Do you ask the RIGHT questions when buying domains? My top 20 Right Here!


Afternoon Folks!

If you want to buy great domains you have to ask the right questions to see
if it qualifies. If you don't ask the right questions it is virtually impossible
to buy the right domain. What is the right domain? One that will be in demand in
the future for starters. Some focus on the tools out there and that is all well
and good. I would give that part of the equation the least amount of weight.
That will change if you are focused on the future. So zero today may mean
hundreds or thousands tomorrow.
Here are just some of my top categories.
1. Is it easy to spell? I mean EASY! The masses can't spell.

2. Is it easy to remember?
3. Will it look good on a billboard or in a commercial?
4. Will it pass the radio test?
5. Is it commercial or social?

6. Does it mean something just standing alone?

7. Can the domain go up in value by 100x? by 1000x 10,000x?

8. Is this a retail price or a wholesale price?

9. Are the other extensions taken?

10. Does it get ANY traffic or make ANY income consistently?

11. Is it a plural when it should be a singular? Or is it a singular when
it should be plural?

12. Will there be mistypes? If you buy a .net and build it without owning
the .com how much traffic will you lose?

13. If I decide I don't want the domain anymore is it good enough to be
liquid?
14. Are there other related domains that would help or hinder?

15. Is this the best domain I can find for the money?

16. Can I use the money in a better way?

17. Does it add value to your overall portfolio?

18. Could you open a business around that domain name?

19. Is the traffic type in or is it coming from any other way?

20. Could you envision a large company using that domain in a national ad
campaign?
These are just a FEW of the questions I ask and most take a split second to
figure out. You need gut. The best way to build gut is guessing the traffic
before you find out the actual numbers. If you master this, you will be way
ahead of the curve.
I still believe most great domains are bargains and priced between $500,
$5000 and $10,000. I can't afford all the bargains out there. That is also why
if you have large portfolios, dumping your crap is essential to survival. 10,000
names making no revenue is worth cutting loose and buying 80 $1000 names. There
is about to be a glut of shit domains on the market. So the drop game is about
to change once again. This one will be like peeing on an electric fence because
anyone picking up those drops will merely be buying a liability at the worst
possible moment.



I am sure you have your criteria as well. Some are more focused. Some are
more general. Some are with different extensions. How ever you do it, 2009 is a
year where folks can not afford to make mistakes.
Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz


Zero visibility and taxes brings business to a halt!

Morning folks!

I heard a very good description of where we are economically the other day.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric said that we are in a fog. As far
as business is concerned there is zero visibility. What that means is conditions
are so bad companies can not even plan or project 30-60 days out. They are on
day to day and that is just one of the reasons why the economy is so bad and
getting worse.

Then add the layoffs and what that does to the morale of a company and how
that down draft has the power to destroy that company. Reorganization takes time
and opportunities are missed.

You may ask why am I writing about the economy more than domains? It is a
simple answer. If you have the most beautiful suite on the Titanic and the ship
is going down and you are busy redecorating, you are in serious trouble. You
have the wrong focus. You also need to read yesterday's post as well as previous ones. There is a thread and theme that runs throughout.

I also like being on record. I am willing to stick it out and believe what
I say and think. Does not mean I always get it right. But time and the record
have proved more often than not. My posts about what is HERE now started 1-2
years ago and just kept intensifying. The reason, the numbers just did not add
up and it was just a matter of time before numbers trumped the bullshit. People lie, numbers don't.

Last week I wrote about the lack of confidence and how that is the
epicenter. Well, now there is much more confidence. More confidence that things
are going to get much worse. That is the only thing I can see any confidence in.

How you handle these troubled waters is going to determine many years of
your life from this point forward. So it has nothing to do with your cabin and
everything to do with the ship. If you have $10 million and hyper inflation
comes (And we are certainly planting the seeds for that to happen) you are
broke. So things can change quickly and drastically. Things can truly spiral out
of control. This is no drill. This is the real thing. We are witnessing an
economic disaster so much bigger than 1929 that I don't have a calculator that
will even go that high. The good thing is that it is worldwide. The bad thing is
that it is worldwide. Riots, unrest and governments falling has the power to
overshadow the economics at some point. War becomes inevitable.

Right now we are in a deflationary phase. When something is deflated you
try and inflate it. The here and now is deflation, but you can't be blind to the
other side. We are getting both, just don't know the timing. What's important is
being AHEAD of whatever happens. One step ahead and things are fine, one step
behind and your world can come crashing down. It's tough to make money. It's
even harder to keep it.

A lot of things are going to happen in the next 90 days. The next 60 could
be the worst we have seen until this point. Tax time is getting closer and
unless you are in Congress, we all need to pay that tax and that is where the
first true test and bottleneck happens. That is going to determine where we go
from there. Likely some minor relief followed by the very darkest days we have
ever faced.

That's what I see coming. Cover your eyes and hide or be proactive. I have
been preparing for this for a very long time and I am still not ahead of it.
Nobody is really ahead of it. The quality of life as we know it is in jeopardy. The fallout has
yet to even materialize.

Cash is king, but income generating domains can become more valuable than
cash. The payouts will adjust to the market and inflation. They are down now
because of deflation. Accept it. Don't dwell on it. The market is working. The
reward for them will be most evident when that inflation comes.

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz