Numeric Domains

News from the "I Thought That Looked Familiar" File

Back in June, 2007 I penned an article in Tech News World extolling the virtues and the profit potential inherent in "The Rise of Numeric Domains".

Now it seems that someone, NOT of English tongue as their primary language - either that or they use a really bad translation service - saw fit to re-purpose/repackage or otherwise reproduce my ditty to suit their particular audience (who dat?, ed).

They say that copying is the finest form of flattery. In that vein, I present their version of my article in its entirety below. My observations are highlighted in BLUE.

EXPERT ADVICE The Rise of Numeric Domains

With higher than 4 billion cell phone inwardly pay out large-scale -- 487 million in China alone -- it's no reason that "mobile" be all the viciousness. (Mad money?)

A recent segment of "American Idol" received nearly 80 million deed revelation vote. (Hmmm, I wonder if that included the "hanging chad" swing vote?). The 2008 U.S. presidential candidate be incorporate animated communications elements into their campaign. (Hey, if George Dubyas's people were part of this, I missed it completely!). Social network such in situate of MySpace and Twitter are starting to deploy mobile-friendly Web site. Most mobile access is achieve via unadventurous method such as wireless possessor "walled garden" deck, to the point code, text messaging and habitually long-winded, circuitous sub-domains. (That's the smartest thing you've said all day.)

It beg the query: Is near a simpler, imaginably more dominant mobile access and brand mechanism that enjoy largely gone in need being seen? (Yep!)

The Internet and the cell phone booth are collide (Cosmic collision of epic proportions!), as the encircling compound evolve to quench our want to socialize and to cut talent. (Ahhh... very clever. Handing out pink slips via You Tube, MySpace and Facebook... very clever indeed). Personalized mobility will become the norm. If family are going to access Web sites via cell phones, why not locate equally it undemanding by bearing of using numbers instead of parcels? (Numbers instead of boxes? I'll buy that).

On billions of cell phones worldwide, the dial wipe (Rotary or qwerty?) numbers 2 through 9 can epitomize letters of the alphabet. (And I thought NO ONE was listening!). The numeral 2 can represent "a," "b" or "c." The "7" knob (First position, third row) can represent "p," "q," "r" or "s," etc.

Therefore, any twine (Sp, ed.) of numbers can represent multiple alpha equivalent. The numbers 3776 can represent 144 alpha combination (3 can represent d, e or f; 7 can represent p, q, r or s; 6 can represent m, n or o). The numbers 3776 could represent "Esso;" it could also represent "ESPN" or 142 other distinctive alpha combinations.

On your cell phone WAP (wireless repute protocol) (I just pray that this isn't a veiled allegation that something is amok at ITU, CTIA or the FCC. A scandal now would send the economy into even more chaos!), the browser, entering a numeric string and adding conscious ".com" create a numeric domain Anarchist Punk Live at Deaf Club 1979. (OK. NOW we gotta start the investigation!).

Until the domain is explicitly purposed, it's a moment ago that -- a string of numbers, no trademark issues and no squat issues. (Hey, Berryhill was right all along).

Crispy Mobilistas Paid "Per Tap"?

Master spinmeister and CEO of Crisp Wireless, Boris Fridman, continues to weave his mLogic magic. His quarry this time around is the inimitable A & E Television Network, capably represented by Senior VP spokesthingy, Paul Jelinek.

Boris and Paul have just announced their partnership to take several AETV channels mobile.

Paul said: “This initiative is a great way for us to extend our consumer’s passion for our brands and programming to a mobile audience. We look forward to working closely with Crisp to create branded mobile experiences that our audiences can take with them on the go.” 

To which Boris replied: “A&E Television Networks has a long reputation for creating quality programming that inspires fans to stay tuned. Now they can stay tuned wherever they go. We are extremely pleased to work with AETN to help them build a mobile advertising channel.”

Kool. So far, so good. I love A & E!

