Some Domaining Pet Peeves

Some Domaining Pet Peeves – I’ve accumulated some of these over the last year and thought it was worth a post about it. My first domaining pet peeve involves GoDaddy. Don’t get me wrong, a happen to like GoDaddy a lot and I’m a regular customer, but I do have a GoDaddy pet peeve that I’d like to air out today in hopes of getting them to change their ways a little. How many domainers out there have registered a typo domain accidentally. It happens all the time to newbies who don’t realize their mistake until after they have paid for and own the name. We have all learned that lesson at one time or another, or likely will if it hasn’t happened yet. In fact, just the other day, I attempted to hand register a name at GoDaddy, but inadvertently misspelled the name. It was obvious to me and I immediately made the correction before registering the name I was really after.

This is where my domaining pet peeve kicks in. Two days later, I received an e-mail from GoDaddy, indicating that the mispelled domain name that I had originally typed-in a couple of days earlier, was still available to register. No sh*t Sherlock, of course it is still available to register, as it was an accidental misspelled typo that I really had no intention of registering. While I realize that GoDaddy has an automated system to send out these e-mails in hopes of generating more business, in my opinion, the practice stinks, especially when it involves an obvious (and worthless) typo. I can only imagine how many newbies actually respond to these e-mails and go ahead and register the mis-typed name, not realizing they had originally provided a typo domain name. While I’m sure the percentage is small, it really gets under my skin, as this is at least the third time this has happened to me over the last year. It leaves a taste in your mouth that they are trying to capitalize and prey upon the unknowing, non-English speaking and/or vulnerable newbie for a couple of extra bucks. While some of you may say some people register these names on purpose and therefore GoDaddy is going after potential business, I still say it stinks. I’m not aware of other entities doing the same thing out there, but I’m sure there are. Regardless, every time I get one of these e-mails, my toes curl.

The next domaining pet peeve I’d like to discuss involves the US mail. I happen to be a philatelist for over thirty years, so I also love the US Postal Service, US mail and all of the stamps that go with them, but I digress. Ever since becoming a domainer, the amount of junk mail that I receive is pretty wild, as it all has to do with domains I’ve acquired or registered. Now, I’m not talking about spam or junk e-mail, although we all get plenty of that too. I’m talking about hard mail into your mailbox. Just yesterday, I received an offer for a Gold card from American Express. The offer was sent to my address and sent to ToysAway. I happened to have registered ToysAway.com last year, so it is pretty obvious where they got there information. This kind of mail comes frequently and includes credit card offers, trademark service offerings and even product catalogs. It truly is a waste of paper and resources and yet another domaining pet peeve that make my toes curl.

I’m sure we all have some domaining pet peeves that deserve airing out. Please take the time to leave a comment and share your biggest domaining pet peeve. Perhaps it will make you feel better!

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Some Domaining Pet Peeve

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Some Domaining Pet Peeves

Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam

Appraisal Scam

NEWBIES PLEASE READ AND BEWARE – Seasoned domainers have all encountered this before, or certainly have heard of it over the ears. Having read several domain forum posts over the last year from Newbie domainers, it is very apparent that the old appraisal scam is live and well. As such, while I’m not the first, I’ve decided to write a post about the appraisal scam in hopes of saving a newbie from giving their hard earned cash to these lowlife scammers.

As a new domainer, you must realize that when you purchase your first domain name(s), there are many people watching you. There are many tools and scripts that folks utilize to find and research purchasers of domain names. It doesn’t take long for them to figure out who is a newbie in this business and it’s like a cat spotting the mouse for the first time. Let’s face it, they are preying on newbies who do not know better and who are in a vulnerable position to easily get taken, becoming the prey.

How they operate is this. After a month or two of purchasing your domain name, assuming your Whois information is public (and it should be if you are trying to sell the domain name(s)), you will receive an e-mail similar to this:

RE: DOMAINNAME.COM

Hello,

We noticed that you currently sell this domain (correct?).

