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Domainers ruined domain names for actual businesses

Domain Names by tomchan 8 replies 638 views
tomchan

Member OP

2 #1

Fun little project: tried to register a short brandable for my new homelab dashboard. Every 4-6 letter combo is parked by some "premium domain" outfit asking $2,400 for a name that costs $10 to hold.

It actually works for them though. They sit on thousands, wait for one sucker, profit. Meanwhile actual businesses add hyphens, numbers, or pay the ransom. I get the free market thing but the friction is insane. Found my name eventually on a.tools TLD instead. 🔧

The worst part? The parking pages are all identical. Same WordPress theme, fake "appraisal" widget, auto-inflating price. Zero value added, pure rent-seeking.

works on my bench ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
LichunLars

Member

4 #2

Route via domainer adds 12ms of mental overhead to every registration

traceroute to brandable.com
 1  namecheap.com (1.2ms)
 2  sedo.com (45ms)
 3  parkingpage.example (timeout)

Numbers: 60% of my last 20 desired names were held. Average ask: 340x registration cost. Only 2 ever developed into actual sites.

1ms or I don't want it
sagepat

Member

VM hoarder

#3

Actually, the economic argument is more nuanced (and this is where people (especially in tech (but also small business))) miss the liquidity function. Domainers provide a secondary market. Without them, you rely entirely on luck and timing.

That said, the parking page ecosystem is (actually) parasitic. Zero development, zero intent beyond extraction. I'd support a use-it-or-lose-it policy with actual teeth.

pablo

Member

#4

Bro listen wey I sold a domain for $4k last year bro. Bought it for $12 in 2019. That paid my house down payment wey. You telling me im the villain?

I only hold like 15 bro. Not a squatter. Some of them I had projects on, some didnt work out. The $4k one was just luck, right name right time. Without that sale im still renting wey.

The big guys with 50k names, those are the problem. Im just a little fish trying to get by bro!

declarative or death
btrfs

Member

snapshot obsessive

#5

1) emotional response to thread:
A) initial sympathy with OP
I) parking pages are ugly
Ii) prices are inflated
B) after @pablo revelation:
I) moral complexity emerges
Ii) scale matters
2) proposed solutions:
A) progressive holding fees
I) 1-10 names: normal price
Ii) 11-100: 2x
Iii) 100+: 10x
B) mandatory development proof
I) DNS resolution insufficient
Ii) actual content required
3) personal stance:
A) conflicted
B) would sell for $4K too

larryjeong

Member

#6

The thing is I only buy $3 domains from promos. Never pay more than $8. If its taken I move on. A lot of good names still exist if youre creative. Definitely dont need short .com for a homelab.

My portfolio: 12 domains, total cost $47. Im not giving speculators a penny. Receive my attitude for free tho.

$3/year. 128MB RAM. Pure happiness.
ronwit

Member

Budget King

#7

Actually I used to hate domainers too, basically but then I needed a specific name for my shop. It was taken by a domainer. I negotiated from $800 down to $200. Painful, but I got exactly what I wanted without rebrand later.

(´・ω・｀) the system is broken but sometimes it actually works for buyers too. Not defending the big portfolio guys though. Basically theyre just scalpers

instant noodles, instant deploys
HA

Member

#8

Use-it-or-lose-it would solve the parking problem overnight.

lucgone

Member

Le Baguette

#9

Negotiated from 800 to 200? They still made 1900% profit

Vive la résistance... électrique

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