Do the new lot lack the balls or the knowledge and are the old lot just too apprehensive about their investment?
I think it's a combination of many factors.
I bought my first (and still best!) domains over 10 years ago - but still think of myself as a beginner in domaining terms - perhaps largely due to doing little or nothing with them for 5 or 6 years!
I don't rely on domaining for income - which is a good job - but would like to make my 'hobby' into a profit making venture - to justify both the time and money I have spent on it.
But at the same time, I'm cautious about buying large numbers of domains - because yes, quite frankly I don't know what lots of them are worth and perhaps even more importantly, I don't have a large network of potential buyers, other than here, Domainlore, Sedo, eBay etc or direct to end users. I certainly don't have an email list of potential customers or a big blog following.
Perhaps people are getting more savvy with domains. They've begun to realise that the domains they rushed to register a couple of years ago with a lack of real knowledge, but in the excitement of a booming economy (things like getreallygoodmobilephonediscountshere.co.uk) really aren't worth anything at all for resale and are extremely unlikely to generate even enough income to cover the reg fee. These are now dropping in their droves. And no-one is picking them up, because they really shouldn't have ever been registered.
In times of economic woe, it is often said that there is a 'rush to quality' in all sectors. I suspect the maxim holds true for domains too. People realise that there isn't such a ready market for some of the more borderline domains that there might have been a demand for a year or two ago.
Unless you believe domains really are a commodity in their own right, to be traded for their own sake and valued solely on their uniqueness and perceived quality, the value of all domains must ultimately be underwritten by a belief that somewhere there is an end user who would like to own it and who could do something with it to generate enough
income to justify its price.
In a recession, the options to do that are more restricted than in a boom. That means people generally need to be more particular about what they buy. It also means people are likely to be wary of buying 'stock' that they are going to struggle to move on or to monetise.
It should mean there are opportunities for the well funded investor to buy stock easily and if it's already dropped - cheaply. But they may then need to be prepared to hold it for some time before it can be sold on - and they then need to consider what the margin is likely to be and whether the extended time-scales, lower demand etc etc make it worth buying anything that is not of at least better than average quality.
Lee, you seem to buy in reasonably large quantities and you certainly buy names I wouldn't, because I wouldn't have a clue how to move them on at cost, let alone make a profit on them. So presumably, this actually ought to be an ideal time for you?
But, if you can't see value in many names, given your experience and contacts, is it surprising that 'the new lot' aren't prepared to take the risk?
I didn't intend to write a thesis... apologies!
