Why 3 Letter Names?

[Aiden Roberts]

Hi All,

As a student of domaining I am often surprised/confused at the prices some names fetch, one particular area is the value around 3 letter domain names. I can understand the value of a 3 letter domain name that means something ie: PDA but other random letters just don't seem to make any sense too me. I am thinking that they are for personal use or professionals type websites but apart from that? I have sort of understood the idea behind short memorable names but random letters with no apparent meaning or value have me stumped.

Without giving too much away can someone give me a generic answer to why they carry such values?

Secondly is there any value in random 3 letter /org/uk or is it strictly reserved for the /co/uk ext, in my uneducated mind I would have thought the /org/uk ext lends itself better to random letters?

Please excuse my naivety!

Aiden

 

[alex]

3 letter domains are first of all limited to just over 17,500 per extension which may sound like a lot, but of the 9 million or so .uk domains that’s a small number. The vast majority are also taken by domain investors so it is generally uncommon for an end user to actually use one, relatively speaking. Also, with many companies/partnerships etc comprising of three words, the chances of a three letter combination having an end-user use is fairly high, whatever the actual characters. Thus, the resell potential of LLL.co.uks is high.

Generally speaking I believe LLL.co.uks are selling for lower prices than they did a few years ago, but that could be because the better ones (those in demand) are now being used by end users. That said, I feel they are likely to retain their value and will probably increase again once the economy picks up.

As for LLL.org.uks, there is value, but not as much. Some are probably just worth their reg fee, whereas others will likely fetch a few grand. I have a few including LLL.org.uk which recently received a £300 offer. That shows that people are willing to pay low-mid £xxx, but I doubt many will make more than that. At the end of the day if you go out there and find customers then of course you can sell them.

 

[cc976a]

The value is generally in the abbreviation of a company name i.e. Blue Widgets Limited may also be known as BWL so BWL.co.uk is a short memorable abbreviation and valuable to Blue Widget Limited but may also be attractive to Brilliant White Lighting etc....

The fact that there are generally quite a few opportunities for resale, and potential four figure sales (maybe five) make these attractive.......although with a handful of companies owning probably 50-70% of all three letter .co.uk names I do often wonder of the potential resale value of these and why many remain unused

 

[Aiden Roberts]

3 letter domains are first of all limited to just over 17,500 per extension which may sound like a lot, but of the 9 million or so .uk domains that’s a small number. The vast majority are also taken by domain investors so it is generally uncommon for an end user to actually use one, relatively speaking. Also, with many companies/partnerships etc comprising of three words, the chances of a three letter combination having an end-user use is fairly high, whatever the actual characters. Thus, the resell potential of LLL.co.uks is high.

Generally speaking I believe LLL.co.uks are selling for lower prices than they did a few years ago, but that could be because the better ones (those in demand) are now being used by end users. That said, I feel they are likely to retain their value and will probably increase again once the economy picks up.

As for LLL.org.uks, there is value, but not as much. Some are probably just worth their reg fee, whereas others will likely fetch a few grand. I have a few including LLL.org.uk which recently received a £300 offer. That shows that people are willing to pay low-mid £xxx, but I doubt many will make more than that. At the end of the day if you go out there and find customers then of course you can sell them.

Brilliant explanation and one that now makes a lot of sense.

I can now see the attraction and understand why they are holding decent prices even if they do not make any sense.

Regards

Aiden

 

[alex]

The value is generally in the abbreviation of a company name i.e. Blue Widgets Limited may also be known as BWL so BWL.co.uk is a short memorable abbreviation and valuable to Blue Widget Limited but may also be attractive to Brilliant White Lighting etc....

The fact that there are generally quite a few opportunities for resale, and potential four figure sales (maybe five) make these attractive.......although with a handful of companies owning probably 50-70% of all three letter .co.uk names I do often wonder of the potential resale value of these and why many remain unused

Just to add, in terms of .org.uk's beware of trademarks. If a company owns the trademark then there's not much point in registering the domain and trying to sell it to them because they could pull it off you.

I'd also speculate that many of the unsold LLL.co.uk's held by investors have asking prices much higher than the average small company or partnership would be willing to pay. So yes £x,xxx-£xx,xxx sales happen, but a local accounting firm or small business would probably not stretch to this if other options are open to them.

