Been squirreling away

It has been a long time since I updated this blog. In that time the world had an economic meltdown and I have been revising internet business strategies. I spent most of last year involved in lead generation activities for clients and didn’t spend much time on domaining. However 2010 has started well and I am back on track with my current domain portfolio and have been purchasing some new domains.

In 2008 I concentrated on buying domains that were free to register, rather that buying for current owners. However as nearly 2 years have passed the opportunities for good names have become finite and good names are hard to find. The only scenario where this isnt the case is brand new markets opening up, like iPad and smart phone apps, where if you are in the know, you can buy the best domains. Recently I have started to buy domains from their current owners. Although limited, I have had a great experience so far, simple and smooth transactions, realistic prices and email conversations that didn’t go on for weeks. However a friend of mine Richard wrote a great post over here about domainers doing it wrong, which seems to contradict my experiences. In it he talks about bad experiences with domain name owners who believe that they have the world greatest domain and infalted ego’s. Granted I imagine there are lots of domainumpties out there, but there are also a lot of domains up for grabs from owners who don’t know their true worth and here lies the opportunity. It comes down to tenacity and patience, one of which I lack (patience).

An example of tenacity comes in the form of Scott Jones of Self Made minds who finally got his ll.co.uk, after 3 years of contact with the original owner. He is now the proud owner of SJ.co.uk. Yes he paid handsomely for it, but long term he has a great domain for the future.

Again if I relate this back to property, it is all about getting the right deal and buying at the right time.

1/ Buy a domain from someone who doesn’t know its true value

2/ Buy a domain before a technology is launched to the mass market (i.e. in the know, going to industry events before things are launched)

3/ Buy a domain from someone who needs the money quickly and so will sell at below market value. (It could be argued that now is a great time as the market is depressed)

Determining market value is hard and very subjective to each individual, but consider the business case:

If you buy a domain for £100, can you build a site say for £50 (labour included) and within 6 months generate £150. If so break even point is at 6 months and after that it is pure profit. (This is very simplified and doesn’t include traffic generation).