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

We had previously announced our intentions to start another domaining contest here at eBusinessDomains.com in early June. We decided to delay the launch, as we wanted to go live with eBD.me first.

eBD.me is now live, but we are still working tirelessly on quite a few other projects. As matter of fact, we are still implementing the new back office and domain marketplace technology for eBusinessDomains.com. We are also working on some other exciting domain development projects.

So, although our site has had its cosmetic change, we are still installing the machinery behind the scenes. This is one of the reasons why we have not yet done a press release for the website re-design, or even started any massive promotions.

We are also testing quite a few new concepts and marketing strategies. We are aiming to cross over big time into the end-user market.

We want to run domain contests that enhance our brand and help us to reach our objectives and goals.

We will launch the domaining contest fairly soon, as soon as the conditions are right and a few other projects are ready.

We are still selling domains and please continue to submit your domains. We will also aim to start our regular auctions fairly soon.

By the way, are you following us on Twitter? Come on, what are you waiting for? Follow us here.
http://twitter.com/ebusinessnames

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

I was doing some SEO work and analysis on Exdon.com, one of our brands, and came across a very interesting Namepros forum thread.

Now I am not in any way annoyed or upset with the thread. The thread starter stated that he had listed his domains at Exdon.com and that he had received an offer of $4,500 on one of them. He was not too familiar with Exdon.com and was asking if Exdon.com was a scam.

There were 2 replies to the original post when I read it. One replied saying that Exdon.com looks like a scam.

The other gave a more diplomatic, sensible and mature reply citing that Exdon.com is registered to a Kevin Jackson, who runs a blog at eBusinessDomains.com. This person also went on to say that if the thread starter had any doubts, this is information that could easily be retrieved from a simple Whois query.

I believe the second reply was so damn good; I didn’t even bother to make an OFFICIAL reply.

Regardless of the fact that there are a few sophisticated scammers out there hiding behind some top-class websites, I find it really hard to even imagine anyone could have the slightest impression that Exdon.com is scam. Seriously.

I spent thousands of dollars to build and redesign Exdon.com (twice) and even more to promote it. As a matter of fact, Exdon.com is the predecessor of eBusinessDomains.com. I vigorously promoted that site in the past.

Exdon is an acronym for Exchange For Domain Names. This was a site that I was passionate about from day one. I worked hard to build that brand, and got it to number one placement in quite a few search engines for some very popular domaining terms. This was despite the fact that it is not a keyword-rich domain name, but rather a brandable/concept domain name.

After a few years of promoting it, I realised that the open membership facility of the site was causing my domains to be buried under a mountain of other domains. So I took an executive decision to launch eBusinessDomains.com as a domain marketplace selling purely premium domain names.

I didn’t want the hassle of running 2 domain marketplaces, so I disabled the escrow services at Exdon.com, making it a commission-free marketplace.

When sellers receive offers, they can negotiate with and sell directly to buyers without paying a cent in commissions. It would be the buyer or seller’s responsibility to take any necessary precautions such as using escrow services.

We initially offered escrow services, but after some legal advice decided to cease this service. Any queries we now receive regarding escrow services are simply replied with a recommendation to use Escrow.com.

I believe Exdon.com is self-explanatory. So, let me now ask the question that I really want to ask here.

Is it that the domain industry is so rigged and infested with scams, scammers and unscrupulous persons that people by default just seem to think that everything and everyone is a scam?

Have domainers been so unscrupulous in their business affairs that we exist in a business environment that is shrouded in mistrust? How can we really expect to take this domain name industry to main street reputable levels if we can’t afford to conduct ourselves in a dignified manner?

I am happy that domains are receiving offers at Exdon.com. But, was it a case that the thread starter was only too excited about getting an offer? Of course, thinking about it, I can see how a scammer could use a marketplace setting to scam domainers. But quite frankly, if you are that damn stupid, you should not be doing any kind of business on your own without your mama standing behind you. Leave the domain business to the pros.

