The domain space is getting very competitive! Competition is great for business and will perhaps help to build the domain industry.

I am genuinely amazed however, as to how some big players can seemingly get nervous by the moves that the “little guy” is making.

I am not a troublemaker, I just tell things like it is. I blogged on Saturday about the lack of originality in the domain space and the tendency of domainers to copy the ideas of others.

I noticed that a big player is now adopting the approach of creating domain broker/sales landing pages. We have been rolling out these types of pages and minisites for the past few months.

Here is an example of one of our minisites with broker/sales landing pages:

Displace.com   |   DentalOperations.com   |   AirBalloonTours.com   | Admit.tv   |   Coldest.com

I am not trying to start any bad blood between anyone. Am just trying to let people see that when I scream, I do have a reason to. Secondly, when we go full throttle with our services, it will be good for prospective clients to know who had the orginal idea.

One thing is for sure. We will respond. Competition is coming. We will not sit still. The domain game is about to take a whole new dimension. We will raise our game. Good thing for us is that our business model has more cushion to absorb risks.

The foundations of the domain industry will be shaken. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Competition is coming!!

Need an affordable premium domain for your eBusiness?
Choose from over 500,000 quality aftermarket domains at eBusinessDomains.com!
Simply enter your keyword and click search in the Domain Search Box.
Instant domain transfer with most domains!

Domains | Domain Auctions | Premium Domains | Domain Newsletter | Domain Forum | Skull

Yes, every domainer seem to have finally realise that the domainer-to-domainer aftermarket is just not sustainable. Everyone is now preaching the gospel of marketing to end-users.

I remember in my very early blogging days I wrote in one post that selling domains to fellow domainers is nothing more than a grand and luxurious way of wasting precious time.

People get away with it, but as with all pyramid schemes that are successful for a while, they all collapse in the end. No, I’m not disrespecting the domain aftermarket by calling it a pyramid scheme, but when you look at what is going on very closely, it works almost in a similar fashion.

People register any rubbish domain, hype it up with a few senseless stats, sell it on forums, and then the buyer goes around doing the same exact thing. This circular movement goes on and on for as long as the domain industry can attract the less-knowledgeable newbies.

Domain parking was or is still a brilliant way to monetize domains. That’s a fact. However, as I have said before, it created for many, a lazy lifestyle that caused the masses to forget the real purposes of domain names.

Domain names are the gateway to the Internet. They are like the address to your home. It makes it easy to find your home. In the case of domains, they make it easy to find a website that is assigned to an IP address/server.

Domains are like plots of land. Imagine what would happen if real estate brokers only focused on flipping plots of land rather than selling to developers? The city would be one giant empty space without any buildings  - houses, offices, warehouses etc.

When you stop looking at domains as plots of land and start envisaging the buildings that could be constructed on those said plots of land, you will start getting the true meaning of domains.

Now, domainers are so alienated from the end-user market that whenever they refer to end-users they seem to believe that end-users are ignorant and stupid.

Yes, some end-users may not understand fully the workings of the domain aftermarket, but they are far more clued up about branding and the need for the right domain name, than you could ever imagine.

All of my end-user domain sales are from people or businesses that approach me regarding domains that I own. As a matter of fact I have never approached anyone, whether an end-user or another domainer in a bid to try and sell a domain name. I believe that domains are supposed to sell themselves. If they can’t, then they are not worth having.

When end-users approach me, they don’t come to waste my time. They come to do business. Give them a fair deal and the business is done. They know about domains, they know that they want the domain name that you own, and they want to pay a reasonable price. Don’t waste their time, and they won’t waste yours.

The synergy between end-users and domains are always missed because people simply do not understand how branding works. I am not going to explain it here.

If you want to market domains to end-users it is imperative that you think about costs versus benefits. We all want to make huge profits, but if you are stupid, end-users aren’t. End-users won’t invest in your crappy domain name, as they will immediately see the reasons why your domain name would be useless to their business and/or marketing plan.

If people want to really sell domains these days, then it would be more fruitful for the whole domain industry if we simply educate the world about the existence and legitimacy of the domain aftermarket. The world knows about domain registration, but not necessarily about the domain aftermarket.

