If you are thinking of investing in domain names...

The field is wide open again. 'Long names' has triggered what is being called the Second Great Domain Rush. We all know stories of the 'good old days' (4 years ago), when anyone with $100 and a little imagination could reserve a domain name that would be worth tens of thousands of dollars a few years later. All the 'good' names were available. Some people saw the potential - most did not.

The good news: Because of long names - you have a second chance. Thousands of 'good' long names are available, and the process is better than it used to be…

Re-sale prices are higher. Increased interest in the Internet has sent domain prices to an all-time high. Run-of-the-mill names commonly sell for $3,000 to $10,000 - better names sell for tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. And, of course, there is business.com, which recently sold for $7.5 million.

Domains names are easier to sell. Many domain brokerage sites now exist to facilitate the sale of names. They attract buyers and provide appraisal and escrow services.

The bad news: Everyone remembers the 'good old days' and the rush is on. Names are being registered at a record rate and all the 'good' long names will soon be gone.

Selecting the right names....

While there are substantial profits to be made selling Domain Names, certain names tend to appreciate more than others:

	- Generic names that describe a product, service, or process. (shopping.com, stockquotes.com, travel.com)
	- Timely names that refer to events prominent in the news. (millenium.com, y2k.com)
	- Geographic names. Chicago.com and ny.com were registered long ago, but if you know of a city (or town) whose name is still available, consider registering it. If that city is not yet on the Internet, it soon will be - and the name will be in great demand.
	- Geographic/business names that describe a business within a geographic area. (dcrealestate.com, bostondentist.com, paristravel.com)

Caution: Do not register names which are trademarked or contain trademarks within them. Registering a trademarked name (cybersquatting) is prohibited by law.

Selling domain names...

You can sell domain names through your own efforts or through a domain name broker. Brokers buy and sell names for a percentage of the sales price. Review these brokerage sites to get some idea of the names that are traded and the prices they bring.    GreatDomains    Afternic

You can sell domain names on your own. Determine who might be interested in a name and contact them - by email or postal mail. If the name is really 'hot' you might put up a web site announcing that your name is for sale.

If you reserved a town name, contact the town manager, town council, Chamber of Commerce or local civic organizations.   If you reserved a business name, say, dcrealty.com, contact realtors in D.C. and offer to sell it. The inducement: a prestigious Web address to be used on business cards, the only realtor in D.C. to have that easily-remembered name.

It is not unusual to receive email from people asking to buy your domain name. It is now quite common.

More than 20,000 domain names are being reserved every day. That's 15 domain names every minute. So if you are considering getting started in domain investing... the right time is now.

Also, be sure to read how long domain names can boost traffic to your web site.

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