We just registered EcoFriendlyLogos.com

Since one of our projects in the very near future list includes matter directly related to this I must say it was a welcome surpise to see this domain available.

Our theory around here is if its worth more than $7 we will buy it and this my peeps… is worth the $7 for sure.

(Also picked up the singular version EcoFriendlyLogo.com)

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

One comment was “You can be honest and tell people you are promoting your own domains or just keep doing what you are doing” – this comment struck me as it really gets to me when people who are INVESTORS would rather take time and complain about something that has no relevancy. For the record I disclosed we did own some (but not all) of the names but hey, if want to think we own all of them go for it – doesn’t matter at all to me. The purpose of the article was to simply provide examples of high quality keyword names for sale at Snap vs. so many we see at NameJet that have no keyword value, no Google results and absolutely no logic as to why people would bid on them.

For new domainers, its easy to get caught up in auction fever.  A name with 60 bidders – Yahoo!! – must be worth something.  Guess what – it’s not always the case.  There is no doubt NameJet has some great names but they also sell many names that would never be registered if they were available today and mark my words, will NEVER sell on the aftermarket should the buyer want to sell - That’s right, absolutely NO resale value!  In fact, I have seen several times a buyer winning a domain on NameJet, park the page a few days later, then post the name on the forums for sale wanting to sell the name and giving a good deal (lower than the auction price) - its called cutting your losses since they know the name was a bad buy.

Lets use facts (so the naysayers who focus solely on this article being self serving can be put aside).  Most, if not all, domainers agree:

1) Domain Appraisals mean nothing / there is no valid system that can truly and accurately represent the value of domain.  Too many intangible factors exist and the number of external factors (such as the increase in end user sales) will simply stop any such system from ever developing since end users do not value in multiple of PPC earnings.  In fact, – end users determine value on domains independently based on what the name means to them so very rarely will you ever have more than just a few companies feel the name is worth the same amount (except for the obvious ones like mortgage.com, sex.com and 2-3 letter names etc).  This makes any standard for valuation practically impossible.

2) Domains with NO keyword value but DO have PPC income are now being bought and offered by many domainers using smaller multiples then seen in the past few years.  PPC is becoming less relevant as companies try to attract the end users who don’t care about the parked revenue but want a brandable name.

3) DOUBT as in to the future of domain parking for low traffic names.  Sure, it will always exist but doubt creates lower values and until an alternative outside of just two (2) main providers (Yahoo and Google) is built than some domain owners are opting to sell good names at great prices meaning names with NO keyword value are even less valuable since other good deals are available.

4) Names with KEYWORD value are consistently some of the most sought after names at live auctions and reported at DNJournal every week. It’s very common to see a wealth of data each week from sales of domains that have keyword value sold from sources which provide NO traffic data.  Hence, buyers are buying the keywords to develop, resell, brand or hold.  Traffic has become less important because development or end user sales are the future.

5) MUST REALIZE that NO private seller and many registries in todays world are not going to auction or sell a domain that earns $500 a month in revenue at a $1, $59 or $99 reserve in an auction so the name must have value to an end user (keywords / action phrases), be very warm for development or engage a buyer’s interest as a worthy investment to part of thier bigger plan.  The newbies that still have faith in big business really need to use logic here.

6) Domains with keywords have DEVELOPMENT VALUE. Take Elliot’s article on what happened after developing TropicalFish.com.  From 1 to 100 visitors a day with a little work.  Develop a keyword heavy name right and search engines will reward you.

7) MUST UNDERSTAND or have an idea about how to use the domain for development (this is also part of selling a domain to an end user – regardless if you can develop it or not you must understand how it could be developed or you wouldn’t have bought it).  Only names with keywords, product names, people names and action phrases can make sense.  HotDogs1245.com does not work and will not hold any value down the road.  If a name like this has links and some existing traffic one day it will get scrubbed from the search engine and you have nothing.

8) END USERS ARE THE GOLDEN KEY – Domainers love to sell to end users because prices are not only larger but more relative to the value domainers can see in owning a good name - plus it’s almost easier to sell the larger investment.  A company who spends $10,000 a week on radio ads can surely drop 2, 5 or 10k for a one time investment in a solid domain name.  It’s just finding those end users and making them understand the asset you are selling.  BuyDomains is doing a great job at that - the company to take this kind of model to next level will win the game.