To access the new mobile channels, all A & E's customers have to do is to open their cell phone internet browser (the http:// portion is usually pre-populated), and enter the URL of the channel of their choice. So for AETN, enter mobile.aetn.com. For the History Channel, enter mobile.history.com and for the Biography Channel, enter mobile.biography.com. Press 'send', 'call', 'go' (or other appropriate launch function) and you're taken directly to the channel of your choice. Simple right?

                                W R O N G !!!

Look, mobile is supposed to fun. It's supposed to be simple and enjoyable. What Boris and his merry band of Mobilistas have done is created an access system that is almost guaranteed to frustrate customers. Frustration leads to aggravation and aggravation leads to abandonment. And if customers abandon the A & E mobile program in sufficient numbers, Paul and his A & E bosses will not be happy campers.

On the majority of the world's cell phones, to type in mobile.aetn requires 22 input taps. Tap the '6' key once for the letter 'm', the cursor usually automatically moves to the next space, then tap the '6' key three times for the letter 'o', then tap the '2' key twice to get the letter 'b'... and so on. The 'dot' usually requires you to hold down the '1' key.

(The ".com" portion of the URL is common to every input method so it will be ignored here for comparison purposes).

To type in mobile.history requires 34 input taps, and

To type in mobile.biography also requires 34 input taps.

It's hard enough trying to type on those tine cell phone dial pads. Why does it have to be so complicated. There is a much easier way to access the mobile channels. It's by numeric domains.

If numeric domains were used, 'AETN' (2386) could be accessed by inputting only 4 vs. 22 inputs, 'History' (4478679) with only 7 vs. 34 inputs and 'Biography" (246472749) with only 9 vs. 34 inputs. If it's all about speed, fewer taps wins, thumbs down.

Here's a novel idea. If, as they elude to above, Boris and Paul want to provide a mobile experience wherever customers go, at least make it as easy as possible to get to where they want them to go. Give some thought to what the customer experience will be.

Stay tuned indeed.

Sale Ends January 31, 2008

I recently introduced Flat Rate Pricing on our entire portfolio of numeric domains.

For the first time, our entire portfolio of over 400 generic and brand-able numeric domains listed below, are being offered for sale at very competitive, flat rate prices. For less than the price of a 6 month common short code, you, your company or client can own the domain name asset outright. Why rent when you can buy?

All Numeric Domains are just $4,999.00

Premium Domains (denoted with **) are just $9,999.00

2 Great Numeric Domains in Sedo Auction

Two great numeric domains got a fast start out of the gate in the Great Domains/Sedo first premium domain auction of the year.

49.com quickly met and exceeded its reserve price during the first day of bidding and currently sits at $53,000.

Update: Jan. 19 - bid now at $71,000

Update: Jan. 21 - bid now at $73,000

647.com has attracted 4 bids to date. The current bid is $7,000 and has not met its reserve price (5,000-19,999).

Update: Jan. 20 - Reserve met. Bid now at $9,999

We'll update this auction as bids are placed. Good luck to both the buyers and sellers.

NB: The current highest bid in this auction is $150,000 $200,000 for Indian.com. Any under bidders may be interested to know that we here at Numeric Domains have direct ties to the owners of Indian.us. Should there be any interest, please feel free to contact the usual suspects here at NuDoms.

Mobile Web Access? Add Numeric Domains to the URL Mix

As millions of people around the globe migrate to the wireless Web using their cellphones/mobiles, an emerging battle is brewing. It is being played out, largely under the radar, and is being promulgated and shaped by competing, yet parallel forces. There are thousands of businesses in a mad dash to deliver their goods, services and content (infotainment), to consumers via your wireless device. The race is on, and the key challenge is - how to get YOU, the mobile Web PAYING customer, to ACCESS mobile Web sites using their preferred method of access?

I'll try to clarify what this all means and how the various methods to access the mobile Web impact both content providers and consumers. In the end, the market will decide and the paying CUSTOMER will determine which way works best for them.

