domain aging

[seeker]

I guess this could easily go in the humor section if it wasnt so... pathetic.

I caught a name a few months back.
I got an offer from what seemed to be a serious buyer.
His complaint?

The domain he says, is not 'old' enough. And he was not refering to links, OVT or anything else, but simply the 'created on' date.
I explained that the domain was a drop, and that it was actually first regged in 2000, but he still said that it wasnt old enough.

I kind of lost my temper and told him that If he wanted a vintage domain, to go for a nice French bottle of wine from the 60s...

Why is it that apparently (and I have seen this on a few occasions), buyers place value on the 'age' of a domain (NOT considering links...etc...)???

 

[MediaHound]

Maybe they want to make sure it had a good chance of getting listed in SPEWS.org

 

[seeker]

thats a good point, but nonetheless it makes me wonder.
Surely, have not others seen this?
That a domain valued at x price, increaes in value simply because it was regged 8 years ago as opposed to another name that may even be better but regged 1 year ago?

Or is it just me?

 

[skylight]

i find it amusing that some people want to buy domain based on the age of the domain.....hehe

 

[888]

LOL. Ask him to come back and buy it after 10 years.

 

[mole]

LOL. Ask him to come back and buy it after 10 years.

By that time, .INFO and .BIZ will be more valuable than .COM, who will be seen as a has-been fools extension. :-D

 

[NameTower]

I think if Google/Yahoo developed their .info's yahoo.info, google.info we would start to see a large increase of typeins, same for .biz, .us

all it would take is just one of them.

- Jordan

 

[mole]

I think if Google/Yahoo developed their .info's yahoo.info, google.info we would start to see a large increase of typeins, same for .biz, .us

True. It's funny how the Internet evolves every year. I first started on the slow slow Internet in 1994 using one of those modem thingies at 15/24kbs that cost a friggin fortune and viewing porn was like if the face didn't render pretty after the first 20 lines, you just kill it. Today, I'm responsible for helping my Telco client promote cable broadband that hits 3mbps.

I got my first name and first domain in early 1998, it was a .NET. And I thought it was loads better than .COM, since a .COMmerical for my personal name sounded stupid, to say the least. Earlier than that, Netsol was a real put off, they wanted name servers specified, and I had to say what company I was registering that name for. I lived in fear for a few months wondering if they would check and delete my name.

In 2000, ICANN announced the introduction of new gTLDs to arrest this "artificial scarcity" bullshit that was .COM. It took 2 years before new namespace rolled out after 15 years, and after 7 years when the WWW or Web started to gain commercial and investor favor.

.INFO and .BIZ is now over 2 years old, and already you can see the wheels cranking like a determined machine on a steep uphill climb.

Sure, .COM still commands the king of the hill. I used to think IBM would last forever.. and who would have thought a more affordable Dell would one day rule the stock markets. Welcome to the Internet, welcome to human ingenuity/tenacity in overcoming "artificial scarcity". I have spent an okay and humble amount in acquiring some pretty vicious .COMs over the past years, sometimes through luck, so I'm not totally anti-.COM monopoly. I just see the winds of change. And I can only smirk at all this dated .COM stupidity.

 

[MediaHound]

Nice article, Mole...
I was on Prodigy back in 1992. I, too, remember watching in amazement as pictures materialized on the screen, line by line.
Oh, the memories...

 

[mole]

I was on Prodigy back in 1992.

You were surfing porn back in 1992, hound? wow!

 

[MediaHound]

Prodigy Back in 1990
Prodigy Back in 1991
Prodigy Back in 1992
Prodigy Back in 1993
And so on and so forth. Interesting that the amount of results dont necessarily go up. Think about that for a moment. If we only knew back then how popular it would really get.

 

[MediaHound]

You were surfing porn back in 1992, hound? wow!

Not only was I curious about that, but I was in the Prodigy chatrooms - I vividly remember telling girls "I just turned twelve, is that too young for you?" and they would reply,"Well,I dunno... I'm 15"

I thought I was genius for collecting Baseball cards, mailing away for autographs, collecting any sports memorabilia I could hound. I have a collection that would rival many peoples'. But, boy, if I knew that domains would actually be worth something!

What next?

.biz?

you sure?

 

[mole]

I vividly remember telling girls "I just turned twelve, is that too young for you?" and they would reply,"Well,I dunno... I'm 15"

hmm, they start younger every generation...

Well, you may have had a problem registering names with Netsol at that time without a cc, unless you have a supp card of course

It's probably true that nobody could see the value of domain addressing back in 1992, or the Internet hype boom circa 1996-2000. But to go into a perennial state of self-denial on .COM and nothing else, reminds me of my grandma who thought that women are only worth marrying if they were virgins. :smartass:

 

[mole]

What next?

.biz?

you sure?

Hey, I didn't say .COM would work in 1992. I'm only saying that a generation now on the Internet is like 3 years.

 

[MediaHound]

...But to go into a perennial state of self-denial on .COM and nothing else, reminds me of my grandma...

Not I!

I speculate across the board, and I suggest the same.

 

[mole]

I speculate across the board, and I suggest the same.

Shhh!

 

[actnow]

Referring that is isn't old enough.

Could they have been referring to the 60 day restriction on transferring it?

 

[David G]

hmm, they start younger every generation...Well, you may have had a problem registering names with Netsol at that time without a cc...

Not so Mole, circa 92-95/96 NetSol was offering domains either free of any charge, or on a 30 or 60 day billing basis with no credit application, just name/address - did not even ask for an email address as not many had email then, and did not accept credit cards, as late as 95 or 96.

MediaHound could have got all the now million $ domains he wanted even if he was a kid at the time. They simply sent an invoice via postal mail and if you did not pay it by check eventually deleted the name. Been there and done that at the time with not paying a few bills I got which I greatly regret.

 

[seeker]

Referring that is isn't old enough.

Could they have been referring to the 60 day restriction on transferring it?

no, they actually wanted it to be 'old', as in reged for over 4 years. Nothing to do with transfer.

And it has happened to me more than on one occasion.
Also, do somce scanning and you will see that older domains (it sounds funny even as I type it) actually get higher offers assuming all else is equal.

 

[actnow]

As I recall, the cost was $ 35. per year with a two year minimum. PLus, was there
a service charge?

I did not have the foresight to see the tremendous potential for a domain name. Especially, since you had to lay out $ 70. per name. And, once you got the name.
You had to put a website. Which, was very expensive at the time.

If I could turn back the clock 10 years, I would buy every quality domain I could.
But, If I could turn back the clock, I would go back 20 years and buy every share of
Microsoft and Intel I could.

Since, I can not do that. I have to look forward to what might be of value in the future.

Does anyone have any ideas?