An already famous book was wrote last year by David Kesmodel titled The Domain Game. Sometimes that title speaks volumes if you really think about it.
Selling anything is like a big game. It’s just how professional you are playing this game and how educated.
Domaining isn’t a game to me but I think many think it is. Some of the most popular places in the domain world are domain name forums like NamePros.com and DNF.com . I often think that Age plays a big part in any business or industry. With Time you become educated.
Are Lawyers 14-18? Are Stock Brokers 14-18? Are Doctors 14-18?
A 14 year old looks at things totally different then a 30 year old does. A 14 year old worries about having their homework done and praying mommy or daddy will wake them up for school the next morning after playing video games until 11 PM.
A 30 year old is already planning retirement, making and saving money. Many purchase life insurance to help their family if something were to happen to them. Many 30 year old people are waking up their kids who stayed up playing video games.. the same kids that do not even have an alarm clock. A 30 year old knows the value of money a lot more then one who is 14. Most 14 year old’s have never Earned a dollar in their life, so how would they value it.
If you are a domainer, did you know that some of the people that you may be chatting with on a forum may be 14 years old? 15 or 16? 10.9% of members on NamePros.com are 18 or younger. 10.9% doesn’t seem like much, but 6.3% of the members are 41-50 and only 3.9% are over 50.
Do you think these same members are at other popular places like Sedo.com, SnapNames.com, NameJet.com, Godaddy? I think so.
Have I made my point yet? Yes and No…
Domain name forums are Not the best places to do business, ok places to gain some knowledge and not always the best place find a lot of trust. Keep in mind that for a couple NP$ you can buy a Senior Member tag line by your user name.
Did you ever list a domain name on Sedo.com and the buyer never paid? Could be somebody who thinks buying domain names is a game? Did you ever bid and bid on a domain and finally win… maybe the other bidder was 14 and didn’t have a pot to piss in and never planned on paying… They made you pay though!
Ok, I’ll get to my point here.
Domain forums need to tighten up the rules. 18 or Sorry, can’t do it! Now it’s hard to verify the age of anybody online, but putting in steps can surely help. Credit card, two forms of ID to verify etc.
The same thing needs to be done via SnapNames, Sedo or any place Real Money is being exchanged. You can’t tell me that Real Business people buy domain names all the time and Never Pay! (I’ve had several $x,xxx sales on SnapNames that the buyer just happened to never pay, same with Sedo) The problem is when these people do not pay, you end up tieing up this domain name. Time spent with contacts back and forth to figure out what’s going on etc.
The domain industry has a lot of growing up to do. Businesses in the domain industry need to put on their big boy pants and lay down the law.
The next time you try and sell your valuable asset, think about where and who you want to buy it. When your buying a domain via auction, are you bidding against somebody that doesn’t even own a wallet?