If you're looking to register .org.uk's I'd go down the developing route, buy domains that you see the potential for, rather than potential for others. Maybe in the future companies will use .org.uk's like .co.uk's and there is an upward trend in use, but you'd be playing a long-term game and it's something that I can't see paying off compared with .co.uk's or a strategy to develop .org.uk generics. Just my thought.

 

[Aiden Roberts]

The value is generally in the abbreviation of a company name i.e. Blue Widgets Limited may also be known as BWL so BWL.co.uk is a short memorable abbreviation and valuable to Blue Widget Limited but may also be attractive to Brilliant White Lighting etc....

The fact that there are generally quite a few opportunities for resale, and potential four figure sales (maybe five) make these attractive.......although with a handful of companies owning probably 50-70% of all three letter .co.uk names I do often wonder of the potential resale value of these and why many remain unused

This is what I was thinking in term of professionals; I guess it's the same as all names in terms of when the right buyer comes along the name has value too them.

Appreciate your reply

Aiden

 

[sdsinc]

I can understand the value of a 3 letter domain name that means something ie: PDA but other random letters just don't seem to make any sense too me...

Put simply LLL (and LL too) are used for corporate acronyms
On the other hand LLLL or LLLLL do not fall in that category so most are worth little unless they are dictionary words or brandable...
I'm saying that because there has been some kind of bubble in LLLL.com where people were making undue comparisons with LLL.com.

Now some combos will be deemed 'better' than others.
In the UK there must be more possible end users for a domain like, say, mdc.co.uk than hxq.co.uk....
I believe there is a big gap in value and liquidity between .co.uk and .org.uk.
.org.uk suggests not for profit and .co.uk is much more established than any other .uk subTLD.

The vast majority are also taken by domain investors so it is generally uncommon for an end user to actually use one, relatively speaking.

Really ? :-(

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Just to add, in terms of .org.uk's beware of trademarks. If a company owns the trademark then there's not much point in registering the domain and trying to sell it to them because they could pull it off you.

I'd also speculate that many of the unsold LLL.co.uk's held by investors have asking prices much higher than the average small company or partnership would be willing to pay. So yes £x,xxx-£xx,xxx sales happen, but a local accounting firm or small business would probably not stretch to this if other options are open to them.

If you're looking to register .org.uk's I'd go down the developing route, buy domains that you see the potential for, rather than potential for others. Maybe in the future companies will use .org.uk's like .co.uk's and there is an upward trend in use, but you'd be playing a long-term game and it's something that I can't see paying off compared with .co.uk's or a strategy to develop .org.uk generics. Just my though.

Great advice, funnily enough I have had my eye on a couple or /org/uk but didn't check the TM or development opportunities, I am still suffering from the newbie strategy of "if it's available; reg it".

Thanks again

Aiden

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Interesting stuff about the difference between LLL and LLLL names. Now that you point it out it does make sense, I am teetering on buying a couple of LLL/org/uk names as I can see the potential in them from a personal perspective, that said I can now see that they may have future appeal when the /co/uk become too expensive to buy.

Regards

Aiden

 

[alex]

Really ? :-(

'Vast Majority' may have been an over estimation, but that said the last time I ran LLL.co.uk's on the DAC over half the LLL.co.uk's were owned by Giant Games and TagNames, plus there are hundreds of Tags I recognise belonging to domainers. So although I don't have the exact figures, I'd estimate that only a thousand or so are owned by end-users, the others are either not in use, parked or advertised as for sale.

Great advice, funnily enough I have had my eye on a couple or /org/uk but didn't check the TM or development opportunities, I am still suffering from the newbie strategy of "if it's available; reg it".

Thanks again

Aiden

Happy to help, I went down the same route. I probably registered over 100 useless domains which have since dropped and bought a couple I shouldn't have. That said, having learned the hard way I now have several prime generics that I'm developing and have lists of names I'm pursuing as I can afford them.

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Happy to help, I went down the same route. I probably registered over 100 useless domains which have since dropped and bought a couple I shouldn't have. That said, having learned the hard way I now have several prime generics that I'm developing and have lists of names I'm pursuing as I can afford them.

