Morning Folks!!
A Renaissance in the generic sense is simply a re-birth a renewal, a new age of something that has been around but has been rediscovered in a new or possibly much more valuable light. At least that is the specific definition I will use for this post. Domain names are on the eve of such a Renaissance. I started seeing this phenomenon early in 2018 but clearly late last year and have posted about it in the past several months. But now it is vivid like a rainbow!
Maybe you have not paid attention or maybe you just have not realized it but there was a huge difference between Christmas Season 2018 and the start of 2019 that is completely opposite of just 1 year ago. I focus on things that change or evolve so I can recalibrate my opinion or approach if need be.
One year ago nearly all commercials on TV were trying to drive traffic to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. It was plain stupid! But they did it anyways. Sending their OWN customers to a 3rd party! DUMB!
Fast forward to now and you will see virtually NO commercials on TV promoting their social media site. I watch interviews on TV now, no more social media, they have a website.
This is 3rd post I have made about the rise and fall of social media and the dangers as well as the opportunity. Some may have laughed at me a year ago when I left Twitter. But I was just way ahead of the masses. Folks are leaving in droves and Facebook is in even worse shape!
Social media is dangerous! Not the first time I am saying this. I came one click away last night from even deleting my Linkedin page. I have even thought about removing this blog. These things may become liabilities. Opinions are looked at as facts and then something for you to be held accountable for. That's total nonsense! But it's still effective!
http://www.ricksblog.com/2018/11/social-media-is-no-longer-social-its-dangerous/#.XEw-ri2ZNp8
What you say on Social Media can and WILL be used against you! That is the big lesson among so many others and we never even mentioned privacy! It does not matter how old. It does not matter how small. It can and WILL be used against you.
The ONLY autonomy we have on the Internet is your own domain name and now the masses are realizing that and that is a huge deal for truly great domain names.
Going forward many domains I have don't have the value they once had. Things change. It's a Renaissance. Many domains are perishable. They missed the big window of opportunity. Domains on the market right now that had great value and now, sorry, they don't. Examples would be Smartphones.com or CellPhones.com. They both missed the window of great opportunity. What is the attraction today? What is the interest today? There are many domains that I see that at one time I would have died for and now does not even move the needle for me.
Domains and domaining evolve. But the evolution of domaining just got the biggest kickstart I have ever seen. Akin to a blood transfusion or a couple of heart paddles. It's a REALLY big deal!
I can still find a quality .com domain for any end user for $10 in 10 minutes. So what that does is, it marginalizes the prices of marginal domain names that were low to begin with. But at the same time it raises the prices of truly great domain names. We could see a frenzy. Imagine domain names as hot as bitcoins were in 2017. I see companies upgrading their domains now as a common occurrence that will become more and more common. Location, Location, Location.
You will see personal domains and you will see Brandable and one word meaningful domains rule the day. Slogans will do well. Even if several words. But the big bucks are in short and Brandable .com domains and exact match 1 and 2 word domains. A Brandable to me has to be pronounceable. Basically inventing a new word that you can say and is easy to spell.
And there are "Franchise Domains". These domains have common prefixes and suffixes. Makes you part of something larger even if not related. You can come into domaining TODAY and focus on these and make money! But PATIENCE PLEASE!!! Play the game the right way! And of course a "Franchise Domain" can only be .com. The next best extension, whatever it is, can only garner 1%-2% of the .com value. So why are so many wasting time on third rate domains to begin with? Stop playing in the sandbox and step on up your game to the major leagues. I think this is the only business I have ever seen where folks CHOOSE to play in the minors.
And of course GTLD's will continue to die on the vine. It seems like this is becoming a common occurrence. Something I have predicted for YEARS! How many will die THIS YEAR???
