Don’t Invest in Things Where you have little to no understanding

Over the last 6 months I have been communicating with some people that it seems like they are investing in domain niches they don’t understand. I read about even more people following this same path. You cannot just play follow the leader, or the most popular thread on Namepros.

I get emails from newer investors that ask what should they do with certain names ? I ask them why they purchased them in the first place ? Many times they answer, “I don’t really know” or “Seemed like everyone on Namepros was jumping in and I didn’t want to miss out” Others will say I don’t understand the Chinese at all, and I really don’t have time to learn. Understand that you are at a disadvantage if you are not familiar with all the dynamics and all the marketplaces to maximize value. Try to find the time, if you repeatedly ask, “Why do the Chinese like this over this ?” You need to take the time to find out why before risking money.

Now certainly there has been an upward movement in certain niches where you just had to get in and they have moved. 5N.com followed by 6N.com and now there are those who actively are purchasing 7n.com and 8n.com. 4L.net (no aeiouv) is another trend that has had upward price movement.

Virtual Reality and Marijuana have been popular trend categories, augment reality and immersive domains have garnered some interest with domainers. The problem is the people who truly know the technology and have the budget for the best names are playing chess, while those regging lesser names are playing checkers. Some are regging names that are not related to VR or AR and then wondering why they are getting no offers.  I believe for the most part these people just jumped in on what they thought was hot. That has worked with the short liquid type names, but not for technology type names.

If you register names where you know about the underlying topic there is at least the possibility you could do something with one or two. You will never build out 1,000 names properly or even 100 without help and money.

The same goes for new gtlds, some who professed to hate them jump in to certain tlds where they see a lot of talk. You need to do your homework, someone might open your eyes and change your thoughts on a topic, make sure you understand what you are registering.

Getting back to the numerics, people are making money in 4n,5n and 6n.com. The 7n and 8n are going to require better patterns, if you missed the boat it is ok, there is another one coming. You don’t go and register 48394576.com because you did not get any 88887888.com. One name is worth something and the other is not worth anything.

The other thing you need to ask yourself, “Will I have the patience to renew these 8n.com names for multiple years ?” In the euphoria of jumping on the trend train people only see excitement, and don’t get me wrong you should have some enthusiasm, but the fact is many names don’t sell each year.

Look there are plenty of people being talked down off bridges who owned 100 to 200 Chinese premium 4L.com, they did not stay with them because there was no market a few years back, people told them who will ever want zqqx.com ? So thinking about the long term is important.

This post is not about telling you what to buy or what not to buy, just make sure you understand what you are buying.