FYO Canadian Domain Names

Domain-News

Domain Name Investing

Posted by Admin on Monday, December 28, 2009 - 11:48 PM

By Guest Author

Successfully investing in domain names is a form of investment that can be highly lucrative - and you too can do it after gaining some needed upfront knowledge before tackling the Domain Name Industry. Prior to starting to invest in .ca, .com and other domains you need to learn the basics of domain names, possess the skills in evaluating the market value of a domain and stay up to date with the industry specific news. The Canadian domain name and website buyers are a smaller group than the wider domain industry - though some are into both. Get to know some of them, their knowledge can put you on the right track.

As any other financial advisor would say – “Don’t put all your eggs in a one basket”, I would advise you to invest only a little portion of your money on domains in the initial phase. After you learn the ins and outs of the trade, you could start investing more money and be ready to take more risks.

Investing in domain names, including Canadian domain names, can be both fun and lucrative on many levels. But look before you leap. Read on to learn more.

Valuable Domains

As a matter of fact, most of the valuable domains (at least in popular extensions) are already registered. People who registered domains in the 90s have made a good fortune out of their domains. It’s no wonder that some may have become millionaires by now. It’s so unfortunate to know that many novice domain investors who enter the industry with big dreams end up in losses or struggle even to sell their domains for registration fee. This factor is indeed a setback for those who intend to invest on domains. However the Domain Name Industry hasn’t come to a standstill. A quick reference in any of the domain sales reporting site would reveal that there are still domain sales amounting to six figures (Forums.com) or even million dollars (Fly.com). It may not be easy to register a new domain in 2010 which is worth of thousands of dollars but you could still buy valuable domains from the secondary market (Sedo.com or afternic.com) and sell it for profit after some period of time.

How to evaluate Domain Names

Evaluating or appraising a Canadian or .com, .net, .org or other domain requires a great amount of knowledge and honed expertise. To begin, a domain name can be appraised by analyzing the following factors:

• a) Recent sales reports of similar domain names
• b) Specific Domain extension
• c) Demand/ Traffic stats for generic/ keyword domains
• d) Character length of the particular domain
• e) Possibility of branding

You can also seek the expertise of others for evaluating domain names and even websites. There are many companies who offer domain appraisal services (manual review and automated ones). The automated ones are cheaper but most of the times the estimation is either very low or very high. On the contrary, a manual review by domain name experts can reveal the fair market price of the specific domain but will be expensive.

Also don't fall prey to the "domain name appraisal scam". Google that phrase and keep yourself safe!

Selling your Domains

There are various ways through which you could sell your domains. You can directly involve in the process of selling without the assistance of a middleman (domain broker). There are various webmaster forums/ domain name forums where you could find buyers. But this method is prone to various risks such as:

• a) You may sell the domain for a cheaper price
• b) The transaction (payment method) may not be secure
• c) You may not find any buyers

You can list your domains for sale in domain auction sites (aka market place or auction house). As these sites have a good network of buyers, the possibility of receiving an offer is more while compared to selling it by your own. However you may have to pay a listing fee or brokerage fee on successful sale.

Some companies also offer domain brokerage services which can help you to find buyers for your domains (for the best selling price).

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