I don’t write headlines very often – well, actually never, that point people’s attention away from my otherworldly mind. (Not sure if that sounds right!). However, a very simple (‘ere genius) article by our fellow domain blogger, Elliot Silver, really pulled out some excellent questions all domain investors should try to answer, including those who work within the nameless, faceless corporations that have sprouted from this business.
First, nice list of questions, El. Spot on. I like all of them, especially #1 and #9, but so many other commenters for your article were so on point, too. I think every major domain industry corporation should copy your blog and do an interoffice global memo. “Time to fix things, team. Start memorizing these complaints and submitting your ideas to the front office. These domainers are getting smarter by the day!”
(Here’s my responses to some of the readers commenting on El’s blog article):
@Dev
- of course there are a few (one) veteran domainers who feels arrogance breeds success for him in this industry, when it does the exact opposite when looked at by objective end user professionals interested in buying domains. You can see them at their ad budget board meeting saying: “Who are these clowns, and why is this one guy who sold a few big domains in the last decade lecturing everyone else about his genius in claims to “predicting” domain values over a decade ago and referring to the general domain public as idiots? Hasn’t domaining evolved yet?”
Then you have the major domain companies selling you stuff YOU DON’T NEED, which then makes the “buy-a-domain” ad point look like a small section of a larger “UPSELL” scam. Oh Daddy, say it ain’t so. For any noob who is ready to simply BUY a domain name for their company, bypass the other crap and remember this quote we domainers take to heart: “It’s the domain name, stupid!”
@Tony — GoDaddy still snubs its nose at this completely obvious way to keeping you from selling your domains AWAY from their registrar because they send you the ICANN notice to “update” your whois info about 30 days before your domain expires. If you sell that domain you changed your phone number on, guess what, your buyer has to open an acct at GoDaddy to get that domain or your screwed, or the buyer is screwed too, because who wants to buy domains at GD? It’s an ethical slip on the GD sidewalk that has no “ice” on it. For shame. Lots of blog articles about this issue, do a search on Google to find out more.
Then there’s the Domain auction sites doing little or nothing to earn their 15% “listing fees”, but are very hot on getting you to change your NS to their PPC servers while they list them for you! I am ashamed to say I created and first implemented this “revenue path” back in 2005 for a major registrar. We actually had to change the TOS to legally “inform and require” domain buyers to agree to allow PPC ads on their listed domain “default” pages if the domain owner did not provide one. Now the auction sites are in the PPC sales game, which every domain investor knows by now IS NOT TRANSPARENT. Period. You will NEVER know what your true CPC has truly netted the two/three middle men before you.
This process was so profitable, every registrar does this now. So—Noobs beware. lol
@ Christopher — I guarantee you that all ethical domainers who aren’t full of themselves agree with you on this one. You made a great call. However, the caveat is this: EVERY BUSINESS IS EXACTLY THE SAME WAY OR WORSE. The same idiots exist in real estate, finance, manufacturing, entertainment (whooo boy!) and advertising (WHOOOO BOY!) and every other money-making enterprises, including religion. The reason the Domain Industry is so slow in representing themselves as professional only applies on the “peanut gallery” level, which I myself happen to be in at times. The big money boys are definitely looking at end user sales now because the days of wine and incest in domaining are over.
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