How has the domain business changed for you in the past year? Good? Bad?

[mole]

With Pool.com coming into the picture a year ago, the costs of drop acquisition has increased significantly for most people. The auction model has become rooted into this game, with the best names going to those with the thickest wallet, and not the most hardworking. It seems like everyone is trying to make hay while the WLS doesn't shine.

How has that affected you, and what will you do?

 

[Ed30]

The buying game is virtually over for me. I've reached a point where I have all the domains I could ever need and can't afford the ones I think I might still need. Development is the way to go now. I'm in no hurry to sell what I have - I feel that domain values can only increase over the next few years. I'm excited to see what happens in this business by the end of the decade.

 

[dotNetKing]

It has improved for me, but maybe due to harder work and more experience, and in spite of the increased cost of and difficulty in acquiring the same quality of names.

I am buying around 200 names a month compared to about half that a year ago. Income has also doubled.

 

[Duke]

Business has been superb for me, I think because I concentrated on the new extensions where the acquisition costs were still low leaving plenty of room for high percentage profits on sales. That is starting to change now though as bids on the better new TLD names have gone up 500-1000% at the auction houses just since the first of the year. I am now thinking very much along the same lines as Ed. Before the year is out I expect I will spend more time on developing than on continued domain acquisition. It will work out perfectly as far as chasing names goes - when WLS comes in I will be ready to move out!

 

[David G]

Thanks to Adsense coming on the scene last summer many domainers have finally seen PPC revenue come from webpages and not just parked domains as in the past.

Google has done a great job overall bringing steady reliable income streams to many websites, one more reason development is the way to go, especially if you are able to sell both adsense and your own product/service on the same site!

Unfortunately, Pool.com's great success in the past year has actually been an overall negative for most of us as only those with deeper pockets can now afford to play that game what with the inflated auction prices. I for one do not bid on auction names anymore as they are so incredibly over-priced due to the auction model, not to mention getting stuck with those bad registrars Pool uses, mostly in Asia.

The sad decline at Snapnames also happened in the past year, they are now so worthless I don't even bother with replacement Snaps for lost ones still active, as replacing them means work with almost zero chance of success. Now I let the Snaps expire with an empty Snap.

Probably the most surprising change in the past year for me is to see a number of my sites get increased traffic (i.e. 4/week to 40/week or so), with no obvious explanation for it, they may have the same G Page Rank and no better SEO work, or even lower SE rank or zero PR (in some cases) but better traffic - very odd.

 

[GT Web]

I am a very small player, I have about 10 names and I'm planning to develop 4 of them. I caught a few names with Namewinner, but I havent even tried Pool. I am looking forward to WLS because that will allow me to go after some drops. But the business is good and I am making more revenue and profits than ever before...

 

[Ed30]

Going back to my case for development - surely making (conservative estimate) $1 a day building at least a one page site on each of my domains and concentrating on marketing them makes alot more sense than getting shot of them for a small profit? - especially when, for instance, adsense profits are on the increase. That's the way I now see things anyway.

This goes back to Mole's original post - hardwork and putting the time in does not get you the domains now - only lots of $$$ can do that. The only way hardwork can pay in regards to domains is to develop what you already have -unless you have mega bucks which 99% of us don't have.

 

[mole]

I remember the days when you had to go around looking and tracking expiring domains. Today, all you and your dog needs to do is just go into Pool and run a keyword search on what's dropping for the coming days, click to participate, and you're home. Even if you don't, you get these daily updates on your email that does that for you.

No name escapes the drop radar of speculators any more. But I suspect that even the most moneyed players have a cap on what they can afford a day. So if they don't participate in an auction or even nailgate a name, its probably because they are already too stretched out preparing and trying to fend off potentially huge proxy bids in other areas.

 

[Edwin]

Much better now that I've essentially turned my back on (new) .com domains

 

[mole]

Much better now that I've essentially turned my back on (new) .com domains

It is interesting you changed your business model to focus on .co.uk instead, win. Has that proven successful, anything you can share with us on this?

 

[seeker]

business wise for me, it has been steadily increasing (even in the amount of sales), although not by any great amount. I even had a successfull sedo sale in April, again though, not for a large sum.

The interesting point is that I believe WLS is the reason that prices have been going up at pool and other auctions, while the buyers are waiting until WLS comes, and they can no longer use the 'easy' way to buy there (as I believe pool and co. are now mainly targetting end users, hence the prices).
Why do i say WLS is partially responsible for the increase in prices?
Panic.
People are panicking, and I would not be surprised If people are actually taking bank loans to get them 'while they can' before WLS sets in. This IMHO is causing the inflation of the prices at those catchers.

 

[Edwin]

Well, depends how you define "success".

99% of the domains on this list I've accumulated in the last year: http://www.memorablenames.co.uk/

At the same time, the amount I've spent on collecting nearly 1,000 .co.uk domains would probably let me win 2-3 average Pool auctions at current prices

 

[bidawinner]

I have always leaned more towards development ; especially since I have concentrated in alternative extensions.
Profits are stronger than ever ..thereby increasing the value of my domains.

 

[Deleted member 4749]

Market is heated, Uhoh. com ... .com .cmc.mcomcdc

 

[a2zofb2b]

I have close to 100 Domains organized into 6 subject.
I have never sold a Domain and has been in the accumulating mode, especially the financial Domains and I am very happy with the traffic and the Adsense revenue this network of financial domains are generating.

Earlier it was more like addiction, now that it is generating revenue I need to coin a different word for the same.