We are interested in purchasing it. What is your desired price?

If you have other names for sale please email me your domains with prices, especially if you have financial, adult, Hosting and TV related names.

We are looking forward to doing business with you.

Regards,

Mark Reitman

CEO
Website Domain Hosting Inc

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Typically, the newbie seller will get excited at such a quick inquiry and will either respond with a price or will creatively ask for an offer, if they’ve done their homework (you always will have negotiation power if you get an offer first, but loose it immediately if you provide a price).

Within a day or two, the newbie seller will then receive an e-mail similar to this.

Seller,

What do you think about 7,000 USD for your domain name?

Have you had your domain names evaluated in the past? I mean domain
appraisals. Without valuation we cannot be sure in the sale price. It’s very
important for me in terms of reselling too. But we must engage a valuation
company with REAL manual service. So I will only accept valuations from
independent sources I and my partners trust.

To avoid mistakes I asked domain experts about reputable appraisal
companies. Please check this blog with suggestions from other sellers and
buyers:
http://www.************.***

Do you sell domain with a web site or just the name?

Domain without content is ok with me. Web site is not necessary.

If, for example, the valuation comes higher you can adjust your asking price
accordingly. It will be fair. I also hope you can give me 12% – 15%
discount.

After you send me the valuation via email (usually it takes 1-2 days to
obtain it) we’ll continue our negotiations.

What is your preferred payment method: Escrow.com, International wire
transfer, PayPal.com or something else?

Hope we can come to an agreement fast.

Looking forward to your reply.

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Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam | Appraisal Scam

That’s their scam – they entice and excite you as a newbie domainer with a high $$$ offer, in hope that you’ll order the appraisal, for which he gets a commission or perhaps the whole thing if the appraisal company is also a scam (and likely is). The scam blog he references, will point you to a fake blog page, where two appraisal companies are discussed and recommended.

Be very sure that this is a scam. If someone wants to purchase your name, they will not ask you for an appraisal, period! Perhaps a prospective purchaser would have their own appraisal done, although the real worth of appraisals, in general, are not really worth much (that will be the subject of a future post). Bottom line, don’t fall for the appraisal scam!

Appraisal Scam

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Appraisal Scam

Newbie Domaining

Newbie domaining – well, perhaps you read my six-months post, so I’ll try not to be repetitive. If you have not, looking back, I had actually learned a couple of things by then and perhaps its worth a read. You can check them out here. Anyway, this week does celebrate my one year in the domaining world, as evidenced by the numerous domain names that I let drop this week. As happens to most newbie domainers who visit GoDaddy for the first time as an introduction to domain names, I was amazed at what was selling on their auction platform and for how much. I was also awestruck by the number of domain names that I thought of that were “actually available” to register (hand reg) like HardJudgement(.)com, RollingLogs(.)com, ShoulderOfGiants(.)com and a lot of other pigeon shit names, as Rick Swartz would call them. What was I thinking? Nothing but $$$, which allowed me to waste a bunch of $$$.

In one of the 6-month posts, I talked about a thread I started at DNForum entitled, What’s The Most Important Thing You Have Learned Domaining, which got a lot of participation and is something I read from time to time, as it is chock full of notable tips and reminders. Anyway, if somebody were to ask me that same question today after one year doing this, I’d answer… Take your time and do your homework! Now that it is tax time, it is pretty evident that I wasted a lot of money lining the pockets of others because I didn’t take my time and I did not do my homework, at first anyways. Remember, patience is a virtue and nothing is easy!

