Its strange, Ive always noticed four letter domains which either sell for less than their market value or don’t sell at all, even if they are reasonably priced. Ninety percent of the time it boils down to one simple defining factor… registrar. Those LLLL.com’s that sit on the shelf for weeks on end with hardly a sniff will always look like very good buys. On closer inspection however, it is the registrar that is holding them back.
I claimed one such domain a few weeks back on Namepros. A triple premium quad letter dot com, and one that would be a superb buy at just $25. On seeing the registrar I told the seller that the sale would only complete on the condition that they could transfer the domain to my GoDaddy account. It turned out that they weren’t willing to do that. Two weeks on and that domain plus the other ten or so LLLL.com’s they have for sale still haven’t sold!
This is absolutely no reflection on the quad letter domain market whatsoever, it is simply a reflection on an investors buying strategy or perception of certain registrars. If it is a registrar they are not familiar, or do not have an account with, or a registrar that has a bad reputation (such as 123-Reg or 1and1) they simply wont buy. It is more hassle and time consuming than the domain is worth. I for one get annoyed having to set up new registrar accounts, having to learn a new control panel, adhere to different transfer terms and conditions and PAY FOR URL forwarding or DNS changes, ridiculous! I try and stick to the main registrars and have accounts with GoDaddy, Moniker, Dynadot, Snap and Enom.
The moral of the story? On or before renewal, take the time to transfer out any domains you have at obscure registrars to better known ones. Many registrars have very good deals and offers to entice you to change and this strategy will help no end when it comes to selling on your domains to resellers and fellow domainers!
February 27th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Hello Richard,
I have a lot of stuff with 1and1 and was wondering why you suggest to stay away from them. They are advertised in just about every computer magazine you can find, they offer free private registration, and there .coms are always priced better than average. Please let me know you mean by “reputation”.
February 27th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Hi Jeremy,
This is the reason many people use them… Heavy advertising, media coverage and low cost registration. If all of their money is going into this then something else must suffer and for 1and1 it is support.
Many people have complained about the poor lack of support that they provide.
Take a look at the Namepros Indusrty Reviews section to get an idea on what registrars are good and what experiences people have had with them. 1and1 have an average of 1 star out of 5 from member reviews at Namepros. You can see these reviews here.