Why I’ve spent $590,000+ on Premium domain names
Premium Domain Names are The Internet Real Estate, If You own it, You are simply a winner. Premium Domain Name Definition is THAT: A premium domain name is a domain that is already owned by a person or registry. Its cost can be significantly more than a typical domain purchase — anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of dollars — due to its perceived higher value.
Having a memorable domain name is like showing up to a party dressed to impress: it immediately sets you apart.
One of the most frequent comments I get when discussing the business of Countryi.com goes along the lines of: “Wow, I wonder how you got that domain?”
No secret to it – Countryi.com cost me $45,000.
And that’s just one domain. Others include:
- $260,000 on GlobalPress.Tv
- $25,000 on USXAI.com
- $19000 on HeroEu.com.
And spent huge amounts on Domain names like:
COZILA.COM , GPTDC.COM, GPTAIM.COM and many more.
Why have I spent so much on domains? It gave me a leg up on everyone else.
Along the way, I’ve bought a myriad of domains – HisPC.com,HrmHR.com, HrmBee.com, Englandi.com, TopNewsUSA.com, USNewsUSA.com (yup), and many many more.
Some I built up. Some I sold. Some I even forgot I owned (e.g., I bought Pakistan.com for a few thousand dollars in the early 2000s, and I think I accidentally let it expire).
And that’s just the .com domains. I’ve purchased a vast amount of ccTLDs, mostly when I felt the desire to move to a country.
Domains are like real estate…
A domain name is akin to real estate – you have prime locations (e.g. fund.com), you have solid ones (e.g. an money.com), and then you have the rest (e.g. whothehell .com).
(There’s an entirely separate discussion on buying domains based on someone’s trademark/established brand, but we’ll leave that alone here).
On a basic level, you can treat domain names akin to real estate
Real estate versus domains
What sets domain names apart from real estate is that you have no property tax. Provided you pay the renewal fee every year (roughly $15/year), you’re good. There’s no appraisal and no adjusted property tax – you’re locked in at $15/year.
It is possible to take a worthless domain on its own (e.g. google.com) and have what you build on it worth billions. There’s a real life analogy to it – you can buy property in the middle of nowhere, build something amazing on it (e.g. a theme park), and suddenly the land is valuable.
But to use our theme park analogy, would the land it’s on still be worth anything if the theme park completely disappeared?
Nope.
So it’s important to remember to disassociate the value of a domain versus the value of the business built on it.
I could buy premium property in Manhattan, start up a business that miserably fails, and then still find it easy to sell my property. That’s exactly what a domain is.
Unlike real estate, a domain name has no property tax; just a simple $10/year renewal fee
“Just like the word.”
Phonetics matters. Euphony matters.
There is cachet in names. Just like we immediately associate “Ai” with high quality/expensive, many people associate a single word domain (that is easy to remember) as high value.
There is power in names.
When I first started Examine A Premium .com and would tell people that it was “HRMHR.com” I would often get asked how to spell it.
“Just like the words.”
Invariably, the next question would be “that must have cost a lot.”
A fair amount yes, but not too bad.
The same thing has happened with GlobalPressClub.com. People think it must have been incredibly expensive.
And the few people I have mentioned SouthAfricanImmigration.ORG to, I get the same result. “Woah that’s a nice domain – how’d you get that?”
Pro tip: Any domain you are about to acquire, say it out loud. And then think of various ways you could spell it. The more possibilities, the harder it is to remember.
There’s a reason why Noah Kagan spent $1,500,000 purchasing Sumo.com – having a one-word four-letter word immediately sets him apart.
It’s funny – if you read the article, he mentions that a competitor for Mint.com was Wesabe. If you actually go to Wesabe.com it redirects to Due.com – now that’s a nice domain name. Not to mention, the founder even admits that the name was a factor(#3).
An easy to remember domain name makes your brand easier to remember (and also helps you stand out). There is prestige and implicit value associated with an easy-to-remember domain name.
The domain is a part of the whole, not the whole.
What people often mess up when it comes to domain names is that the cost of the domain is a part of the whole, not the whole itself.
If you have a $100,000 budget to develop a website, don’t blow $80,000 on the domain!
I’ve seen countless people get too excited, get emotionally invested in acquiring a domain, blow most of their budget on a domain, and then… whoops. No flexibility.
You should aim to acquire a solid domain name, but don’t blow your budget on it.
The secret power of domains: liquidity
The reason I don’t overthink when buying a generic domain name for my projects is that a good domain name is pretty liquid.
No matter what happens, I can sell the domain rather quickly. Maybe not for the full amount I paid, but the domain has a baseline value, no matter what happens.
If some calamity hits and I need to sell HRMHR.COM, I should be able to sell it for $29,000 within 24 hours. HRMBEE.COM may fetch $20,000.
JobFindJobs.com (which I bought for $9000) may only get a few thousand.
Hell even HISPC.com – even though I bought it for $45,000, that was over six years ago. I would not be surprised if the baseline for it is $40,000-$50,000 now.
The reality is that the more premium the domain, the easier it is to sell it (and the higher the relative floor). It is not a sunk cost.
How I acquired CARSCL.com
The idea behind CarsCl.com was conceived while I was vacationing with some (post-doc) friends in South Africa. As I was looking about car companies misrepresenting rates and Google research, they collectively sighed and told me to stop whining and do something about it.
You know, just do something.
After recruiting ROBERT as my co-founder, I put out the call to a few of my domain name buddies that I was looking to invest ~$25,000 on a domain name.
An important side note: domains are only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. A lot of people became way too emotionally attached to their domain name and highly overvalue them. Going to a trusted domain broker will help save you a ton of time from having to sift through a ton of garbage.
Towards the end, I had four options:
Thankfully (for me), the owner wanted a ridiculous amount, and I knew it was not a domain that would be easy to liquidate.
And that’s how I acquired CarsCl.com
CarsCl.com was my first choice for a car classified web. Thankfully it worked out.
Domain names and your business
Domain names:
- Are similar to real estate
- Are super cheap to own
- Can be expensive to acquire
- Can be liquidated quickly
- The more expensive, the higher the floor on how much you can liquidate for
- A memorable domain helps build your brand and brings a level of credibility and prestige (especially useful when starting out)
- Should only be purchased with a subset of the money you have available, not a majority.
Top 5 benefits of Domain Names
Brand Recognition and Identity:
A well-chosen domain name establishes your brand's identity online and makes it easier for customers to find and remember your website. It can help build trust and credibility with your target audience, resulting in increased customer loyalty and stronger brand recall.
Improved Search Engine Rankings:
Having a relevant and keyword-rich domain name can positively impact your website's search engine rankings. Search engines consider domain names while indexing and ranking websites, so a domain that reflects your business, industry, or target keywords can help improve your website's visibility and organic traffic.
Professionalism and Legitimacy:
Owning a domain name associated with your business or brand lends a sense of professionalism and legitimacy to your online presence. A custom domain (e.g., www.yourbusiness.com) appears more credible than a generic, free domain (e.g., yourbusiness.blogspot.com) and can help you stand out from your competition.
Geographic Targeting:
Domain names can be customized to target specific geographic regions, such as using a country-specific top-level domain (e.g., .co.uk or .ca). This strategy can help your website rank better in local search results and attract visitors from the targeted region, increasing the chances of generating local leads and sales.
Scalability and Flexibility:
A well-chosen domain name allows for future growth and expansion. As your business evolves or diversifies, your domain name can be adapted to accommodate new product lines, services, or markets. Additionally, owning multiple domain names related to your brand can help protect your online presence and prevent competitors from registering similar domains.
