Premium vs Regular Domains: Complete Investment Comparison 2025

Category: Domain Investment Strategy Tags: premium domains, domain investing, domain valuation, investment strategy Status: DRAFT

Understanding Domain Categories

What are Regular Domains?

Regular domains (also called "standard" or "hand-registered" domains) are domains available for registration at standard annual registration prices, typically $8-$15 per year.

Characteristics:

• Available for immediate registration
• Standard registration fee ($8-$15/year for .com)
• No previous owner or development history
• No built-in traffic or brandability premium
• Unlimited supply (within namespace constraints)

Examples of regular domains available for registration:

• londonplumberservices.com
• buyredshoesonline.com
• 2025travelguides.com
• quickhomemortgagecalculator.com
• bestyogamatreviews2025.com

Who sets the price: The registry (Verisign for .com) sets standard registration prices across all registrars (with small variations for registrar markups).

What are Premium Domains?

Premium domains are domains with higher-than-standard pricing due to perceived value from:

• Short length
• Dictionary words
• Brandability
• Previous development
• Keyword strength
• Traffic history
• Business potential

Characteristics:

• Cost significantly more than standard registration
• Often previously owned and developed
• May have existing traffic, backlinks, or brand value
• Limited availability
• Priced individually based on estimated value

Examples of premium domains:

• Business.com (sold for $7.5 million)
• Insurance.com (sold for $35.6 million)
• Hotels.com (estimated $11 million)
• Invest.com (listed at $2-3 million)
• Shop.com (multimillion-dollar value)

Who sets the price:

• Registry premiums: Registry (Verisign) designates some domains premium and sets higher registration prices
• Aftermarket premiums: Previous owners set asking prices based on domain value
• Marketplace premiums: Platforms like Dan.com, Sedo assign prices to inventory

Registry Premium vs Aftermarket Premium

Important distinction:

Registry premium domains:

• Never previously registered (or recently expired)
• Registry designates as "premium" due to perceived value
• Fixed price set by registry
• Can be registered directly for premium price
• Annual renewal at premium rate (sometimes reduces over time)

Example:

• ai.com - Registry premium at $500,000+ registration fee
• bet.com - Registry premium at $100,000+ registration fee
• car.com - Registry premium at $2+ million registration fee

Aftermarket premium domains:

• Previously registered and owned
• Current owner sets asking price
• Sold through marketplace or private transaction
• Annual renewal at standard rate once you own it
• Price based on owner's valuation

Example:

• business.com - Aftermarket sale at $7.5 million (renews at $8/year)
• marketing.com - Aftermarket sale at $500,000 (renews at $8/year)
• yoga.com - Aftermarket sale at $100,000 (renews at $8/year)

Critical difference: Registry premiums have ongoing premium renewal costs, while aftermarket premiums return to standard renewal after purchase.

What Makes a Domain "Premium"?

Factor 1: Length (Character Count)

The premium scale:

One-character domains (x.com, z.com)

• Extremely rare (only 26 letters + 10 numbers per TLD)
• Almost all owned by corporations or investors
• Value: $1-50+ million for .com
• Very few ever come to market

Two-character domains (ai.com, go.com)

• 676 letters + 100 number combinations = 776 total
• Highly sought after
• Value: $100,000-$10+ million for .com
• Perfect for startups, brands, acronyms

Three-character domains (app.com, sky.com, buy.com)

• 17,576 letter combinations + more with numbers
• Still very valuable
• Value: $5,000-$1+ million for .com
• Great for brands, abbreviations, words

Four-character domains (shop.com, help.com)

• 456,976 letter combinations
• Valuable if pronounceable or meaningful
• Value: $500-$100,000+ for .com
• Sweet spot for many businesses

Five+ characters:

• Millions of combinations
• Value depends entirely on other factors
• Can be extremely valuable (hotels.com) or worthless (gkjhf.com)
• Length alone doesn't create premium status

Why length matters:

• Shorter = easier to remember
• Shorter = easier to type
• Shorter = fewer typos
• Shorter = better for branding
• Shorter = higher perceived value
• Shorter = dramatically limited supply

Real pricing examples (2024-2025):

• qq.com - Reserved/priceless
• ai.com - Listed $10-20 million
• app.com - Sold for $600,000
• shop.com - Estimated $5-10 million
• store.com - Estimated $1-2 million

Factor 2: Dictionary Words and Brandability

Dictionary word premium:

