If this post does not make any sense, blame it on the never-ending Christmas parties that I have been attending here in the London.

As domainer, I regular read blogs, check out domain sales reports, domains listed for sales on other marketplaces, and also if I have time, even visit a domain forum or two.

It is really hard not to notice the numerous poor domain names being offered for sale at ridiculous prices. Sometimes you really have to wonder what was going on in the minds of the registrants, when they checked the availability of those domains, and worse, when they literally proceeded to pay for them.

Some of these domains are so poor, that even if I was being paid to take them, I would refuse.

When a marketplace lists allsortsofrubbishdomains.com for sale, and users have to browse and sift through the junk to find decent domain names, is it a good thing or bad thing for the domain industry?

This is a quick post, as am still trying to clear my head from last night’s party, so am just going to present one argument in support of each.

It can be good for the domain industry, as it sends the fool a little bit further. When people offer anyrubbishdomains.com for sale at $200,000, it will lead newbies to think that any domain name will sell. However, the only person that profits here is the domain registrar.

I believe domain registrars profit more from the registration of rubbish domains than they do from decent domain names.

From a domain seller’s point of view, rubbish domain names being offered in the domain aftermarket can help to boost sales. Think about it. If people regularly see rubbish domains being offered for sale at ridiculous prices, all you have to do is offer top quality domains at reasonably prices. This way you stand out from the crowd, and will be a trusted source for quality domain names at great prices.

However rubbish domain names do have the potential to harm the domain industry. We all know the risks that trademark domains pose to the domain industry. As a matter of fact, apart from click fraud, trademark domains and the practice of cyber squatting are the 2 biggest threats to the domain industry.

But here, I’m really talking about rubbish domains. These are the domain names that are not even worth their registration fees. Rubbish domains being offered for sale at ridiculous amounts can send the wrong signals the end-users, the real target market for domain name sales. End-users will think that the whole domain aftermarket is nothing but a sham and a rip-off, and that there is no point or value to be gained in buying a domain name on the aftermarket.

I believe domain names would sell more if we see more marketplaces focusing more on listing top quality domain names at reasonable prices.

I believe that that is the reason why domain auctions are so popular. It is common knowledge that the auction providers invest a lot of time and resources into selecting quality domains that are reasonable priced (reserve prices).

This means that bidders normally have a selection of pure quality domains to contend with.

However, the issue of rubbish domain names will never go away. Never.

You see, everyone has a different IQ, a different level of intelligence and different way of speaking, expressing themselves and seeing things. In a nutshell, the business of selling domain names is really a matter of selling words. So you are selling expressions. And as long as marketplaces will allow anybody, from any background and level of intelligence to list their concoction of a domain name, then we will have the good, the bad and the ugly.