Original article written by: Bruce Tedeschi
Everyday as a domainer, I ask myself what is the market telling me. Since I live in the United States it is hard to tell what the Internet commerce trends are in other countries. I read world business reports, do my homework and much more. Only facts make my decisions. So when I want to know where to invest my money for a return in 12-24 months, I use the facts. The following chart gives an illustration of the top five CCtlds that are growing in websites hosted:
The numbers don't lie...
Knowing that China (.cn) is changing the rules on their CCtld, I throw this extension out and view it as a high risk cctld. I cannot register .nl or .ru so I am left with .co.uk and .de to invest in. I have owned .co.uk domain names for 10-years and always knew it would be a long term investment. When I registered .co.uk names in 1998, they were $128 per name. I thought, am I crazy? Why would I buy at that price when I can get .com names for $15 in 1999. Well, people are people and if the name relates to everyday lifestyles, in general, people are alike all over the world. We all like food, entertainment, dating etc. So I invested in names such as Retirees.co.uk, Clinicals.co.uk and others. Today my .co.uk portfolio is valued at $250,000 in this economy for 147 names.
Along with this, I have a portfolio of .de domain names consisting of 170 names worth $485,000. Over the past 6-months I have sold 8 domain names totaling $xx,xxx figures. Five of the .de domain names were in English and three .co.uk domain names also in English. Prices and buyers names will not be shared with the general public when selling to end-users. It is important to remember, it is not about boasting of your sales, it is about selling and making good use of your time and money going forward. Today, I invest in .co.uk, .de and .com only. Everything else are low profit margin extensions and will not hold up in a weak global economy.
About me:
Prior to my domaining career, I spent 30-years in pharmaceutical and medical device quality systems and manufacturing. During this time I worked my way through college to receive a Ph.D. in Business and focused on emerging trends and International business. I went full-time into domaining 3-4 years ago. All of my work experience and education cannot tell me the obvious! NUMBERS DON’T LIE! Use credible sources for your data and watch global trends. Like any business system, go with what’s selling and get rid of what isn’t. Renewing domain names that are not specific to a market and hoping someone will find the name clever and desirable is a dream. After 12-years of domaining, I register domain names that mean something, that have a market and I UNDERSTAND…
I hope you have found this article useful.
