Brandable Domains (Part 1 of 4) – Are they worth the investment?
This is part 1 of 4 in a series about brandable domain investments. I see the question asked all the time whether or not brandable domains are worth investing into. I think the standard answer for every niche is that there are both good and bad investments within each target market.
The key to every investment starts with lots of research to help ensure you make the right choices. I’ll cover more of that later in the series. For now, in part 1, let’s justify that brandables are worthy investments by looking at some past sales history.
Good brandable investments (Solid brandables with clear value):
- Athlon.com – SOLD $100,000
- GoDirect.com – SOLD $25,000
- Maca.com – SOLD $150,000
- Nimby.com – SOLD – $45,000
- Koko.com – SOLD $100.440
- Moki.com – SOLD $66,100
- SportsWorld.com – SOLD $150,000
- StormShield.com – SOLD $30,000
- Mera.com – SOLD $132,500
- Tonix.com – SOLD $120,000
- SimplePay.com – SOLD $25,800
- Snax.com – SOLD $85,000
- Vroom.com – SOLD $75,000
Questionable brandable investments (Unpredictable sales of questionable brandables):
- StoryPulse.com – SOLD $2.795
- ActiveDegree.com – SOLD $26
- DevelopDock.com – SOLD $20
- Editorr.com – SOLD $1,675
- NinjaBlock.com – SOLD $39
- Puristo.com – SOLD $1,999
- DuraPura.com – SOLD $20
Bad brandable investments (Clearly bad investments):
- NewAware.com – UnSOLD
- SilverDiamondGold.com – UnSOLD
- 60secs.net – UnSOLD
- MidHit.com – UnSOLD
- AcroSpot.com – UnSOLD
- Guaranteeddebt.com – UnSOLD
- HerdHype.com – UnSOLD
- BestUrlPromote.com – UnSOLD
As we can see by the above three categories of brandable sales attempts, it draws a much clearer picture about the potential of the brandable markets. It also shows that there is such a thing as premium brandables (Seen in sales that are 5 or 6+ digits). There is a clear demand for brandable domains from small start-ups to large corporations expanding their product lines.
The questionable brandable sales seen above outlines the investments that fall on the fence and could go either way. Most of these type investments backfire, however, since it is a numbers game, you are bound to make a few sales out of a portfolio full of these type brandables. Most, as you can see, wind up in a low to high $xx range, which still brings you a profit over registration costs, but won’t be helping you buy a new car or house anytime soon.
The obvious here is the bad brandables above. I’m sure you can agree after looking at the type of domains in the good and the questionable lists, that this batch of brandables probably won’t see much in the way of profits.
Simple comparisons like this are a great way to start getting a feel for where the value and demand is in the brandable niche markets. Keep in mind that every niche has sub-niches, so each one of the above listed brandable domains that sold, has a separate direction of research to consider.
My suggestion, for those just getting started with brandables is to start with a sub-niche you already have knowledge in. For instance, if you have worked around coffee all your life and spent much of your time comparing your coffee shop to competitors, you’ll more than likely be able to come up with some great coffee shop brand ideas. Invest into 2 to 5 max to get started and target small start-up coffee shops, coffee bloggers, etc. to get your feet wet with potential end-users. You can apply this simple strategy with any niche.
The above should give you the basic idea. However, in the next article I write (Part 2 of 4), I will cover more about identifying brandables and methods of inspiration. I should hopefully have that ready within the next couple days for publishing.
———————————————————
Like what you’re reading? You can subscribe for instant notifications as soon as a new article is published in the top right of this page. If you are on a mobile device, you can scroll down and subscribe below.
Since 1996, Eric has managed companies with 240+ employees, online communities with over 1 million members, attended numerous industry related events/conventions and has personally worked with start-ups, personalities, small mom and pop businesses, corporations, freelancers, news outlets, and a variety of domain investors one-on-one from all over the world. That equates to a lot of years behind the scenes with his fingers firmly on the pulse of multiple industries.
LinkedIn: Profile/Resume - FaceBook: Profile/Social
- Establishing Elusive Value - December 21, 2019
- The Evaluation of Lagster.com - December 15, 2019
- Updates: Domain Name Discovery / A New Journey / And A New Project - February 1, 2018
Pingback: Brandable Domains (Part 4 of 4) – How To Sell Brandable Domains | Scorpion Agency - Design & Brand Management