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The value of an idea

jbizzjbizz subscriber Posts: 1
edited June 2008 in Building A Website That Works
After reading a lot of articles online, I`ve learned that an idea alone, is worth nothing.  How do I make an idea worth something?I like to call myself a domainer.  I buy, sell and trade domain names.  That`s not my actual business or my bread and butter, it`s just a hobby.Lots of the domain names I own, I keep to use for a business/service I`d like to start.  Sometimes I think of an idea for a product or service and then I will immediately secure the domain name for myself.At this point, I have so many ideas, but not a clue what to do next.  How do I know if my ideas (domain names) are worth anything and worth spending time and money on, to develop into something successful?If I may, let me post a couple of my ideas.1. LocavoreLounge.comI own the domain name and I would like to turn it into a website with resources and services for people who live the "Locavore" lifestyle.  A Locavore is a person who eats food that is locally grown/produced.2. ModderBlog.comIt seems like there`s lots of money in blogging, if the blog gets lots of traffic.  This blog would be for/about people who modify everyday objects into something that it wasn`t intended for or maybe just to improve it.  My thoughts on this was to have the "modder" him/herself write about the project and then I would post it.3.  FlooringReview.comA website where users can rate/review flooring products, retailer, installers, etc.I probably should have introduced myself before posting this, but I usually like to dive right in.  I assure you, I`m not spamming the board and I`m not a troll. Thank for reading.  I hope you guys have some good insight/feedback for me.
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Comments

  • jbizzjbizz subscriber Posts: 1
    Yes, I understand what you are saying, but you drifted off topic there.  My post was about the process of taking an idea or domain name and turning it into an actual business/service.  How do I determine the value of a selected name and if it`s worth to pursue building a business with it.  Get my drift?
    Speaking as someone trying to start a business, when I do a search for
    a domain name and find it`s been taken, I do WHATEVER I can to find
    some other domain name or version of that name. I have zero intention
    of paying someone other than the master assigners, for a domain name.

    I do understand the idea that back when the Web was still fairly new,
    people with vision bought out names like IBM.com, DuPont.com, and so
    forth, then sold those back to the big corporations who were too slow
    on the move.

    However, people who buy domain names without intending to use them,
    only to resell them to people trying to get a business going, hopefully
    will never make enough money to sustain that concept. It`s bad enough
    that the major buyers (Verisign?...I can`t remember) have bought as
    many domains as they could possibly imagine.

    As far as I`m concerned, this is just plain secondhanding, where people
    who have no original business product try to piggyback off the efforts
    of someone else. To that end, I`d encourage you to start a basic
    business, build it up, and make something of it. There`s nothing wrong
    with later selling the whole business to someone who doesn`t know how
    to or doesn`t want to go through the basic startup phase.

    So the bottom line is I`m biased against this "domainer" kind of
    activity. Nothing personal, y`understand, it`s just that it`s clogging
    up the works.

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  • WeblineWebline subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member
    I own several domain names that I intend to turn into sites. I look at it in 2 ways.
    First, a domain name is just words; IMO, the value of the name alone comes from the current or potential interest in those words, their combination, internet trends, current culture, etc. Then, if I feel that domain name has a potential value based on those variables, what can I back it up with? I own 3 domain names that relate to blogs, and I think those names have great potential based on the words they are made of and the internet environment of today, but I won`t just slap a site online to utilize those names; I want to make the name and the site worth something together. So I feel they have value, and can be potentially good sites, when I can combine everything in the right way.
    Second, it is something of a bass-ackwards way of creating a business. The norm is to have a business idea, start to build the business, then find an identifier. The concept you are using ( and me with these 3 domain names ) is grabbing a great identifier, then trying to build something solid behind it. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
    In the end, how you value those names and their potential should be a combination of many things. Remember that something is only valuable if it has a use or demand by someone else.
    I agree with Craig almost all of the time, but personally I don`t think the "domain flipping" concept is worse than anything else out there to make money. Not saying that I think it is either a good or bad thing, as it isn`t something I do;  I think it is being opportunistic for the most part. Granted, some will take it to extremes and try to get blood out of a stone in making a profit off of a name, but at the same time I think some people that are doing this are mostly exercising forethought, and gambling on what a name could potentially be worth.
    Just my .013 cents worth.
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  • VideographyVideography subscriber Posts: 401 Silver Level Member
    I agree with Craig almost all of the time, but personally I don`t think the "domain flipping" concept is worse than anything else out there to make money. Not saying that I think it is either a good or bad thing, as it isn`t something I do;  I think it is being opportunistic for the most part. Granted, some will take it to extremes and try to get blood out of a stone in making a profit off of a name, but at the same time I think some people that are doing this are mostly exercising forethought, and gambling on what a name could potentially be worth.I did have a domain name that I was using, and had plans to grow the business when Cnet made an offer (almost 6-figures) that I couldn`t refuse.  (In hindsight, I wish that I had kept it.  Online.com.......).But domain flipping BY the registrars is bordering on illegal restraint of trade, if not outright theft.  The theft occurs when someone searches for a domain name and finds one they like, only to be told that there is a registration pending (a lie).  In the meanwhile, the registrar registers the name then sends an email to the original searcher telling them that the name will be available in a few days after all, just send us $60 and we will grab it for you.There`s a little known provision in the rules for domain registrations that gives the registrant a few days of no-fee use which encourages flippers to register names as they become available then advertise them for sale to the highest bidder only to exercise the unregister provision a few days later.  If this loophole were closed then flipping would not be profitable enough to continue.
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  • WeblineWebline subscriber Posts: 13 Bronze Level Member
    Videography, I agree totally with the part about registrars taking names being searched, then basically "domain jacking" the people that did the search. My comments were more along the lines of private buyers that do research and then buy on the chance of a good return.
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  • stonesledgestonesledge subscriber Posts: 608 Silver Level Member
    Great topic guys.. This is a big business. I have also thought of some great "sister" company sites I eventually plan on developing and have purchased the domain..or I think hey.. that`s a great idea for a name... I go ahead a register it. I don`t intend to hold it hostage. i feel if I use it great..if someone sees a value in it then a fair offer will do.. and that could be whatever. I recently sold a domain that meant nothing else to me, or so I thought for 4k. I was actually using it as an archice for my newsletters. We were all happy in the end.
     
    erin
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  • infiltainfilta subscriber Posts: 8
    To be honest, I did that a little bit myself, not trading domain names, but thinking of a "genius" idea and immediately reserving a domain name. The fact is that, as in the case with the topic started, I didn`t follow up with most of them. I still have plans for some of them, and some I have canceled.
    Now what gets me is people who buy domain names specifically for resale -- same as people who buy concert tickets for resale. They don`t add any value, they don`t create a product or service -- they only add cost. And what they ask for these domains later on is often simply unreasonable.
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