{"id":49,"date":"2008-07-12T23:42:58","date_gmt":"2008-07-13T04:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/acro.net\/blog\/2008\/07\/12\/dictionary-domains-are-winners\/"},"modified":"2022-03-21T12:04:10","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T16:04:10","slug":"dictionary-domains-are-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acro.net\/blog\/dictionary-domains-are-winners\/","title":{"rendered":"Dictionary domains in .COM\/.NET\/.ORG – Sure winners!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ever since I started registering domains with the intention to develop or resell (the option to monetize was added much later) I decided to stick to the same basic principle: if it’s in the dictionary, it’s something I can use<\/em>.<\/strong> If I can use it, others can. If others can, then I have established the motive to register or purchase it.<\/p>\n

I can honestly say that the selling potential of dictionary .com, .net, .org domains<\/strong> – the original TLD triad – is a sure winner. As long as I don’t need a dictionary to establish what the word means! Of course, there are dubious spellings or common typos, but the bottom line is that a positive dictionary word serves its purpose well, in real life and in the online commerce world.<\/p>\n

I recall buying Gravity.org<\/strong><\/a> for a mere $105 on DNForum, at a time when everyone else was looking to buy domains with type-in traffic or typos. I’ve stuck to my guns of picking up dictionary domains as often as I can and this principle has paid off in the long run, more times than I can recall. Four years ago, Gravity.org was sold to a nice guy, who has since then developed it into a beautiful web site depicting his literary work.<\/p>\n

Later on, I discovered a great source of such dictionary domains in the form of a well-known parking guru who decided to do what was best at that time, having had thousands of domains that generated little parking income and had renewal fees to be paid. I managed to pick up a lot of these domains in private transactions or via forums; others I bought on eBay and via direct communication with their owners.<\/p>\n

There were so many dictionary domains in these days between 2002-2005 that could be had for as little as $20 to just over $100 – I became more organized when such sales would occur, by keeping Notepad open to paste into it the entire list and then I’d delete quickly the names I did not want. I found that to be faster than pasting over the ones that I might want.<\/p>\n

It’s shocking even to me, that one such domain that I picked for $50 at a “feeding frenzy” sale on DNForum three years ago, was just sold for a whopping $6,000 via Sedo. Then again, I’ve had other such large sales of dictionary domains in the past – but none resulted in such a high return on investment. I will have to thank my traffic guru seller for this. By the way, it’s an .ORG!<\/p>\n

It’s often frustrating trying to sell dictionary domains with inherent potential at reseller forums; the expected responses immediately inquire about traffic stats. When the brand is built around a domain that cannot be misspelled or mistyped, the traffic shall come. What won’t come again, is an abundance of dictionary words in the original three TLDs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Frank Schilling<\/strong>, in his last blog post in months<\/strong><\/a> made this monumental statement:<\/p>\n

A few years back I was approached by a company and encouraged to place my domain names for sale through their marketplace. I was given a host of reasons why this was a good idea. \u201cThese names don\u2019t make any money\u201d.. \u201c Selling the names will actually improve my overall portfolio\u2019s value\u201d.. \u201cSelective pruning is just prudent\u201d. Shortly thereafter, a second domain marketplace called. They suggested I sell my names through \u2018them\u2019 and that I should cap my purchase prices at $5,000 because that was the limit of automated credit card processors in their scenario.. They even sent me a list of names that I should sell.. tens of thousands of them that don\u2019t make enough to cover their renewals.. and If I could get $2,000-$5,000 each wouldn\u2019t that be Fabulous?! The problem as I looked through my list was that many of the names they suggested I sell were pretty good. I\u2019d pay more than 2-5k for many of these names if they were dropping at auction. I politely declined their offer.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

One should employ additional means of measuring the potential value of a domain, other than its visitor figures, and dictionary domains maintain a strong reselling potential regardless of the existing traffic<\/strong>. An experienced domainer will soon acquire a “gut feeling”, an “on-the-fly” evaluation ability that only comes after several successful transactions – and a few monumental failures. <\/em><\/p>\n

At the same time, one should ensure that a solid business plan is in place; for which I recommend the services of a qualified Certified Public Accountant (CPA)<\/strong> so that every dollar earned or expended is accounted for. I know that I will paying a whole lot more in taxes next year.<\/p>\n

What is the domain that resulted in an 120-fold ROI<\/strong> ? You’ll have to keep your eyes peeled on Sedo<\/strong><\/a>‘s sales for that, in the next few days \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever since I started registering domains with the intention to develop or resell (the option to monetize was added much later) I decided to stick to the same basic principle: if it’s in the dictionary, it’s something I can use. If I can use it, others can. 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