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While I’m only doing this part time, I try and maximize the time I do spend domaining by reading as much as I can from others who are already successful doing it. One of the best things that I did early on was open a Twitter account and follow folks in the domaining world. Follow some of the well known names in the industry and follow who they follow. Soon, you’ll have an abundance of relevant reading material on a daily basis that will inform you of the domaining world, past, present and future. It really is an amazing resource and keeps you in tune with the industry as a whole, without wasting much time. It is also a great platform to sell domain names and I have sold several names through my website, which they found via Twitter posts. Just be sure to not bombard your followers with just domain listings. Be sure to re-tweet articles or posts that you find informative and relevant and also take the time to provide your own insight, inspiring quotes and other tidbits of information to keep your followers following and to have them encouraging others to do the same.

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Another great thing that I did was join and mine information from several domaining forums, such as DNForum and NamePros. You may find the best information there is from threads of the past, as I do, although even today, it’s hard to pass bad advice on there, without getting shredded by the more seasoned moderators. Once you find your way around, you will quickly find that most of the questions you have in your head, have already been answered. The internet is vast and is still growing at an incredible pace, but it has also been around for some time now, so there is no need to re-create the wheel. Learn from others who have already been where you are and you will find the learning curve is steeper but a lot quicker! Don’t just be a stalker on the forums though. Be sure to participate and get your name out there. Perhaps answer some softball questions from other folks who are just starting themselves. You’ll quickly find yourself forming relationships and perhaps closing some deals with them.

As you’ll quickly find, there are numerous outlets to try and sell your domain names. So far in my first year, I have sold most of my names through my own website, although I have also sold names through SEDO, GoDaddy, DNForum and EBAY. I have also received offers through DomainNameSales, Toby Clements newsletter, 4.cn and some other outlets, but have yet to close any of those deals. Every week, I’m discovering new outlets to try and sell my names. Your domain names will not sell themselves. You have to work it. Many domainers simply list their names at SEDO and then wait and hope. That is certainly not the right approach towards success!

As far as my first year in this part time business, I have had three $XXXX sales, several $XXX sales and a bunch of $XX sales, although those were mostly hand reg names that I sold on E-bay. Profit/loss-wise, I can say that I have had a loss for my first year, which will help my taxes, although I also now have a nice inventory of sellable names and have generally made a considerable profit on those names that I have sold so far. Most importantly, I’m getting much better at investing in names that others would like to buy and I do my homework before doing so. That really is the trick of it all and something to study and learn more about on a consistent basis. There is an abundance of weekly publications that discuss the most recent sales of domain names and their corresponding prices. Seek these out and see what is selling. There are certainly some trends and you’d be wise to invest in those types of names, if that’s what you’re doing. With the economy the way it is, there are folks out there who are selling cheap to get out, which creates buying opportunities for you and me.

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In my first year, I also purchased a couple of traffic websites, that are ranking extremely well on search engines and that was a great investment on my part. I paid $300 for one of these sites, invested a little time at monetizing it better, and have already made $665 from that site. Not going to retire with that, but let’s face it, in a full year, the site will make between $750 and $1,000, and its residual income. If I can do that 50 more times, that is a pretty nice side income.

Perhaps a better way to go, however, is take the time to buy a name related to what you are passionate about and develop it. I have developed a handful of websites and have had a decent return through monetization (i.e. Google Adsense, ClickBank, advertising, etc.), although these were sites I really had little interest in and were developed with little knowledge. I’m now in the process of building a couple of sites about things that have great interest to me like wine, stamps and a children’s educational app, and the posts and ideas are flowing with ease. It really is a lot more exciting and enjoyable to put together as well. Looking forward to sharing these with you over the coming months.

Unlike my first year when I haphazardly stumbled into this hobby/side business, I’ve set some definitive goals for this year and the longer term, which has allowed me to focus and chip away at them, moving me in a defined direction. I have no doubt that I will achieve each and every one of the goals, because in my mind, I already have! That was always the key to success in other business I started in the environmental field. Create a goal, carve out steps to get there and start climbing them one by one. It never fails, just believe in what your doing and continue putting that out there.

Thanks for checking in and taking the time to read this!

Newbie Domaining

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Newbie Domaining