

Should I Just Buy This Domain? - jhacks

I have a domain name currently that is similar to flickr.com, scribd.com, etc. in that with one letter excluded, it still sounds like the word.<p>After customer and market validation and with my co-founder and I coding, I realized it'd be important to trademark the name. That has gone through. Which is great since the name is a great fit, is a real word (less the letter), easy to say, and easy to remember.<p>The domain name with the correct spelling is available for purchase for $1.5k ("buy it now" so no negotiation). Honestly, similar or worse domain names are trying to be sold for more money and I would happily pay $500 - $1,000 without issue.<p>Should I just purchase it at this price? I doubt it goes lower and there isn't an option to negotiate. I guess the only thing holding me back is that it's a big sum (I have the money - since still working day job). I wonder if my incorrectly spelled domain is good enough?<p>But then I see that flickr has flicker.com. In terms of word of mouth, I'm sure there will be people who try spelling it correctly, in which case I would have potential to redirect them. It could help with SEO as well.<p>Any and all advice appreciated. Thanks!
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itsprofitbaron
Without knowing what the domain is, I can't comment on its actual worth but
considering everything that you have said you should buy it.

The reasons are because:

\- You're already committed to the name - you have a trademark and you say the
name is a great fit for your startup

\- You are already willing to pay $1000 for it ($500 more isn't that much in
real terms especially, if you think you can at least recover $1500 for the
domain if the startup fails)

\- If your startup becomes successful, you are going to want to acquire that
domain name (and once you're successful the owner will want a more substantial
price)

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tacticus
Since they have a trademark for it and the current owners are using it in bad
faith can't they use wipo to get the domain.

The cost may be greater than just buying it. i just have a dislike of those
squatting on a domain.

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dangrossman
> the current owners are using it in bad faith

He never says this. Merely holding a trademark does not entitle you to take a
domain from someone (see: Nissan Motor Company v Nissan.com). Sitting on
domains is not illegal.

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Navarr
Nissan.com is a legitimate company with a legitimate purpose though.

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tptacek
What purpose would that be? A quick visit to their site strongly suggests that
a pretty important purpose of their business is to squat NISSAN.COM.

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w1ntermute
Based on their website, I'll go out on a limb and say it might have something
to do with the computer company owned by one Uzi Nissan.

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tptacek
Based on the website, I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest that less than
1% of the visitors to this site are looking for Uzi Nissan or his company.
Maybe it's the giant insurance scam banner that covers more than 50% of the
page that makes me think that.

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codegeek
This is what the guy (Uzi Nissan) claims:

<http://www.digest.com/Big_Story.php>

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tptacek
Find another legit computer business who allocates the majority of their home
page to insurance ads and dropdowns with "Astrology Supplies" and "Miami Beach
Condos" and I'll care what that guy thinks.

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darushimo
My guess is that the discrepancy between the general $10/yr from godaddy and
the current $1500 is what's getting to you... My advice would be to try to
disregard the "standard" price for a domain and just ask if it's worth it on
its own.

One way to look at it: you could say that the "standard" price for a domain
name is no longer standard at all--that most (not all, but most) good domain
names are already taken, and that "$10/yr" was a historical moment that
already passed. However you create the story, it should lead you to ignoring
what you think "should" be the case, and help you take full consideration what
IS the case.

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jhacks
Yes. That is likely in my subconscious. Also, I think going above 4 figures
makes it "large" (for me) so more difficult to swallow. My co-founder and I
have already spent countless hours on the startup, I've spent money on the
trademark and even minimal hosting costs. And I know we will have more costs
once we launch and get things going (although hopefully we can be break even
or cash flow positive as quickly as possible). What's $1.5k at the end of the
day?

I think it's going to be worthwhile to buy.

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benackles
If you're not building a physical product, I don't think it's necessary to
invest in a domain. Early on you should just be focusing on the product. The
name may change as the product evolves. If your product reaches any level of
success, you can then decide to purchase a better domain. At the point of
success, you'll have the resources to purchase a better domain.

