The Domain Class System
February 13th, 2008Over the past few weeks I have been pondering the entire social system of our little industry. Ive given this quite a bit of thought because as of late, Ive been trying to understand where I fit in the puzzle. Ive come to believe there are several levels of “domainers” and I have named them in the following “pecking” order:
- Newbie/Rookies
- Hobbiests
- Part-Timers
- Quality Holders
- Full-Timers
- Whales
- Elites
The Rookie is exactly what he sounds like. Hes Fresh into the domain field, hasnt much of a clue, other then he smells money, and he wants to catch a piece of the action.
The Hobbiests are a group of Domainers who have dabbled a bit buying and selling on Forums. They have their entire portfolios listed on Afternic or Sedo and typically own less than 100 - weak quality domain names.
The Part-Timers have a reasonable investment, and a reasonable amount of knowledge about the game. They invest in domain names and make their presence known on domain forums.
Quality holders are investors, who simply by domain names they feel are or will be valuable and sit on them until a large resale materializes. They rarely monetize their portfolio, and if they do its simply parked usually don’t even bother trying to optimize it.
Full-Timers are well versed domain hustlers. They constantly are looking for a good buy and an even quicker flip. They post constantly on forums, and there sales typically range in the hundreds to mid level thousands.
Whales are big fish, who either have been in the industry for some time or have the financial backing to quickly buy up a quality portfolio. They dont sell on publicized forums, and their holdings are usually in the 10’s of thousands (higher quality domain names)
Elites are the top of the Domaining food chain. They own or operate some of the biggest companies in the field. They possess THE best domain names available, and often times are not just people, but large business entities. This group of domainers has had some influence on this industry on or before the .com bust.
So, which group do you fall into? If you feel I have missed a group please feel free to make recommendations.
Justin
Hey Justin great post! I have been contemplating the very same question in terms of some sort of domainer caste system. I am a domainer rookie (less than a year in the game); however, my domaining philosophy is definitely that of the Quality Holder. With traffic domains so hard to come by these days, in the immortal words of Kenny Rogers: “you got to know when to hold ‘em.”
This a timely and intriguing post. Thanks.
Comment by Dey Lockett — February 13, 2008 @ 5:14 pm