Unestablished domains - Do they have any value?

[MagnusB]

I just got an offer for some domains, all pretty relevant to my site, but none of them have been in use, so they are just domains, nothing more. What I wonder, do they have any value at all?

I was thinking about declining them, cause I really don't see a point in having them just to have them... Any reason I should get them?

 

[erich37]

depends on the domains....

 

[MagnusB]

I would think that, but I am seeing little to none benefit from my other domains I have, and the main one was a established one when I redirected it. I really have no intention to use these domains other than redirect them to my site, and I don't really see they can bring any value.

 

[erich37]

then better sell them when you have got a good offer.....

 

[MagnusB]

I think you misunderstood me, I got an offer for 3 domains that are relevant to my site, and I am considering buying them. But as they are unestablished, I really don't see any value in them.

 

[erich37]

ahh... o.k.

depends if the domains have any type-in traffic..... ?

 

[Mike Edge]

Would really depend.. If it is a big SEO keyword or a very common typo to your niche, it might be worth it. Like say for example you had a forum that discussed online auctions and you were able to purchase ehay or evay .com, those are the most 2 common keystroke typos for someone going to ebay

 

[jadmperry]

Not sure, but just off the top of my head:

If the domains are similar to a site that is a "winner," well, it seems that the value of the other domains could be dependent on (and suck off, like a vampire) the value of the domains in use. That is, the sale may dilute the value of the "main" domain.

Sure, in theory, trademark could be used to protect/defend the value of the main domain. However, this could get messy and be more costly than just maintaining ownership of the domains contemplated for sale.

From your post, it seems you are thinking of the value to you not using them. However, the relevant question may be the value to others in having the similar domain and perhaps profiting on the value of your "main" domain. Of course, the solution may be in fixing a higher value on the sale price.

Just some thoughts.

 

[MagnusB]

ahh... o.k.

depends if the domains have any type-in traffic..... ?

1 is an ad farm, 1 is just a empty server (think wordpress has been installed on it at some time), and the 3rd one isnt even live.

Would really depend.. If it is a big SEO keyword or a very common typo to your niche, it might be worth it. Like say for example you had a forum that discussed online auctions and you were able to purchase ehay or evay .com, those are the most 2 common keystroke typos for someone going to ebay

Nothing like that, but they are absolutely relevant. If I started up a new site, I would get them, but as I already have a established "brand", I won't use them for anything but redirection, and I don't really see they have any value in that regards, unless I spend time building them (and I don't have time for that).

 

[MagnusB]

Ohh, I just did a site search in Google, and it seems 2 of them have been live at some point, but probably taken offline at some point. I will ask for a price, but I am not sure they are at all worth it, unless I get some backlinks in the process...

 

[HWS]

You wouldn't believe how much some people are willing to pay for good domains...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_domain_names

 

[Brandon Sheley]

As everyone has said, it would depend on the domain(s).

 

[MagnusB]

I think the domains have no real value except for my niche, so I think I would just let em go...

 

[craigiri]

I've done some selling of domains and received from 2K to 7K for them!

Of course, most aren't worth anywhere near that. These didn't have traffic or sites, but were of high value in the name - findsomeone.com, for example.

With most domains, you can use nameboy or another service to find something quite nice without buying them. Only in the case where nothing was available would I buy one, and then I would try to spend as little as possible.

I'm looking right now - for both sites and domains in a certain segment. I spent an hour putting together possible domain names and some are (almost) as good as the best ones. So the name is often not too important. What does drive be toward buying another site is the existing traffic. There are many ways to value this, but in the end it's what it is worth to you. For example, I just offered $1500 for a site which has not been updated in a year, but still gets over 1,000 visitors per month and has a good domain.

Getting the first 1,000 visitors per month seems to me to be the hardest part of establishing a new site! Once you get some content and some visitors, things can take off from there!

 

[MagnusB]

I barely have time to run one site, so I doubt I have time to run more. I just noticed that two of them have previously been active, so it might be worth it just to get that traffic (and the backlinks, though they aren't anything to write home about).

One of them might have some potential value in the name alone, but I doubt it ever will gain any attention. I asked for a price, so I might grab them if the price is right (i.e. not much more than the cost of transferring them).

 

[Carlos]

I just got an offer for some domains, all pretty relevant to my site, but none of them have been in use, so they are just domains, nothing more. What I wonder, do they have any value at all?

It's better if you bought them all up in the first place. But when someone comes to you asking to buy those domains, it's either a scam, or spam. I recently got the same e-mail. In 2011, I acquired MVC3Forum, and it came with similar domain names like MVC3Forums, which the domain solicitor was trying to sell to me. I let it expire, because the main domain is the one with the high ranking. When I told them no, and offered them to buy my MVC3Forum, they continued the solicitation more, and more. So I flagged them as spam.

I was thinking about declining them, cause I really don't see a point in having them just to have them... Any reason I should get them?

Decline them. Your instinct is correct. The only good thing about buying those domains is cover your @$$ for the year. Copycats will try to take your market by getting those domains.

 

[MagnusB]

Those are not variants of my domain, the dude just have them and dont use them, and wants to get rid of them. I asked for a price, cause as I said two of them had been active earlier (same niche), so it might not hurt. Not willing to cough up any serious money for them, though. It really all comes down to what he wants for them, as they are not really worth anything to me.

For my current domain, I own both .net and .com, didn't bother with other TLD or any of the infinite variants or deviants of the domain.

 

[MrLeft]

Just a little side warning FYI ... I own some great domains with potential good keyword value. I've gotten some requests to buy as I have some with the standard cash parking / for sale page until I get time to develop them into real sites.

Anyhow, one scam is that you'll get an email with a potential buyer "very interested" who asks for your price. At first he'll say ok and continue to show interest. Then very enthusiastically he'll continue by saying the last step is that he needs it to be appraised so that "both parties involved can be sure it's a fair price".

Grabbing extra / similar domains isn't good or bad .. it's really to be judged on a case by case basis depending on a bunch of factors (price being the most obvious .. lol)

The scam in fact .. is that he owns the appraisal service, and the moment you put in the money for the appraisal he loses interest! I had fun messing around with him once I figured it out .. but it's a pretty good scam .. most people are too worried about the final transaction to realize the scam has already happened! :-/

So yeah .. as others have said .. be very careful out there .. and remember .. content is king .. good domain name(s) are important .. but in the end people will keep coming back for your content ... plus search engines constantly change their algorithms .. but the one thing you can rest assured on is that google will continue to try to make real content the most relevant part of your site's ranking.

 

[Carlos]

Those are not variants of my domain, the dude just have them and dont use them, and wants to get rid of them. I asked for a price, cause as I said two of them had been active earlier (same niche), so it might not hurt. Not willing to cough up any serious money for them, though. It really all comes down to what he wants for them, as they are not really worth anything to me.

For my current domain, I own both .net and .com, didn't bother with other TLD or any of the infinite variants or deviants of the domain.

If the solicitation comes with an appraisal link, or a buy link - spam or scam.

Otherwise, this person might be interested in selling the domain name to the right person, which is possibly why he came to you. Selling to a person who took his website to the next level based on his passion for the niche or subject, the more it lends a sort of reputation to that person. It says that he knows how to find the right person for the domain he's selling.