 Interview: Bruce, a Domain Investor & Speculator
Welcome. DN Lodge is proud to present its first interview. Over the next few weeks, we will be looking for more people to interview. If you have any ideas or suggestions, PM Brandon.
Today, I'm proud to introduce Bruce from Canada, a domain investor/speculator! In the following interview you will learn of one man's opinions and feelings on domain speculating and investing.
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DnLodge.com Interview, October 16, 2005, DnLodge(.com) © 2005
Brandon: Please introduce yourself.
Bruce: My background is marketing with a focus on marketing research. I live in Western Canada, but these days it really doesn’t matter where you live when it comes to doing business on the Internet. I have a marketing research business that specializes and has clients in high tech, gaming, brewing, oil & gas, assessing and benchmarking government agencies and professional sports marketing.
I was attracted to the Internet early on in the mid 90’s. I’m even more excited with the advances in search engine optimization (SEO) and other technologies that have a direct impact in the marketing discipline.
Brandon: How were you introduced to the internet and the domain business?
Bruce: I was in the marketing research business when the Internet first came into the public domain in a big way – around 1993-94. Those were the days of small screens, 486 processors with 4 megs of ram and horrendous downloading times over phone lines. Even so, like many others, I could see that the Internet was a turning point in the way most of us would live and work. My brother, who is an early adopter when it comes to technology, was the first one in my environment to get on ‘the net’ - I followed soon after.
Brandon: Approximately, how many domains do you own, and which
registrars do you use?
Bruce: I have well over 1,000 domains of which most are .com’s. I’ve got some .ca’s either because the equivalent .com’s were taken or I had an interest in the Canadian version. I’ve tried different registrars in the past but I’m pretty much exclusively with Godaddy. Although the price might have been an early attraction, they’ve got great backup and live service. It’s the latter that keeps me coming back. I’ve also used a number of domain registration companies when I buy current domains outright that I want.
Brandon: What is the most valuable domain you own, and do you plan to
develop it, park it, or sell it?
Bruce: I don’t have any single word .com domains, but I believe I’ve got a few two word domains that could warrant development. Some of those would include:
ArtsDegree.com.......................ForGaming.com
GetWalking.com......................OfWomen.com
BeEmployed.com....................Bidsters.com
CashFor.com...........................CheckGas.com
JeansWholesale.com............SkypeBlog.com
BlogPen.com............................ProBloggers .com
Bidsters.com............................BingoDolla rs.com
EditorSuite.com.......................DrugsCenter. com
DogClasses.com....................DogChamps.com
PetRegistration.com...............GardenFare.com
GivingCash.com......................TheFlower.com
FlowersFrom.com...................GoFlorist.com
GambleWatch.com.................ExpertSelling.com
GotHoops.com........................GreatBrandy.co m
GreatFragrance.com..............GreatSires.com
KickingTires.com....................LawnPerfect.co m
LadyDesire.com......................LearnNutrition .com
LikePizza.com..........................LegalPark.c om
LittleJoys.com..........................LoftListin g.com
LookPro.com............................MaleBotox.c om
MassiveJackpots.com............MilitaryExpert.com
MenDr.com ...............................MoneySoon.com
OhCook.com............................OneCamera.co m
PackBags.com........................OwnCash.com
EuroGap.com...........................PostProfits. com
PremierHoliday.com...............ThriftClothes.com
PuppyPerks.com.....................QualityHere.com
QualityPlayers.com.................PropertyPortals .com
RunningChefs.com.................SalesCasting.com
SuspendedDomains.com.....TheDecided.com
UnsoldGoods.com.................WealthPlus.com
WhGov.com..............................XmasBasket. com
YourLessons.com..................YourFlavour.com
At the same time, you have to have fun, so here are some of my ‘fun’ domains:
ZooBugs.com..........................SellPot.com*
PetRat.com..............................PetCow.com
CrazyJerk.com.........................PcNut.com
BuyMyBMW.com......................DailyGags.com
DomainPups.com..................DormDog.com
ColdBeerHere.com................JokeBlogs.com
LastComic.com......................KeyHeads.com
ShoeHeads.com....................Cabvertise.com
RightJab.com..........................ShotKeys.com
SplishSplash.com.................SpyRay.com
TapFast.com
*In Canada, under certain medical situations, pot is legal to sell.
