Morning Folks!!
Here is something I said back in 1996 and something I can say today. Domain Names are the Single Most Under Valued Asset in the World! Fine, some of you won't agree. You are entitled to be wrong. ;-)
But that is a big improvement because in 1996 NOBODY agreed! We have come a long way baby but to be honest, we have only come a very short way. Domain Names are STILL the single most undervalued asset and TIME just keeps on proving it.
But besides time there is evidence. And eventually there will be comparisons. And when they take their TIME to COMPARE, they will see the strong evidence that my statement is 100% accurate. Domain Names. The Single Most Under Valued Asset in the World! And that statement will be true when domains are 10X higer then the hihest point so far.
Why do I say that? Well besides the PROOF we already have is the proof still to come. The FACT that a domain name can become the most important asset your business owns. That FACT that "Priceless" will be attached to many domains because they ARE the business.
The domain name. The FRONT DOOR to nearly every business on earth. The SIDE DOOR to nearly every business on earth. The BACK DOOR to nearly every business on earth. The START of nearly every business on earth. The one piece of info you need to find ALL other pieces of info.
The domain name. Your front door, your address, your telephone, you LIFELINE. The HEART of any new business today and in the future.
And each day folks don't see these things are days that are passing that business can never get back. The domain name will determine how you and your company are positioned to harness the future. So to ME, the future starts with a domain name. All business starts with a domain name. Every idea. Every person being born.
So early on I realized the most important thing you would need to play the business game of the future were CLEAR domain names that many would want to operate their business out of to distinguish themselves from others. Not only were the domains to be clear but what I saw as it related to them was clear as well.
The stages and behavioral changes we have gone thru to go from 2% of the worlds population online to close to 100% in just 20 years. That is one of the fastest evolutions of any new technology in the history of mankind. Think about it. Don't gloss over it. Don't dismss it. Think and talk and spend time understanding it. Compare to other inventions.
Running water, electric, things you take for granted took HUNDREDS of years to get that type penetration and it is still getting to folks!
There has never been a juggernaut like the Internet. PERIOD! Businesses that don't yet get it are having their life span shortened and they don't even know it.
I saw something in 1995 that only burns stronger today. We are in a multi billion dollar industry and we have not even started yet. From $0!!
When I was protecting and diversifying my assets back in 2007-2008 from the pending crisis and the unstable dollar, I bought gold, silver, and physical items. But when it came to intangibles.....I don't do Life Insurance, I don't do lots of traditional investing I look outside the box. And every time I looked out side the box the #1 safest and most portable asset was the domain name. Each and every time I went deep looking for better, I could not find better. Safer. Bigger upside.
Sure there are risks. Risks with everything. But some have less risk. Some risk is worth taking. If you know you will lose 50% investing in one asset it may be more attractive than losing 100%. If the currency blows a part and money has no value, than even a 50% loss on an asset beats the crud out of losing 100% on hyper inflation and everything else that can happen when there is a meltdown.
Oh yes, the recession may be coming to an end but you are about to see it rescued by inflation. inflation not only is coming it has been here for several years. Gas has doubled. My health insurance is up 50%. When I go out and eat it cost 2x as much as it did in 2007. The car I drive went up 40%.
So the losers were real estate and so I bought real estate and the bargain was interest rates so one of my properties has a 2.87% rate that is going to look mighty attractive as they climb higher and higher. Cheap money! Hard to lose. Break even? Maybe at worst.
We are just so lucky to have the single most portabe business in the world. Tools are so good you can run the universe with an iPhone. Overhead is so low there is no real overhead. The future is so bright I just feel bad for those that don't see it or are not prepared to harness it.
Sometimes 6th, 7th and 8th innings are boring. Or the 3rd quarter if a football game is slower. But that does not negate the 9th inning when the mood swing goes up or the 4th quarter when everyone is on their feet. The domain game is having their 7th inning stretch and we are just approaching the 9th.
And by the way......did I tell ya? This is a double header!!
The first 20 years and the second 20 years.
The difference will be BIG MONEY in the second half.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
Observer
I guess now is the perfect and last time to buy a good dot com. Once the whatsoevers take their own place whatever it is, dot com value will be significantly upgraded. I guess the recent US$ 2.1 million numeric domain trade may be the signal for the upgrade. Congratulations to good dot com holders, particularly to good numeric dot com holders. Avoid number 4. Take number 8.
Robin
I recently attended a trade show and ran into a company that “got it”. At one of the booths I found an interesting service that I might use in the future. I asked the person in the booth if they had a business card and they gave me one. On the business card was one thing and one thing only,…their web address. They had a simple and descriptive domain name that described the business that they were in. Why clutter a business card with information that is most current on a website. This company understood the power of a domain name, new how to use it, didn’t live or die by Googles whims, and new exactly what to promote.
Mike from Namerific.com
Great post. I agree, domains are still undervalued. Buying a good .com and holding it for 5 years will almost certainly beat any returns you’d get in an index fund. Domains should be seen as “online” real estate… except there are no property taxes (thank God) or upkeep costs… just the $10/year to keep it registered.
Kassey
The domain name bubble has not arrived yet, as the masses are still not aware of this great investment opportunity. It’s truly a global investment that you can do from almost anywhere in the world with just your credit card.
UFO
There are very few seriously ‘punchy’ domains around that have all the factors I’d consider to truly stack up. The most valuable domains are those that best suit the industry they are focusing on while being memorable. (Memorable beats type in’s any day). But you can have the best domain in the world, but without the kick ass implementation and delivery to market then it’s going to amount to nothing. The internet is absolutely strewn with great names rolling around like itumbleweed (not taken as a .com interestingly).
Great domains are significantly undervalued, but only as part of a going concern because spending shed loads for a great domain without a real business to bolt it onto is a huge risk… hence, I see high end domains all going into the leasing model with the domain owner getting a cut of the action.
Time will tell, but look at all the electronics retailers that have hit the wall because they didn’t back out of bricks and mortar quick enough and embrace the net.
Killing the intermediaries and flattening the chain is where it’s all at… and domains are the gateway to all that action.
PermaBull
Permabulls always sound the same. No different than if it’s in something like Gold, art or domain names.
When things are going good, it’s proof.
When things are going bad, it’s an opportunity.
When things are going terribly, it’s just the (X) inning of a (X) inning game.
It’s not an intelligent process.
Domain Industry FIRE SALE!!?? What Happened to Domaining and Investing? - The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog RicksBlog.com | Home of the "Domain King"
[…] is desperation is selling into a soft market making it softer. But it has little to do with domains and more to do with the financial condition of the domainer. The fear of the domainer. The […]