Interview With Basement from DNBuff

This is the first of a series of interviews with different domainers intended to let everyone express their views, opinions and share their experience.

I think it will be interesting for most domainers to see how their fellows are doing. If you’d like to get interviewed feel free to contact. Domainers with all levels of experience will be given an equal chance here.

This interview is with Girish, who is known as Basement at NamePros. He recently started a new blog DNBuff

– How long have you been into domaining and how did you get into it?

Been into domaining for 2 months. Started in late January just when the LLLL.com hype was about to set in and learned a great deal since then in the short span of 2 months. I got into it after I got interested by reading Reece’s blog and thought, hey why not try this out, since then I’ve been addicted.

– How many domains do you own, what is your primary focus, e.g. generics, country tlds, short domains etc?

I own about 150-200 domains and most of them are short-domains. I strongly believe in LLLL.net’s and have been regging like crazy.

– What domaining forums do you use and which is your favorite?

I’m just on NamePros and love it.

– What is your favorite registrar and parking company?

I love Name.com for their affordable rates their easy control panel. on the same note, Moniker.com is also excellent but a bit pricey, so I’ll stick with Name.com.

I currently am not parking my domains but shall take a look at Fabulous.com as people recommend them for their excellent service and their payouts.

– What are your favorite domaining blogs?

Don’t get the time to read many but I do take a look at the following when I’m free:

www.4letternoob.com (Great resource owned by Reece. You should read some of the posts amde in Novemeber/December)

www.domainmagnate.com (The blog your reading this on, Michael offers some excellent insights on domains and it’s also a great place to keep yourself updated about current developments and massive sales)

doma.in (Good articles with even better insights. RJ is an editor, reason enough?)

– What was your biggest success in domaining?

I was pretty late to the LLLL.com scene so I was feeling disappointed. Suddenly, I saw a sale of 4L.com’s going on where the prices were less than half the current wholesale prices 🙂 Needless to say, I snapped up as many as my meager budget could afford.

– What was your biggest failure in domaining?

I honestly, don’t think I’ve encountered a failure till now as the industry and the people have been pretty good to me.

– Do you have any domaining icons that inspire you and that you look up to?

I have several domaining icons who I respect for their analysis and their friendliness. I never thought that the big names of the domaining scene would be so approachable. A few of them are Reece, Dan (filter) and of course Michael.

– If you had two million bucks to invest in domains, where would you put them?

I’ve always been wanting to get into dictionary .com domains that pack a punch, but currently I don’t have enough cash to play around with so that’ll certainly be the area where I put in the 2 million bucks.

– If a friend gave you $10,000 to invest in domains, what would you buy?

I’d buy him some 4L.com’s and flip them after a few months netting him a decent profit of just over $2K or so.

– How do you see your domain portfolio in a year, in 3 years?

I see my domaining portfolio filled with clutter and junk in an year form now but hopefully, it’ll just contain some high-quality names in 3 years. This statement may sound a bit strange but the reason is that currently, I’m buying all I can get my hands on and a year won’t be sufficient time to flip them all for a profit. However, in 3 years, I’m sure I could flip the lower quality names for a sizable profit and reinvest in better and more valuable names.

– What do you think will happen with the domaining industry in the years to come?

I don’t have sufficient experience to answer that question as I myself am relatively new to the scene (tired of hearing this? :p). But, as far as I can see I see the industry booming with lots more funds and investors flowing in.

– What do you think are the current best opportunities in domaining?

Again, currently, I see dictionary 4 letter.com‘s as a great opportunity to profit for those two have the budget. For the rest of us, I’d say stick to “short” domains without hyphens.

– What would you recommend to newcomers?

I’d recommend that all newcomers read, read and READ! That’s what I did thanks to the advice proffered to me by some veteran domainers. I read as much as I could then started registering random names from expire domain lists.

– If you had to start it all over again what would you change in your current domain portfolio/strategy.

My strategy is to take things as they come but I admit I have been a bit too lavish in registering domains on a whim. I would base my decisions on prudence and calculation if I got a chance to start fresh.

– If you were able to go 15 years back in time and register 5 .com domains when they were all available, what would be on your list?

House.com

Money.com

Computer.com

Internet.com

Technology.com

I’d have stayed away form the “adult” scene so XXX.com wouldn’t have featured on my list of things to register.