I hate domain campers/sharks...

[Malcolm]

You're not alone... I had an idea for a good domain the other day and it was taken I messaged the domain owner to see what they would say....."$98,000"

 

[sactown]

Nope. because at some stage, that lot was sold by the city or government at a reasonable asking price. The money raised from the sale was used for the benefit of the whole community.

I don’t know where you’re located but that certainly isn’t the history here.

 

[sactown]

The first case of this I heard of years ago was when some smart young guy registered the name of www.McDonalds.com

Then when McDonalds wanted to start a webiste they found it was already used!
I cant remember the outcome.

Now you’re venturing into possible trademark disputes, there’s courts that help address such issues.

 

[sactown]

You're not alone... I had an idea for a good domain the other day and it was taken I messaged the domain owner to see what they would say....."$98,000"

I have a really good idea for this vacant lot down the road, but it will cost me a few million bucks. But if my idea won’t cover that cost then it isn’t good enough.

 

[DebateIt]

I found the same thing and also hate it and the prices they ask for these domains are reticulated.

 

[sactown]

A house is not like a domain name where (very often) only one name is a good fit.

I agree with you here, in the context of the real estate analogy a domain is more like the land. The same house can be built in many different places, but the location of the land makes all the difference in terms of value. My current house located in San Francisco would be priced over 10x more,

 

[Alpha1]

A shark registered a domain very close to mine. That was smart of the shark and dumb on my part not to register it. So I contacted the shark expecting they would ask for a high price. The price was $90k. I run a non profit so its obvious the shark will never sell it. Now 15 years later its still at an insane price. Its annoying, but that domain will not be used by anyone unless that shark goes out of business.

 

[JordanH]

Before I begin, let me just start off by saying I understand why it is frustrating for you. I get in the same boat as a lot of my domain name ideas are taken. I find the hardest part about building a website is coming up with the domain name. I was once in talks with the owner of Jordan.ca to acquire the domain. I was going to dish out $10,000 USD for this domain. Only for Nike to swoop in and take it in the middle of our talks. I can't compete with Nike!

Nonetheless, I am also one who does buy and sell domains. I strongly urge anyone to take it up. So long as your willing wait, it can be a decent side income. I even own a website software that I sell to domainers to help them sell their domains.

I do own a small portfolio. I'm no where in the "big leagues" and have never sold a domain for $30,000 USD. However, I do make decent profit off the domains I do buy and sell. An example is I just sold F/a/c/i/l/i/t/y/y (dot) com. I purchased it for $11 on NamePros last year. Sold it for $1,795 last week. Another one is T/r/u/c/k/e/r/r (dot) com. Bout it for $20 at NamePros. 5 months later sold it for $1,895.

The point I'm trying to make here is, if there is a market for it, there will be people willing to do it, and people willing to pay for it. I have also bought my fair share of expensive domains too. However, I only buy them expensive when I'm an end user looking to build off it. (Side note: I recently just let my one domain I paid $1,800 for expire by mistake. Ouch)

So I do understand why people registering domains and not using them upsets you. It's just the way it is. I urge anyone to get into domain investing and perhaps you would be able to then buy the domain you want

 

[Nabix]

Before I begin, let me just start off by saying I understand why it is frustrating for you. I get in the same boat as a lot of my domain name ideas are taken. I find the hardest part about building a website is coming up with the domain name. I was once in talks with the owner of Jordan.ca to acquire the domain. I was going to dish out $10,000 USD for this domain. Only for Nike to swoop in and take it in the middle of our talks. I can't compete with Nike!

Nonetheless, I am also one who does buy and sell domains. I strongly urge anyone to take it up. So long as your willing wait, it can be a decent side income. I even own a website software that I sell to domainers to help them sell their domains.

I do own a small portfolio. I'm no where in the "big leagues" and have never sold a domain for $30,000 USD. However, I do make decent profit off the domains I do buy and sell. An example is I just sold F/a/c/i/l/i/t/y/y (dot) com. I purchased it for $11 on NamePros last year. Sold it for $1,795 last week. Another one is T/r/u/c/k/e/r/r (dot) com. Bout it for $20 at NamePros. 5 months later sold it for $1,895.

The point I'm trying to make here is, if there is a market for it, there will be people willing to do it, and people willing to pay for it. I have also bought my fair share of expensive domains too. However, I only buy them expensive when I'm an end user looking to build off it. (Side note: I recently just let my one domain I paid $1,800 for expire by mistake. Ouch)

So I do understand why people registering domains and not using them upsets you. It's just the way it is. I urge anyone to get into domain investing and perhaps you would be able to then buy the domain you want

What would you say the startup capital is like on domain investing?

 

[Col]

I don’t know where you’re located but that certainly isn’t the history here.

The way the original comments was phrased, I assumed that the poster was referring to the US. And there, as I understand it, there is generally a paper trail going right back to when the land was coherced or plain stolen form the aboriginal inhabitants, and sold by the Government (national, state or local) to citizens.

 

[JordanH]

What would you say the startup capital is like on domain investing?

You can always start small. Like in the two examples I provided above, the two domains costed me a total of $33 and together they sold for $3,690.
I suggest checking out NamePros.com. They have an active domain buying/selling community there. Check out the "bargin bin" too. You can sometimes find great domains for cheap prices that can easily be flipped.

 

[sactown]

The way the original comments was phrased, I assumed that the poster was referring to the US. And there, as I understand it, there is generally a paper trail going right back to when the land was coherced or plain stolen form the aboriginal inhabitants, and sold by the Government (national, state or local) to citizens.

That certainly does not accurately describe all of the US.

 

[Col]

That certainly does not accurately describe all of the US.

All? Well, I don't know about that. Much/most though. I can't claim to know any of the detail, and I am struggling to find a good simple resource explaining the history. But the opening paragraph of this PDF provides a very broad overview. And there is this governmental website too.

There were, in particular, rushes in Oklahoma for land sold off very cheaply by the government, which have some similarities with domain sales (first come, first served). But still not as peculiarly unique as a domain name. The land rush Wiki page also goes into how land was stolen from Indians and sold off.

 

[sactown]

All? Well, I don't know about that. Much/most though. I can't claim to know any of the detail, and I am struggling to find a good simple resource explaining the history. But the opening paragraph of this PDF provides a very broad overview. And there is this governmental website too.

There were, in particular, rushes in Oklahoma for land sold off very cheaply by the government, which have some similarities with domain sales (first come, first served). But still not as peculiarly unique as a domain name. The land rush Wiki page also goes into how land was stolen from Indians and sold off.

Yes I’m well aware of the formal land rushes that transpired in some US territories, that wasn’t the pattern for the entirety of the US which is the point I was making. Can draw some parallels to those land rushes to the release of new tlds. That prime land a person wanted to own in Virginia may have simply been out of their financial reach, so they took their chances to make a life on land elsewhere that was available for far less.

Ultimately the entire point of this thread is really about what is to the right of the dot, some are upset that the .com is taken and being offered for sale at a price they deem too high. But I would venture that the same name is available for far less if not reg fee in another tld. The fact that the alternate tld is not deemed acceptable supports the idea that the .com is far more desired and hence more valuable.

I get it, I too want the .com for any commercial project I start, but typically the best name there isn’t available so I have to cough up some cash, improvise or move on to something else.

 

[RisingSun]

Visit Nissan.com for an interesting read. It's owned by Nissan Computer (small company), not Nissan Motors (large company).