Domain slowdown

[thevirtual]

I noticed there has been an even greater slowdown in domaining.

Noone seems to be responsive.

Many backout buyers and more lowball offers.

Many great deals to be had, noone is buying?

Will this be the start or the end of the Domain depression?

 

[shack]

I see domains selling on Sedo and all the major sites. Some of the domains don't even make sense and selling for $1000.


ShoppingOnInternet.com | UsedTruckShopping.com | NewTruckShopping.com and many more at PurchaseSellDomains.com

 

[dotNetKing]

I normally keep going replying to sales inquiries over the Christmas New Year, but I have been taking it easy and letting the backlog of enquiries grow.

Maybe buyers are taking it easy for a week or two as well.

 

[TheLegendaryJP]

There are good buys, good sales and as always not so good buys and offers. Over all prices are down that is true but true premiums still demand big money and end users still pay end user money. I think among resellers alone the prices have crashed a fair bit. Like LLL com/net generic one word domains need some sense of rev in addition and so on.

Even the TM market went from 12-24 and back to 12+/- this last 6 months. LOL when the TM guys get skiddish it's a sign lmao doubling onnes money must go back to just 1 yr and not 2, strange.

 

[montydad5000]

A domain depression? Wow, that's not what I wanted to see having just bought a lifetime membership...lol.

I'm sure there is opportunity wherever you choose to MAKE opportunity.

 

[Biggie]

I noticed there has been an even greater slowdown in domaining.

Noone seems to be responsive.

Many backout buyers and more lowball offers.

Many great deals to be had, noone is buying?

Will this be the start or the end of the Domain depression?

i don't see a slow down

it's just that the big money market, has moved elsewhere.

those places include all the auction houses, backorder services and marketplaces.

while there are still sales here and there on the forums, with many new domainers/members joining various forums it means there are lower offers.

(but there are lowballers here who i think do it just for exposure)

as for seeing high sales figures on names that "don't make sense"....obviously someone is reasoning a usage and making purchases on them.

there will always be slow periods in every business, but there is no domain depression

imo...

 

[Jeroen]

A slowdown may be a fact. However, IMHO now is the time for business owners to stand out of the crowd and use all marketing tools available including generic/product domain names.

 

[south]

Buy Buy Buy!

 

[BostonDomainer]

I noticed there has been an even greater slowdown in domaining.

Noone seems to be responsive.

Many backout buyers and more lowball offers.

Many great deals to be had, noone is buying?

Will this be the start or the end of the Domain depression?

There is not slowdown. An interesting shift that I am seeing is an increase in buying but buyers requesting that sales remain private both the name and price. I think it's because there are tons of good deals to be had now people that those with the cash don't want people to see how much and what they are buying. And also, this is just the time of the year were business slows down a bit. And I agree with Big, the big dollar sales moved.

 

[copper]

Actually, I am getting more enduser inquiries lately except last few days.

 

[hugegrowth]

unless you think the end of the world is coming, take this opportunity to buy into markets when they are down if you can. For domains, hold your quality and buy quality if you can. When everyone else is thinking doom and gloom, you should be thinking the opposite no matter how hard it is. Be greedy when everyone is fearful, and be fearful when everyone is greedy (not my quote, read that somewhere).

 

[Busynic]

Buffet made that quote in a time where he had not witnessed history unfold at the rate he can not control.

Guys, I love optimism and love entrepreneurial ship as much as the next person, but the cold hard facts are very black and white.

Values have not sunk to market, simply because those with the stomach have not sold. Emotion is a funny beast - ask any stockbroker. We can argue forever therefore that the market has not changed. However let me tell you as a buyer, it has changed far greater and far faster than I could have ever predicted - otherwise why not liquidate and buy the same stock later at 50% of original price?

On the bright side, let me tell you quickly why I like domains and why accumulation in the face of adversity could (but not guaranteed to) pay dividends.

1. Domains are generally not mortgaged and therefore trade in real cash
2. If I lose my house and the domain market goes to shit, I can still have hope for less than $7.50 a year
3. If I have a fear of absolute failure I will dispose any asset at any price providing I consider the downside risk is still greater than the upside gain.

We are in territory that no person alive today has witnessed and I challenge anyone of any belief to argue differently.

 

[nameadvertising.com]

Buffet made that quote in a time where he had not witnessed history unfold at the rate he can not control.

Guys, I love optimism and love entrepreneurial ship as much as the next person, but the cold hard facts are very black and white.

Values have not sunk to market, simply because those with the stomach have not sold. Emotion is a funny beast - ask any stockbroker. We can argue forever therefore that the market has not changed. However let me tell you as a buyer, it has changed far greater and far faster than I could have ever predicted - otherwise why not liquidate and buy the same stock later at 50% of original price?

On the bright side, let me tell you quickly why I like domains and why accumulation in the face of adversity could (but not guaranteed to) pay dividends.

1. Domains are generally not mortgaged and therefore trade in real cash
2. If I lose my house and the domain market goes to shit, I can still have hope for less than $7.50 a year
3. If I have a fear of absolute failure I will dispose any asset at any price providing I consider the downside risk is still greater than the upside gain.

