JamesC

I'm not complaining, it's an observation. When I speak to other domainers we always conclude that while we're delighted to hold positions in a lucrative market sales are, well, slightly disappointing.

Switched on people are building great businesses using stand out urls, so why isn't stock shifting faster?

Is it:-

1. There are less switched on people out there.
2. People don't trust people who own domain names and don't want to reward them.
3. People are jealous because they missed the bandwagon.
4. The industry isn't very good at making a business case so most entrepreneurs don't understand the possibilities.

It's most likely to be a combination of things; most things are.

Thoughts?

stevebrowne

I would say:

4 followed by 1

Most people who we would sell to for end-user level profits wouldn't consider 2 or 3. I don't think.

If there was a proper sales company that marketed names to the potentional endusers rather than simply parking and hoping they see it, or auctioning at an auction where the end users don't go, then things would be better.

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Some good domains, some bad domains.

cm1975

Could it be that our domains are not a good as we might hope?

Let me compare this to selling cars - There are other cars out there that may be cheaper, are more suited to someone's exact requirements or have been better serviced and maintained.

If you are using Acorn Domains, you are selling to like-minded people, so it would be like trying to sell a car to a used car salesman.

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JamesC

"Most people who we would sell to for end-user level profits wouldn't consider 2 or 3. I don't think."

Yes, I agree with that.

Edwin

How about "5. It's actually quite tricky tracking down THE best candidate buyer(s) for a given domain name, AND persuading them that they really should buy one particular name."

Repeat the need to go through the above process for each of dozens, hundreds or thousands of names - each sale needs to be solicited manually if it's not as a result of a walk-in lead - and perhaps the pace of sales is less surprising.

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stevebrowne

Indeed. I agree with #5 as well. I have a pair of domains that are PERFECT for one business and match their historic marketing efforts and their renewed marketing efforts. But they are not interested.

One question: Who could use this domain name: EthicalCosmetics(in com/ and uk)

Maybe I am too close to it, but there is one company that could easily take this and turn it into something globally massive.

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Some good domains, some bad domains.

Takwa

Maybe The Credit Crunch???

JamesC

This implies that there isn't natural demand for what we're doing. If we believe that there's a case for having a good domain name then it's a question of education which comes back to point 4.

Why are there not more stories about domain names in the media? I got this one into the Financial Times a while ago and recommended SEDO. Shouldn't they have been the ones driving the pr?

stevebrowne

>>This implies that there isn't natural demand for what we're doing

Yes, but bear in mind that many of us were using the Internet 10+ years before most people "got it". We were the geeks. Of course, now the geeks are taking over in every area you can think of. TV, radio, fashion, movies, culture. Games consoles, mp3 players, having a website. They were all geeky things just a few years back, but now are cool.

I think with domains it's just that people haven't seen the light yet. But we're hoping they will at some point.

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accelerator

JamesC - How many domains have you bought at a full market valuation? We all like picking up domains at great prices, but I expect less of us would contemplate picking up a quality domain at a full price and then attempting to get the investment back through running the website. Buying a good domain at full price takes a lot of commitment to a web venture and it's not that easy to justify the expenditure when you could use a self-branded non-generic. Yes it's often good business sense to buy a quality domain but you really do have to be sure of what you are doing in order to justify it.

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