If you took out all the GTLD domains that sold for a penny or were free or were stuffed into accounts, you would have many many millions less registrations and they will eventually drop anyways. Worthless is worthless. The numbers, which suck anyways, are PHONY!! Drill down and you will see what GTLD guys are feeding you is a BAG OF SH*T! They are fighting for their very survival. That means they will say and do anything. They will cut deals that paint a phony picture of success. Don't fall for it! Desperation is something nobody should fall for. Not your problem DUDE, unless you make it one.
Some Registries (not many) make money, domainers don't. Almost every sale I see is a direct registry sale or an authorized reseller like Sedo selling the registries premium names. Where are the domainers in that equation??????
I won't tell you the extension, you can do your own homework and figure it out yourself. But the fastest growing GTLD in the past few weeks/months has one issue for ME that makes it a PHONY! What is it? Not a single registration from Godaddy.!!! Not a ONE!! I Pay particular attention to which registrars have the most domains registered by certain extensions. I BELIEVE they are HOLLOW and PHONY! I am a numbers guy. I can see what's natural and what is artificial. I don't know the exact promotion nor do I have to. I just know it is artificial and unsustainable. Domainers are being played like FOOLS!
I own the .com version of many GTLD combos. I hope many startups start their new business on those GTLD's. Does not make them smart, they are not, but if they wise-up they will eventually LEARN about all the pitfalls and leaks. They will eventually learn how much that costs them in loss of sales that they will have to deal with. Smart guys will be FORCED to abandon. The dumb will just go out of business if they ignore and don't address. NO COMPANY can afford to lose sales. But there are some geniuses out there that don't think sales are important. :-)
GTLD Registries and registrars don't care about the success or lack of it with those that buy domains. They don't care about the pitfalls the end user will eventually face nor do they alert them. There is no disclaimer or warning label. They just want to sell domains. And that's ok. That's their job. My job is to expose the weaknesses that they won't.
I just have to laugh. Usually a product or service has a couple or three points of concern or weakness. Usually ones that are identified and can be controlled. They don't usually go out of their way to remain blind to them. On the other hand, it has taken me 6 YEARS and I still have yet to uncover all the points of concern and weaknesses of GTLD's. I just have to LAUGH!
Think of 2019 and 2020 as 2 years that .com domains will become inflated as prices rise. They may even skyrocket. What is happening to Social Media, Google and Free Speech will do 10x more for domains and domainers than anything domainers can do or have done for themselves. Your only job is to buy GREAT domains and match them up with the proper entity.
I blew a great one the other day. ImpeachTrump.com sold for about $3500 on Flippa. All I know is I see domains every week that sell cheap that have great value plus a DEMAND, but folks keep buying total crap looking for the second coming. Need, Want, Desire, Value.
A domain can be a soapbox or it can be the biggest company on earth. It can be invented. It can be re-invented. It can be anything you want it to be. Domains with power have value far beyond what folks understand today as we enter this Renaissance. But WE understand.
WE understand that a Sear's store has one value but Sears.com has more value with less overhead and wider audience when utilized correctly. A Sear's store may be a liability. A Sear's store costs TENS of millions to build and even more to furnish and staff.
I REFUSE to let go of my comparisons and comps. That means I REFUSE to see value the way the masses do. I see value the way the FUTURE will see value! We are so far away from peak value. But it ONLY applies to great domain names. It does not apply to marginable domains. Step up your game folks!! The canyon is going to widen and widen pretty quickly. Don't be on the wrong side.
And as someone posted right here just a few weeks ago, "A good domain is easy to remember. A GREAT domain name is hard to forget."
Rick Schwartz
Marshall
Great post.
Were you really thinking of deleting your blog or is that hyperbole? ;) I always thought having your words echo out forever was important to you? If you were serious then I guess that must mean you really think the world is becoming DANGEROUS? I kinda get it, these are scary times. Up is down and down is up. :(
Paul K
I cancelled my Facebook account years ago when I saw the facial recogization software in play and how it follows you….wtf. Plus, I could careless about what my friends and family were doing.