RCR Wireless News recently featured a story entitled "URL battle: m vs. .mobi.

Confusion still reigns in figuring out the best way to get to mobile Web".

I profess that the current slate of "expert" analysts, scribes and other gurus are missing a significant piece of the puzzle and that the headline should read:

"URL Access to the Mobile Web: What Works Best: Alpha, "m", .mobi or Numeric Domains?".

The RCR article is reproduced below in black lettering. My comments and observations are in color.

RCR: There is no shortage of reasons why traffic on the wireless Web hasn’t matched the sky-high forecasts of a few years ago. But one of the biggest stumbling blocks may also be the most overlooked.

A recent study from JupiterResearch found that nearly twothirds of mobile-phone subscribers worldwide don’t use their handsets to access the Internet.

By definition, this suggests that over one third of cellphone/mobile subscribers ARE using the wireless Web. With over 3 billion subscribers worldwide, one third is a significant number.

RCR: The market research firm called for an alternative to traditional browsers that would help users access information quickly, and said carriers could spur uptake by lowering mobile data prices.

Alternative browsers will not solve the challenge of easily accessing mobile Web sites. Competing platforms, competitive wireless operators and carriers, diverse hardware and software systems, not to mention the thousands of different wireless hand held devices, all suggest that the access issue be resolved at a much more fundamental level. It should be addressed at the level that makes the most sense to, and is easiest for the consumer to employ.

As much as we would all love to see data prices come down, lowering prices does NOT help users to access information more quickly.

RCR: “We’re not advocating the browser go away,” said analyst Julie Ask, “just that there should be an alternative for ‘glanceable’ content. “Consumers are willing to pay for good experiences and products. The industry should focus on this reality.”

Mobile browsers are not just going to "go away".

This issue surely goes well beyond just "glanceable" content. Consumers read books, watch movies, play games, watch sports and other activities via streaming media and generally surf the net far exceeding that which is only "glanceable". Consumers will pay for what I call a "beyond expectations" experience (starting with easy access), in order to enjoy the wireless Web.

RCR: Browser alternatives such as widgets or applets could allow users to access information with fewer clicks, JupiterResearch said, improving the user experience and helping to increase traffic overall. Such an application could help ease many of the pain points that accompany mobile phones, including the small screens and limited functionality of 12-key phones.

Widgets and applets will most certainly find their way into the wireless ecosystem, using fewer clicks, and make it easier for users to access the wireless Web. But again there are, and always will be, factors associated with hardware, software, browsers, screen size, resolution, bandwidth etc. that will complicate consumer education, acceptability and usage.

RCR: But how do you get there?  ;-)

But one of the biggest challenges on the wireless Web is the lack of a uniform URL format. The traditional Internet has thrived thanks to the familiar .com style (and a few variations, such as .net and .org), but the mobile industry still has yet to settle on a format.

We can all agree that there are many ways to skin this cat. But here is where I vehemently doth protest! The fact is...WE ALREADY HAVE A UNIFORM URL FORMAT! Lest that was not stated clearly enough:

           WE  ALREADY  HAVE  A  UNIFORM  URL  FORMAT!

They're called TLD's or top level domains. They include .com, .net, .org etc., and Country Code, or ccTLD's. They were designed from the very start to enable anyone, anywhere on the planet to access the Web. By extension, anyone with a cellphone/ mobile device and a wireless connection, should also be able to access any properly formatted Web site using those same TLD's.

The fact is, we don't need a new fandangled mTLD like .mobi to access the wireless Web. We have all the tools available to do so without introducing another 'extension' that seemingly was solely created to showcase the pompous attitudes of cash rich international corporations looking to capitalize on their stranglehold on customers who consume their respective products and services.

As one of the founding fathers of the internet, Tim Berners-Lee has staunchly...