Single dictionary words (huge premium):

• business.com - Sold $7.5 million
• insurance.com - Sold $35.6 million
• hotels.com - Estimated $11 million
• Renewal: Standard $8-15/year after purchase

Why premium:

• Universal recognition
• SEO value for keyword
• Type-in traffic potential
• Instant brand credibility
• Limited supply (only one hotels.com)

Two-word combinations (moderate premium):

• creditcard.com - Estimated $500,000-$1M
• realestate.com - Estimated $1-2 million
• onlinemarketing.com - $50,000-$100,000

Value factors:

• Word pairing makes sense
• Common search terms
• Business category keywords
• Brand potential

Brandable invented words (variable premium):

• spotify.com - Multimillion-dollar value (if for sale)
• zillow.com - Multimillion-dollar value (if for sale)
• etsy.com - Multimillion-dollar value (if for sale)

Created value, not inherent - but became premium through:

• Successful business development
• Brand recognition
• Traffic and backlinks
• Market position

Non-dictionary strings (no premium):

• xkjdhf.com - Standard registration, no value
• qwerty123.com - Standard registration, minimal value
• abcdefgh.com - Standard registration, some value as pattern

Factor 3: Traffic and Revenue History

Type-in traffic premium:

Domains with existing traffic from:

• People typing domain directly into browser
• Previous website traffic that continues
• Brand searches
• Keyword searches
• Typo traffic from popular sites

Valuation impact:

• Domain with 1,000 monthly visitors: +$500-$5,000 value
• Domain with 10,000 monthly visitors: +$5,000-$50,000 value
• Domain with 100,000 monthly visitors: +$50,000-$500,000 value

Revenue-generating premium:

Domains already monetized via:

• Parked domain ads (AdSense, parking services)
• Affiliate programs
• Lead generation
• Traffic arbitrage

Valuation multiple:

• 12-36x monthly revenue typical
• Domain earning $500/month: Worth $6,000-$18,000
• Domain earning $5,000/month: Worth $60,000-$180,000

Example: Insurance.com was valuable partly because:

• Massive type-in traffic (people searching "insurance")
• Revenue from parking/advertising
• Existing backlinks and SEO value
• Made it worth $35.6 million to QuinStreet

Factor 4: SEO Value and Backlinks

Backlink profile premium:

Domains with:

• High-quality backlinks from authority sites
• Aged links (10+ years old)
• Relevant niche backlinks
• Links from government, education sites
• Natural link profile (not spammy)

Value assessment:

• Check backlinks with Ahrefs, Moz, SEMrush
• Domain Rating (DR) / Domain Authority (DA) scores
• Referring domains count
• Link quality and relevance

Pricing impact:

• DR 50+: +$1,000-$10,000+ premium
• DR 70+: +$10,000-$100,000+ premium
• Links from .edu/.gov: Significant premium
• Niche-relevant links: High value

Keyword ranking value:

Domains that already rank for:

• High-volume search terms
• Commercial intent keywords
• Multiple related keywords
• First page Google rankings

Example: A domain ranking #1 for "car insurance quotes" (high competition keyword):

• Search volume: 50,000+/month
• Commercial value: High
• Could be worth $50,000-$500,000 depending on other factors

Factor 5: Age and History

Domain age premium:

Older domains valued higher because:

• Established trust with search engines
• Longer time to build backlinks
• Historical data and archive
• Perceived authority
• Cannot be recreated (time is non-renewable)

Age brackets:

• 1-2 years: No significant age premium
• 3-5 years: Small premium (+$50-$200)
• 5-10 years: Moderate premium (+$200-$1,000)
• 10-15 years: Good premium (+$1,000-$5,000)
• 15-20 years: Strong premium (+$5,000-$20,000)
• 20+ years: Major premium (varies widely)

But age alone isn't enough:

• Domain must have positive history
• No penalties or bans
• Clean record
• Ideally some development history

Clean history premium:

Red flags that reduce value:

• Google penalty history
• Spam or adult content history
• Trademark violations
• Suspended or seized history
• Blacklisted on email servers

Check with:

• Archive.org (Wayback Machine)
• Google Safe Browsing
• Spamhaus blacklist check
• WHOIS history

Clean domain = higher value Problematic history = significantly reduced value or unsellable

Factor 6: Extension (TLD)

TLD premium hierarchy:

.com (highest premium)

• Most recognized globally
• 3x-10x more valuable than other extensions
• Universal trust and credibility
• Example: business.com sold for $7.5M vs business.net worth maybe $50K

