Why do 3 letters do great and 4 letters suck?

kingdon · 12-19-2002, 12:03 PM

I can't understand why garbage 3 letter domains are worth hundreds and pronouncable brandable 4 letter domains aren't worth squat. Who set this standard? Why isn't my domain Adez worth more then XIQ.com

Don

**Duke** · 12-19-2002, 12:07 PM

Who set this standard? - As always, the marketplace.

Part of it has to do with rarity - there are only a little over 17,000 3-letter domains in existance. I think 4-letter jumps to close to half a million. So the prestige of having a rare domain is a part of it.

3-letter domains are easy to remember - also a key factor in value.

Brandable domains in general are not worth squat in the resale market. It costs far too much to brand a name from scratch (think in terms of hundreds of thousands of dollars at least). If a company is going to go to the trouble of branding a name they will usually hire a research group to develop a name of their own. They rarely if ever look to the resale market.

**GiantDomains** · 12-19-2002, 01:25 PM

Originally posted by kingdon
I can't understand why garbage 3 letter domains are worth hundreds and pronouncable brandable 4 letter domains aren't worth squat. Who set this standard? Why isn't my domain Adez worth more then XIQ.com

Don

Dont know what you mean by "pronouncable" four letters being squat.

You mean actual words? ball.com, tree.com, dude.com, all would be 5 figures at least.

If you mean txwr, or tyaw, well then, case in point. Worthless , of course.

To your argument,

1)how many companies have you seen using 4 letter acronyms? How many using 3? Exactly.

2)availability.

qak · 12-20-2002, 07:02 PM

They all suck! It's just a question of which one sucks the most

kingdon · 12-21-2002, 02:16 AM

And that closes the door, screeeech. Didn't think about the escalating number factor. Live and learn through the suck.

Don

**HelloThere** · 12-21-2002, 04:32 PM

I own several 4 letter domains that "make sense", and some that have a clever twist that makes them valuable. I like them, and don't care if some other domain speculator thinks they aren't worth the reg fee. Ultimately, you need to approach the end users.

Sometimes your marketing approach & display makes all the difference.

AdEZ.com instead of Adez.com might make it more obvious to the reader what your domain name means. I didn't get it at first either.

For example: one of my 4-letter domain names is xnip.com, but what does it mean? Take a look - click here (might take a few seconds to load). A visual can make all the difference.

Another example: I also own imtg.com, but it looks better as iMTG.com, and looks even better as a logo - click here. Sometimes to the uninformed, a domain name can seem valueless, but to the right buyer in the right industry, it can be priceless. MTG is the dictionary abbreviation for both "meeting" and "mortgage", so it definitely has value for online mortage brokers and internet meeting service providers.

Best Regards.

**Banned: CoolHost.com** · 12-21-2002, 05:06 PM

All good points, really. Though, I would argue, I would most agree with one point that Duke alluded to ... supply vs. demand! As more people/entities pick up 4-letter domains, their values will increase in the (after)market place. Good Luck!

**garyted51** · 12-21-2002, 05:12 PM

who ever said 4 letters are not good? Even if they don't make a word, they can't be easy to remember, and have significance. For instance...why are all the .com Tld's ending with the letters d.o.t. not available? Because they are popular, that why! Is the 4 letters KDOT easy to remember? This could be a radio stations' call letters. or just as well mean Kentucky Department of Transportation. Lot's of .info, .biz and .us 4 letters out there. I personally like KDOT.info. Just my 2 cents worth! But what do I know?

kingdon · 12-21-2002, 10:39 PM

Interesting point HelloThere, just so happens I picked that one up "adEZ" because there is a company out there that has a program that they sell to city papers to run their classifieds sections. The program and support sells for upwards of 400K. The programs name is adEZ, how would I approach them and how much should I ask for?

Don

**HelloThere** · 12-22-2002, 10:33 PM

Make sure they don't have a trademark on "adEZ". And even if they do, they might claim a common-law trademark. It's a tough call whether to approach them or wait for them to maybe contact you.

Perhaps you could approach them about becoming a reseller for their program and make some money that way....??? If they don't want resellers, they might decide to make you an offer on the domain instead. But you're still treading on dangerous ground. They might choose sue you instead...

Good luck.