Linkedin..I am one more unsolicited spam pm, mainly from Indian “domainers”, who want to be Linked up. Dont be afraid to say NO to linking up with them…it feels good.
Your Blog…Shut it down..take a long break and let your past words and actions speak for themselves.
Get far far away from the ugliness of social media and trolls.
Mark Thorpe
We might see a mini .COM bubble. Run-up starts this year and ends in 2020.
tommy butler
Once again fantastic post and spot on
Reuben
Quatsch, nonsense. All great domain names are already taken long time ago. Nobody with a great domain name will voluntarily sell it for pennies or let it drop. In today’s market, if listed on an auction domain names like CARS.COM, INTERNET.COM, BOOKS.COM, VISION.COM, FOOD.COM, LAWYERS.COM will fetch tens of thousands of Dollars or more. Rick, your problem is that you want this type of domain names to sell for millions of Dollars. Nobody and nothing but the market (DEMAND AND SUPPLY)is preventing these premium domain names from selling for millions of Dollars.You can for the market or price. You can blame social networking websites or GTLD’s as much as you want there just are not many people (end-users) who are willing to pay millions of Dollars for a domain name even if they have the money. For this to happen it means there must be a balance between the number of people who can create/invent or innovate things/business and the number of premium domain names that are available there. But in reality what we have is millions of premiums domains and a very few end-users, that is, people who can make things happen on internet, people of the likes of Mark Zuckerberg(FB), Larry Page(Google), Sergey Brin(Google), Jeff Bezos(Amazon) and Reid Hoffman(Linkedin). Even these guys, they did not use/buy premium domains for millions of Dollars. They used made-up domain names. In other words, for what Rick wants it means the world should be seeing many successful internet based companies popping up every day or every week and becoming popular like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Pinterest or Linkedin. How many successful internet based companies that came out in the last 10 years and that are very popular today that you know of? And why do you expect premium domains to sell for millions? I don’t see the justification for that if we take into account that even the owners of the premium domains themselves don’t have and can’t think of any business concept for their domain names.
As an end-user, why would you buy a domain name for millions of Dollars when you are not yet sure if the project will be successful or when you have so many alternative domains that you can buy for less money or that you cam just make up?
Or as a domain investor, why would you want to buy a domain name for millions of Dollars when you do not know for sure if you can sell it with a profit, let alone if someone will ever need it?
Even the premium domains that are fetching some money on auction are being bought buy domain investors/speculators, not end-users.
End-users buy GTLD’S like .CO, .IO because they cheaper comparing to .COM, and that is the reason Rick want wrongly educate the masses to stop using alternative extensions, because Rick sees this as a threat to his .COM domain portfolio that is not getting any end-user’s attention, not because there is something wrong with these GTLD’S extensions. Google treats all extensions the same way. Rick can’t be smarter than end-users who are trying to make things happen. Rick is just a domain speculator. He does not have any project in mind. If he is talking bad about GTLDs is for his own benefit. If you are a domain investor invest extensions that end-users are buying. Rick will not buy your domain names, end-users will. Rick wish Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter to die so he can sell his .CO domains. To expect to have benefits on the hope that somebody will die is being wicked. Only a speculator can think like this. A smart person will create, invent or innovate to bypass an obstacle. Facebook will be there in the next 50 years. It just is redressing itself
Rick Schwartz
Reuben,
Where do I start??
“Rick is just a domain speculator. He does not have any project in mind. If he is talking bad about GTLDs is for his own benefit. If you are a domain investor invest extensions that end-users are buying. Rick will not buy your domain names, end-users will. Rick wish Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter to die so he can sell his .CO domains”
Reuben, you are a fool that is highly invested in a worthless asset. So sorry. None of those companies will die nor have I ever said they would. But the dynamics are changing.
I never tried to sell a .co domain. I have fun with Morons.co and FuckYou.co. So don’t pit words in my mouth or assign motive.