Brandon: Is there any hope for the small investors, with a limited
budget, in domain speculation?
Bruce: There is lots of hope and opportunity for small investors if they do their homework. Refer to the next question below too.
Regarding speculating versus investing, some may argue it’s only a matter of semantics. However, I really don’t see what I do as speculation but rather investment. I say that, because the way I’ve gone about it was to invest my time and effort in researching the pertinent aspects of the domain industry first. Only then did I invest my money. Again I say invest, as this will be a long-term, on-going business venture.
Brandon: What would you recommend to the small investor who has
limited funding?
Bruce: Do your homework (research), develop your principles and strategies based on your research and resources. Buy quality not quantity.
Specifically, I’d suggest that they look for good two and three word .com domains that are without hyphens or numbers, spelled correctly and easy to spell and no cutesy letters or numbers for words such as cars4sale.com rather than carsforsale.com or carsforu.com versus carsforyou.com. Also, consider the size of the market for each domain. In other words, how many people would be interested in any particular domain. Here again, the .com extension has by far the largest market. Ideally, before you purchase a name, you should have a good idea if you’re going to park it, develop it or sell it. However, if a good name is available – get it first as you can always sell it later.
Brandon: The most common suggestion to the average domain speculator
is "Keep it short". Have you ever felt there was a need to buy a
longer domain, 10-20 letters, as a better investment then some of the
shorter ones?
Bruce: Generally speaking, “Keep it short” is pretty solid advice. However, there are times when an extra letter, such as “S” can enhance the value. For example, ‘CarsForSale.com’ compared to ‘CarForSale.com’.
Other times, I’ve seen some very long names sell in the $1,000’s such as SanDiegoImmigrationAttorney.com. In this case, it’s a very competitive but lucrative industry in which attorney’s are prepared to spend large amounts on a pay per click (PPC) basis for such a domain.
Brandon: Is .com the only TLD worth investing in or is there money to
be made with some of the less used extensions.
Bruce: There is always money to be made in the other extensions, as long as you buy accordingly. At the same time, I think it is even more important to buy the best domains you can (based on my criteria referred to earlier). Anytime a new extension opens up, there is always a ‘gold rush’ type of fever to get the 3 letter, one and two word domains.
If one had a product, company or organization based on their .com domain name, it could help to have the main set of .net, .org and possibly even some of the other newer extensions. It simply affords them protection from someone hijacking those other domains that might have a negative impact on their main .com domain. Generally speaking though, I rarely buy other extensions for what I’m doing. On the other hand, I’m looking into other cc’s such as China, India and other such emerging economies.
Brandon: Is it a smart move to buy up domains of a new TLD or is it
recommended to wait until it becomes better known to the public?
Bruce: I see what’s going on in the new TLD’s as closer to speculation than investment, simply because it’s more of an unknown. Basically, ‘you place your bets and you take your chances’. If you can buy a great ‘virgin’ domain (never been registered before), in a new extension, over time, it may have a decent appreciation. For my money, I still see the .com extension as the industry gold standard - you’ll never go wrong with a great .com.
Brandon: Domain appraisals, do they mean anything? Isn't it mainly
dependent upon the buyer?
Bruce: Like everything else, a domain is worth only what one is prepared to pay for it. Even today, you see a number of people asking silly prices thinking that someone with more money than brains will pay the price. It may happen from time-to-time but don’t build your business on it.