"opposed the addition of new tier domain names like ‘.xxx’ and ‘.mobi’. In fact, when the ‘.mobi’ came into existence, he was the biggest dissenter. He argues that every one should be able to access the same web, irrespective of whether it is from a computer or a mobile."

For dozens of reasons, in my humble opinion, .mobi is a non-starter. I don't think that consumers understand it and I don't think that they will enthusiastically incorporate it into their mobile Web  experience. Properly formatted, Web sites using the ubiquitous .com extension and other primary TLD's, are quite capable of delivering a "beyond expectations" mobile Web experience to consumers.

RCR: Indeed, a quick check of The Nielsen Co.’s top five mobile Internet destinations reveals five different URL formats. Yahoo, which topped Nielsen’s list, uses the letter M near the beginning of the URL to denote its mobile site, http://us.m.yahoo.com. Google opts to use the letter M at the end of its traditional URL. The letters WAP appear in AOL’s wireless tag, while The Weather Channel chooses to insert the letters XHTML in its URL.

Many of the most popular sites employ device-recognition technology, of course, and can redirect mobile users to the appropriate site. But many common sites don’t use such software — or, oftentimes, the technology fails. So a mobile user who isn’t directed to the site via links, or who doesn’t know exactly which URL to type in, can suffer through the miserable experience of trying to view a traditional Internet destination on a mobile phone.

Now we get to the meat of the matter... access. More importantly, simple, easy access to the wireless Web. Let's use the Yahoo example cited above and let's also assume a level playing field in that:

* the destination Web site is properly formatted for optimum viewing on cell phones and mobiles

* standard key pad type cellphones and mobiles are being used (Not qwerty key pads)

* the destination Web site is being accessed via direct browser type-in navigation and not being accessed by bookmark or via a link

* Users have navigated to and have opened their wireless browsers

* the http:// portion of the URL is already pre-populated and the cursor is positioned properly and flashing and ready to accept key pad URL inputs

Here are the steps required to access the destination mobile Web site using the various methods.

Sites equipped with device-recognition technology "sniff" the incoming browser. If it detects that  the browser is from a mobile device, it directs the request to the mobile formatted Web site. If it detects a regular internet browser, it sends the request to the regular Web site.

Device detection mehods continue to improve, but as stated above, "many common sites don't use such software - or, oftentimes, the technology fails". In any event, Users still need to type-in the letters of the URL by multi-tapping the corresponding numbers on often very small mobile dial pads. In this case"

1) Using standard alphabetical input method with device recognition software:

Input requirement is: yahoo.com

Y = number 9 tapped 3 times to get to the letter "Y"

A = number 2 tapped 1 time to get to the letter "A"

H = number 4 tapped 2 times to get to the letter "H"

O = number 6 tapped 3 times to get to the letter "O"

O = number 6 tapped 3 times to get to the letter "O"

Typing in the .com portion adds 8 taps and, except for .mobi, is common to all of these examples.

In this instance, even with the device recognition technology, a total of 20 input taps are required to access the Yahoo mobile Web site.

Imagine the frustration if you are "thick-thumbed", or your key pad is so small that you keep making mistakes and have to keep going back and re-inputting information. Frustration leads to abandonment. And abandonment can wreak havoc when you are trying share information or make a sale.

2) Using the "M" method - Alphabetical input with NO device recognition software:

Input requirement is: us.m.yahoo.com. Using the same method as above:

U = 2 taps

S = 4 taps

(.) dot = 1 tap (usually reached by holding down the "1" key)

YAHOO = 12 taps

.com = 8 taps

In this instance, the "M" method requires 27 input taps to get to the Yahoo mobile Web site.

That's 35% more input taps and 35% more chance for input error.

3) Using the .mobi method:

Input requirement is: yahoo.mobi

YAHOO = 12 taps

.mobi = 10 taps

In this instance, the .mobi method requires 22 input taps. That's more than method 1 and less than method 2. However, the key question is, of the over 3 billion cell phone/ mobile subscribers worldwide, how many of them know about the .mobi extension, let alone understand the concept and are typing it into their mobile browsers?

