Dodgy 3 letter names - I just don't get it!

[tigga]

Looking for everybody's comments here (as long as they are on the topic and not personal attacks).

I am continually seeing domain names such as kzq.com (I just made this up as an example) going for over $300. Similar names in the .nets and .orgs also have reasonably consistent and what I think are high values.

As a generalisation, I would think that these sort of names would NEVER be wanted by anyone in business - letters such as q, z, x, j, k etc. just don't appear in business names. The chances of them being sold to a retail buyer I think are virtually nil.

Why do people buy them?

Note: Please take this as it is intended - an honest question - it is in no way an attack on anyone's portfolio or buying strategy etc.

 

[Ed30]

Tigga - I think they are sought after because of their rarity value. I suppose it's a bit like old car number plates or ancient coins etc....Of course most three letter names are useful to certain businesses.

 

[RON2]

You are right on that most random combinations containing q, z, x, k, j, y are overvalued and unusable. Of course they will continue to be passed around between resellers for the sheer novelty value of owning them.

There are exactly 17,576 three letter domains available. It's a little tough to make a case for them being rare. Perhaps its "perceived rareness".

 

[tigga]

17,576 3-letter .com's - doesn't include .net's or .org's!

 

[Ed30]

Originally posted by -RJ-

Perhaps its "perceived rareness".

It is when you haven't got one .

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by tigga
As a generalisation, I would think that these sort of names would NEVER be wanted by anyone in business - letters such as q, z, x, j, k etc. just don't appear in business names. The chances of them being sold to a retail buyer I think are virtually nil.

The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com) will be shocked to learn that j's are not used in business. So will the thousands of online jewelry retailers.


P.S. And don't get me started on K. Every product in the world has its own king or kingdom, like Mattress King and Tire Kingdom just two name two mundane examples. I think when you have more than one of those difficult letters in a name, you do start running into serious acronym problems though.

 

[tigga]

I agree with you Duke, I think 1 k, q, j, k type letters are OK as long as it has two "useful" letters such as a, d, t etc with it. However, some letters are virtually never used in business names and I think would make the 3-letter .com useless even if it was the only useless letter in the .com e.g. x and z.

 

[Duke]

Originally posted by tigga
I agree with you Duke, I think 1 k, q, j, k type letters are OK as long as it has two "useful" letters such as a, d, t etc with it. However, some letters are virtually never used in business names and I think would make the 3-letter .com useless even if it was the only useless letter in the .com e.g. x and z.

q, x y and z are really tough, but you can still usually find a use for one letter. X has the fewest words of all, but is commonly used in domain names to mean Exchange, Express or Extreme for example. Quality is a good Q word. Y is good for You or Your (my company, ATY.com is a good example. It stands for Autographed To You. Z is often used in business for Zone. I think it helps to have the bad letter in the right position. For example its best to have the Z last as Zone would be a noun, but better to have the Q first or second so you can use Quality as an adjective to describe the product for example.

 

[NamePopper.com]

Originally posted by Duke
I think it helps to have the bad letter in the right position. For example its best to have the Z last as Zone would be a noun, but better to have the Q first or second so you can use Quality as an adjective to describe the product for example.

Indeed!

The less desirable letters are SO much better when they are in the right position. Makes A BIG difference.

 

[CoolHost.com]

It's a fair question, Tigga! I think it's a matter of both "perceived rareness", as well as basic supply and demand. Whenever there's a limited supply of something, and demand stays constant or increases, naturally prices will rise. I'm actually looking into some three-letter .US's myself ... though most likely generally not ones with Q, X, Y, Z, as mentioned here. Should be interesting!
Good Luck.

 

[DNQuest.com]

Originally posted by NamePopper.com


Indeed!

The less desirable letters are SO much better when they are in the right position. Makes A BIG difference.

I couldn't agree more.

DNQ

 

[David G]

Originally posted by -RJ- You are right on that most random combinations containing q, z, x, k, j, y are overvalued and unusable. Of course they will continue to be passed around between resellers for the sheer novelty value of owning them. There are exactly 17,576 three letter domains available. It's a little tough to make a case for them being rare. Perhaps its "perceived rareness".

You said q z x y are not good but am wondering why k and j are included in your list, as they do not seem to be that unusual but I must be wrong in that and am missing something.

BTW, Duke has an interesting usage of a 3 letter com aty.com, using ATY to mean 'Autographed To You.' Not only is it a great idea for the 3 letters but it's also a very good website and offering. Congrats Duke. After seeing Duke's interesting web-site www.aty.com perhaps the letter Y is a lot more valuable than believed!

 

[yesonline]

Do not think there is only English in the world, I know there are many x and z used in Chinese or Germany

For example, Zong Wen means "Chinese language" in Chinese. And Xin means "new" in Chinese, ZongGou means China, z or x are all heavy used in Chinese, and many companys are named with them. So I think these so called "bad letters" will be needed more and more than before.

 

[timechange.com]

I've sold 3-letter .com's between $350 and $750 and they all included either X or Z. Personally I like the ZX combination a lot.

I don't like round letters like Q or P at the beginning. I just bought JXP.net because the P is at the end. It all has to do with the visual ability of the combination of the letters to create a smooth logo if needed. E.g. QGJ is really bad in my book.

 

[RON2]

Originally posted by RealNames


You said q z x y are not good but am wondering why k and j are included in your list, as they do not seem to be that unusual but I must be wrong in that and am missing something.

BTW, Duke has an interesting usage of a 3 letter com aty.com, using ATY to mean 'Autographed To You.' Not only is it a great idea for the 3 letters but it's also a very good website and offering. Congrats Duke. After seeing Duke's interesting web-site www.aty.com perhaps the letter Y is a lot more valuable than believed!

Of course there are exceptions to this. Like xxx.com -- probably one of the most valuable domains in existance.

Domains like kzj.com you will be hard pressed to find a good use for. I'm not discouting their novelty value.

 

[David G]

Oh, I must have misunderstood. Glad I said I must be missing something. I thought you meant any 3 word com containing the single letters q z x y k or j.

Apparently you meant only if the k or j were combined with 1 of the other letters q z x or y, right, as in your example of kzj.com?

Please excuse my lack of knowledge on 3 character coms. One reason is I usually concentrate on real names and longer names too, that's why I am 'realnames.'

 

[LewR]

Think also of how many Law firms that use the last names of the partners would use many of these combinations (and pay $$ for them).

Kelly, Quincy and Yarish
Johnson, Kingston and Zeller

You get the drift ....

 

[.com.net.org]

there's thread for discussing word using q z x y k or j letter few months ago.

 

[Nexus]

Originally posted by LewR
Think also of how many Law firms that use the last names of the partners would use many of these combinations (and pay $$ for them).
Kelly, Quincy and Yarish
Johnson, Kingston and Zeller
You get the drift ....

Yeah, I saw one like that just today. The domain www.dwb.com (my initials) actually changes to go to www.dwpv.com to represent a law firm's partner changes. I did some consulting with a design firm in New York called desgrippes gobé and Associates (www.dga.com), and one design firm calls itself ZMJ Enterprises (www.zmjenterprises.com). Hm. Wonder if they'd want to shorten that?

~ Nexus

 

[britishangel]

I agree with the right place wrong letter thing...and wanted to say thanks to Duke for the ATY website LOL I found a gift for the most difficult male in my life LOL YAYYYYYYYYYYYYY