In the early days, domain appraisals were for the most part, stupid and in some cases they still are. Of course everyone hears about the big ones that go for millions and then think they have one worth at least half a million. Those .com domains that fit the criteria I outlined earlier can only become more valuable as more people want them.
Every once in a while, I’ll look at a list of ‘premium’ domains while covering up the price list and make note of the ones I might be interested in. You’d be surprised at how many domains asking in the tens of thousands or even a million and more that I wouldn’t pay $10 for.
On the other hand there are a number of reputable sites where they are priced appropriately and can be negotiated for what I would consider reasonable. I believe the size of the market and the degree to which a particular name would occupy within that market is one of the key indicators of value. As demand increases for all ‘good’ .com’s, all prices will go up accordingly.
This is ‘e’ real estate and the old adage of location, location, location still applies. Another one states that ‘they aren’t making any more land’ which applies to individual domain names too – especially .coms.
Brandon: How do you set a value for your domains?
Bruce: Stick to the principles and criteria I referred to earlier in this interview. Again, one of the key determinates in the value is how the domain relates to the size of the market. For example, ‘ExoticPets.com is not as valuable as say ‘HousePets.com simply because there is a very small market for the first compared to the very large market for the latter.
Brandon: Do you skim through expired domain sites, or would you say it
is better to find new ones?
Bruce: I’m always on the lookout for expired domains. Again, it takes a lot of work and effort, but every once in a while, you find a diamond in the rough. However, there’s a lot of ‘rough’ out there in the expired domains market – which is probably why most of them have expired!
At the same time, I’m always on the lookout for new or ‘virgin’ domains, but these are mostly restricted to new technology names or events in the geopolitical world.
Brandon: What would be your biggest long term goal?
Bruce: I’m in this for the ‘long term’ so that’s an appropriate question.
With respect to the actual domains in my portfolio, I have 4 general groups:
Park for PPC, Develop, Sell or Hold.
All these groups need to be run like a business and in return and over time, will provide a payback well beyond many traditional businesses. Therefore, my goal is to continue to run my domain activity as a professional business.
Brandon: If you find an extremely good domain, would you suggest
saving it to build equity and then sell it 5 years from now, and get much more?
Bruce: Any good .com domain will be worth more in the future than it is today.
Of course, if someone has a good reason to purchase a domain of mine for an appropriate price, it might make sense for both of us to consummate the sale. For example, if I had intended to keep a good name for a few years, but it was a perfect fit for someone else who needed it now, I’d consider selling it in order to re-invest in even more valuable domains.
Brandon: What’s your take on 3 letter domains? Is it a good investment
to buy them, and will they grow in value?
Bruce: At this point I don’t have any, as all the over 17,500 possible combinations have been spoken for in the .com, .net and .org extensions. I believe it was early last year that the last 3 letter domains were taken for .biz and .info. I know some believe it will become valuable similar to how the TV industry has used letters for coding the numerous TV channels around the world.
At the end of the day, as demand grows for an identity and a presence on the Internet and supply remains constant and/or restricted, the value has to increase.
In conclusion, I believe demand for any good .com domain will increase at a more rapid pace in the next few years than it has in the past 10. When you look at some of the big trends such as the billions of dollars of traditional media spend going into the Internet and the younger age cohorts virtually growing up with the Internet I believe the future of the Internet and the development of domain names is very bright.
I also believe that one needs to view the Internet in a global perspective, particularly as India, China and other fast developing nations come on stream in a big way. There will be many pitfalls for those that jump into the deep end and many opportunities for those that do their research first.
Good luck, but if you do your research you won’t need it!
Brandon: Once again, DN Lodge thanks you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk with us!
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You may discuss this interview by posting a reply in this thread. Thank you for reading, and I hope to get more interviews in the days to come for you members to read!
Last edited by Brandon; 04-22-06 at 09:31 PM..
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Interview: Bruce, a Domain Investor & Speculator
thay are good way to see how other ppl do things 
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