Ask HN: How much would you pay for the perfect domain?

[evanjacobs]

Let's say you're a bootstrapped company about to launch an amazing new web service. You've been thinking about the perfect domain and a quick search reveals that that name is currently up for auction! How much would you be willing to pay for that domain considering that every dollar you spend means that you have a shorter runway?

[michael_dorfman]

That depends: how much additional revenue would the "perfect domain name" generate for me?

[evanjacobs → michael_dorfman]

It's hard to say since an A/B experiment would only be possible if I owned the "perfect" domain and could test it against a less perfect one.

[jpmc]

The perfect domain name today might not be the best name tomorrow. Really think about what you want your domain to say..if anything. Don't corner yourself in by your domain name. I am sure a variation or a unique name is avaialbe. Take that perfect domain name and play with it and see what comes up. You might find an even better domain at the standard registration rate.

To really answer your question I would have to weigh the cost(are we talking hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands?) against the return. Is this the most common word or phrase for your service that a user would search for? Or is it too generic?

[evanjacobs → jpmc]

As a back-up plan I've been collecting variations of my "perfect" domain at standard registration rates.

The cost is approaching $10k now but I don't know what the final value might be. There is less than a day left for the auction.

[byoung2 → evanjacobs]

The cost is approaching $10k now but I don't know what the final value might be

WIll you get $10k+ worth of additional revenue from having that name alone? What else could you spend that money on that would net the same benefit?

[evanjacobs → byoung2]

That's what I'm trying to figure out. If my service is successful with a less perfect domain I might be able to come back and purchase this domain at some multiple of today's price. However, if I spend too much money on the domain then I may not be able to have enough money to get to product/market fit.

[jpmc → evanjacobs]

The name is only an ingredient of your success. If you are relying on the name to make your service successful you have a recipe for failure. If everything is perfect (interface, design, backup/recovery,scalability) and the name is the cherry on top go for it. If you have any doubts and will need those resources to fix issues or get you past "the hump" wait and launch with a different domain. As you said you can buy it later at a higher price but at least you will have cash flow.

[brk]

I still think that sites like "ebay" or "facebook" (granted that had some small significance to Harvard students) or "craigslist" or "etsy" or "google" or "skype" (though that is more oriented as a client software) prove that the win is in the product itself and the positioning. xkcd is another example, though not every geek necessarily loves xkcd.

A good domain name DOES help people understand what your product is about, but it is not the absolute make or break success criteria that so many people seem to think it is.