I’m sorry that you have no rational answers for the hundreds of pitfalls an end user will find and the costs involved with those pitfalls. I guess the way you look and run a business, stuff like that does not count.
“Or as a domain investor, why would you want to buy a domain name for millions of Dollars when you do not know for sure if you can sell it with a profit, let alone if someone will ever need it?”
Sorry, but as a “Domain Investor” I would NEVER EVER buy a domain for $1 Million or more. But I do SELL them for a MILLION and more. So you got that one ass backwards too!
Your biggest problem Reuben, is you are too smart to have any common sense. That means you are anal and you don’t understand the masses and marketing.
You are defensive because you are scared to death that I am right just as I have been all along! You have $$ invested that are worthless and have foundations built on beach sand. They will wash away. Has nothing to do with Google. Has nothing to do with anything but flawed marketing and having no common sense. Don’t spit in the wind and then wonder why your face is all wet.
I am a STRONG salesperson. What that means is I point out the pitfalls of my own product before my competitors do. Weak salesman try and hide the pitfalls. Gloss over and ignore them. I address them. Overcome them. Point out remedies.
“As an end-user, why would you buy a domain name for millions of Dollars when you are not yet sure if the project will be successful or when you have so many alternative domains that you can buy for less money or that you cam just make up?”
You don’t have to buy a domain for millions. I never said that. I don’t know anyone that did. But you DO have to buy .com to be taken seriously and universally. The largest franchise the world has ever known. I’ll keep using fire and the wheel and math. I’ll let smart guys like you re-invent everything that already works just fine,
There is a LOT of evidence that folks UPGRADE to .com from HUNDREDS of different extensions and country codes. There is NO EVIDENCE whatsoever that anyone DOWNGRADES to a GTLD. NONE!!! I am sure some stupid folks have, but hey, it’s ok to be stupid. And it’s ok for me to point out stupid.
And please don’t forget about the failures that we NEVER heard of and NEVER will that just made a bad call by buying a .whatever and having all their hard work be for nothing. Their first decision. Their most important decision. And they made the WORST decision that would put them outta business before they even start. They CHOSE something other than .com and that diminished their chances of success to near ZERO! But don’t tell them that. They, like YOU, will go nuts!
Rick Schwartz
And while we pay attention to Multi-Billion dollar companies like the ones you mention, there are many thousands of mid level websites and businesses doing $50 Million and $100 million and $250 Million. They are the most fertile buyers of domains. They think much different than you.
Michael Anthony Castello
Reuben. One word for your analysis – poppycock!
I have the distinct ability to offer that Rick knows what he’s talking about. I have no business wth Rick or benefit in any way from a relationship but I know what works like Rick does. I’ve sold million dollar .com and continue to do so. I’ve made millions from starting busisinesses from the ground up.
You went out of your way to directly to attack Rick and speaking 3rd person to him. More interesting, you attack incognito. What are you afraid of? I think it’s evident in your long rant that you’re afraid your wrong.
staff
This: “But in reality what we have is millions of premiums domains and a very few end-users”
Correct: Millions of end-users and a very 0.9% dot com premiums domains.
Snoopy
So many errors in your post Reuben it is hard to know where to start. However the comment about million dollar domain buyers being extremely limited is true. How many million dollar sales were reported last year? Two?
Snoopy
Actually it is 3 million dollar+ sales, here it is by year, millions dollar sales reported by dnjournal
2007 9
2008 7
2009 8
2010 7
2011 3
2012 2
2013 3
2014 11
2015 5
2016 6
2017 6
2018 3
Whilst some names have undoubtedly soared (non plural one word .coms) many (most?) categories have fallen, the overall market is not strong.