It seems like people think that if they register any domain name and list it at a marketplace for x amount of money, they will immediately become a domainer. A domainer is someone is making real money from his or her domaining activities.

If you don’t know about domain names, the best you can do is learn. Assuming that everyone is a scammer is not a good way of learning. I get suspicious of people who speak too much about scams. It is a clear sign that they cannot see beyond the petty “dog behind a computer” mentality.

We need to start doing real business in the domain industry in a dignified and trustworthy manner. Mistrust breeds mistrust. Contempt breeds contempt.

I think I will end here. Don’t have any more time to waste typing this.

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!

Rick Schwartz wrote an article the other day citing that Europeans are not risk takers. It was a very interesting article and one that’s worth reading.

Firstly this blog post is not a direct response to Rick’s post or by any means any sort of criticism.

I had promised to only blog directly to end-users once our new domain marketplace is launched. However, I believe that given the fact that end-users will need to be educated about the domain industry, it is only pertinent that I blog about domaining a bit as well.

I am a Caribbean boy, but I do have a British/European Union passport so that means that I am European.

I make a lot of money from my domaining efforts and without a striking biography here, I will declare myself a domainer.

So I’m European and I’m a domainer, so that makes me a European Domainer.

However, I am a very big risk taker. I have over the years invested and reinvested hundreds of thousand of dollars in the domain industry. I have been burnt not once, not twice, but many times. But what you have to understand is that the domain industry is not taught in school and has very little rules, so the only way to learn and master this industry is by experience.

Now in all of my domaining experience, I have only ever attended ONE domaining event, which was hosted by Sedo here in London some years ago when they were launching their Sedopro platform to UK domainers.

I must say that I learnt a lot and well did get a few contacts. That was very small but intimate domain meet. I gather that even though domainers argue, fuss and quarrel on forums and blogs, they are normally very friendly is such social settings.

I put this down solely to the fact that when domainers meet up, everyone wants to demonstrate that they do know something about domaining, and as such the secrets coming flying out . It’s all good fun though.

Now Europe plays a very key role in the domain industry. I can’t elaborate now, as I have to rush to a meeting on the other side of London in a few minutes.

However, let me quickly point out that Sedo, the world’s biggest domain marketplace was founded in Europe (Germany).

The first pure premium domain portfolio that I came across is that of Dotcom Agency, which is based here in the UK. They had over 30,000 domains when I first saw their portfolio. They still own domains like Ad.com (Ads.com recently sold for $1.4 million), Printers.com and Camera.com.

Dotcom Agency solely inspired me to pursue a portfolio of pure premium domain names. They are European (based here in the UK). (We can offer you better deals on the same quality domains ).

There are quite a few other top European domainers such as MemorableDomains.co.uk, and KeywordDomains.com. So Europe is well connected to the domain industry.

I really can’t write much longer, but the main difference between American Domainers and European Domainers in my opinion, is that the Americans are more loquacious.

I love America, and this is not a negative statement, but American Domainers seem to seek out the limelight, while Europeans tend to just shut up and make their secret millions. Nothing wrong with either approach. Americans have done a lot to publicise the industry, while Europeans sit back and reap the profits! .

The only reason why you heard about me is that my Internet marketing instincts directed me to start a blog to bring more exposure to my online brands.

In a few weeks TRAFFIC will hold their first European conference, which will focus solely on Country-code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs). This is a great and sensible step.

However, Europeans for years have been reaping sweet success with ccTLDs. It is more a case that the Americans are now catching on to ccTLDs and are trying to get a piece of the action.

I am trying my best to make it to the conference. Unfortunately, June is one of my busiest months with work, exams, business, travel etc. I have been postponing a Guest Speaker appearance at Bido for quite some weeks now due to lack of time. That will just be a 1-hour chat online. Now imagine 4 days overseas.

I will let you know in the end if I am going though. I am pulling out all the stops! Some of my best business trips overseas were made to Amsterdam, so those attending will have a damn good time!