I just received the following promotion from GoldKey.com via email. I’ve always liked Goldkey, although I’ve got my names mostly at SedoPro now (I went there when they accepted me into the Pro system). But, I think I’m going to give some names a shot at GoldKey.com again with all these changes they’ve listed.

You too, should think about at least setting up an account and try out a few names. To do so, go to GoldKey.com. It’s pretty simple to get going with them.

To Our Valued Customers:

We are pleased to announce that on March 1 we are launching a major upgrade to GoldKey.com that features many of the options and features you’ve requested, including:

· Setting your domain names to 1-click results or 2-click landers at your discretion

· Placing your own custom logo for the top of your sites

· Uploading your own main photo image for lander pages

· Testing up to four of your own keywords in rotation for auto-optimization of landers, and

· Customizing landers with up to 21 of your own hand-selected keywords.

In addition, we’ve added several new template layouts and now offer almost 500 themes, from Amish Country to Hip-Hop. Combined with our 70 color schemes, we now offer more than 300,000 variations of pages available to maximize the experience for users of your sites.

Also as part of this major launch, we are also changing our upstream feed provider of CPC advertisements to further maximize the revenue potential of your traffic. As a result, you’ll notice slight changes to our templates recommended by our new feed partner to further clarify to users what they can expect when they click or search. Revenue reports from our provider are scheduled to arrive in our systems by 1 p.m. ET, so expect them to show shortly after processing on our end.

We are excited about these upgrades, many of which came from your ongoing comments and suggestions. Further updates are in store - for example, we’re acting on your requests to return simple report data to the first page you reach upon login, and receive more e-mail reports. Please keep the comments and suggestions coming, and as always, contact us if you have any questions or need assistance.

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, goldkey, sedo, afternic, PPC, parking

Do you have to pay a big bucks for names to make big profits on them? No. Are the only good names already taken and do you have to bid them up at dropcatchers to get them? No. Decent names abound at low prices and can even still be hand registered.

To illustrate, in the last week, I sold seven names. All were purchased in the last year. Three were hand registered and four were picked up at tdnam for $5 to $15 dollars, plus registration fee. What did I gross on those names? $5,240.

That’s $92 turned into $5,240, less Sedo or escrow.com fees.

And, I didn’t have much risk with these names as they were so inexpensive. Don’t get me wrong, I do buy more expensive names as well, having paid up to a several thousand dollars for a name. And I’d certainly be willing to pay $50,000 - $100,000 or more for a truly great name. But, when names get into that price range, they are invariably on a major dropcatcher’s site and there are tool many fools there spending their money like it’s 1999 in the tech bubble stock market again. No way I’m going to hang on to millions of dollars of names in a market that could bust (or change) when you least expect it. And we could likely be going into a housing led recession by next year and that will effect all investment markets…but I digress. Am I missing out on making the million dollar hit? Of course. But I do that in other business ventures, not this little hobby.

There are many thousands of dollars to be made by thinking differently, not chasing keywords everyone is chasing, being well-read and opportunistic, being a good negotiator, and most of all using your intuition — if you have it.

Technorati Tags: domain, name, domain name, sedo, dropcatcher, expired name, profit

It used to drive me nuts entering names or doing anything in my portfolio in Afternic. I could run to the bathroom while the screen was painting and when I got back I still had to wait. But, over the last few months, it’s been much, much faster. (And it’s quick at telling me my names might be too naughty for them, too!)

But, now the once quick-enough Sedo has taken the place of Afternic as the slow-as-molasses site. It’s truly frustrating sometimes. But, I sell just about all my domains there, so I guess I’m stuck with it. But I can still complain.

How’s your experience?

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, after, sedo

I saw all these bargains listed at tdnam.com for $500,000 or more. You better run to buy them before someone else does! LOL! And these are Buy Now prices.

What are these idiots thinking?

tipsurf.com $7,000,000
showtv.net $5,000,000
indianrailway.com $5,000,000
gogal.com $5,000,000
soulseek.com $4,550,000
manateeonline.com $4,000,000
spigots.com $3,500,000
autoexpressusa.com $3,250,000
rctv.com $3,000,000
fantasmas.com $2,500,000
tvmix.com $2,225,225
halfmoon.org $980,000
zdos.com $955,000
callcash.com $763,000
liquid2k.com $753,000
desktopdollars.com $720,000
jawa.com $700,000
freedomtax.com $690,000
cdcovercentral.com $637,000
cokozel.com $607,000
bitreactor.com $600,000
malhumor.com $580,000
alsalafyoon.com $570,000
rcsi.com $560,000
elitegroup.com $550,000
allvids.com $543,000
vectorlounge.com $540,000
unitedmobile.com $540,000
spyoptics.com $537,000
bilal.com $520,000
chatpinguino.com $500,000

Technorati Tags: domain, domain name, tdnam, godaddy

When you go to buy or sell a name, it’s important to know how much similar names have sold for. Good appraisals take these comps into consideration, but you can do this legwork yourself with two great websites that catalog domain sales data and put it all in an easily searchable database. The two sites are DNSalePrice.com and NameBio.com.

Both of them do pretty similar things, letting you select and sort on things like keyword, TLD, date and price. There are some differences, but the main functionality is pretty much the same. But, the little differences will steer you to one or the other as your primary program. For example, I prefer the interface of NameBio.com, the many extra options and the average price display for your selections. But, I found that both sites did not include some sales that the other sites included.
NameBio.com only receives sales feeds from verified sources like domain auction houses and brokers, not forums and unverified private sales, to insure accuracy. This is good to know, but a lot of business goes on privately and in forums, so you might still find the extra sales in DNSalePrice.com useful–just keep in mind some may or may not be accurate. I do know that several of my private sales showed up on DNSalePrice.com and the price was accurate. Regardless, it’s best to check both sites if you are doing serious research.

Here is an example of the differences, when looking up .cc sales for the last 6 months:

NameBio.com

RingTones.cc….5,000
Pool.cc….2,006
Flx.cc….1,000
Attorney.cc….1,000

DNSalePrices.com

Software.cc….12,500
Cash.cc….5,500
Fund.cc….4,000
Program….2,500
Lease.cc….2,500
Pool.cc….2,006
Ad.cc….1,750 (my purchase, accurate)
Bet.cc….1,500
Flex.cc….1,200
Attorney.cc….1,000 (my purchase, accurate)
Robotics.cc….1,000 (my purchase, accurate)
Tofu.cc….1,000 (my sale, accurate)

So, next time you think about spending $20-50 for a professional appraisal, try these sites first. They can provide valuable insight, providing you with negotiating ammo for whether you are buying or selling.