Did I screw up not doing research? I bid on domain @sedo for $500; won it first pass.

[quicksite]

I joined here maybe a year ago, but since I'm not a broker or reseller, I forget about this site as a resource to me. I'm a Web Information Architect / UX Designer / Branding Designer/ Content Developer -- and I, with a small team, actually develop web properties that interest me, and seek to spin them off as properties.

I've been interested in aggregating and creating a unified portal for all touchscreen device cases, gear and accessories -- having found that the industry is all over the map, ebay is filled with uneducated sellers who don't even know the devices people want accessories for, and too many of the specialty items are very esoteric -- for example "TPU cases" -- which are the current state of the art form-fitting device-specific cases. So, I'm going to overhaul the entire process, and I wanted a name than consumers could think of that was comprehensive -- that would deal not just with phones, but with ipads and tablets, with kindle readers, etc ... So I wanted people to have one place to look for all forms of accessory gear for their device, and this site wouldn't transact all of this gear, it would do a lot of front-end filtration and smart organization and clean user experience design, and to obtain the products, much like nextag or pricegrabber, my site would simply link.

GearMall.com is what i came up with after trying many things, taking screenshots of all of the stuff taken that interested me... and also registering a handful of other stuff.

Veterans here know how to size up stuff in half a second -- they know all the rules of one word/ two word, how many letters, spelling confusion, sound confusion, hyphen or no-hyphen, recognizable words vs made-up words, how easily memorable would it be to brand it, and so on. But they also know the more complex stuff that requires research -- stuff I just don't know how to do, and, to be honest, thought I was just going to be feeling the guy out: how many hits the site currently gets, and all that alexa, and search term stuff, which is I know very important -- it's just not me forte at all.

So I just guestimated based on names I've purchased before, and I figured $500 would actually be low. But it was accepted immediately. I guess that should be good news, but instead I felt like a schmoe.

Had I greatly overpaid for a domain name?

Before coming here (I had to actually go to my email to search to even remember the name of the forum) i googled for some of the free (and i know you get what you pay for) domain name evaluator tools. But their results seem ridiculous: saying $50-60. There's no F*ing way this guy would have sold this domain for $60. That's a joke.

So -- if any PROs troll this newbie forum, how close did I get? FORGET MY METHODS for a moment and just consider end result. Would you say I was way off from what you would have paid?

And now, in the future, what should I have done to prep myself before bidding when I know the name I want to go after? Thank you

[RobM]

You've only overpaid if you don't think the domain is worth what you paid. Personally I like getting offers accepted first time as I generally expect a bit of bargaining after my initial offer. Don't think about it - just push on with your development plan and, when it takes off, congratulate yourself on getting the domain for what you wanted to pay for it.

[quicksite]

Thanks! That's very helpful... And now, after spending past 3 hours looking at about 7 pages worth of the "OVER $100 DOMAINS" threads here -- and the range of pricing, I think all is well... Thanks, Rob!

[Banned: adonivideo]

Domain sellers are kinda like strippers that sell sex
they have a 'set price'
the tourists pay it and have great time
but the locals
they get it was a fraction of what the tourists pay
on sedo, I usually start at 100 and most of the time the owners counter with whatever
then you usually meet near the middle
now if it's a more valuable name, you just add zero(s) to it, or they ignore you
but most of sedo is low grade meat
a high end name gets a personal broker and it is shopped to the big end users usually by blind bid
so most of sedo can be started with 100 or 1000 'offers'
some lock the prices in to not deal with low ballers
but when you realize most of the guys with 100's and 1,000's of names are like strippers
you realize there's prices for tourists (end users) and prices for locals (resellers/wholesalers/developers)
unless you're gonna be a local (a domainer) 500 is more than fair to pay for a name you want to 'use'
it's a one time thing for you
now when you see 100 threads in a wholesale pit like this
yeah, you see the Ho's trying to dump some names usually to pay reg fee bills
LOL
kinda like a stripper at 15 mins to close
not enough money in her purse for pimp/bf
so you get great deals last 15 mins
LOL
I hate to put it in such terms
but you catch the drift
sedo tries to catch some end users MAYBE
this forum is for wholesalers usually
if you ever go back to sedo
start at 100 on names unless it's a gem worth many thousands
then you start at 1K
if it's a high end domain worth a lot, you bypass sedo and go right to whois and start dealing one on one

[quicksite]

Domain sellers are kinda like strippers that sell sex
they have a 'set price'
the tourists pay it and have great time
but the locals
they get it was a fraction of what the tourists pay
on sedo, I usually start at 100 and most of the time the owners counter with whatever

Wow, thank you -- a total crash course, succinct and actionable with basically 3 parameters:

• Start most bids at 100
• Domains clearly worth thousands, start at 1000
• Real valuable domains, like one word domains, etc, go straight to whois and deal that way, not via sedo.