I think I am getting better at choosing names, I just need to have the bottle to stop harbouring ideas of developing my useless names

It has been some time since I have been so excited about the journey rather than the result, I am learning something new every day and I can't put a price on that.

Thank you

Aiden

 

[Bailey]

As a standard comparison of a 10x multiplier for a .com verses a .co.uk (i accept it's not a blind rule) the price of .com three letter domains supports the price you see for three letter .co.uks as being about right from a Global perspective also.

ie three letter .coms at around mid to high $x,xxx is common if and when they come onto the market.

Lets not forget the personal element for three letters for personal use - I would love to own my initials "ram" but somehow I don't see that available at mid £xxx anytime soon

 

[Aiden Roberts]

Lets not forget the personal element for three letters for personal use - I would love to own my initials "ram" but somehow I don't see that available at mid £xxx anytime soon

How unlucky is that "ram" although if you ever manage to get your hands on it you will be rich ;-)

Regards

Aiden

 

[sdsinc]

... I am teetering on buying a couple of LLL/org/uk names as I can see the potential in them from a personal perspective, that said I can now see that they may have future appeal when the /co/uk become too expensive to buy.

Many domainers, in particular beginners, 'invest' in somewhat inferior alternative extensions in the hope that end users will eventually come to them as their first choice (.com/.co.uk etc) is too expensive.

The reality is that in general .org.uk is not a natural substitute to .co.uk, just like .co is not an obvious replacement to .com... Of course exceptions do exist.
Now some UK companies/organizations might, depending on their purpose, consider using a .org.uk when the .co.uk is unavailable.
Say the .org.uk is still available. Maybe they will register it.
But if it's taken by a speculator, they will probably move on to the next viable extension or do some more brainstorming to come up with a longer name, rather than pay a premium for a domain that is second choice anyway

Nobody likes to pay more than regfee for a domain name, the few end users that are willing to pay will want something solid, and value for money.

 

[Bailey]

From a UK market perspective that's Spot on sdsinc - though you may not be thanked for sharing those thoughts.

And obviously store site developers etc being an exception to those rules

 

[Aiden Roberts]

From a UK market perspective that's Spot on sdsinc - though you may not be thanked for sharing those thoughts.

Yes I can see your point and as Bailey says your comments may be disputed but that does not negate your point of view.

From an affiliate development point of view and taking into consideration the potential of an /org/uk ranking just as good as a /co/uk then I guess there is still a market for them if the 3 letters actually mean something.

Aiden

 

[woopwoop]

LLL.co.uk's have dropped a lot. They used to carry a minimum resale safety net of £500.

I'm not sure of any recent xxxx sales of lll.co.uk's but I've seen a fair few sales at £200-300. My opinion is that investing in LLLs was believed to be a very safe bet with potential to sell at 10x to an enduser if one came along.

My other opinion is that people are less attracted to them as an investment because of the single and double digit domains. Also the way the market is, people are liquidating all kinds of stuff at pretty cheap prices (including LLLs).

I could point to a bunch of single word/brandable/geo that sold for mid xxx on DL that I would have paid more for if I was at the auction end. (Saying that I am selling off a bunch too - just not at complete reseller prices).

.org.uk's I have never been a fan of. I just don't understand the phenomenon. Must be to do with ranking and I just don't have the knowledge/experience to value them based on search volume or CPC. I just don't visit any .org.uk's (maybe Nominet and National Lottery in the last 10 years) so can't justify to myself why they are worth investing in.

I watch the stream of xxxx .org.uk sales scratch my head, want a piece of it, but am too scared to jump on them

 

[sdsinc]

Interesting insight. LLL.com have tanked too but IMO it's because the reseller market has crashed. The end users are still there but you have to be patient sometimes...

 

[accelerator]

Great advice, funnily enough I have had my eye on a couple or /org/uk but didn't check the TM or development opportunities, I am still suffering from the newbie strategy of "if it's available; reg it".

Oh dear, despite my previous warnings?

 

[Aiden Roberts]

In my defence I didn't reg them straight away I did come on and discuss the potential first, I have regged a 3 letter/org/uk but they are my initials so I can be forgiven. I do listen accelerator; honest!