Five mistakes I made buying my first domains
Mistake one: buying on excitement
My first purchase happened at midnight, ten minutes after the idea appeared. The name looked brilliant that night and awkward a week later. Now I write a name down and wait 48 hours before paying for it. Good names still look good after sleeping on them.
Mistake two: choosing an extension because it was cheap
A one-dollar first year is not a discount, it is a renewal trap. Some extensions renew at twenty times the intro price, and some carry weak trust signals with visitors. Check the renewal price, not the promotion.
Mistake three: ignoring the domain's history
An expired domain arrives with a past. I once bought a name that had been a spam blog; nothing I published on it ever ranked. Look at archived snapshots and the backlink profile before you pay, not after.
Mistake four: not thinking about trademarks
A name that clearly echoes an existing brand is a liability, not a bargain. A single complaint can cost you the domain and the work you built on it. Search the trademark registers for your market first.
Mistake five: forgetting renewals
I lost a domain I actually used because a card expired. Turn on auto-renew, keep a calendar reminder, and register the important names for multiple years.
Steps to check any domain before paying
- Say it and spell it: if it needs spelling, it will cost you visitors.
- Appraise it with numbers in domain appraisal and compare the estimate with the asking price.
- Check its history in the web archive for past prohibited content.
- Search for similar trademarks in official databases before buying.
- Compare alternatives with domain comparison instead of settling on one option.
- Pay through escrow when buying from individuals — never wire money directly.
Worked example with numbers
A buyer was offered a domain for $2,500. Checks showed 13 characters with a hyphen, an estimated value of $300–600, and a hyphen-free version registered to an active company in the same field. Decision: decline, and register a short available alternative for $12. Savings: $2,488 — plus no risk of a trademark dispute.
Comparison table: mistake, cost, prevention
| Mistake | Potential cost | How to avoid it |
|---|---|---|
| Skipping the history check | Inherited search penalties | Review the archive |
| Ignoring trademarks | Losing the domain in a dispute | Search trademark databases |
| Overpaying | Direct loss | Appraise and compare similar sales |
| Hard-to-say name | Lost visitors | Five-person spoken test |
| Paying the seller directly | Fraud | Use a known escrow service |
How I buy today
Shortlist three names, check history and legal risk, compare them side by side on measurable criteria, then buy one and let the others go. Boring, but it has stopped me wasting money.
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