I Buy Domains That Sit Forever -- Here's What I Changed

Every domain investor has a graveyard. Domains that seemed brilliant at 2 AM, registered for $12, now sitting in a portfolio collecting renewal fees. I had two of those before I changed my process.

The problem wasn’t that I picked bad names. It was that I evaluated names in the wrong order.

The Problem: Registering What I Liked, Not What Would Sell

When I started domain investing, I evaluated names like this:

1. Does the name sound good? (subjective)
2. Is it short? (length check)
3. Is it .com? (TLD check)
4. Maybe check NameBio? (optional, usually skipped)

This is backwards. A name that sounds great to you might have zero buyer demand. The most important question – “who would actually buy this?” – was the last thing I considered.

The result: 25 domains in my portfolio, 0 sales in 12 months. I wasn’t buying assets. I was collecting names I liked.

Why This Happens to Everyone

Three cognitive biases kill domain investors:

The “cool name” trap. You hear a domain and it clicks. The mental dopamine hit makes you skip validation. You register it before checking if anyone would buy it.

The confirmation loop. After registering, you find reasons the name is great. “Someone will want this.” You become an advocate for your own bad decision.

The price anchoring problem. You see a comparable sold for $5,000 and anchor on that number, ignoring that the comparable was a fluke or the buyer found it through a unique channel.

How I Fixed It: Reverse Evaluation

I flipped the order completely. Now I evaluate domains in this sequence:

Step 1: Name 50 Real Buyers

Before even checking availability, I write down 50 real companies that could use this name. Not industries – actual businesses with logos and websites.

If I can name 50 in 2 minutes, the buyer pool is large. If I can name 10-20, it’s moderate. If I struggle past 5, I stop. The domain is dead.

Example: FedZip.com

I named 50+ logistics companies in under a minute: FedEx, UPS, DHL, Flexport, ShipBob, Sendle, Veho, Gopuff, DoorDash, Uber Freight, Ryder, Penske, J.B. Hunt, CH Robinson, XPO, Old Dominion, Estes, Saia, TFI, Werner, Landstar, Knight-Swift, Schneider, USA Truck, Fore Transportation… I could keep going.

That’s a real buyer pool.

Example: a domain I won’t name

I once registered a 5-letter .com that I thought was clever. When I sat down to name buyers, I got to 7 and ran out. It sits in my portfolio today. I’ll drop it at renewal.

Step 2: Verify With Comps

Once the buyer pool passes, I check comparable sales. I search my 19,000-record database for similar names – same keyword patterns, same length, same category.

I look for:

• 3+ sales in the last 12 months
• Prices clustering in a consistent range ($200-$800 is healthy)
• Multiple venues (NameBio + DNJournal + NamePros)

If comps exist, I have a price anchor. If no comps exist, I’m speculating.

Step 3: Time-to-Sell Projection

Finally, I ask: how fast can this move?

• A+ (1-3 months): Perfect name, hot category, active buyers. Register immediately.
• A (3-6 months): Strong name, some outbound work needed. Worth registering.
• B (6-12 months): Decent name, niche market. Register only if reg fee is the only cost.
• C (1-2 years): Speculative. Skip unless the reg fee is trivial.

I only register A+ and A. B is acceptable if the name has multi-year potential and I’m willing to hold. C and D are how graveyards grow.

How You Can Do It Too

You don’t need a 19,000-record database. Here’s the minimal version:

1. Open a text file
2. Write the domain you’re considering
3. Spend 3 minutes writing every company you can think of that would use it
4. If you get past 20, it’s worth checking NameBio
5. If NameBio shows 3+ comps under $1000, register it
6. If not, skip

That’s it. The whole framework takes 5 minutes per domain and has saved me from at least 10 bad registrations.

When This Approach Doesn’t Work

There are two cases where the buyer pool test fails:

Brand-new categories. A domain in a category that doesn’t exist yet (think “AI” in 2019). You can’t name buyers because the industry hasn’t formed. These are high-risk, high-reward gambles. I don’t play them.

Ultra-premium generics. Names like “Ice.com” or “Finance.com” transcend buyer pools – they’re valuable to anyone. But you’re not finding these in expired drops.

For 95% of domains available at reg fee, the buyer pool test works.

Related: Portfolio Too Big

##s

Q: How do I know if a buyer pool is “big enough”?

A: If you hit 20+ named companies before slowing down, it’s big enough. Under 10, it’s too small.

Q: What about brandables (made-up words)?

A: Brandables have no buyer pool by definition. They’re marketing plays, not assets. I avoid them.

Q: Does the buyer pool test work for outbound?

A: Better than anything else. If you can name 50 buyers, you have 50 companies to cold email. If you can name 5, you have no one to contact.

Q: What’s the best tool for finding comps?

A: NameBio (free tier) or my local sales database if you have access to it.

Related: How I Evaluate .com Domains – the full 3-criteria framework. 12 Months of Domain Flipping – the honest results.