Leonard Britt
Yes, it is common for businesses to use obvious reg fee domains (hyphenated, confusing spelling, alternate extension, three-word, etc) and social media accounts to promote their businesses. They do save money on the domain by not spending $1500-$5000 for a catchy, memorable two-word .com (but not mega-premium six-figure one-word) domain. But how much does that crappy domain name or social media account cost them in business over a five-year timeframe because when they promote it on tv, a billboard, the side of a truck, etc no-one remembers it a few hours later?
Rick Schwartz
They NEVER look at that side of the equation Leonard. It’s INSANE!
And when you point to it, they defend the indefensible instead of being SMART and getting out their calculator.
Fact is we are not talking 1% or 2%. In some cases could be over 50%. But even conservatively, anywhere from 5% to 25%. That’s for THEM to figure out. But they seldom do. These folks are cheap and lazy and unfortunately widespread.
The ONLY one I have ever seen do it in public and honestly, was Overstock and the O.co debacle. Had they stayed with that strategy, they would have already folded.
It keeps getting back to common sense. It also gets to what is being taught in college mostly by folks that never ran a business and don’t understand sales.
And how about after 10 or 20 years? It can be the difference between struggling to earn a modest living or hitting it big.
And the worst part, is that thought process carries over to every thing they do and every decision they make.
Leonard Britt
I will give an example from personal experience. A company approached me a couple years ago about a two-word .com domain of mine inquiring about its price. At the time they were using some small European country cctld domain to get their desired keyword even though they are based in the US. I was asking for $5000 at the time. Several months later they came back and offered high $xxx for the domain. I noticed then that they were operating on the equivalent keyword domain in .Co as my .Com domain. They had done some SEO work (how much does that cost?) to get their website to rank for that phrase. Apparently their app uses the keyword phrase of my domain. A press release on their website states they have done more than $500 million in business. And yet they cannot afford $5000 for a domain? Well, their LLC is a two-word name with the first word being the same as my domain. However, they do not own the .com domain of their LLC name either.
Leonard Britt
Correction they use a shorter version but their LLC name in .com does forward to the abbreviated version they use for the website. So basically they made up something else to avoid paying for an aftermarket domain.
Dave Robb
I will say it
..Reuben you dont have a clue. .com rules period, while there may be some other larger sales in new gtld..That does not even compare. And Rick is absolutely correct about social media unless you are the Kardashians. Get serious, I have always stated your domain and website are your business..Michael Castello is well aware of that and so is Rick S.. The facts have been in for a few years..Good brandables,made up names that are easy to remember,good strong keyword domains and good 2 word domains are NEVER going away…Social media will never change your business the way a good domain name will..Period, end of story..Have a nice GTLD day
Ian Mansell
I still personally think that good .com’s are often undervalued. Commercial Real estate and Leases are EXPENSIVE. A URL is a one time payment with pin money renewals.
Social media is a great platform if your product is social media. Sure you can get some great affiliate commissions etc, but people are still buying underlying products made by real people off real websites. A good URL links social media to the underlying ‘brand’ built on a ‘service/product’.
Potentially domains have matured sufficiently that their price growth is no greater than other asset classes, but to be sure there is a lot of misspriced domains and so there is value to be acquired.
Rick Schwartz
What truly gets me the most is the same self-defeating arguments that were used against me in 1997 and 1998 and 1999 are still being used 20 years later.
Think of all the SCHMUCKS that were around before Frank and complained about all the good domains being gone. They were total schmucks. They defeated themselves and always will until they just give it up. It’s a human nature thing. Sad. But I get it because I was once on their defeatist path. I KNOW the difference.
Domains are like a Merry-Go-Round. There is no longer a starting point but there is always an entry point. Just like Real Estate. Everyone here was born AFTER ever parcel on earth was spoken for and owned. But that did not stop folks from buying great real estate throughout history.
And please keep in mind that many if not most domains are commercial real estate which has much more value than residential real estate.
The market has not yet matched up to the potential. But progress is coming. Survival forces knowledge and sometimes surrender before defeat.
