Here’s why you shouldn’t have sellers remorse.
With the rapid rise in values for three and four character domain names, I’ve read some commentary from people kicking themselves for selling domain names too soon.
Call it seller’s remorse, and it’s a feeling I think we’ve all had.
But comparing the price you sold a domain name for and how much you could get for it today is irrelevant. It’s hindsight.
Here are three reasons you shouldn’t beat yourself up too much:
1. Even if you held on to the domain name longer than you did, you probably would have sold it before now.
I’m reminded of this when I look around Austin and see the rapid rise in real estate prices.
“If only I’d bought land in this part of town 10 years ago!” I tell myself.
So what if I had? My guess is I would have been ecstatic about the property appreciation by 2013 and sold it then, and I’d be kicking myself for today for leaving another 25% appreciation on the table.
2. The annualized return on your investment might have been higher.
Consider a domain name you bought in 2005 for $5k and sold for $15k in 2008. Your annualized return is about 45%. If you waited to sell that domain name in 2015 for $30k, your annualized gain would be around 20%.
Of course, if you parked the profit in cash or just bought a toy with it, then the annualized return doesn’t matter.
3. Remember, hindsight is 20/20.
It’s easy to look back at the past couple years and think about investments you would have made. This goes for domain names, stocks, real estate, you name it.
But ask yourself this: sitting here, at the end of 2015, would you invest in three letter domain names?
This decision might give you pause. Think there’s a lot of risk to these investments?
That’s the same feeling you probably had many years ago when you decided to sell the domain name. If you didn’t reinvest the money, it’s because you were worried about the same risk.
It’s possible short domain names will be worth less five years from now than they are today. If you think appreciation will continue, then don’t worry about the past and place your bets for the future.
Mike says
I bought a 4 char about 6 years ago for $120 and sold it 2 months ago for $19,000 and I still think I may have sold short..
Andrew Allemann says
I assume you sold it to an end user
R P says
I think it comes down to whether one is a long term domain investor or a flipper
Some domain flippers owned million dollar short domains and sold for pennies on the dollar for a quick buck. Short term thinking.
The combined short term profits of several yrs (plus time, resources, effort) of flipping probably pales in comparison to the profits that could’ve been realized by simply holding
You see it with stocks, real estate, etc just more pronounced with domains.