While there are many things a new entrant into the domain industry should know before investing a lot of money into buying domain names, I will refrain from reiterating the common 101-level advice found within most blog posts on the topic and instead focus on two domaining tips that I have had to learn the hard way.  Hopefully, those reading this who are relatively new to the domain industry will recognize that it could happen to them (you), and thus take preemptive action to avoid making the same mistakes.

The first thing I would emphasize when advising a new domainer is that if you happen to come into possession of what you believe to be a genuinely high-quality or premium domain name, make sure to secure it for several years at the expense of renewing names you’re less sure about.  Less is more if less means holding onto a name with real value as opposed to the “shotgun approach”.  I’d rather have a name I know can be sold for profit at some point in the future locked in for five years than have five “maybes” registered for a year each.  It is wise to allot as much capital toward renewing your domains well in advance of their expiration date as is possible as a precautionary measure.  If you’re even slightly prone to being disorganized, careless or scatter-brained, don’t take chances with any name you consider to be a genuine asset.

My second tip would be to try to consolidate your registrations with a single-company to the greatest extent possible.  If you find a good registrar that is trustworthy, it might be worth a few extra dollars to have the added insurance of knowing that in case you forget to renew, your registrar will hound you relentlessly until you either do so or remove the name from their respective system, or just let it expire (and ignore the emails and phone calls).  While it can get a bit annoying, if you’re not particularly punctual and organized I would recommend concentrating registrations with one company as much as possible, especially when dealing with ccTLD’s that may otherwise go through an obscure registrar in some remote part of the world.  Trust is key.

The reasoning behind tip #2 is that maintaining active accounts with multiple registrars can become quite confusing and extremely tedious, especially if your business is a one-man or one-woman show.  Different domain registrars have different policies, and it can be easy to lose track of which names are expiring at which registrars and when if your domain names in your portfolio are dispersed among eight different registrars in six different countries.  I would further advise a new domainer to ‘spend the extra money’ to transfer a registered domain from a ccTLD-specific registrar and to a company that can facilitate streamlined domain portfolio management of a variety of different names in whatever extensions who happen to be investing in.

I know it’s tough to click the “pay now” button on one site when you know that a similar button on another site might save you 5-10 bucks.  The question to ask yourself is “Is an insurance policy that protects against the loss of an asset that could fetch thousands of dollars worth $5-10?”.  If your answer is “no”, then the next question should be “Do I really have the capital to be committing myself to the business of domaining?”  Remember, when you register a name for resale purposes, your rights to the name are only as good as your ability to pay renewal fees in advance or annually on a recurring basis — regardless of whether the name in question is earning anything from domain parking and/or development.