Advice

In my GoDaddy control panel, I have the ability to search for domain names based on their current nameservers. One thing I do from time to time – and should do more often – is look through the nameservers to ensure nothing stands out as incorrect.

The other day, I was looking for domain names parked on specific nameservers so I could make an update. When I clicked the nameserver search button at GoDaddy, I noticed quite a few nameservers I did not recognize as being set by me. In addition, some were very old nameservers I haven’t used in a long time (like Moniker DNS).

After a few seconds, I realized the unrecognized nameservers were connected to domain names I won at auction at domain registrars I don’t use. Instead of managing the domain names there for any time, I had immediately transferred them to my GoDaddy account. For whatever reason, I neglected to update the nameservers. This was an own-goal for me, but I am glad I caught the error and updated the domain names. The domain names set to Moniker nameservers are two personal domain names I previously used for forwarding but now keep just because.

Searching for domain names by nameserver is something I plan to do every so often. I don’t have enough names that this will ever become a major issue, but it’s such a simple search that I might as well do it every so often just to be sure nothing slipped through the cracks.

I have to assume other registrars have similar search functionality, so this could apply to people who use other domain registrars.

At a high level, domain investing appears to be a simple money making activity. Buy great domain names at good prices and sell them profitably to buyers who want to build businesses on them. In practice, profitable domain investing is a capital-intensive business with considerable nuance.

This morning on Twitter, I came across two very good pieces of advice new domain investors should consider.

The first is from AbdulBasit Makrani:

One unfortunate speed bump and occasional roadblock I encounter when closing deals is the KYC requirements at Escrow.com. Oftentimes, it can be a minor inconvenience to get the other party verified. Sometimes, particularly when dealing with large corporate entities, it becomes impossible and it can complicate a deal at a critical time.

Let’s say I am selling a domain name to Example Company, a multi billion dollar organization that is traded publicly. At closing, I often deal with a senior legal counsel or CTO to paper a deal and close it. With the Escrow.com KYC requirements, not only does Example Company need to be KYC’d, but the individual closing the deal also needs to submit documents. Getting someone who has no vested interest or benefit from a deal to submit personal ID and documents has been problematic.

I have a “policy” of not sharing my sales for numerous reasons that I shared before. Others like sharing their sales for their own reasons. As an industry participant and publisher, I am always willing to highlight and/or report on a domain name sale I discovered or learned about.

Earlier this week, someone shared some details about a fantastic domain name sale that could have gone under the radar. According to the tweet below, ABiologics.com was sold via Squadhelp for $26,499. Impressively, this was reportedly a hand registered domain name as the seller needed to wait until the 60 day ICANN lock:

Hand reg, so waited a month to transfer this #domain.
Thank the buyer’s patience. pic.twitter.com/j61u43xBjs

— Steley (@Steley) December 7, 2023

The seller could have kept this sale private and used this internal data to secure additional, similar domain names. If it were me, I would probably think that if ABiologics.com sold for more than $25k, perhaps other letter Biologics.com domain names could have substantial value to someone else. I would have gone through the alphabet and registered whatever was available and put those up on Squadhelp. That may have been a lightning bolt sale, but it would have been worth up to $250 to register other available domain names.

In case you missed it over the Thanksgiving holiday, Squadhelp CEO Darpan Munjal posted a long thread on X to share some domain investing tips. These tips are not specific to the Squadhelp platform, and they can be implemented by domain investors on other platforms or across their owns dales listings.

One suggestion I wouldn’t say I disagree with but don’t ascribe to is the one regarding Make Offer option with a BIN price. I agree on lower priced names but have it on many higher priced names. I tend to price my better inventory quite high, and I would rather give the option to make an offer in case my BIN price was set far too high. Sellers can always say “no,” stick to their BIN price and warn of a price increase if they wish. That’s just my opinion though.