9) End Users DO NOT care about PPC Income – All end users have their own business model for earning income so the amount of income produced by PPC ads will mean nothing to them.  They may care about traffic but most companies who pay small amounts – like 5 or 10,000 – are buying a branding tool and traffic is not so relative at such small price points.  Trying to sell a domain for $100k – sure, they probably want some traffic but small money is not really concentrated on that.  And yes, small money is still a lot to domainers.

Obviously, the rare names – such as 2 and 3 letter domains are exceptions to all this.

So what if PPC stopped tomorrow….think about it?  It’s not going away but who knows – there may be a slower period ahead until somebody puts together a viable alternative ad provider outside of the goo-hoo system.  If that’s the case then all domainers who are betting the ranch and have no idea about development or understand the proper keyword elements behind domain names are gambling.  Keywords will sell themselves as the value is obvious to the right end user.

So, circling back to the initial paragraph about why we do not promote the names we sell.  No specific reason other than we just have no interest in blogging about our names – we would simply rather write about other things and try to help put some logic into a not so logical industry then turn this blog into one big sales pitch.

If we use some of our names for comparison so be it - sometimes we use yours.  Again, ownership of undeveloped domains is 100% not relative because at the end of the day we are simply comparing domain names.  It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure this stuff out.

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Download the list here

Some Sample Names from the list are …

TaipeiVacations.com
VancouverAttorneys.org
Cancun-Timeshares.com
OrderCreditScores.com
ChocolateCookbooks.com
MiamiCruises.org
CaymanCorporations.net
JumboMortgageCompany.com

Frank, Kevin, David, Michael, Sahar, Newbies – all and anyone.  Share your opinion by posting or simply downloading the list for a view – either way, our experience and dedication to quality keyword domains will not waste your time.  Yes, We do own some of these names but we rarely promote our own names and quite honestly I believe its entirely irrelevant who owns the domain - this is simply to help newbies and experienced domainers find quality names.  Maybe we should promote more but I’ve just never found the time nor had any interest.  Domains priced low enough will let the market decide.

The fact is MANY deals exist within the SnapNames platform. 

Wait – one more thing … for the Newbies and smaller investors…

Think about the upside of domains purchased under $1,000.  Owen Frager has a great idea and a potentially great brand with the project -grandnames.com – This price point has incredible upside potential.

Spending $3,5 or $8,000 on a name with NO brandable quality and a “hope” of traffic is just silly because you have to ask yourself one question.

Who will you sell this to????

I’ve mentioned this before - domains with quality keywords ALWAYS have tangible value outside of the domainer community.

Domains with wrong tenses, unpopular terms or made up names DO NOT.

If a domain has no traffic AND no brandable value – who is your customer????

No one.

Quality keyword names (regardless of traffic) can never go wrong at minimal price points under $1,000.  The upside is huge….

It’s a new game – plan for the future – Do not plan to sell to domainers forever.  It’s a trend – not a lifestyle.  Look for quality, don’t follow the herd.

Seriously, I’m back on hiatus now …. we have our plan … do you?

Peace….

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The fact is most people buying on NameJet are domainers and a lot of the new people in this industry “follow the herd” when it comes to buying names.  I can tell you from years of experience this is not always a good decision.  Many of you will disagree with me (at least on the outside) but those of you who are investing for the future and tomorrow’s end user DO NOT care about what other domainers will pay.  Take for example, the recent auction of FixedLoans.com.  In our opinion, this is not a good domain.  Yes, it has history and was referred to as a famous domain from a not so famous book (no disrespect – but unless you sell tens thousands of copies then using the word famous is a little overrated).  Plus the amount of space this name got in the book would almost make any word famous … argh … anyway, it was just a silly comparison and a typical example of why we need to remove the “car salesman” pitches in this industry to bring more credibility.  (Another post will come on this soon)  We made our money in the mortgage industry online and I can tell you the term Fixed Loans is almost never used.  A “Fixed Rate Loan” or “Fixed Rate Mortgage” yes – but the shortened version is simply a made up expression that even with the best branding (which again, most domainers will never develop properly) the domain is too generic or confusing that people still will question – did they mean FixedRateLoans.com or FixedRateMortgage.com or FixedLoan.com – hmmm.  Bid as you will when the name goes to auction but I can’t see the ceiling on this name going any higher than it sold for back in 2006 – wait and see.

