Cheap excellent domain names
The following applies not just to domain names but to product names as well.
In a globalised world, any product or domain name is an advantage that is universally easy to recognise and easy to remember.
For this reason, truely international companies are using what to designate products? They are using: numbers
Porsche 911
Levi’s 501
There is a huge advantage in using numbers. “Speedangel” means absolutely nothing to a potential Chinese buyer of a sports car. 911 he can pronounce in Chinese, and he does not even have to be literate for that.
And the same goes for jeans buyers in Japan, Thailand, or Egypt.
No, globalisation will not make everybody know English. The trend is the other way around.
Learning English as a second language is a substantial intellectual effort. But the Internet and mobile phones do not require this effort. They make life and communication easier via icons, Google automatic translate, and the option to look up everything without learning anything.
But it’s never the same as being familiar with something in one’s own language, the one learned at age 4 or 5.
In Asia, the preference is already for numbered domain names. Many Chinese sites are named as just numbers, and 114.com has been bought by Eric Chow for a price of 2,100,000 US dollars.
I own a large number of numbered domains. I have nothing that is two or three digits, but I own domains like 00-111.com and 1-1-1.org.
I thought that buying good domain names that have been overlooked in the 90’s when most low number coms were snatched has been a smart decision. I am willing to sell many of them, at a profit, but not at an outrageous one like what was paid for 114.com. Expect something in the range of 10,000 to 20,000 US dollars.
Many of my domain names are hyphenated. I view this as an advantage, not a disadvantage.
555555.com is awkward to read. 55-55.com or even 555-55.com are much more user-friendly.
References:
1 Kent M. Lancaster, Brand Advertising Competition and Industry Demand, Journal of Advertising Volume 13, Issue 4, 1984
2 Dennis M. Sandler, David Shani, Brand Globally but Advertise Locally?: An Empirical Investigation, (1992) “Brand Globally but Advertise Locally?: An Empirical Investigation”, International Marketing Review, Vol. 9 Iss: 4