For me, since I have registered and owned domains since 1995, I know pretty much all there is no to know as end user. ... As a wholesaler I know nothing. ... This was so helpful and simple.

From the knowledge I'd already gained the past few years about the metrix for evaluating the value of a domain -- number of characters, all those listed above etc, other than the SEO and page rank stuff, I understand the general mechanics of all of that because I am in branding -- and at the end of the day, my own intuition about name-value and brandability trumps any mechanical means of arriving at valuation -- on the lower end of the spectrum. On the high end, that's when those metrics count a lot, and I know nothing.

But the one thing I don't understand when I was looking through the $100 or more bin were the constant references to "aged domains; registered in 1999" ....

How does this increase the value? Is is SIMPLY the function of: has has more time to have been crawled, more overall traffic (maybe), or does the age alone have inherent value. if so, what? I can't see it. ... For example, I have about 6 domains registered in 1994 or 95 that I honestly have intended to develop. Things take time to pull resources together to do so. I happen to think they're good names -- and as said, I am not a reseller or broker, so that's not why I am asking. But just curious: why should age have any bearing?

yeah, you see the Ho's trying to dump some names usually to pay reg fee bills, LOL, kinda like a stripper at 15 mins to close, not enough money in her purse for pimp/bf, so you get great deals last 15 mins

LAST QUESTION: Since your one post helped lay it all out for me do vividly and simply, let me use your lingo, even though you may not find it appropriate:

I've often wondered: So how many times does the "average ho" do it in a day -- or put another way -- how many clients does the average ho have -- or -- what kind of portfolio sizes we talking bout, typically for people in the wholesale biz?

I've just always wanted to know: Are they carrying 1000 names in inventory? 10,000 names? I know they get bulk pricing for registration & renewals, so I'm guessing they get it down to maybe $7.50 per domain, just a guess.

OKAY, ACTUAL LAST QUESTION: And are there like 100 strategies and profit methodologies, or like let's say five basic ones that everyone follows. Like:

1. You register domains you think have value -- and...

a. You try to sell them immediately? or
b. You want to hang onto them for a while to create demand?

2. You mostly just buy other people's domains, either individually or in lots, and then it's like seeing if you can market them better than the next guy can market them? ** Is that a true differentiation point? Or are there just 5 or 6 major markets that everyone uses: sedo, hugedomains, namejet, snapnames, etc ...

3. I'm just trying to see what the fluidity is all about - in "I'm dumping this lot -- but you buy it" ..... So, if Seller wasn't getting traction on the lot, what is buyer possibly going to do that would get traction that seller did not do.

And if this is too complex that's okay -- you already answered my key question and THEN SOME. Thank you thank you. I greatly appreciate! Unfortunately i cannot tip you.

[RobM]

Seriously mate. You don't want to listen to this tit. He has no idea about the domain industry and a negative reputation. There are far more reputable members than this to answer your questions.

[quicksite]

Seriously mate. You don't want to listen to this tit. He has no idea about the domain industry and a negative reputation. There are far more reputable members than this to answer your questions.

I appreciate the heads up. ... Is this, by any chance, the same user who, in a recent thread I read, said to throw out all Google Ad Sense price models as "total bullshit"? In any case thank you. I got my core answer from your earlier.

[thevirtual]

If the seller accepted the offer right away, then they would have probably accepted less. On the other hand, the domain is above average imo and your development plans sound great.

[openforsale.com]

Yes, I think you overpaid. It's a good domain but $500 for the name must be like winning the lottery for the seller. He's probably going around telling everybody about his windfall.
I have a feeling he may have accepted if you had offered $100 for a start.

But anyway, we learn and move on.

With the development plans you have in mind, your domain could be worth a good deal in the future.

[Gerry]

Overpaid is irrelevant. It is a name that you decided you have to have, you have a business model and a plan for it, and you are the end user.

So take a 500 buck domain and make it into a 100K+ business.

---------- Post added at 09:44 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:41 AM ----------

You don't want to listen to this tit.

AH HA HA HA HA! A talking TIT!

Please keep us abreast of your plans.

[loudbeats.com]

Gear+Mall.com = $500 price tag, seems genuine to me..

good luck with your venture!

[chipmeade]

$500 for GearMall.com seems pricy to me mainly because it doesn't focus the branding on touchscreens, but I don't have any plans for it. One positive (which is also one of it's weaknesses) is that it has potential uses for a wide range of proudcts so it's appeal could be broader. Just about ANY name is worth $500 if you put the time and effort into making it a good site. TouchscreenMall.com is available for hand reg.

[Skinny]

If you have a plan to develop then I wouldn't worry about. You are likely to recover the money even if you "overpaid".

I think it's a bit high, but that's me . . . and I have no way of developing that name.

Remember, you really are the end user and $500 isn't as bad as paying 5k for it, etc.

Skinny