It’s been a little over a month since I attended and shared my NamesCon experience as a first-time attendee.

One of the most talked about presentations from day three of NamesCon was Paul E. Nicks’, GM of GoDaddy, keynote: Lessons Learned from Operating the Most Valuable Portfolio in the World.

But what you might not know or heard about was the very lively breakout session focused on domain appraisals: Mastering Aftermarket Appraisals.

NamesCon has concluded with yet another successful year as I type this recap of Day Three (more to come).

If you’ve missed Day’s One and Two Recaps, then please click below to explore my NamesCon experience:

Day One of NamesCon 2018 in the Books

Day Two at NamesCon: Domaining to the Future.

It’s the start of Day Three of NamesCon, the halfway point. In a city that never sleeps, I find myself a few steps slow.

One year out, and another year in! And with a new year, brings a slew of new domain investing opportunities and perspectives to explore.

Over the last 6 months or so, I’ve shared a number of domain interviews from technologists to designers to entrepreneurs to investors to marketplaces and more…

Picking up from where we left off last, one of the latest opportunities to take hold in the domain industry are emoji domains.

Until now, most interviews I’ve covered have highlighted independent investors or traders investing in emoji domains.

When new to domaining, there is often a tendency to bid and buy expired domain names emotionally.

If you are familiar with expired domain auctions, specifically the GoDaddy aftermarket platform, then it’s likely you’ve been tempted to purchase closeout or buy-it-now domains for cheap.

You peruse the list and spot a desirable expired domain name that looks too good to be true.

You question yourself. How did this domain slip through the cracks and off the radar of daily domain bidders in an expired auction without a single bid?

The stars must have aligned for this expired domain and I to be united sings the voices in your head.

You buy the expired domain name thinking of the massive returns you’ll soon realize by developing or flipping.

Truth be told, we all have likely been down the path only to drop and not renew those domain gems we thought to have made us a fortune.

Don’t lose hope, though. Today, I’m sharing some insight to help you spot trending expiring domains that are undervalued.

Maybe he meant for this title to read 460 or 46 .com domains hand registered instead of 4,600.

No I didn’t. The title is not a typo. It’s as real as a $2 bill, and the person that regged 4,600 domains is Ali Zandi.

You’ve likely encountered or heard of Ali by way of NamePros, DomainSherpa, or simply ZandiBot, now forwarding to StarFireHoldings.com.

I personally don’t know Ali, but from what I can tell, he’s a good hearted, high-energy, optimistic and opportunistic type a guy.

In his latest news, he’s shaken and stirred up quite a conversation over at TheDomains.com.

Why would someone hand register 4,600? After all, haven’t ALL the good domain names been long registered since the mid to late 90’s?

I often field emails and phone calls from persons wanting to break into the vast world of domain investing.

Some think it’s a business where they’ll be the ones to purchase a domain on Monday for pennies on the dollar and then flip it for thousands or millions by Friday.

I call this person the simpleton domain loser. Yes, I was once this person.

Without adequate understanding and comprehension of the various domain niches, they think it is just as simple as hand registering domains or bidding up expired domain auctions.

If you want to lose money quickly, then domain investing is one of many ways to lose your job, shirt, house, and car.

Domain investing is a precise game of patience and a thorough understanding of supply and demand economics.

So, where did I go wrong?

Over the last few weeks, Rick Schwartz has fallen beyond head over heels in love with Twitter.

While his blog has long been silent without new posts, there is no commentary shortage via his @DomainKing Twitter account.

Of course, I follow Rick’s antics, thoughts, spats, and other rare dispositions relating to business and domaining. The following tweet captured my attention and spawned this very post.

As I delve into the commentary of replies and rebuttals from Rick’s statement, I come across an intriguing back-and-forth between Rick and Elliot Silver (@DInvesting / DomainInvesting.com).

@DomainKing @thedomains In the last 10 years, how many times have you bought a $2,500 domain name and turned down or sold for $100k+ cash?

— Elliot Silver (@DInvesting) March 27, 2017

Elliot’s question got me thinking about what it would be like to have no domain investing experience and start from ground zero today.

After all, all the good domains are taken, right? I mean, is it possible to purchase domains at hand-registration fee or up to $2,500 and sell the domains for $100K+?

The short answers are “No” and “Yes” respectively.

It is possible to purchase domains at hand-registration fee or up to $2,500 TODAY and sell the domains for $100K+ DECADES later.

But how and how can you make such a claim?  Well, that’s what we’re here to debate.