full value or even caring too, that one domain could be worth £100k to an end user in six months, one year or five years or if not so great, £100 next week, if you do your research and use your savvy you can understand the methods of calculation that most use to arrive at what is worthy and what isn’t at any given time. One word generics are considered an investment, long term or otherwise, even in 60 seconds you can double your money with a buyer lined up, keyword specific generics also.

This week I managed to pick up, presents.me.uk yes a me extension but highly generic and christmas is coming and with the use of subdomains, very nice. Executives.org.uk yes I know, an org extension but again very prime for the job market with domains typically going for several thousand. ScubaCity.co.uk catchy and can be developed, again a saleable asset. You may notice I write about investing and assets, that’s because when I spend my money I expect a return.

I don’t hope, I know and if I don’t I scratch my head wondering where the buyer is not wondering why there isn’t a buyer because there always is, somewhere. When I opened my business account last year I was lucky enough to come across an account manager who knew the internet existed, however when I phoned up for an overdraft for working capital the telesales centre which is my first point of contact, didn’t.

So you then need to try telling someone you catch domains for £6 to resale for £25k, and how that’s done is… you look through and search for dropping domains each day, you do keyword research, do further research on backlinks, hints of traffic, weight of use, background checks, archive, statistical data readouts, count letters, use, trademarks, scan domains in a variety of ways, spell check, view company listings and then at the end of it all use the well known calculation of shit or bust and shout “I’ll have those ’cause I fancy them” and there’s silence at the end of the phone… ps I do the above in seconds.

They don’t know that you can’t forecast in this business, you might have sex.co.uk and never be able to sell it because your expectations are too high, it’s sellable but at what price? all you know is that it’s worth having on your books for a rainy day and that’s domaining, there’s an element of delboy acumen, a chancer’s luck but there are elements which will ensure you can make a return. So when looking to invest the money you have, domain names look a pretty clever way of protecting your worth, failing the complete destruction of the internet and no company or new product ever being set up or marketed again, domains are an option.

Other domains I picked up recently were DigitalMediaProduction.co.uk, MyTarot.co.uk, YourRental.co.uk, Qwerk.co.uk, SparklingGifts.co.uk, eSofas.co.uk, eTelevisions.co.uk, East-End.co.uk and Halloween.org.uk those are my investment, I also dropcaught for clients and picked up several and sold them directly after. I don’t know if I will survive the current financial climate but looking at the way I’ve operated in the last 18 months which is when the slow down started – back in 2006 then I feel there’s no better place to keep my money than in domain names for the foreseeable future and I suggest that’s where you put yours too but then I would.

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