4) Using the numeric domain equivalent of Yahoo:

Input requirement is: 92466.com

YAHOO = 5 taps

(.) com = 8 taps

In this instance, ONLY 13 taps are required to get to the Yahoo mobile Web site.

That's 58%, 107% and 69% respectively FEWER inputs than the other methods.

Other benefits of Numeric Domains include:

  

1. Simple input. It's much easier to enter Yahoo (.com) - four input clicks - than it is to enter a lengthy sub-domain required to get to the same Web site.
 
2. Numeric-domains reduce input error that leads to frustration and abandonment.
 
3. Numeric-domains are hand held device agnostic, wireless carrier agnostic, language and location agnostic. They are equal in the entire global community. You get to the same Web site by entering 92466.com whether you are Beijing, Boston or Bali. Anyone, anywhere on the planet with a wireless enabled browser and network access can access your Web site anytime, day or night.
 
4. Numeric domains reduce dependency on expensive "on deck" content often bundled by the wireless operators/carriers. Content providers typically pay dearly to list and sell their content on-deck, yet have little influence over the location or positioning within the deck and they have even less influence regarding the amount of promotion done by the carrier.
 
5. Numeric domains allow content providers a direct link to their customers and afford greater influence of the user experience.
 
6. Numeric domains enable content providers a method to bypass wireless carriers' expensive billing systems (often 30-60% of sales) and to deliver content direct to their customers with a wide variety of payment options paving the way for content providers to retain a larger slice of the profits.
 
7. Numeric domains provide a strong alternative to CSC's - Common short codes, or just short codes. Short codes, primarily used for "text" campaigns - which also pad the coffers of the carriers, are wireless carrier-controlled. They are NOT owned by the companies or individuals that are running and paying for mobile marketing campaigns. Short codes are rented on a monthly basis (starting at $500 per short code, per month for a random 5-6 digit code, and $1,000 per month, per code for specific or custom codes). They can take months to secure and typically are used only for limited campaign durations.

Organizations, companies, entertainers, celebrities etc. that own their numeric domain:

* can align the numeric domain with their brand; ESPN=3776.com, Money=66639.com, Jenna=53662.com

* can plan international marketing, sales and promotional campaigns around the numeric domain because numbers are the same throughout most of the world

* do not have to wait hat-in-hand for wireless carriers to "bless" their short code applications and allow them access to wireless subscribers

   

* do not have to pay expensive "rental" fees for short codes that come with implicit texting costs, long lead times and the over site of finicky wireless carriers.

RCR: Top Level Domain Ltd., or mTLD, has built an impressive bank account — and an army of critics — with its .mobi effort. The company has auctioned off scores of .mobi domains, and hopes to become the default format for mobile Internet users. Consumers looking for The Weather Channel on a mobile phone would know to check weather.mobi, according to the plan, just as they would type in weather.com on a computer.

mTLD has built and impressive bank account, but can you name for me, any .mobi sites that you visit on a regular basis? Can you tell mi if any of your friends, colleagues or business associates frequent .mobi sites?

RCR: Lack of traction

But critics point to mTLD’s lack of traction among established Internet players, pointing to the growing popularity of using the letter M to signify mobile URLs. Adding a single letter — and dropping the traditional “www” — is easier for users to remember and enter on a keypad, of course. And, as evidenced by Nielsen’s two most popular mobile sites, the format may be in the process of becoming the new mobile standard.

"May be", we'll see. No question, the jury (consumers) is still out. The fact remains that it is easier to input numbers into telephones that it is to input letters.

RCR: “I am a huge evangelist of the ‘m. solution,’ posted James Whatley of SMStextnews.com. “Facebook has done a (lot) of ground work in this area by introducing m.facebook.com to the masses. To my mind, the ‘m.’ is slowly becoming the de facto mobile Web site standard.”

