Last night I purchased my very first domain name. It was the first time I had ever done that. And I don't even have a website. In fact I've never owned a website, ever.

Purchasing my first domain name was very exciting. Don't ask me why. I guess because a few of my names were already taken. But alot of them weren't, so when I came across one that was available, I snatched it up. I must say that I totally lost control. You know how some people are addicted to buying stuff on eBAy? Well, I guess I had the same affliction last night. I was up all night till 6AM purchasing domain names!

My first few domain names were purchased without any fanfare. And then, later, I put in this one domain name and GoDaddy.com surprised me with a special page/message that I hadn't seen during my first 3 or 4 aquisitions. It's a page that's headed "You've found a great domain...." and it had a big fat green check mark next to those words. That was kind of exciting! Especially since moments before I started buying my first domain name, my one tekkie friend "guaranteed" me that most of the names I create will already have been taken.

Not all of the domain names that I purchased came with that message. All told, I purchased around 20 domain names and 15 or so had that message attached to them. Those type of messages did make me feel a little special, but I have to wonder if that's GoDaddy's way of tricking a person into buying more names.

Now I know people sell domain names. So I just guess that a few of them might be worth something to somebody. Someday maybe, I really don't know for sure. And I know that you can get a domain name appraised. I know a little about domain appraisal, just a little. I'm real green, a rookie, so please keep in mind that my opinions are raw and possibly faulty. And what I read somewhere is that if you have to pay somebody to appraise your domain name, they said that you can't trust the appraisal because they (the appraiser) wants you to keep coming back to get another appraisal.

So if a person has a name that's not worth anything, they, in this case GoDaddy, won't really tell you that. Supposedly, they'll inflate the value of the name a little. Now I don't know if that's true or not. GoDaddy.com charges 5 bucks for an appraisal, so according to what I read, you might not be able to trust their appraisal system all that much. Is that true?

Some of my domain names are related to sex and real estate. I know that sex is one of the biggest markets on the Internet, so I just thought that that might be a good area to key in on. As far as real estate is concerned, we all know that successful real estate agents/investors make real good money, so I made up a few names that might appeal to that market. I also made up a few names that represent the software industry. And oh yeah, I also made up some names that might appeal to someone in the auto industry.

They were all dot com names. I know that the lucrative market for dot com name market has come and gone. So I have no illusions about any of this. Despite all of the "You've found a great domain...." messages that I received from GoDaddy, I don't know if I really did find a "great domain" like GoDaddy says I did or if I just made the GoDaddy people a little richer. Oh well...

Let me just say that I know a little HTML and I expect to soon learn alot more along with CSS. So can anyone out there tell me if what I experienced last night during my spending spree (approximately $200!) was really worth it or did I just waste alot of money by getting all caught up in a buying frenzy?

This is a very serious question as I don't have alot of money to spend recklessly. I was kind of excited all night long and I must say it was a very gratifying experience. I wasn't using any illegal substances, nor was I drinking, though it was quite the rush. I guess some of those messages that read, "You've found a great domain" kinda got to me. But now, later, I really don't know what to think. And oh yeah, I'm not bi-polar, at least I don't think I am lol...

Welcome to the Forum.

You may want to introduce yourself in the new member section.

I can't judge the quality of what you bought without knowing what it was and even then it would only be IMO.

However it turns out, you could have spent more, had a hangover, or worse.

Now you are in the right forum if you want some help putting those domains to work.

guess some of those messages that read, "You've found a great domain" kinda got to me.

I wouldn't really blame you if they did.

The messages were, at best, generated by an algorithm that guestimates the value of a domain, and since artificial intelligence is still in its infancy, and the value of domains is so highly subjective, the results will be quite "guessy". They'll work great from a marketing point of view though. We can say anything about Godaddy, but they do excel at marketing.

Without knowing the domains you registered, we can't really know whether you did a total mistake or not.

Ldcdc, Colbyt, thanks for the kind words and info.

I purchased the names because I did indeed feel that they might 'someday' be worth something to somone. When I try to make a domain name, I keep this in mind:

Say the person who has a website is traveling on a city bus. We'll call him John. He then gets into a conversation with a stranger. This stranger, we'll call her Mary, is very interested in John's website. The bus then comes to a stop, and Mary steps off, leaving John on the bus. On the sidewalk, she then turns back to John and asks for his domain name. But the bus starts to take off.

It is at this point where John has to yell out his domain name. He has only one chance to yell it out to her. Therefore, it would behoove him to have a domain name that is completely void of any ambiguity. It must be crisp, clear, and simple. It must not mystify the listener, nor confuse them, because life and commercial sales is just like that bus ride. It's fast and frenetic.

I'm a little reluctant to list any of the names I purchased, so please forgive me. One was titled,

Killbaby.com

Now at first glance that might be offensive to some people, but we have to keep in mind that it's the Internet we're talking about here. And the pioneers of the Internet have always been know for veering off away from the mainstream when it came to naming software programs, or any other kind of different computer related stuff. I mean, look at Apple.

I could easily see the next Marilyn Manson of the world using that name for the shock value alone. Or maybe a slightly possessed and tenacious stock broker (or real estate agent) who makes a killing on the stock market or selling real estate. I don't know...
BTW, Killbaby.com was one name that GoDaddy labeled "You've found a great domain...." though I have absolutely no idea how credible that statement is.

Though I hear Lcdc loud and clear when he says that it's all subjective.

Anyway, I think Killbaby.com is a name that someone could use if they want to scream their name out to the world and have everyone out there assimilate it without any confusion or mystery. Especially if they were selling alot of goods on their site.

Thank you both for your post.

You can always park them at one of the domain parking companies and see how much type in traffic you get each month.

You might even cover the cost of reg fees each year.

killbaby does have recall value.

Originally Posted by colbyt

You can always park them at one of the domain parking companies and see how much type in traffic you get each month.

You might even cover the cost of reg fees each year.

killbaby does have recall value.

I'm not exactly sure what recall value is. Is that the amount an item is worth after you deduct the amount that the item depreciated? I'm not sure. And as a newbie, I have to say that I didn't know that domain names depreciate the way a car does, or maybe they do?

artificial intelligence is still in its infancy

and artificial opinion is even younger (in fact i think i may have just invented it)

I would take no notice of what godaddy say. There was a time when people purchased domains for big bucks based on the words in the domain, but that time has passed.

what sounds and looks better? 1337.COM or www.blogspot.com? And which would you rather own? A domains value is about the branding of the name now, rather than just the words in it.

Originally Posted by stOx

1337.COM or www.blogspot.com? And which would you rather own? A domains value is about the branding of the name now, rather than just the words in it.

Well, I'm not sure if you're testing me or not, but I'll take the test. Blogspot.com sounds better to me, but that's only because it's a quote unquote household name. I'm basing my answer on familiarity.

What does "branding of the name" mean?