Domain name investing

[chinchin]

Apparently domain name investing is a thing, where you buy a web domain (e.g. bogleheads.org) and then sit on the rights to it until you can sell it to a greater fool (or someone who wants to use the domain name). I just bought one yesterday (a .net domain). Thoughts? Anyone do this?

Someone on the ycombinator forum recommended park.io; I haven't used them or done an auction yet. I just bought my domain through a registrar.

[mrmass]

Apparently domain name investing is a thing, where you buy a web domain (e.g. bogleheads.org) and then sit on the rights to it until you can sell it to a greater fool (or someone who wants to use the domain name). I just bought one yesterday (a .net domain). Thoughts? Anyone do this?

Someone on the ycombinator forum recommended park.io; I haven't used them or done an auction yet. I just bought my domain through a registrar.

I think your a couple decades too late. Maybe three. People only want .com, on top of that, they want short coherent words.

I used to dabble in it. If I noticed a large residential construction project, I'd register the street name and number, hoping the developers would buy it. None did.

Good luck

[arcticpineapplecorp.]

Apparently domain name investing is a thing, where you buy a web domain (e.g. bogleheads.org) and then sit on the rights to it until you can sell it to a greater fool (or someone who wants to use the domain name). I just bought one yesterday (a .net domain).

1. if your business model depends upon a greater fool, perhaps you should find a new business.
2. if you can't unload the domain you just bought, doesn't that make you the greatest fool?

[BirdFood]

My analogy for this would be a lottery ticket, not an investment.

[Exchme]

I had a friend do this in the 90s. He lost every penny he "invested". I expect you will face the same fate, hopefully it was a trivial amount for you and a lesson learned.

[cosmos]

Apparently domain name investing is a thing, where you buy a web domain (e.g. bogleheads.org) and then sit on the rights to it until you can sell it to a greater fool (or someone who wants to use the domain name). I just bought one yesterday (a .net domain). Thoughts? Anyone do this?

Someone on the ycombinator forum recommended park.io; I haven't used them or done an auction yet. I just bought my domain through a registrar.

Did you procure a time machine back to 1997? That is about when this strategy was a winner...

[plog]

So this domain was available in September 2024, yet somehow soon it's going to be in great demand?

[LotsaGray]

Cybersquatting as a business inb2024…good luck. Be sure to understand the applicable laws, especially ACPA.

[WWJBDo]

Back in 1999 a company called 'Liquid Audio' came out with Genuine Music. I was into audiobooks at the time so I registered the more inclusive domain GenuineAudio.com. It cost me $150 and was not easy- you had to call a registrar beforehand and then register through Network Solutions. A month or 2 later, I sold that domain to a company we all know for 100x my purchase price. Easiest money I ever made. So I lost all control. Today I have whittled down my holdings to ~500 domains. Some I have developed and sold (BooksOnMP3.com) and others are simply for future use or sale.

I also was able to scoop up Audiobooks.org back in 1999- dumpster diving for abandoned names was fruitful then, before companies started offering automated registration as names were not renewed. Today, the space is very mature- a single entrepreneur is unlikely to register a winner de novo, but you can buy and then sell for profit with some work. If you want more info and get excited about the rarified supersales, I suggest you start here:
https://www.dnjournal.com/ytd-sales-charts.htm

For a time,Chinese nationals who could not afford to get money out of China buying a house in Vancouver instead bought domain names, and then sold said domains, with the proceeds depositing in a foreign bank account. That drove up the price of NNN - NNNNN ( 3- 5 digit numbered domains) quite a bit for 3-4 years. That dropped off just before COVID.

I have sold about 10 domains in the $15k - $50k range, so I am still in the money, but at $5k a year for registration fees, it is a low margin. My domains are mostly made up words that seem like they would be good marketing names- short, catchy and easy to remember. The vast majority don't have existing trademarks. The majority are frankly stupid and I should release them. But it's hard to do.

Regarding trademarks, I have successfully navigated the UDRP arbitration process and was among the first registrants to win a judgement of "reverse domain hijacking". I have a few domains I have registered before someone else subsequently formed a company or product with the same name. I am under no obligation to relinquish those domains. I look at domain name investing as being analogous to real estate investing, though the asset is virtual. Like vacant land, I am under no obligation to develop it, but if someone comes along with an interest and a plan to develop it, a deal can be stuck.

The wild west days of domain investing are long gone. With diligence and excellent sales techniques, one can come out ahead.

[Kendall]

This thread has run its course and is locked (off-topic business decision, greater fool speculation). See: Locked Topics

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