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.
Thanks for the great post. I agree with most of what you wrote, but I have had a lot of success recently sending emails to end users selling domains with key words they advertise with. These emails are only sent to names that I am not sure I want to renew.
Obviously you have much more flexibility in pricing when they contact you, but if you can sell a domain for even $100 that you spent $7.50 for, it is a great profit margin, especially if you own hundreds or thousands of domains. You also get the satisfaction knowing that your domain will be used, instead of resold by another domainer. That being said, if the domains suck, these emails will be worthless and bothersome to the business community. If you did research before registering names and know end users could be interested, I believe most domains will sell with emails to those advertising with the same key words as your domain when your asking price is reasonable. This is especially true if they are dot com names.
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I apologize my friend if I offend you. I don’t know you, but what you write about sounds fishy, just to put it nicely.
Tell me you don’t do or haven’t done whatever you preach not to do here. All I know is everybody wants to make a little money here and there. Now, there’s a good way and the bad way. It’s like selling cigarettes. On one hand your making money, but on the other your killing the poor bastard. Buyers and sellers have the responsibility to be informed OR you’re gonna loose money no matter which side are you.
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@StupendousDomains
You have nailed it.
My grouse is with people who think that their crappy domains are worth something and then go on a rampage bothering end-users in their bid to offload them.
I blog about quality domains almost on a weekly basis, and yet I receive at least 5 emails on a daily basis offering to sell me crappy domains. The question is, if people think that I of all persons would buy their crappy domains, won’t they shamelessly approach end-users as well?
Nonetheless, if you know without a shadow of a doubt that your domain name would be an asset to the end-user then I don’t see why you shouldn’t feel free to contact them.
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@justAThouhgt
It is impossible to offend me as no one really knows who I am in the domain industry. As a matter of fact no one knows that I am really a dog sitting behind the computer
.
Anyway, I have re-read your comment numerous times, and I am a little bit confused about the point you were trying to make. Do you mind clarifying it a bit further or let me know exactly what sections of the blog post you need me to expand on?
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