When the world realises that although the premium domains are already registered, it is still possible to buy and assume full ownership of them via an aftermarket, the end-users will come knocking at your door in droves.

I’m totally against people preaching about approaching/cold-calling end-users. Why? Because those that find it necessary to approach end-users are usually those that have crappy domains.

When the domain masses start bombarding end-users with crappy domains at ridiculous prices, the end result can only be disastrous for the domain industry.

We do need end-users, but we can’t afford to bring the domain industry into disrepute with our methods of trying to attract them.

Need an affordable premium domain for your eBusiness?
Choose from over 500,000 quality aftermarket domains at eBusinessDomains.com!
Simply enter your keyword and click search in the Domain Search Box.
Instant domain transfer with most domains!

Domains | Domain Auctions | Premium Domains | Domain Newsletter | Domain Forum | Skull

In every industry there are fanatics. There are people are you fanatical about aeroplanes (airplanes), some about cars, some about bikes, some about software development, some about travelling, and the list goes on.

Domaining is no exception. The good thing about domaining is that people can make serious money while treating domaining as a hobby instead of a business. Of course, if one is not careful though, domaining could cost a fortune, rather than creating riches.

When you read certain blogs today, you will know the ones making pennies from their domaining efforts by how much they moan and criticise others. Some people have a “grand” way of preaching the doom “factor”.

There are still people who do not accept that the buying and selling of domain names is a legitimate business. People seem to think it is wrong to buy and hoard domain names for the sole purpose of selling them for a profit.

I am not going to argue much here as to what people think, as people are free to think whatever they want. Sometimes people’s opinions are influenced by blatant ignorance.

Some of those who think that domainers are all squatters will never bring themselves to the state of mind where they will buy a premium domain name on the domain aftermarket. These are the people that you see whining on forums about how they wanted some domain name to use for a project only to realise that a “squatter” had already registered it.

There are people who pour their life-savings into dodgy investment and pyramid schemes. They were sucked in by the promise of very high return. Sometimes greed got the better part of them, while sometimes it is their sheer ignorance. Any second thoughts should have caused alarm bells to go off.

Well, it is the same thing with domain names. Either you get domains or you don’t. Your level of education will determine whether or not you get domains. Period. Those that don’t get it, or those who are bitter because they were not the lucky ones to register certain premium domains will try to portray domaining as a disgusting and immoral habit.

So, if you were starting an ebusiness tomorrow, would you feel comfortable in buying a premium domain name on the aftermarket? Would you think it is the right thing to do? Would you consider it as a waste of money?

To get started with an ebusiness could be as little as $15, or even less. Just register a domain name for $8 and then pay for your first month’s web hosting. You could easily put a website together for yourself, cost-free. You are in business!

However, as they say, nothing in, nothing out. If it cost you nothing to go in business, it won’t even cost you a second thought to quit when you hit the first hurdle.

People who are aiming for success will ensure that they start their ebusiness with the perfect domain name, no matter what the cost is.

Of course, depending on your ebusiness niche, you may be able to find some very decent domains that are still available for registration. If you do, by all means register them. Yes, I said “them”. You want to secure as many domains as possible to protect your niche.

However, as most top quality domains are already taken, you may be better off searching the domain aftermarket for the perfect premium domain, buying it, and then register similar domains to protect your future brand.

Here are some other useful resources you may find interesting, if you are new to domains:

Learn the domain basics
Registering, buying and transferring domains
What is a premium domain?
Tips and choosing the right domain name
Tips on selling a domain name on the domain aftermarket

Need an affordable premium domain for your eBusiness?
Choose from over 500,000 quality aftermarket domains at eBusinessDomains.com!
Simply enter your keyword and click search in the Domain Search Box.
Instant domain transfer with most domains!

Domains | Domain Auctions | Premium Domains | Domain Newsletter | Domain Forum | Skull

At the request of end-users we keep most sales data private. After all, buyers are entitled to conduct business with some sort of privacy and dignity. Some buyers just want a category-killer premium domain name for their business. They don’t want to be brandished shamelessly in forums and on blogs.