Logan
“There is no longer a starting point but there is always an entry point. Just like Real Estate. Everyone here was born AFTER ever parcel on earth was spoken for and owned. But that did not stop folks from buying great real estate throughout history.
And please keep in mind that many if not most domains are commercial real estate which has much more value than residential real estate.”
Dear Newbies,
These are nuggets of brilliance! Read them and learn!
Yours truly,
Logan
Leonard Britt
Those invested in the domain space view domains as internet real estate. I am not debating that argument. However, if one looks at the domains (or social media profiles companies use to avoid the need to incur the expense of operating a website) that most businesses use one could conclude that generally speaking end users do not view domains as internet real estate. Yes, there are exceptions but “potential domain buyers” are generally looking for the reg fee solution without much thought as to the effect the reg fee solution will have on the success of their business.
Erich
I have been waiting for a new post from you Rick. Thank you again! Love reading your posts!
Here is another interesting article about Facebook:
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-25/facebook-ripped-game-playing-kids-and-their-parents-multi-year-friendly-fraud
Scott Alliy
Rick its better that Reuben spits in the wind. That way he can wash the egg off his face when once again you are fact checked and proven to be spot on and you announce your next 6 or 7 figure .com sale.
And lets not forget that other circumstances (out of our control) like the hundreds of journalists that just got laid off after decades (with I am sure some parting cash) and many of whom are tired of the corporate grind and will want to start their own business (on a great .com of course) those occurences will drive interest and demand for good quality domains IMO.
One other thing in our favor is that as I have shown with my latest niche product. With software developments and readily available scripts creating a professional website is far easier than it has ever been. A fact that should motivate those non tech savvy entrepreneurs who are on the fence to take the leap into their own internet based business.
I’ve been patient and vigilante and I agree that elements outside our influence (including social media downfall) will drive interest in Good quality brand domains.
I’ve set a personal goal in the multiple six figures of domain sales this year. Wishing success to all long time domain investors that have towed the line and waited patiently for the
Renaissance that you have so adeptly written about here.
Lastly Speculator? you? Amazing how someone can completely overlook millions of dollars of successful business accomplishments and label you as just one of the people hoping to make a splash in the pool LOL
Alex Verdea
“One year ago nearly all commercials on TV were trying to drive traffic to their Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages. It was plain stupid! But they did it anyways. Sending their OWN customers to a 3rd party! DUMB!
Fast forward to now and you will see virtually NO commercials on TV promoting their social media site. I watch interviews on TV now, no more social media, they have a website. ”
Rick – Funny you mentioned it. It seems like every other commercial on TV is NerdWallet.com, VRBO.COM, HomeChef.com and Chewy.com etc. All these companies ditched, or not even mentioning social media anymore. BIG difference indeed from a year ago and the past decade really.
I agree it’s stupid to send your customers to a 3rd party platform. Worse yet, these platforms change their policies whenever so WHY depend on them at all?
Ohh best part, these 3rd party platforms SELL your data, maybe manipulate elections too :)
I think you actually are being to kind calling social media “cancer”…
@Rueben and others that comment incognito – You all should be invoiced for wasting people time.
@Erich – thanks for the article, not surprised.
Rob
Another informative post, and detailed replies, by Mr. Schwartz regarding the current state of the domain industry.
Thank you Sir, for continuing to take the time to share you industry knowledge and experience via your blog.
Also, a quick shoutout to Michael Castello for his input/validation … Like Rick, Michael is another successful domain investor/business man with exceptional ongoing results.
Reuben
I really don’t understand what you guys are talking about.
There are plenty premium domain names for sale, TRUE or FALSE?
Nobody is letting his/her premium domain name drop, TRUE or FALSE?
If you list them on any auction they will sell, TRUE or FALSE?
If they sell on auction most likely the domainers are the ones buying them, TRUE or FALSE?