.net, .org (moderate premium)

• Established extensions
• Worth 10-30% of .com equivalent
• Still credible for certain uses
• Example: company.net worth ~20% of company.com value

Country code TLDs (variable)

• .co.uk, .de, .ca valuable in home countries
• May equal or exceed .com locally
• International value much lower
• Example: london.co.uk valuable in UK, less valuable globally

New gTLDs (low/no premium)

• .io, .ai gaining traction for tech
• .app, .dev have niche value
• Most others minimal premium
• Example: business.app worth maybe $5,000 vs business.com $7.5M

Why .com dominates premium market:

• Default extension people assume
• 33% of all websites use .com
• Highest type-in traffic
• Best for branding
• Most liquid market (easiest to sell)

Premium vs Regular: Side-by-Side Comparison

Acquisition Cost

Regular domains:

Registrar	Cost
Namecheap	$8.88/year
GoDaddy	$11.99/year
Google Domains	$12/year
Name.com	$12.99/year

Premium domains:

Type	Cost Range
Registry premium 2-char	$100,000-$10M+
Registry premium 3-char	$5,000-$1M+
Registry premium 4-char	$500-$100,000+
Aftermarket premium (short)	$1,000-$10M+
Aftermarket premium (keyword)	$500-$50M+
Aftermarket premium (brandable)	$100-$100,000+

Cost difference: 10x to 1,000,000x higher for premium

Renewal Cost

Regular domains:

• $8-15/year regardless of domain
• Locked at registration price (usually)
• Predictable annual cost

Premium domains - Registry:

• $500-$500,000+/year
• Some reduce over time
• Can be prohibitively expensive
• May force resale or non-renewal

Premium domains - Aftermarket:

• Return to standard $8-15/year
• Same renewal as regular domains
• Only acquisition cost is premium
• Much more sustainable long-term

Example:

• Buy cars.com aftermarket for $500,000
• Renewal: $8.88/year
• Total 10-year cost: $500,088.80

vs.

• Register ai.com registry premium for $500,000
• Renewal: $500,000/year
• Total 10-year cost: $5,000,000

This is why aftermarket premiums are better investments than registry premiums in most cases.

Resale Potential

Regular domains:

• Hard to sell for profit
• Market flooded with available alternatives
• Buyer can usually find similar domain
• Typical sale: 0-5x registration cost
• Success rate: 1-5% of portfolio sells annually

Premium domains:

• Much higher sale probability
• Unique assets (only one hotels.com)
• Buyers have fewer alternatives
• Typical sale: 1.5-10x purchase price
• Success rate: 10-30% of portfolio sells annually (quality dependent)

Liquidity:

• Regular: Low liquidity, may take years to sell
• Premium: Higher liquidity, right buyer will pay

Market size:

• Regular: Small buyer pool (other domainers, startups)
• Premium: Large buyer pool (corporations, established businesses, investors)

Development Potential

Regular domains:

• Can build successful business on any domain
• Requires more marketing to establish brand
• SEO starts from zero
• No inherent traffic
• Example: Google started on google.com (was available for registration)

Premium domains:

• Instant brand credibility
• SEO head start if existing backlinks
• Possible existing traffic
• Type-in visitors
• Example: Hotels.com had instant credibility and traffic

But remember:

• Brilliant business on regular domain > mediocre business on premium domain
• Facebook, Google, Amazon all started on available/cheap domains
• Execution matters more than domain
• Premium domain won't save bad business

Risk Profile

Regular domains:

Risk Factor	Level	Notes
Capital at risk	Low	$8-15 investment
Opportunity cost	Low	Small investment
Renewal burden	Low	Easy to maintain
Market risk	Low	Little to lose
Holding cost	Low	$8-15/year

Premium domains:

Risk Factor	Level	Notes
Capital at risk	High	$1,000-$millions
Opportunity cost	High	Capital locked up
Renewal burden	Medium	Manageable if aftermarket
Market risk	Medium	Values can fluctuate
Holding cost	Medium-High	Significant if registry premium

Risk-adjusted returns:

• Regular: Low risk, low return
• Premium: Higher risk, potentially higher return
• Portfolio approach: Mix of both balances risk

Building a Balanced Portfolio

The 80/20 Portfolio Strategy

Concept: 80% of value in 20% of domains

Structure:

• 20% Premium domains (by count)
  • 80% of total portfolio value
  • Higher individual value
  • Better sale prospects
  • Premium pricing

• 80% Regular domains (by count)

  • 20% of total portfolio value
  • Lower individual value
  • Volume play
  • Lower pricing

Example portfolio (100 domains, $50,000 investment):

Premium tier (20 domains):

• 20 domains @ $2,000 average = $40,000
• Premium keywords, short domains, aged domains
• Target sale: $5,000-$20,000 each
• Renewal: $200/year total

Regular tier (80 domains):

• 80 domains @ $125 average = $10,000
• Hand-registered, long-tail keywords, brandables
• Target sale: $200-$2,000 each
• Renewal: $800/year total

Portfolio metrics:

• Total investment: $50,000
• Annual renewal: $1,000
• Renewal as % of investment: 2%
• Expected annual sales: 3-5 domains
• Target ROI: 20-40% annually

Beginner Portfolio: Start with Regular

If you're new to domain investing:

Year 1: All regular domains

• Register 20-50 regular domains
• Investment: $200-500
• Learn the market
• Understand what sells
• Make mistakes cheaply
• Test pricing strategies

Focus on:

• Long-tail keywords (3-4 words)
• Trending topics
• Emerging industries
• Brandable invented names
• Local business keywords

Goal: Learn domain investing without significant capital risk

Example beginner portfolio:

• aimarketingtools.com - $8.88
• remoteworkconsulting.com - $8.88
• sustainablefashionbrands.com - $8.88
• techstartupaccounting.com - $8.88
• veganmealplanner.com - $8.88
• (15-45 more similar domains)

Total investment: $177-447 Risk: Minimal Learning: Maximum

Intermediate Portfolio: Add Premium Strategically

Years 2-3: Mix regular + entry-level premium

Structure (50 domains, $10,000 budget):

• 5 premium domains @ $1,500 each = $7,500
• 25 regular domains @ $100 each = $2,500
• Keep best 20 from year 1

Premium focus:

• 3-4 letter .com domains
• Aged domains with backlinks
• Exact match keywords (lower competition)
• Expired domains with traffic

Example intermediate portfolio:

• Premium tier:
  • tech.store - $2,000
  • quickloan.co - $1,500
  • carhelp.net - $1,000
  • webinar.app - $1,500
  • saledaily.com - $1,500

• Regular tier:

  • 25 hand-registered domains
  • 20 best performers from year 1

Total value: $10,000 Annual renewal: ~$400 Expected sales: 4-6/year Target ROI: 25-35%

Advanced Portfolio: Premium-Focused

Years 4+: Premium majority

Structure (100 domains, $100,000 budget):

• 10 high-premium domains @ $8,000 each = $80,000
• 30 mid-premium domains @ $500 each = $15,000
• 60 regular/brandable domains @ $83 each = $5,000

Premium focus:

• Short .com domains (3-4 characters)
• Dictionary words
• High-traffic domains
• Established brands
• Category killers

Example advanced portfolio: Tier 1 (High premium - $5,000-$15,000 each):

• app.net - $12,000
• fund.io - $10,000
• loan.co - $8,000
• task.app - $7,500
• web3.com - $15,000
• (5 more)

Tier 2 (Mid premium - $500-$2,000 each):

• techsupport.net - $1,200
• quickfinance.co - $800
• bestloans.org - $600
• marketingai.com - $1,500
• (26 more)

Tier 3 (Regular/brandable - hand-registered):

• 60 strategic regular domains

Portfolio metrics:

• Total value: $100,000
• Annual renewal: ~$1,200
• Expected annual sales: 8-12 domains
• Target sale value: $15,000-30,000/year
• Target ROI: 15-30%

Risk Management Across Portfolio Tiers

Diversification strategies:

1. Price diversification Don't put all money in one domain:

• Spread across multiple price points
• Mix premium and regular
• Don't exceed 10% of portfolio in single domain

2. Category diversification

• Multiple industries (tech, finance, health, etc.)
• Different domain types (keywords, brandables, short domains)
• Various TLDs (though .com majority recommended)

3. Timeline diversification

• Short-term flips (buy and sell within months)
• Medium-term holds (1-3 years)
• Long-term holds (5+ years, premium appreciation)

4. Revenue diversification

• Domains for resale only
• Domains generating parking revenue
• Domains for development
• Domains for licensing/leasing

Example diversified portfolio (50 domains, $25,000):