Back to NameJet.  Over the last 30 days we have seen such names which probably have no traffic and certainly have no generic value sell for prices that are driven by the number of buyers. Remember - you are an INVESTOR, not just a domainer.  The $2,000 spent on a dropped name that has no keyword value but a “possibility” of traffic might as well be a gamble.  Secure your investments on domains that have keyword value - leave the gambling for vegas.  Just because a name has 50 bidders on it does not mean its worth more if your goal is to develop or sell to an end user because guess what – almost all 50 of those people are NOT your target market and will almost never buy back what you paid for in an auction.

Just some thoughts….

Newbies …. buy names which you can develop or picture end users with.  Again, leave the gambling for Vegas.

Seeya … back to hiatus….

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

At snapnames, there is an auction for calculohipotecario.com starting May 6th 

Translated a few times using online tools - it shows to be mortgagecalculator.com in spanish - Am I right ….

We do not buy spanish names but for those of you who do - this is a great name (if the translation is correct).

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

I tend to think many great deals get scooped up by the few smart domainers who understand what a good domain is and how to look beyond simply what is hot for today. Whether or not a domain has dropped or expired is only one element in a names value.

Take for example the domain - LowMortgageQuotes.net

This domain is at auction on SnapNames right now and ends tomorrow. Reserve price is $99.

If this name was at NameJet it would probably have a dozen bids and be somewhere around $5-600 at the end of the day if not more. It’s not a great name but it is a worthy enough name to bid on at this price.

(as I post this there are NO bidders on the name)

Traffic is one thing but you have to wonder at price points this low why people don’t scoop them up. I honestly think NameJet is making everybody lazy. Let’s just look at the domains with bids on them - saves everybody time. Maybe it does, but it also helps you miss the great deals.

Funny world and a funny industry - but the smart will survive.

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Great place to see faces, interact, blog and more. Well done.

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

What I found interesting was this name (which was hand registered by me in 1998 and sold in 2000) had a WHOIS record showing the domain was created in 2002.

Funny, I sold this name a couple years before it was officially created. 

Using the domain history tool at DomainTools it was easy to find the creation date of 1998 but this is our business so we know how to find information. End users and buyers sometimes take the WHOIS information for face value and try to negotiate for a better price since the name is not that old. A good domain can be a day old or 10 years old - it really doesn’t matter. If mortgage.com was registered yesterday we (and most of you) would still pay a suitcase full of cash for that name today.

If you have development plans then its wiser to spend time researching how a domain fits in your overall business plan than focus on minor details such as age.

A good domain is a good domain.

What is new becomes old.

It’s as simple as that.

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Is this really a valid exit strategy?

It certainly sounds great but it’s also the elusive dream for many domain owners as portfolio buyers are few and far between – at least those that want to pay a fair price.

Keep your head out of the clouds (visit every now and then) and spend time developing a real exit strategy – one which is deeper than simply finding the right buyer. Remember, if you can’t find someone to pay $100,000 for your portfolio today what makes you think you have a better chance of selling a bigger portfolio for $2,000,000 (using the same logic) down the road. Sure, it’s possible but money gets harder to find the higher you go.

Develop an exit plan that contains multiple exit points. Build a smaller portfolio with some great names, have some developed sites, create a brand within a specific sector. So many options but each one will be an exit point in your overall exit plan.

All kinds of exit strategies exist but the question is – do you have one?

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Go ahead and brand the funky little acronym, spend thousands on television ads, cute letterhead and glossy business cards but for the love of (insert your higher power here) please spend an additional $6 to register the long version. You can even forward it to the short version – it’s not rocket science..

Yes, Denny – this is for you

©2008 Newfound Names LLC. All Rights Reserved.