I’m sure if you’ve been around internet in the last 15 years you are probably aware of these things called “domain names”. They are the heart and soul of the internet as we know it today. Back in the early 1990’s there were several people who were considered eccentric at the time who began “mining” domain names. They were free when the internet first started, but soon were changed to $100 per year. This knocked a few people out of the gold rush, but, many people continued searching for available domain names hoping that someday they would be worth a lot of money.

They were right. With some domain names selling for millions of dollars, and a countless amount selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars, the internet had created many millionaires in just a 5-10 year time.

Now you are probably thinking that all of the big money has been made already. Right? Wrong! I got into the game in 1999 and began purchasing a few domains. Soon after this I realized that my current names had increased dramatically in value. This prompted me to purchase several more.

When I say purchase I am not necessarily referring to registering brand new domains. Part of the mentality that people have nowadays is that all of the good domains are taken so why bother? This is partially true. MANY of the good domains are in fact taken, however, it’s safe to say that at least 50% of the people who own good domains either A, do not know the value, or B, want some quick cash and aren’t worried about the long term value. How can you make money from this? Easy. When you are searching for available domain names don’t give up hope if the domain you want is already taken. Simply send an email to the current owner and tell them that you are interested in the domain. Often times it’s best not to make an offer upfront unless they don’t give you a price, but, many times they will reply with a price in the 4 figure range. Sometimes this is ridiculous, but other times you have to think to yourself if it is worth it. A few thousand dollars in the stock market could go either way, up or down, but a domain worth a few thousand dollars (if the domain is truly a decent name it could easily be worth this) will go up in value at a rate of approximately 15% per year. Not only that, but you can sometimes buy a domain for a few thousand dollars and turn it around overnight for an instant profit (The sky truly is the limit!). I am of course referring to .com domain names. I do not personally recommend investing significant money in anything besides .com.