• Tech sector (15 domains): $10,000
• Finance sector (10 domains): $7,000
• Health sector (10 domains): $5,000
• Misc/brandable (15 domains): $3,000

Benefits:

• If tech market slows, finance may be hot
• Protects against industry-specific downturns
• Increases overall sale opportunities
• Balances risk across sectors

Case Studies: Premium vs Regular ROI

Case Study 1: Premium Success - Voice.com

Acquisition:

• Domain: Voice.com
• Purchase price: $30 million (2019)
• Buyer: Block.one (blockchain company)
• Previous use: Undeveloped

Development:

• Launched blockchain-based social media platform
• Leveraged domain for instant credibility
• Voice.com brand central to marketing
• Type-in traffic significant

Outcome:

• Platform launched successfully
• Brand recognition immediate
• Domain considered worth investment
• Company valued domain at $30M+ for business impact

ROI calculation:

• Direct monetary ROI: N/A (company using, not reselling)
• Business value ROI: Estimated 10x+ in brand value and traffic
• Marketing cost savings: $millions (brand recognition instant)

Lesson: For the right business, premium domain worth massive investment

Case Study 2: Premium Flip - Porno.com

Acquisition:

• Domain: Porno.com
• Purchase price: $8.9 million (2015)
• Buyer: Investment group
• Previous use: Adult content site

Strategy:

• Acquired for resale
• Held for 4 years
• Maintained existing traffic
• Marketed to adult entertainment companies

Resale:

• Sale price: $8.888 million (2019)
• Holding period: 4 years
• Annual renewal: ~$50

ROI calculation:

• Investment: $8,900,000
• Sale price: $8,888,000
• Holding costs: $200 (renewals)
• Total costs: $8,900,200
• Loss: -$12,200
• ROI: -0.14%

But also generated:

• Parking revenue: ~$500,000/year (estimated)
• Total parking revenue: ~$2,000,000
• Net profit: ~$1,987,800
• Actual ROI: +22.3% over 4 years, ~5.6% annually

Lesson: Premium domains can generate significant parking revenue while holding for appreciation

Case Study 3: Regular Domain Success - TechCrunch.com

Acquisition:

• Domain: TechCrunch.com
• Registration cost: $8.88 (2005, hand-registered)
• Founder: Michael Arrington
• Initial use: Tech news blog

Development:

• Built into major tech publication
• Domain perfectly matched brand
• No premium cost, just registration fee
• Focused budget on content and growth

Exit:

• Sale to AOL: $25-40 million (2010)
• Holding period: 5 years
• Total domain cost: ~$45 (5 years renewal)

ROI calculation:

• Domain investment: $45
• Business sale: $30 million (mid-range estimate)
• Domain ROI: 66,666,567%

Lesson: Right regular domain + successful business = extreme ROI. The domain didn't need to be premium for the business to succeed.

Case Study 4: Regular Domain Flip - QuickHealthInsurance.com

Acquisition:

• Domain: QuickHealthInsurance.com
• Registration cost: $8.88 (hand-registered)
• Strategy: Long-tail keyword domain
• Year registered: 2012

Development:

• Never developed (parked only)
• Earned ~$50/month in parking revenue
• Total parking revenue: $1,800 over 3 years

Sale:

• Sale price: $2,500 (2015)
• Holding period: 3 years
• Total renewal cost: $30
• Parking revenue: $1,800

ROI calculation:

• Investment: $38.88 (registration + renewals - parking revenue)
• Sale price: $2,500
• Profit: $2,461.12
• ROI: 6,330% over 3 years

Lesson: Strategic regular domain can deliver exceptional ROI with minimal investment

Case Study 5: Premium Gone Wrong - Registry Premium

Acquisition:

• Domain: ai.auto (example)
• Registration cost: $50,000 (registry premium)
• Annual renewal: $50,000
• Strategy: Hold for appreciation
• Year registered: 2020

Reality:

• Market interest lower than expected
• Renewal costs significant burden
• $50,000/year to maintain
• After 3 years: $200,000 total cost

Attempted sale (2023):

• Listed at $500,000
• No buyers at price point
• Reduced to $200,000
• Still no sale

Options:

• Keep paying $50,000/year (losing money)
• Let expire (lose entire $200,000 investment)
• Sell at loss

Outcome:

• Sold for $120,000 (2024)
• Total investment: $250,000
• Loss: -$130,000
• ROI: -52%

Lesson: Registry premiums with high renewal costs extremely risky. Aftermarket premiums (standard renewal) much safer.

