Current Domaining Market

[willbon]

Just wanted to get a few opinions on the market place if anyone's interested in sharing thoughts?

I've see some record sales and also much more interest in the domaining fraternity. Especially here... there seems to be a lot of newbies joining recently (Does Admin do stats like that?).

Also, sales in the forums seem to get more optomistic by the day... and there's becoming a tendency to hold out for more.

Does anyone else think the market has perked this year?... and we'll see much more to come?

Or ... on the other side of the coin...

Will we be caught up in 'changes' made by all and sundry and be left with worthless piles?

Your thoughts... gentlemen.. and now 20% ladies....

 

[GreyWing]

As long as Nominet is sensible with it's prices, it's security and the security of the system then it has a head start against any other domain extention aimed at the UK market and won't be beaten imo. If Google is happy with the above and values the ext, happy days.

Outside Nominet, independence being granted to Scotland is the major thing that would affect .uk prices. .Sco .cym etc won't affect it, only the countries full independence will.

Of course some crazy Government intervention will as well, but that's the same with anything.

Those are my top 3 concerns,

 

[DomainManagement]

Good question Willbon

I think its like anything were you have made a investment

Our thoughts are to what the variable`s can be that can make a positive

Or negative impact, And as the main ones that see the benefits of domains

We get a little jumpy when we think our purchases could turn out to be

dud`s however they is nothing like having a site/business that is page 1

position 1 that makes good money and provides jobs

I always love though Greywings and others grounded take on things here

its the second week of my development office opening and i have to say i feel

very confident but also understand its a risk this market were in

and great gains can only take place if we learn to bridge the gap

between us and the end user via various platforms

but we have to appreciate change is a constant and we must learn to adapt

each man/women has there own take on the situation and that is why we are

here on this platform acorn domains to validate our perception and to trade

domainer to domainer we understand the potential and can see that thats

we invest.

To release that investment at its optimum value it has to be sold to a end

user therefore developing is the best way as a business can understand

the value of a page1 ranking via actual real stats and can then make a

informed judgement, presenting them with a domain is a little like showing

them a kit car that needs to be made its scary for them they cant see the

end product therefore you have to lower resistance to get increased values

sorry for going on but there you go

 

[namealot]

How many newbie’s will be around when there redundancies are gone buying crap domains …? Recent auctions have not been so great its end users that need to be buying and there not..? Year on year sales are well down and a long way from the hey day and the market and its reliance on the big G keeping its listing procedure, algorithms etc the same (They should be screwing down the lid down so before long no ones on the first page without paying them..?) then are generics worth there prices yes in a way but no in another..? Personally think the next year will start to see some interesting movement and some extremely hard times for some.

My advice to any newbie would be don’t believe the hype and research, research, research and stick to .com’s and co.uk don’t waste your time on anything else develop any good names (even if its just a page saying its for sale) rather than just sitting on them its much easier to sell a name that already listed on google than one that’s not study how companies market goods actively seek out end user visit, phone, write letters viral adverting etc if you put the effort in it will pay off.. It’s the thing so many older domaineers don’t do they sit on there names that they registered years ago waiting for business that in the majority don’t appear or newbie’s to buy them …

 

[Edwin]

My enquiries and sales have been down a lot since early-mid July, but I think that's the "holiday effect" rather than any sudden collapse in the market. Before that, 2010 had been a very strong year...

 

[willbon]

My enquiries and sales have been down a lot since early-mid July, but I think that's the "holiday effect" rather than any sudden collapse in the market. Before that, 2010 had been a very strong year...

Thank you Edwin!... some positivity here!

I think all businesses are more depressed than usual during these summer holidays and I do think that this is a sign of a bigger longer term change....

However I think the domain market will be less effected because businesses are realising that domains are a 'relatively' cheap way of branding and marketing their products and services.

Personally I'm confident that our domains are better investments than most at the moment... Simply on the basis of supply and demand.

There is a limited amount of domains that are ever going to be any use and the demand for these is always getting bigger... more interest, more people becoming 'technologically aware' and let's face it, world population is getting bigger!.. and in the current market with more people losing their jobs, many will see that their own business is a good option... hence the need for a good domain name....

There's always the possibility of negative effects from algorithms and Govt intervention... but I, for one, are reasonably optimistic....

 

[brum]

my two pence worth

as you will see from my sign in i first registered in 2008...

since then i didn't do a lot i became worried about the effect of gov legislation.

and also google algorithms and semantic search, more different types of .endings ... etc... etc...,

but the truth is there is always risk in everything as the SAS motto goes "he who dares wins" .... that doesn't mean bet on red !!!!!

so anyway over the past few months i have decided to buy again as much good stuff as i can.

and i have done quite well have £1K passive per month coming in from the sites i own.

and am steadliy adding to my portfolio of names .

anyway just thought i would give the opinions of a newbie !!!! who has not jumped on the next get rich quick scheme ... but who feels that there is long term growth in the best domain names .

 

[Brassneck]

Interesting post.

Just had a look at my domain sales figures - and these are based on hundreds of sales. 2007 was my peak with 2009 at about 40 per cent of the 2007 level. However the good news is that 2010 looks like it may well exceed 2007 on current trends.