We are in territory that no person alive today has witnessed and I challenge anyone of any belief to argue differently.

Not every domainer, especially end users who have spent thousands at online and offline auctions have paid $7.50 to get their investments. They would not be too keen to liquidate their investments at 50%.

The doom and gloom within the forums does not reflect what domainers like me do privately with end user sales.

Trust me, the forum crowd is not logical enough to distinguish a $100 name from a $2.5k name. If I place a $2.5k name in the thread for $100, they will stand to be ignored just as the one with a $100 name with a $100 price tag.

I say this by way of experience. The real market teaches me more than I can state my long held opinions. The market always wins.

Those who fared badly in domaining, did so, even in the best of times. Except that now, they have an excuse they can live with.

I still struggle with my business, but not for the economic conditions.

 

[dominator]

there may be some slowdown
but it is not dramatic

 

[Domagon]

Many folks are out for the holidays.

With that said, selling on forums has become more difficult for low to moderate quality domains in the past year.

The reason is lack of money; deflation ... to digress a bit, deflation is the reduction of available cash in the marketplace not necessarily the reduction in prices, though it often leads to that in many sectors, such as it seems to be doing in many parts of domaining.

Many buyers of low to moderate domains were heavily leveraged; borrowing on credit cards, home equity loans, etc to finance their domain purchases / renewals.

With cash tight, there are still many perspective buyers seeing great values, but don't have the means to buy and/or think prices will fall further.

Folks with lots of cash and in it for the longhaul are still buying - some even more.

I personally, due to some family / health issues, have been selling off much of my domains to raise cash (many buyers getting awesome deals), and plan to focus on developing the few remaining ones for the longhaul.

Bottom line is the slowdown is real, but there's still much sales activity - key is to price them right, and put much effort in advertising them in other venues too, such as paid featured listings, domain auctions, etc.

Ron

 

[omosquera]

I been selling everywhere, forums, ebay, webs like sedo

But let me tell you this, there are some great deals out there so its time to buy!

 

[domaingenius]

I think anyone that says that they have not felt ANY effect on the domain
market is either lying or deluded. Yes I have sold some recently, but for sure there
is not the same market as there was 12 or even maybe 6 months ago and
there is apparently worse to come. I am in the UK but I think eventually
everyone will be taking a hit. If you have plenty of cash then I think
the market is a good investment as banks are pay pretty much 0% interest
on deposits PLUS there is great risk. I would much prefer my cash sitting in
domains than a bank, BUT I see that as an investment that wont be realisable
for maybe 2 or 3 years minimum.

DG

 

[clasione]

Seems to me that just 2-3 years ago people would buy domains (myself included) based on what they felt it could be making in the next year or so or down the line. Nowadays more buyers are only interested in what a domain is making 'right now' and for the last 12 months. Theres a little bit of excitement missing in the minds of many these days..

 

[Deleted member 111831]

You guys can sell all your domains to me. I'm buying.

12-18 months revenue for traffic domains. 65% of October 2008 reseller prices.


Oh and yes, get used to it. All markets are crashing now. Domains will be no exception.

Today Oil is worth less than 1/3rd of what it was a few months ago. Thats right it has plunged more than 65% in value! I don't think domains have fallen as far (yet). We are also faring better than having a diversified portfolio of financial stocks and probably even better than the S&P 500 in the last 12 months (have domains gone down by more than 30% since Jan of 08?... I think not). So as far as asset classes go, this one isn't all that terrible.

 

[radioz]

From my perspective, sales and offers are way down. Nothing is selling on this forum for me and it doesn't look like much is selling here from what I can see. My Sedo offers have fallen way off and offers that might have been in 4 figures are now in lower to mid 3 figures. In general, business is down all around and it is going to be down for quite a while. There is more bad real estate news coming out and retail sales seem to have been down notably for Christmas. Domainers don't live in a magic bubble!

In our area, which is centered on a a very well off university town, several art galleries are closing and some major commercial construction projects are slowing way down or being minimized. One, a prominent 9 story 'boutique' hotel being built by a local resident (who co-founded CNET) is in danger of shutdown as he is now having money problems. A major Shakespeare theatre company in a nearby city was featured on a major local TV news piece tonight as many of their corporate sponsors have pulled back or folded completely and schools cannot afford to send students on field trips to the theatre. We are in an area where the recessions of the 70s-2002 never created this type of news. As I have understood it, Virginia is one of the less affected states in this recession but that seems to be changing quickly.

As to domains, excellent down to good names in the traditional extensions are worth holding. They are also worth buying if you have the cash to do so and can afford a long range perspective. You should be looking for only true bargain prices though. I am pretty sure that those prices will be coming. Fair and down names may not be worth holding given ever increasing registration fees allowed by a controlling body (ICANN) that is still living in a pre 'burst bubble' environment of some sort. This is definitely not the time to invest in more of those names or in the miserable 'domainer to domainer to domainer' drivel that many domainers seem to have been passing between each other in the good times ('VCVCV-#' is the next big thing! - or whatever). It is also not the time to invest in new extension domains of any sort other than the very, very best ones and I am a little afraid that you will be holding most of those for a long time unless you want to sell them cheaply.