You might be better off putting your money in a savings account.
This morning, Giuseppe Graziano of domain brokerage GGRG published an analysis of domain name investing that I think all domain investors should read.
It’s especially compelling given that Verisign indicates one of its pushbacks against limiting .com price increases is that the average domain sold on the aftermarket goes for $1,600, which is a lot more than Verisign charges for domains.
The fact is that the unit economics for domain investors are stellar, but the overall economics can be rather poor.
The GGRG analysis looks at both hypothetical individual domain sales and sell-through rates and compares the returns to other investments you could make. And many times, even after a big “successful” sale of a domain name, you would have been better off putting your money in another investment—maybe even a CD.
It’s a long read but well worth it.
Domaining is not a get rich quick scheme.
Its expensive, risky, stressful, and yields low-returns for most.
It’s a game of skill, patience, budget management, and thinking long-term.
Very well said
Domaining is a stress free BS hobby,a therapeutic therapy
Didn’t expect to make money but now I am making millions $$$ in happiness
It is your perception and expectations
Express yourself via domain names.
That comparison by Verisign of domain prices in the primary and secondary markets is just bogus. Most domains are never sold at all in the secondary market; either the initial registrant keeps of it, or it drops with no demand whatsoever, and then get registered at primary market price down the road. Or never at all.
What makes domaining attractive is that the barrier to entry is low. If you are smart you can buy expiring names for $$ and resell them for 4 figures later, and scale up progressively.
It’s a very different market where margins are high but liquidity is low.
You could make higher returns in different classes of assets but you would have to tie up much more money (that you may not have). You also take a bigger risk by investing bigger sums. This is also more stressful.
The article says:
“For example, if you had kept $10,000 in an interest-bearing account or a Certificate of Deposit at 5.5% per year, your final amount after 10 years would have been roughly $17,081, while enjoying liquidity with no risk and no work”.
This is not completely correct, because you have to take into account inflation. The real profit is nowhere near that.
There are also no 5.5% 10 year CDs, at least in US dollars. But inflation also eats away at domain sales returns.
Domain investing isn’t for most people.
You have to have common sense, patience and some luck.
You also have to spend smart money to make money. Throwing your money at any domain name won’t work. You have to do your homework and keep up to date on what’s happening around you and in the domain World.
Just my two cents worth.
No, in 2024 it is not worth it at all. What once was a literal gold mine, has now become almost for certain a losing propostion. domain sales dont pay, domain parking has become a literal joke and a one way ticket to bankruptcy. Unless you are planning on using your domain name for your own website, with prices and renewals being so high its almost not any longer even worth owning 1 domain name, let alone 1,000.
Renewals being so high? Unless you have thousands of domain names or invest in premium-priced ones, I can’t see renewals as the problem. Back in the early 2000s a .com could be had for $6 at discount registrars. The price has now doubled, but it’s barely $6 more expensive and should not make any difference when you sell for low $,$$$ or more.
While I agree that the golden day are long gone, it’s never been an easy trade. Only a minority are making a profit but that was also true back then.
Jennifer, see my comment where I say that you are right.
PS: Please, do better than using a .biz if you are going to be an user, except in the most ridiculously rare instances for that particular TLD. I’m an end user too.
I feel like today its better to be focused on selling a couple high value domains you know you can sell than having a portfolio of tens of thousands where 90% will never sell. I am in the latter category and while it works because I’ve been doing it for nearly 20 years I couldn’t imagine doing it now.
Great point.
I’m on Year 9. I own less than 300 dotcoms.
I’m amazed anyone outside the top 1% of domainers can be profitable with 1000s of domains.
I haven’t seen much proof more than 10% of Domainers earn more than $10K annually in domain profits.
When you read about the random public sales there is no consideration of acquisition costs, renewals, and hold time.
That’s why the GGRG analysis is spot on.
Sadly, Jennifer is right. If you got in early, great. Just like Bitcoin. If you got in late, not great for the vast majority. If you got in really late, really bad for the most part.
I got in “late.” I started in 2001. While some who got in that late or even a bit later have done well, no doubt most have not. For example, I think Elliot Silver may have started later than me, but how many Elliot Silvers are there?
I am a failed domainer. And I don’t mind saying so. Not one bit.
But God granted me another path as an end user along the way.
I’ve had a few five figure sales over the years. But the real difference those five figure sales have represented is to my path as an end user, not as a domainer. For example, God sent someone out of the blue who came along and bought one for about $25k. Then immediately he bought another one for about $25k that I also had and suggested too. Okay great, about $50k. But in the US, how much can you do with about $50k? Can it afford the kind of life the real successful domainers have received?
But what you can do with that ~$50k is use it to buy a far better domain than the two you sold, to use as an end user. And that I did. Long story.
Prior to that, I think my only other five figure sale was done for Bitcoin. Check this out: 8 Bitcoins for a sale worth approximately $20k – $21k. It was even a 3 word .com. (Take that, you short domain mafia types.) 😉
The guy was one of these Bitcoin fanatic types. He strongly urged me to hold onto the Bitcoin and not sell it. But I had already seen it plummet to around $100, and it took a bit of a dip already, I was already sitting on a bunch of stock that had plummeted, and I did not share the Bitcoin true believer’s faith in Bitcoin, so I sold it off as quickly as possible, pretty sure even at a slight loss because of the dip around this time. If I had only taken his exhortation, I’d have had 8 nice Bitcoins now from that one 3 word domain.
That doesn’t mean the true believers are right about Bitcoin, btw. It is worthless trash with no value, and I would absolutely say that even if I had literally both cashed out billions of dollars worth and was still holding billions now. But that’s another topic.
Okay you get the idea. Hopefully that was slightly interesting to some.
Thanks be to God for all that He has given and done.
PS, just a few notes:
1. Ironically, although the domain I bought for end use from the two sales is a nice high prestige domain and does get a little bit of traffic, it has not been the source of the new path by any means. Still good to have though. God willing, perhaps also still good potential.
2. Fyi, the domain for Bitcoin sale was primarily for one, but included a practically identical three word .com with a slightly different word order. No big deal, but a bit of a purist about details.