If you are honest you would agree with me that the answers to all above questions are (TRUE)
So what really is your problem? You are not finding anybody to buy your premium domain names for millions of Dollars, correct? Well, you can’t force the market. If there is nobody to buy your domains for millions of Dollars then it is a matter of DEMAND and SUPPLY. We have too much supply of premium domains and few end-users. And Why are there too few end-users? Because the vast majority of people in the world are not able to create/invent or innovate. Their lives depend on people who are able to create/invent or innovate things or businesses, that is, the end-users, and there are just a few of them. It is not for no reason why the vast majority of people in USA live from paycheck to paycheck, about 90%. And you expect to see premium domain names easily selling for millions of Dollars? You must be living in a cave.
Demand and supply is the determinant factor in any market, and in domain market end-users are not willing to pay millions for domain names, so that is the market. Why do you want to force the market when there is nothing wrong with market. Facebook, Linkedin and GTLD’s domains must not be blamed. End-users have vision and ideas to make things happen. When they identify the domain name for their project in most cases the domain is already taken by speculators and being sold for a lot of money, then end-users find alternative domain names or extensions or they even make domains up. Some do that because they think domains should not cost that much even though they have the money to spend. Others do that because they do not have that kind of money. When the project is successful then they maybe can change to/buy .COM if they had a .CO or .IO domains for example. But the question is, how many internet based companies that came out in the last 10 years that are considered successful today? So what makes you think something is wrong with the market if premium domain names are not being bought easily for millions of Dollars? REMEMBER, the demand of domain names must correlate with the magnitude of inventions, innovations or creativity . Few people are so creative to need a premium domain name and buy it for millions of Dollars, they will find alternative domain names.
So the domain market is good. Even if facebook or linkedin are no longer there, there won’t be a significant change.
Rick Schwartz
Reuben,
There is no such thing as Demand and Supply. You have it ass backwards and I will prove it right now. Ands when I prove it, you have a choice. Remain ignorant or learn.
There IS such a thing as Supply and Demand.
See there is a demand for a pill that will make you live for 5000 years. But there is no supply. So the equation is dead. You already lost but I will continue to make it a slam dunk.
On the other hand, if you had such a pill and you only had 5000 of them then the demand would be greater than for anything the world has ever known and the price PER PILL might easily be in the billions. Tens of Billions. Who knows. But the Demand would be more than the supply. If they are able to mass produce it, the price goes down because the supply goes up. When everyone has the pill demand goes down. But never to zero. Every newborn would need the pill. But at that point the billion dollar pill is $5. So the profit is gone. But in this case all pills are the same. Nobody upgrades to a different pill.
Now somebody may come out with a 10,000 year pill and make the 5000 year pill obsolete.But it may be 5000 years before you have to take that pill. So many variables when you take the time to drill down and stop scratching the surface.
So there you have it.
Now on some of the other things you have a point but TIME and CIRCUMSTANCE are just 2 things that affect Supply and Demand.Everyone now has a domain name so demand is down as you point out. That part you got right. That’s just one of 150 reasons why GTLD’s are failing.
But it’s not a stationary market. It changes. It expands. It contracts. It has new inventions and new sectors. It’s always evolving.
And the biggie is understanding what a domain name is and what it represents. The light bulb goes off with end users at different times.
Social Media and the censorship etc is forcing folks to realize they are at risk and they are no longer in control of their own destiny. As HUMANS we revolt against things like that. Point being that will change behavior and DOMAINS are EXIT #1. This is simply history repeating itself in a different dimension. ADAPT and you will see the parallels
People are fleeing social media just like they are fleeing Venezuela. Just a different dimension. But there are so many common characteristics.
The smart people that had foresight and were financially secure may have fled YEARS ago.DECADES ago. Fled with their families and wealth intact. So what does that say about those finally leaving now? But that migration helped supply and demand issues in Real Estate in other parts of the world.