I am a huge evangelist of the numeric domain solution. To my mind, numeric domains will find their niche and potentially become the de facto standard.

If you're still with me here, you are potentially a great NuDom (Numeric Domainer) and I owe you a beer ;-) At present, there is no one "right" way, they all can get you there.  But  I think that it is at best, short-sighted for the wireless Glitterati to totally ignore such a potentially powerful option to access the wireless Web.

I know this has been a rather lengthy post and I still haven't touched on all the points that could be incorporated here. I could give you dozens of examples of hugely successful pure numeric domain Web sites, sites that enjoy millions of unique visitors each and every month.

I invite your comments, challenges and observations.

OK - Try this one last example:

As our RCR writer illustrates, type in m.facebook.com. Go ahead, it's only 29 input taps.

Now, (and actually do this because it works), enter the Facebook numeric domain, 32232665.com. It's only 16 inputs. I promise you'll get there faster, safer and with with much less jet lag.

Cheers,

Numeric Domains at SnapNames

The DOMAINfest/Snapnames preliminary auction list is now available for download here. A total of 7 pure numeric domains made the list and I suspect that at least 3 of them will make it into the "live" portion of the sale including 48.com, 60.com and one that wouldn't surprise me if it set a new record for a numeric domain sale at auction, 88.com.

I salivate at the potential of 88.com. 1) The number 8 has 'wealth', 'prosperity' (among other) connotations in certain Asian cultures, and 2) 88 can stand for "TV" on cell phone dial pads. As millions more people begin to watch TV on cell phones, this domain has monster potential.

One Steamboat, Two Steamboats...

I tend to concentrate on numeric domains that have seven digits or fewer. Here's an example of someone with a different view of the world.

Take a look at this 63 digiter. It's been registered since 2002 and even has GoDaddy privacy protection!

www.141592653589793238462643383279502884197169399375105820974944592.com

"Can you please repeat that email address"

242242 Cha Cha (Cha)... Mobile Portal on the Horizon?

It was widely reported yesterday that ChaCha launched its Human-powered search site, a new service that allows you to ask questions and get the answers via text message. The press coverage was fairly extensive. Unquestionably, with other competitors such as UK based Texperts and US based Mahalo, the human assisted search market is gaining momentum. Whether they will all carve out a successful niche remains to be seen. It begs the question, how far behind can the majors that want to protect their market share be?

Numeric Domains - a bit player in this unfolding story...

On September 4, 2007, staff at ChaCha hand registered several 242242 TLD and CC extensions including .net, .org, .co.uk, .info, .biz, .mobi -and potentially others. At that point in time, they did not own 242242.com.

My sister did.

Weeks later she received an anonymous offer via a broker for 242242.com. Like any good NuDom (Numeric Domainer), before responding to the offer, it was researched who owned the other extensions. Turns out it was ChaCha, so it was a pretty safe bet that it was them looking to buy the .com. If, as  presumed, it was ChaCha knocking on the door, a decision had to be made. Do we try to maximize returns with a relatively high asking price, or follow that gut feeling that they will someday use 242242.com in a much broader context and develop it out as their mobile portal, and ask a more moderate price?

It was decided on the latter. An agreement on price was made and the sale was completed in a matter of days.

So you can imagine my elation when yesterday's announcement was made public. Even though it is structured as a texting service for the time being, I'm hoping that ChaCha will continue to evolve the mobile portal concept so that anyone with wireless access to the Internet, no matter what cell phone they have, no matter who their wireless carrier is, no matter what language they speak, no matter what time of the day or night and no matter where in the world they are - they will be able to retrieve their information from ChaCha by simply entering 242242.com into their mobile browsers.

Numeric Domains - Sevent or Savant ?

Matt Asher is one dedicated numeric domainer (among other things). He is a real student of, and practitioner in this domain space and maintains one of the most prolific numeric domain portfolios on the planet.