I personally don’t believe in openly bragging about domain sales figures, as I believe that this sort of thing could easily upset the domain buyer. I regularly see on domain forums and other places where domainers brag about buying a domain name for lets say $250 and then flipping it for $10,000 a few weeks, months or years after.

Domain buyers don’t want to feel that they have been cheated or have gotten a bad deal. If was to purchase a domain name today, and then a few hours or days later I see the seller bragging about their huge margin, I would feel pissed!

Some may say, “So what? The deal is already done”. However, have you thought about repeat sales? What about those who have not yet made a purchase, and would be turned off by that sort of lack of professionalism?

Whereas it is very good for the domain industry to regularly report domain sales, there is always a professional way to do so. DN Journal does it superbly. These sales reports help to show that the domain aftermarket is alive, and also give an intuitive guide to pricing domain names.

These sales reports do help to prove that domains are worth much more beyond their initial registration fees. There are people who still seem to think that all domainers all squatters. The sales reports help to prove these people wrong. Nonetheless, there are still a few unscrupulous people in the industry. But, save that for another day.

If we brag about domain sales we may end up offending the buyer. However, if we report the sales in a dignified manner, we may help the buyer to add value to their newly owned premium domain name, and earn some respect in their niche and/or industry.

Rick Schwartz for example has done a good job in adding more value to Candy.com since its sale. Candy.com was recently sold for $3 million. The buyer won’t feel cheated. The buyer will inevitably earn credibility and respect in their industry.

Before I joined the domain industry the only thing that I heard about domainers were negative stuff. People who sold domain names were portrayed in a very negative way.

The only thing I was reading or hearing was how these “squatters” were quickly registering the domain names of big companies then calling them demanding inflated prices for their domains.

Of course the situation got so bad that ICANN had to take action, and now we have formal dispute resolutions systems in place to protect trademark holders.

What a lot of domainers don’t seem to understand is that even some of the very-well educated people in the corporate world really don’t know what a domain name is. Some would not be able to tell the difference between a domain name and a website.

Some would not be aware that you can sell a domain name without selling the website, or even that either of them can be sold or transferred.

If people don’t know about domain names, then they will not know that a domain aftermarket exists. And, even if they know a little about the domain aftermarket, the lack of knowledge with regards to domain ownership transfer procedures is enough to scare them away from making a deal.

Those who know domains know it well. Those that don’t will not want to invest into the unknown.

There are some professionals who are damn good at what they do. They build successful businesses. Surely a top domain name would help their businesses. But, if they don’t know anything about domains, how domains work or how the domain ownership is transferred, how do you expect them to confidently make that 7-figure offer? Really…

You see, this talk about making the ultimate end-user sale is nothing more than a dream or a fantasy for many domainers. Unless the target market for your specific domain name really gets it with domain names then you are really daydreaming.

So, why call a banker and offer him a radiology machine? What would he do with it? Offer him banking software and then you will most likely have his ears. It is the same thing with domain names. As much as the domain name would be the best match for their business, if the end-user knows nothing about domains then you will only be offering something that is alien to them.

Cold-calling end-users will most of the time be unsuccessful. Why? Because you will need to educate every single person that you have to go through before you get through to the real decision maker.

Nonetheless end-users are not stupid. So if you tease them in the right fashion and entice them to the right information, they will take notice and start paying attention to domain names.

This is why we redesigned our domain marketplace. We only have to focus on how to get end-users to visit our website, whether by accident or intentionally. I am confident that anyone visiting our website can learn as much about domaining as they should need to. They can learn the basics and just enough to convince them that:

- Domains can be bought and sold
- The domain aftermarket has been active for many years
- The buying and selling of domains is a legitimate business
- Premium domains are valuable assets that will increase in value
- Etc, etc.

When I get an end-user inquiry for any of my domains, I always reply with my website link in my email signature. I always notice that there is a change of tone in their emails when they reply. They have visited the website and have brought themselves up to speed with the domain world. They have been sold on domain names, and now they are ready to do business.

The end-users that I would cold call are those that I am absolutely sure are already knowledgeable about domain names.

If I’m unsure about their domaining knowledge, then I would send them a polite email with the hope that they will visit eBusinessDomains.com from the link in the email and do their research from there.

Use technology wisely. Shut up and let the website do the talking!