Did you ever look at your portfolio and think "My god what a waste of money..."

[madpoet]

I so wish I'd taken the time to READ before I spent money. I've got 120 domains or so, and of them all I'd say maybe 6-7 were worth the money . It's humbling to realize how wrong I was on some of my conceptions about domaining, and I'm still trying to get my head above water and actually get things like traffic, a decent design, SEO, etc; So for any other newbie like me, for the love of all things holy read, learn, and TAKE YOUR TIME. Don't just pop off a dozen names because you think it's fun.

 

[Bill Roy]

Good advice. I would like to add though that you should concentrate on a niche or at most a couple of niches that you understand and have researched thoroughly.

 

[actnow]

It's humbling to realize how wrong I was on some of my conceptions about domaining, and I'm still trying to get my head above water ...

Don't feel bad. I feel that way often.

Plus, all of us (old timers and newbies) made a number of stupid errors todate.

And, we will continue to make mistakes in the future.

When I first started 3 1/2 yrs ago, I made some really stupid mistakes that
I don't even want to tell you about. At the time, I thought they were good ideas.

All you can do is keep moving forward.

 

[fatter]

we have all made stupid mistakes, but i dont think you can convince newbees they arent on the right track, its like gold fever once you have it nobody will convince you that you made a mistake, only when they see how much they have wasted does reality sink in

 

[Bob]

Everybody goes through this when they start.. They key is to realize your mistake, learn from it, and make your portfolio better.

The other mistake people make is overvaluing their holdings. They see these names sell for big bucks, then they think they can register any 57 char .COM name and sell it for 4 million. . .

Once you are past those 2 stages, you are set to begin making money.

-Bob

 

[katherine]

There is a learning curve. I still make mistakes but less than before :cheeky:
It's often better wasting $7 on a bad reg than losing out on a potentially good name. I regret hesitating on a few names, sometimes just a few minutes of pondering and the name is gone !

Still, when looking at the appraisals it seems to me that many if not most of the names are pretty useless. There are still good names available in spite of what you may think. So do your research and avoid the hype :shy:

I have always said any decent name should eventually find a buyer or be put to good use. Of course some names won't sell and not bring PPC revenue, so the rest should more than offset the losses (if you are doing right).
IMO it's not hard to break even with domains.
If you are still making a loss after 1 year maybe the hobby is not for you.

The great thing about domain forums like this one is about sharing knowledge and experience. Back in 2000 I was playing with domains but I have learnt way lot more over the past year.

 

[Ian]

I have made mistakes in the few months i have been into domains but i do not regret at all because i learnt a lot from them. The best thing about mistake is that you gain experience and avoid a repeat of the same. I believe i am on the right track after asking for advice from this forum.

 

[simon]

and in the beginning you might come up with wierd domain and think that they have some nice value and register all the extensions and only later to realize that you have to let the domains drop.
So read a lot before buying names and think more than twice

 

[dodo1]

I so wish I'd taken the time to READ before I spent money. I've got 120 domains or so, and of them all I'd say maybe 6-7 were worth the money . It's humbling to realize how wrong I was on some of my conceptions about domaining, and I'm still trying to get my head above water and actually get things like traffic, a decent design, SEO, etc; So for any other newbie like me, for the love of all things holy read, learn, and TAKE YOUR TIME. Don't just pop off a dozen names because you think it's fun.

Do not make the mistake to renew your domains now that you realized that most of them have not been worth the money. Get rid of the domains which do not receive traffic and/or generate revenue. Maybe keep few domains which are likely to go up in value in the near future, but delete the other ones or dump them as soon as possible. You will feel better once the really bad domains are gone. Good luck!

 

[madpoet]

Most of mine have about 11 months left, so renewal isn't a concern . I'm just parking them and forgetting for now. I've got a few I'm developing and hoping I get traffic. Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[demo]

90% of my 180 domains are crap...

I will be much happier when they drop off this december. I am much more selective these days and generally just buy technology names.

 

[spietreser]

I've always been very cautious when registering names, that's why I don't have a really large portfolio. But I have experienced that taking well-thought risks can pay off pretty well

 

[jdk]

Sometimes the crap names get a bite and make a few bucks. Other than that I try to find names which I feel will make the $7 over the next year. Many may not be great names, but if they make a profit they are good. Others which don't but I feel are good, I usually develop and make bigger bucks off of. If this doesn't work its time to get rid of it. So for me it is a three step process. Park > Develop > Pitch

 

[Foodie]

I had a bunch of names set to delete after 3 months! Boy, that was a fast learning curve! I look forward to dumping them, but in seeing what people click on, what makes money etc. etc., I had a whole new insight into society and people and lifestyle...No regrets!

 

[d_n]

I have the feeling to learn a lot from this thread... Maybe Mods should be moving that in a 'sticky' way on the Newbies part of the forum...

 

[BobDiGiTaL]

Did you ever look at your portfolio and think "My god what a waste of money..."

no. :greensmilewinkgrin:
The only portfolio I look at is my trafficclub traffic/revenue portfolio, and it always makes me smile. :dance:
However, I consider myself lucky, I had an excellent teacher. :humble:

 

[cooljeba]

I dunno how but the names that I register never go waste. If the name is not getting traffic I develop it and they try to sell it. Not at a very high price but at a right price. I recover the regg price also make a little profit.

Sometimes it back fires i had a name weirdfiles.net . Which I tried to sell as a name but it didn't work out. Didn't get even offer worth the regg name. I then developed into a directory got it indexed it at Google and sold it for $25. Yup recovered the regg fee and also made a little profit. Now where it back fired was the name was pr-0 and now after this page rank update it is PR-4.

Well that's life.. it moves on

..:: peace ::..
Jeba

 

[Tom K.]

I've only regretted a few names I've registered. More often I've regretted not registering a name in time and losing it to someone else because I had doubts about it's value at the moment.

It's so important to do research though first. I'm in Web dev for a number of years and feel this is an advantage because you are involved in the market nearly 24/7. Eventually you start getting a feel for names worth registering. But every once in a while you still make a mistake. No one's perfect.

 

[VividChoice]

I bought about 170 names with the intentions for development. The problem is that the 170 names has actually paralyzed me and I cant even find the time to develop one. I just sit there completely dazed. lol. :dizzy:

If your plan is to develop them, be careful and try not to be over burdened.

 

[madpoet]

Very sound advice. I was facing that same problem myself.