Matt received widespread recognition, and his fair share of compliments, after he posted his Guide to Numeric Domains at DNForum.

I've taken the liberty of presenting the article here and look forward to Part 2.

Because I've received so many general questions about numeric domain names, I thought I'd share some general information and thoughts on the subject. If the response is favorable to this I'll write a “Part 2” in another couple weeks.

Why invest in numeric domain names?

If you want to make lots of money as a domain name investor, one of the most important things to keep in mind is that you are constantly making decisions based on imperfect knowledge. Every purchase or sale you make is based on what might happen to the price and salability of a domain name in the future, and like all futures these are unknown.

Given this, the serious domain investor should be doing more than picking a few random names that seem like good values and then parking or flipping them. What you need is an investment plan. That plan can certainly include non-numeric domains, but here’s why I think any domain investing plan should include at least some money for numeric domains:

• Pure numeric domains are immune to fads and cycles -- 528.com will still have value long after the BMW 528i is forgotten, but the new owners of WirelessPhones.com better get their $355k back before the term “wireless phones” seem as antiquated as “Videocassette recorders”.
• It seems like even generic names are the subject of Trademark disputes these. And the more value domains have, the more companies will try to use the law to take yours from you. Numeric domains have the benefit of being immune from such actions.
• Numeric domains are relatively scarce and short numerics will never become more plentiful. Compared with LLL (three letter domains), NNN’s are about 17 times rarer. Compared with LLLL, NNNN’s are 45 times rarer! New words come into our languages and cultures all the time, but there will never be more than 1000 NNN names in any TLD.
• There is now a strong, *liquid* market for NNN.com, NNNN.com and NNN.net domains. The liquid part is VERY important. It means that, no matter what numeric name you have, you can sell it quickly at any moment for low reseller price. Only LLL.com and short, generic words have the same long-term liquid market. By contrast everyone might agree that “RawSewage.com” is a 6 figure domain, but selling it for even 5 figures would take significant effort and good timing.

All numbers have meaning

A common complaint about numeric domains is that they don’t mean anything. Maybe a particular number doesn’t mean anything *to you*, but for the domain investor what a domain name means to you is irrelevant. Your goal is to purchase names that have importance to somebody, either to lots of people or a few people with lots of money. Chances are any given (short) number will have strong meaning to millions of people. Here’s why:

Numeric domains are true International names. They have meaning to everyone in all countries. By picking a domain name with universal meaning your potential market expands by a factor of at lest 5 times over any other language-specific domain.

We use numbers to represent a huge variety of things:

• Area codes
• Phone numbers
• Zip codes
• Lucky numbers
• Radio and TV stations
• Prices
• Pronounceable words in some Asian languages.
• Car models
• Special meanings (666, 13, 420)
• “Words” on mobile devices (ie. “fly” is 359 on a telephone keypad).
• Addresses
• Businesses use numbers as part of their name all the time (“Level 27 clothing”, “Hinez 57 varieties”, “club 200”)

How many numerics should I own?

The more the better. Really. Beyond their baseline reseller value, numeric domains can be like little lottery tickets. Four years ago the domain 1031.com could probably be bought for the cost of a nice dinner out. Now that billions are invested in 1031 Tax code real estate sales, the same domain is worth an easy 6 figures. This is no isolated incident. Every year hundreds of numbers acquire important meanings to somebody based on new laws, regulations, events and so on. All domains can have this same “lottery ticket” quality, but your chances of hitting the jackpot if you own 1/100th of all NNNN.com names is much greater than with 100 random domains.

Owning a large quantity of numeric domains can also give you the patience to wait for a good offer. Not every numeric domain is going to get a good offer every week, but if you have enough numeric names you’ll get at least one decent offer every few weeks. Instead of looking at your one NNNN.com name and wondering when it will sell, you could sell one NNNN.com a week at the price you want.