I think the fact that more and more business and advertising is moving onto the web is a big factor that overrides the economy. The internet is still growing throughout the world and is 'recession-proof' in many ways - people love to go online and do stuff.

Growth of the internet and internet use helps the domain market

In a poor economy, more businesses have to go online to keep up with their market and try to get more sales. Laid off people may become entrepreneurs and start a website that needs a domain.

In a good economy, people still want to do the above, and consumers have more to spend online.

Good domains are simply a hot commodity to have because the internet is still expanding and taking market share away from 'old media'.

That chart correlates with the stock market overall the last 6-months (up around 50%)

I think Sept and Oct will be rough months as the run-up has gotten a little ahead of itself, IMO.

I'm sure a lot of your subscribers have seen their stock portfolios rebound which gives them more confidence (and more cash in their wallet to spend obviously)

Nice post. But "neigh sayers" should be "nay sayers", unless you are talking about horse-themed domains

I think a lot of you are forgetting what it means that the entire world is in economy crisis. How does this effect businesses? Well it depends what business or industry you're in.

In the past 5 years, I didn't spend any money (except registry fees) for domain acquisitions. In 2009 when the recession hit bad in USA, I began making domain acquisitions and have over $100k invested in just domains this year alone, and the number keeps growing. I like to look this recession as an opportunity to get good domain names at good prices and later develop or flip them for a profit when the market in general is out of the hole.

For all the others in commerce, retail or wholesale, the fraction of consumers spending as they used to in 2006 or 2007 have dropped dramatically.

Though for companies or people with a little extra dough to spend, the domain market has never been hotter.

The domain industry will be FOREVER increasing. Don't forget the cctld's like .us.com and .im etc... Big sales coming down the road!!

Timothy, thanks for the correction.

Hello Rick,

Since you have created more competition amongst auctioneers, at the Traffic venues, your team and Moniker seem to be working harder at attracting acknowledged, end user agents. For far too long a period of time, the majority of paddle wavers at most of the auctions have been undercover surrogates, who think End Users are Parking Companies.

We can all hope for the good of our industry that these past trends can be turned around. Keep up the good work. We all need a more robust auction platform. Otherwise most of the BIG sales will remain Private Sales, off Auction.

Gratefully, Jeff Schneider

Greetings Everyone.
The Domain industry seems to be coming out of it's slump.
Although I still see great names selling for way to cheap on online auction sites such as eBay. As an domain investor it's time to buy! buy! buy! As a web developer I can acquire many decent domain names for own projects as well as for my clients
I believe the internet real estate industry may have had some recent lows but just like conventional real estate it will recover and prosper again. Unlike conventional real estate that will always be available, great domain names will become much more scarce.The value of Internet Real Estate will continue to rise regardless of the economy's health. The demand for prime domain names will probably double over the next 2 years. There is a time to buy and a time to sell. Knowing when? Priceless!

Just My Thoughts.

In this crazy economy a lot of people are jobless with no prospects in sight.
Many people are turning to the web to make a living.

Some people are just sitting at home and surfing the web wondering what they can possibly do to make money before their unemployment to runs out.
If they only knew the answer was at their finger tips.

I have seen a large increase of people looking for someone to help them make money on the web while they are laid off or between jobs.
Although Their seems to be an abundance of work for web designers and developers but at a cheaper price than before the economic downturn hit.
I still believe the web is the best possible way to stay at home and make enough money to enjoy it.

Fed is in effect devaluing the dollar, and the more money Ben prints the higher domains will go.

Economy is not booming, but ecommerce will continue to canabilize brick and mortar retail.

Premium domains with targeted type-in traffic, especially related to commerce, will go much higher.

Dollar is in essence a fiat currency, gold is soaring to all time highs despite being a metal, and stocks are way overvalued.

Over the long term, no asset class will appreciate in value at a greater clip than premium .com domain names, as none have so far in the past 10-15 years.

Ben I do believe that not only will premium domain names steadily increase in value, but will probably double in worth over the next 2 years as our economy recovers. Now Is one of the best times for domain investors to purchase TLD names at affordable prices at sites like http://www.ricklatona.com

Brick and Mortar VS Online Retail.

The horse and buggy became nearly extinct when the invention of the automobile came about.
The online retail industry may not completely decimate the brick and mortar retailers over night like the automobile did to the horse and buggy but, in the not so far future they will be nearly obsolete. More and more people everyday are shopping from the convenience of home. Quite a few large retailers are offering substantially more selections and discounts for their on line shoppers then they do for their in store shoppers. Most retailers are now realizing that the online shopping is still a huge booming industry despite the economic downturn.
The future of our economy may seem uncertain but the future of the web is still very reliable and growing rapidly every day.

Sorry I Meant to Respond to JP not Ben LOL.

hi greeting from hk good morning

v'r your loyal readers of your newsletters

re ::: your newsletter , 10th September 2009

>>>> We've already signed up two venture capitalists
>>>> to invest in the domainers
>>>> that give presentations
^
^
|
|
v'r seriously interested , could u explain more ??

any domain , 's a kind of `````````patents"""" ,
+ , better than patents ,

cheers thank ye , 2w

I have made some nice sales during the month of August and also this month,
Things are picking up for sure.

It really goes back to why we started collecting names all those years ago..
People need certain names to help their business have a fighting chance on the Net.

There is still enough people out there who recognize that they MUST have a certain domain to brand themselves with.

That coupled with the fact that running an online business is much more attractive than ever, you still have a NEED for a really good domain.

Investing in a good domain for your online brand is still key and the investment
relatively low....