Matter of FACT if you research it, you would learn that in the late 70’s and early 80’s Venezuela was a very rich country. The folks there were snapping up property in South Florida like no tomorrow. Things changed and those properties lost more than 50% of they value. I was actually renting a condo owned by a Venezuelan.
They had paid $85k for the 1 bedroom place, but we had a crash here in the late 1980’s when interest rates were at 18% and up and that condo was worth less than $40k if you could even find a buyer which was virtually impossible.
Now let’s fast forward 30 years. That same property is worth only $150k. That’s with remodeling.And that’s the asking price!
But there were some problems that would suppress value.
1. It had no balcony. You are in Florida, folks want a balcony.
2. It was not on the ocean nor was it directly on the Intracoastal.
Now compare that to the building across the street. Same age but directly on the ocean.
They sold for $100k-$125K back then.
Today, nothing under $1 Million.
I have other examples. That’s the main reason I focused on either Oceanfront type domains or domains that would be in DEMAND. You have to look to the future for value. For 30% more on the front side to be on the oceanside and GUARANTEE value and demand, there is a substantial difference on this side. One property did not even double. The other one just FEET away when up TEN FOLD!! That happens almost universally. And it absolutely applies to domains. That’s why I am so stubborn about buying quality .com and forget about the SWAMPLAND!!
If you bought swampland back then and try and sell it now, you will either get nothing or end up in jail. It has no value. Never has, never will.
Now just because I don’t sell a domain does not mean there is no demand or value. That only means that no deal was struck.
I could have easily just doubled my money with every purchase I ever made. But tell me….HOW STUPID WOULD THAT HAVE BEEN looking back in hindsight?
Ibrahim Khan
Where are like and dislike buttons?
Ibrahim Khan
This debate is so informative for all of us. Keep it healthy.
Jose
Every day find many domains (.com) without registering one, two and three keywords to search for the end user.
In the other comment to do advertising are each equal each activity needs the keyword and the short phrase, two or three keywords that leave mouth open to the end user to consume and has this give him something more “Vouchers” and buy much more, this is what interests.
Now have more than 50 domains (.com) that are not for sale, they all have a new address in the market of website development, eCommerce, auctions domains, classifieds, money transfers, stock market….. all with app creation.
Finally the first time as a Domainer that I am about to buy for $ 12,000 domain (com) for a Startup in the country where I live, which comes to hand for your product and service that interests me your project, I have already reached an agreement with the same contract signed for 24 months I bring domain (com) and every month charge $ 2,500 and 5% annual benefits, this is a long time part to look to make and in the end arrive at the expected time, thanks to you Rick for what you learn from your blog and websites.
Happy Day. Jose.
John
This is another great post by Rick that people would be wise to file away somewhere. As well as his comments here.
Also, on a side note, see this little threat within the industry, in my humble opinion: onlinedomain . com/2019/01/27/domain-conferences/welcome-to-namescon-2019-best-sessions-on-sunday/#comment-329256. (And many related going back months.)
> “The ONLY autonomy we have on the Internet is your own domain name and now the masses are realizing that and that is a huge deal for truly great domain names.”
HOWEVER, there is a little “however” in all of this. A potentially very big “however,” that is. I.e., we have already learned and seen that even that idea about domain names is also under threat, the most recent example being the Gab.com affair. And it is only as long as there are companies like Epik and people like Rob Monster around, and only as long as they are willing and able to stand up to external pressure and societal evil regarding such matters that this idea about domain names holds true.
Garth
Two population camps moving forward, on or off social media. The population off are network connected thus domains rain supreme. Social media is designed to be toxic by the programmers. An enlightening interview with Dr Sam Vaknin – https://youtu.be/dmXcjvL9VSc
Steve
I agree with Ibrahim Khan – this is a great debate and it seems to be healthy and constructive on both sides. Great information!
John
Anyone read what I wrote there about the threat to domain names? :)
steve fox
So will junk domains like jkp.com or ypw.com go up in the next few years like brandables?