Stephen.

 

[brum]

@brassneck looks like i came back at the right time then !!!! lol !!!!

 

[willbon]

Interesting post.

Just had a look at my domain sales figures - and these are based on hundreds of sales. 2007 was my peak with 2009 at about 40 per cent of the 2007 level. However the good news is that 2010 looks like it may well exceed 2007 on current trends.

Stephen.

Nice to have supporting figures!

... Also, simply from the forum sales .. bargain basement upwards... it seems that the expected prices have risen....

I think we should all have a happy grin on our faces!

ADMIN... can you supply any stats to support this?

... new members .... number of posts etc...?

 

[retired_member13]

I think that the value & demand for very strong names is increasing (geo, product names, keyword names), but these are getting harder to find at "good" prices as the market consolidates and the better domains are increasingly owned by as smaller number of people who aren't looking to sell, or at least not cheaply.

Overall the size of the zone files for the popular extensions is increasing dramatically as more and more people jump into the bandwagon and register names in unmined areas . As an example there are roughly 8 million names in the co.uk zone file (which is growing in size at 10% annually), but over 83 million in .com - meaning there are over 75 million names that exist in the com zone file that are currently unregistered in .co.uk.

I've been buying and selling names since 1999 and I'd say that the very best names are worth more now than they've ever been, but as people move away from parking and start to explore real ways to generate revenue these names will increasingly move towards revenue based pricing (both real and potential), rather than the somewhat arbitrary ways that names are currently valued.

IMO, anyone getting into the game now would be far better off having a strong strategy to obtain a smaller number of targetted names at realistic current aftermarket prices than will show good appreciation over time than they would hand registering a load of poor quality names in the hope that somehow they are going to be worth more in the near future.

 

[Ashton]

My view is simple.

Here are the facts

- Every year more business are getting online.
- Every year more trade is done online.
- Every year the .co.uk is more recognised.
- Every year the .com price gap between the .co.uk has increased.

The domain market is still raising hugely and is one of the best investments if you get a good name.

In my opinion the crap names just wont cut the cheese. Look at ty's signature. That portfolio will just grow in value, he wont ever have to post those ones on the bargain basement or drop them. Nor is he pressured to sell them, he has no large renewal fee's on them. He can wait until there are offers he cant refuse.

In the future googles algorithm won't recognise domains as much as it does now. The big money is in the name's companies can put on tv or radio. Lets look at some examples:

Disrupt.co.uk... who wouldn't remember that
Baby.com for johnson and johnson...
Loans.com for the bank of america
maybe trains.co.uk for thetrainline or national rail?

This is just my 2cents, as a complete newbie looking from an almost outside perspective.

 

[websaway]

Most things if not all things are cyclical and anyone who's not aware of that is continuously in a state of depression or euphoria, depending where they have come in and at what stage the cycle is at. That observation aside, you cannot help but be optimistic about the domain market, compared to other forms of advertising even expensive domains can look like money well spent, and when you look at some of the ill advised domain names emblazoned on the side of commercial vehicles you realise that the concept of quality names for commercial usage is still in it's educational infancy.

 

[willbon]

concept of quality names for commercial usage is still in it's educational infancy.

So is the domain market emerging in a downturn in the economic cycle? ..

good point....

 

[jasman]

I'm surprised no-one has yet mentioned the threat posed by Obama's recent Cybersecurity Bill enabling him to switch off parts of the Internet for up to 4 months without even congressional approval.

 

[websaway]

I think you've got to look at why someone would buy a domain name apart from the obvious immediate commercial advantages.

Look at how people started to buy houses / property.
The concept of buying property not only to live in but as a future investment was caught on by the few many years ago,and the fact that you could borrow the money to participate effectively made it an almost certain long term bet. Suddenly, in recent times, what had been done by the few for so long became the focus for the many and encouraged reckless lending / borrowing and the subsequent overpricing of homes. The many were now blind to the reality of sustainable economics, but the few had already made their money and were looking at other ways of investing.
Fortunes have been made and lost in the property market over the years and through the cycles by both people with a keen eye for good value and people who are devoid of such qualities.

The few would have listened to Mark Twain when he said " buy land, they are not making it anymore"
The many would have left it until much later and most would have had to overborrow to participate.

The few have invested in quality domain names in large quantities over the last 20 years, the many will invest in them over the next 20.

 

[aZooZa]

Google is the biggest threat in the market currently. Until it decides what it's going to do with its stranglehold, nobody is safe except those holding strong type-ins. As far as Obama 'cutting out parts' - that's not going to happen. Google is NOT your friend.

IMO.

 

[Ashton]

@aZooZa true.

So what are the future proof domains?

- Brandable
- Easy to remember
- Type in

Which leaves

- Product domains
- Service domains
- Providing domains (like gothicfonts, hairtips, etc)


These lists aren't complete, fill in the gaps


Oh and as for google, even if they go fully first page sponsored... your bids are based on the keyword relevance to your site, you can actually get pos 1 for cheaper than pos 2 if your site is more relevant