Keep in mind...

* dropbox.com was getdropbox.com

* basecamp.com was basecamphq.com

* foursquare.com was playfoursquare.com

* facebook.com was thefacebook.com

There are a lot of creative ways to fake it until you make it. Don't choose a
terrible name that nobody can pronounce, but there are other alternatives for
a lot less money. In the last year, I've purchased a half dozen domains that
are simple to pronounce and didn't cost more than $9.

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davidandgoliath
"At the point of success, you'll have the resources to purchase a better
domain."

And it'll cost far more, vs. at this point where it's extremely inexpensive.
That price will raise as his service/product gets more successful.

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benackles
Say you have $10,000 set aside to start a business. If you invest $1,500 in a
domain name, before you truly validate your product, then you are throwing
away 15% of a very limited budget with $0 in cashflow. Now say your business
has been validated and you're making $100,000 per year. If the price goes up
to $15,000, you're still in a much better position since you have proven
cashflows to legitimize that expense. The original $1,500 was actually much
more expensive, relative to your cashflows. You would be buying off the
assumption that you're business will succeed, rather than when your business
is succeeding.

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Tpsoc
If this will be a real legit business making money, 1500 isn't worth the risk
of having to potentially pay 100x more when your business URL is known and
thus may increase the value of the domain you are looking to buy.

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fossuser
Flickr didn't have flicker.com until recently and I think it cost them over
$800,000 if I remember the bidding for it correctly. Probably worth just
buying it now and not worrying about it.

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jhacks
Really? Wow. Honestly doesn't seem worth it to wait. It'll most likely only
help to have it earlier for word of mouth and SEO.

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stevewillows
Like others have said, ignore the typical cost of a domain and consider how
many 'conversions' it will take to cover the cost of a decent domain. If
you're intending on making money, it won't take long to have that domain name
pay for itself.

All this said, ensure you can get the other appropriate usernames for twitter
and any other social avenues you'll promote through.

Best of luck!

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jhacks
Thanks for all the advice guys! I'd edit original post but I suppose it gets
locked. Anyway, I went through with the purchase. I think it was worth it.

Does anyone happen to have advice on domain transfer? I have a feeling it gets
done through the same I bought it through but not quite sure yet. Hopefully
transaction goes through soon / shortly.

Thanks again everyone!

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simantel
What was the name/domain?

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joshu
Drop me a line - I have some tools to explore this space I am working on that
might help you.

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jhacks
Sounds good. You don't have email (well, there is tastylabs contact) in your
profile, but any other preferred form of contact?

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shenanigoat
A single dictionary word .com is almost always worth $1500. Buy it now before
the price goes up and you have to fight for it later. Better than spending it
on beer and other stuff that makes you fat.

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plaxis
I say try politely negotiate reducing the cost. I've managed to talk down 75%
or so from that range, and I wouldn't call myself smooth...

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mikeburrelljr
Buy the correctly spelled domain name, and redirect to your trademarked term /
domain name. $1500 for a domain is very reasonable.

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waltz
don't forget to buy the .net .org .edu .co .us .br .es .xxx .gj .aj .xj .ns
.jt .tk .fj .gja .aj .rjg .al .gj .jq .jp

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jhacks
I assume you are being sarcastic?

However, I wouldn't think bothering with anything but .com is worthwhile?

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waltz
It really isn't. And dropping 1.5k on a .com isn't either in my opinion. Web
application markets are evolving, people will look for a product name, not a
url system that's not even relevant to a user, unless it is for browsing
files.

~~~
jhacks
That is a good point. It's tough though, I agree that in the future, the URL
system might not be as important. However, right now that transition hasn't
been made.

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danfitch
Worst case could you sell it for 1k. Then you lose 500. I say it's worth it.

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chmullig
Yes, you should probably buy it if you're serious about the company.