When to Choose Premium vs Regular

Choose Premium Domains When:

1. You have significant capital to invest

• Minimum $5,000-$10,000 available
• Can afford to tie up capital for 1-3+ years
• Portfolio approach with multiple premium domains
• Not putting family/essential funds at risk

2. You're targeting specific buyer markets

• Corporate buyers with budgets
• Established businesses
• Industry-specific acquisitions
• International buyers

3. You need immediate brandability

• Launching business and want instant credibility
• Domain is core to business identity
• Type-in traffic valuable
• SEO head start important

4. Domain has proven metrics

• Existing traffic (1,000+ monthly visitors)
• Revenue generation ($100+/month)
• Quality backlink profile (DR 40+)
• Age (10+ years with clean history)

5. You're diversifying from regular domains

• Already have portfolio of regular domains
• Ready to move up market
• Want higher-value sales
• Seeking better ROI per domain

6. Market timing is favorable

• Industry trend emerging
• Technology adoption accelerating
• Regulatory changes creating opportunity
• Domain prices depressed (buyer's market)

Choose Regular Domains When:

1. You're starting domain investing

• Learning the market
• Limited capital ($100-$1,000)
• Testing strategies
• Building initial portfolio
• Can't afford mistakes with premium prices

2. You're focusing on quantity strategy

• Long-tail keyword approach
• Emerging trend capture
• Local business domains
• Niche category coverage

3. You're developing domains

• Building websites/businesses
• Domain is tool, not main asset
• Can't justify premium cost for startup
• Bootstrap mindset

4. You're targeting SMB buyers

• Small businesses
• Solopreneurs
• Startups with limited budgets
• Local service providers
• Price range: $100-$2,000

5. You want low holding costs

• Large portfolio (100+ domains)
• Want minimal annual expense
• Portfolio churn strategy
• Quick flip approach

6. You're experimenting

• Testing new categories
• Trying trending topics
• Exploring niches
• Proof of concept before premium investment

Hybrid Strategy: Best of Both

Most successful domain investors use combination:

Core portfolio structure:

• 10% super-premium ($5,000+ each)
  • Best investment domains
  • Long-term holds
  • High-value sale targets

• 30% mid-premium ($500-$5,000 each)

  • Quality keyword domains
  • Aged domains with metrics
  • Active sale listings

• 60% regular ($10-500 each)

  • Hand-registered opportunities
  • Emerging trends
  • Volume play
  • Quick flips

Benefits of hybrid approach:

• Balances risk across price points
• Regular domain sales fund premium acquisitions
• Premium sales deliver significant ROI
• Cash flow from regular sales
• Capital appreciation from premium holdings
• Learning across market segments

Example hybrid portfolio (100 domains, $30,000):

• 5 super-premium @ $3,000 = $15,000
• 20 mid-premium @ $500 = $10,000
• 75 regular @ $67 = $5,000

Annual renewal: ~$1,000 Expected sales: 10-15/year Average sale price: $1,500 Expected annual revenue: $15,000-22,500 Target ROI: 50-75%

Conclusion: Premium vs Regular - Which is Right for You?

There's no single answer - it depends on your goals, capital, experience, and risk tolerance.

Key takeaways:

Premium domains are better when:

• You have significant capital ($5,000+)
• You're experienced in domain investing
• You want fewer, higher-value sales
• You're developing a business needing instant credibility
• You can afford to hold for multiple years
• You're targeting corporate/enterprise buyers

Regular domains are better when:

• You're starting domain investing
• You have limited capital ($100-$1,000)
• You want to learn through experience
• You prefer volume over individual value
• You want low holding costs
• You're targeting SMB/startup buyers

Best approach for most investors: Start with regular domains to learn the market, then gradually add premium domains as capital and experience grow. Build diversified portfolio with mix of both, weighted toward your capital level and risk tolerance.

Remember:

• Regular domains can deliver exceptional ROI (TechCrunch.com example)
• Premium domains can fail to sell (opportunity cost)
• Portfolio approach balances risk and reward
• Success comes from smart selection, not just premium vs regular
• Your budget, not domain price, should drive strategy

Whether you invest $100 in regular domains or $100,000 in premium domains, the fundamentals remain the same: choose quality domains in growing markets, be patient, price appropriately, and market effectively. Success in domain investing comes from smart strategy, not just premium vs regular choice.