Field notes from the name trade.
How names are priced, bought, held and lost, written by the people at Domainza who do it every week.
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Find the piece you need
Every article we have published, filed by topic. Filter by the part of the trade you are working on, or search for the word that brought you here.
12 articles
Valuation
9 min read
Why three valuation tools give you three different prices
Automated appraisals are not wrong so much as answering different questions. What each kind of model is really measuring, and which disagreement should change your number.
Acquisition
8 min read
The first email decides the price
Approaching an owner who is not selling is mostly a matter of not giving yourself away. What to say, what to leave out, and why the sender matters as much as the offer.
Custody
7 min read
Where a valuable name should sit after the wire clears
The sale is the easy part. Moving a name into custody where it cannot be lost to a lapsed card, a former employee or a phished password is where most buyers cut corners.
Drops
8 min read
What actually happens after a name expires
Expiry is not a single moment but a sequence of windows, each with its own rules and its own chance of rescue. The usual timeline for generic extensions, and where valuable names really go.
Naming
10 min read
Renaming a company without losing the traffic you already have
A rebrand moves more than a logo. Search rankings, email, integrations and years of inbound links all point at the old name, and each one needs a plan before launch day.
Valuation
7 min read
Comparable sales are only comparable once you clean them
A list of past sales looks like evidence. Before it can anchor a price, it needs the duplicates, the related-party deals and the wrong extensions taken out.
Acquisition
7 min read
Buying quietly: what anonymity can and cannot do for you
Keeping your name out of an acquisition can save real money. It also has limits, and an ethical line that is worth knowing before you ask anyone to cross it.
Custody
6 min read
Most valuable names are lost to a password, not a hacker
Domain theft rarely needs anything clever. It needs one registrar login with weak recovery, and an owner who does not notice for a few days.
Policy
9 min read
A plain reading of the UDRP for owners of valuable names
The dispute process most generic names fall under is narrower than its reputation. What a complainant has to prove, what a panel cannot do, and how owners get themselves into trouble.
Naming
7 min read
Before you pick a name, check who else already answers to it
A name that is available as a domain can still be taken in every way that matters. The clearance checks worth running before anyone designs a logo.
Policy
6 min read
What a new round of top-level domains means for existing owners
New extensions add choice for buyers and decisions for owners. Which defensive registrations are worth making, and why the strongest generic names tend to gain from the change.
Drops
6 min read
Letting a name go on purpose
Every portfolio carries names that cost more to renew than they will ever return. How to decide which ones to release, and how to release them so something comes back.
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