Guide to numeric domains (Part 1?)

[sevent]

Because I've received so many general questions about numeric domain names, I thought I'd share some general information and thoughts on the subject. If the response is favorable to this I'll write a “Part 2” in another couple weeks.

Why invest in numeric domain names?
If you want to make lots of money as a domain name investor, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that you are constantly making decisions based on imperfect knowledge. Every purchase or sale you make is based on what might happen to the price and salability of a domain name in the future, and like all futures these are unknown.

Given this, the serious domain investor should be doing more than picking a few random names that seem like good values and then parking or flipping them. What you need is an investment plan. That plan can certainly include non-numeric domains, but here’s why I think any domain investing plan should include at least some money for numeric domains:

• Pure numeric domains are immune to fads and cycles -- 528.com will still have value long after the BMW 528i is forgotten, but the new owners of WirelessPhones.com better get their $355k back before the term “wireless phones” seem as antiquated as “Videocassette recorders”.
• It seems like even generic names are the subject of Trademark disputes these. And the more value domains have, the more companies will try to use the law to take yours from you. Numeric domains have the benefit of being immune from such actions.
• Numeric domains are relatively scarce and short numerics will never become more plentiful. Compared with LLL (three letter domains), NNN’s are about 17 times rarer. Compared with LLLL, NNNN’s are 45 times rarer! New words come into our languages and cultures all the time, but there will never be more than 1000 NNN names in any TLD.
• There is now a strong, *liquid* market for NNN.com, NNNN.com and NNN.net domains. The liquid part is VERY important. It means that, no matter what numeric name you have, you can sell it quickly at any moment for low reseller price. Only LLL.com and short, generic words have the same long-term liquid market. By contrast everyone might agree that “RawSewage.com” is a 6 figure domain, but selling it for even 5 figures would take significant effort and good timing.

All numbers have meaning
A common complaint about numeric domains is that they don’t mean anything. Maybe a particular number doesn’t mean anything *to you*, but for the domain investor what a domain name means to you is irrelevant. Your goal is to purchase names that have importance to somebody, either to lots of people or a few people with lots of money. Chances are any given (short) number will have strong meaning to millions of people. Here’s why:

Numeric domains are true International names. They have meaning to everyone in all countries. By picking a domain name with universal meaning your potential market expands by a factor of at lest 5 times over any other language-specific domain.

We use numbers to represent a huge variety of things:

• Area codes
• Phone numbers
• Zip codes
• Lucky numbers
• Radio and TV stations
• Prices
• Pronounceable words in some Asian languages.
• Car models
• Special meanings (666, 13, 420)
• “Words” on mobile devices (ie. “fly” is 359 on a telephone keypad).
• Addresses
• Businesses use numbers as part of their name all the time (“Level 27 clothing”, “Hinez 57 varieties”, “club 200”)

How many numerics should I own?
The more the better. Really. Beyond their baseline reseller value, numeric domains can be like little lottery tickets. Four years ago the domain 1031.com could probably be bought for the cost of a nice dinner out. Now that billions are invested in 1031 Tax code real estate sales, the same domain is worth an easy 6 figures. This is no isolated incident. Every year hundreds of numbers acquire important meanings to somebody based on new laws, regulations, events and so on. All domains can have this same “lottery ticket” quality, but your chances of hitting the jackpot if you own 1/100th of all NNNN.com names is much greater than with 100 random domains.

Owning a large quantity of numeric domains can also give you the patience to wait for a good offer. Not every numeric domain is going to get a good offer every week, but if you have enough numeric names you’ll get at least one decent offer every few weeks. Instead of looking at your one NNNN.com name and wondering when it will sell, you could sell one NNNN.com a week at the price you want.

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OK. That’s it for now. If people are interested in this I’ll write a Part 2 with advice for developing a numeric names strategy and then maybe even a pricing guide to numerics as a Part 3.

[petrosc]

great read, can't wait for part 2

[Varchar]

Very precise explaination. Just want to add one thing... I sold couple NNNN.com because they matched the buyer's birthday. For example: 6170.com will mean June 1st, 1970.

[dilpreet]

You rock SEVENT. WAIting 4 part 2. keep up the good work.

[spietreser]

Thanks for taking the time to write this.

Not every numeric domain is going to get a good offer every week, but if you have enough numeric names you’ll get at least one decent offer every few weeks.

This does not apply to only numeric domain names though. Getting offers is a numbers game, unless you only have great one word .com domain names.
Will certainly read part 2

[Adam Dicker]

An excellent guide and I applaud the effort, great read.

-=DCG=-

[pamela]

Thanks, Very nice read!

[sevent]

Hi guys,

Glad you liked the post!

I sold couple NNNN.com because they matched the buyer's birthday. For example: 6170.com will mean June 1st, 1970.

This is a good point. I get requests asking for numbers because it is their anniversary date, or their partner's birthday too. Unfortunately these folks usually pay only xxx or very low x,xxx so those are only worth it for NNNN names.

[dotNetKing]

sevent: A great guide with quite some pertinent observations.

Can you wait a couple of weeks before part 2 so I can pick up some more digit names before a load more people start doing so ;-)

[Majnoon]

great read and very informative. come on part 2 we are waiting.

[9888]

Cheers, very good points.

I look forward to reading your future comments and thoughts.

Thank you for taking the time to share this.

[dmblea]

This could be one of the best posts I've read in a long long time!

84265 968 or THANK YOU

[RazorNF]

Excellent. Thanks for sharing.
Looking forward to more of your thoughts!

[EUROPEAN]

Very good!

Interesting Article!

Did you know 666 means WWW in Hebrew!

[bigbobm]

Great read. It is good we are starting to see public sale info so we have a guide on how to value NNN and NNNN domains. 995.com for 30k and 500.com for 40k USD. NNN and NNNN .coms have been selling for prices like (and higher) in Asia for years but nothing was ever reported. Since IDNs have come on the scene, NNN and NNNN .com prices have skyrocketed. NNN and NNNN are much easier to remember and navigate than IDNs. I agree , Numeric domains are true IDNs plus most NNN and NNNN.coms get really good traffic.

[shoval]

how much would you expect to pay for a NN.NET domain?
I am looking into buying one of these.

Very good!

Interesting Article!

Did you know 666 means WWW in Hebrew!

Hebrew is my language and I am not aware of anything like it...

[onfiredomains]

That was a great, concise read. What do you think about spelling words with numbers like from a telephone keypad? Is there much of a market for that?

[OnSpec]

Excellent piece. Thanks for sharing Matt. I look forward to more of your insights. I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts regarding .mobi vs: numeric .com domains in respect of accessing internet sites on mobile/cellular phones.

Cheers,

[9888]

For my 10c i think it will be many many years before .mobi even gets a look in at .com (if ever), the .com brand is already too strong, and even if the .mobi partners (owners) spend 10 billion on promotion it still will not have the recognition that .com has, at best it wil be another .info.

[Banned: prince1]

Wow. Too Much Knowledge