An Easy Way To Tell If You Own A “Premium” Domain Name

The term “Premium” is thrown around way, way, way, way, way too often. I’ll be honest, I used to think all of my domains were premium too. Then I learned the crushing, but important truth (unless you are one of about 50 people in the world that this doesn’t apply to):

The vast majority of domain names in your portfolio are not “premium” domain names.

That’s right, it time to stop telling everyone that you have a portfolio of premium domain names. Be honest. What you most-likely have is a portfolio of domain names, some reasonably good, others notably bad, and a handful (or just one or two) premium domain names, the golden eggs in your portfolio.

golden-egg

I hear people say they have a premium domain name all the time. When someone tells me they have a premium domain I just ask them one question,

“how many offers do you get on the name each month?”

The answer I get is often, zero. Sorry, but a premium domain has one very distinct quality – people are constantly emailing you asking you if the domain name is for sale, or in many cases giving cash offers right off the bat.

I know many people with domain names that get 30-40 offers/month on a domain name, sure many are tire-kickers but every month they get a solid offer or two. Now look at that domain name that you have labeled as “premium” – how many offers did it get last month? If your answer is zero, or one, then there’s a very good chance the domain name you’re talking about is not a premium domain.

It’s a simple test but an easy question to answer and a great way to truly sort your portfolio and determine which of your domain names are premium. Of course this doesn’t mean that you don’t have domains that could sell for $25,000 or more also in your portfolio, but premium domains are like getting a hole in one in golf, they’re magic, rare, but with the right buyer they can command an incredible price.

Give.com is a great example of a premium domain name. It sold for $500,000 less than two months ago. Not all four-letter .COMs sell for $500,000 – but premium ones can. A domain like WolfSpeed.com is an interesting brandable two-word .COM, but you can instantly tell it’s not a premium domain. Still, if you hold out and wait for the right buyer it can still sell for quite a bit, in this case WolfSpeed.com actually sold for $70,212 just over two weeks ago.

wolf-speed

Don’t tell me. You’re surprised. $70k sounds like a lot for WolfSpeed.com, you might think I’m being unfair, right – that was a stellar sale. It is a great sale, but the reason you’re surprised is because it’s a non-premium domain. I can tell you it’s very unlikely this domain got a lot of offers every month, probably close to zero in most months, but when the right buyer comes along it can fetch a nice resale price. Still, you were surprised.

Now think of what it was like when you read that Give.com sold for $500,000 – a very nice sale without a doubt, but I’m thinking you weren’t as surprised. That’s because you can instantly identify it as a premium domain and yes, it is incredibly likely that it gets at least one inquiry a day, it’s Give.com.

So next time someone tells you they have a premium domain name (or you think you have one) – put it to the test. How many offers does it get each month? If your answer is zero or one, don’t be too sad, remember names like WolfSpeed.com can sell for $70k, just know that the non-premiums will probably never sell for $500,000.

People are constantly emailing premium domain owners trying to buy the domain, it’s consistent, and keeps going like the Energizer Bunny. Non premium domains can sell for big bucks but they usually don’t get many offers and they can sit on popular domain marketplaces likes Sedo and Afternic for years without getting a single offer.

Remember, non-premium domains are great, you can still resell them for an incredibly high ROI and they will most-likely be the bulk of your portfolio. The premium domains are your wild cards, the names that could sell for 10x or more what you’ve ever sold a domain for. Don’t be embarrassed that you don’t have a portfolio full of them, just be honest with yourself and admit that not all of your domains are premium, in fact most aren’t.

Morgan Linton

Morgan Linton