McKay Taylor isn't necessarily a name you will have heard of before, but this domain investor and broker has been quietly selling millions of dollars worth of domain names thanks to his connections all over the world. He's been responsible for some enormous bulk sales since the short domain craze that gripped the industry in 2015.
In this interview, McKay (@mdtaylor) gives his opinions on the Chinese domain market, and reveals what his own clients look for in domain names. He also gives us an exclusive look at some of his brokered domain name sales, including a three-letter .COM for over a quarter of a million dollars.
NP: Can you tell us about yourself and your history within the domain industry.
McKay: I’ve been collecting domains for personal projects, as well as some other investment opportunities for over seven years now. I didn’t really get into investing more money into buying domains with the intent of reselling until two and a half years ago. I thought diversifying some capital into some more solid premium domain names was a great investment opportunity.
I loved the concept that all it took was just hearing the name of a great domain and suddenly all these ideas for fun creative marketing campaigns and business ventures would start popping into my head!
I continued into the domain investing realm, and funnily enough, I was already learning the Chinese language. I figured, given that China had become such a super power in the business world, it would be a great skill to have at my disposable for any business venture moving forward.
The Chinese domain market then started to take off and I just happened to have some great resources, connections and friendships that I had previously formed within that particular area of the market, which has been really beneficial.
NP: Since the rise in popularity of Chinese domain investments, you’ve acted as broker to a number of transactions. Can you tell us your biggest sales to date?
That’s a great question! I have been involved in quite a few high six-figure to mid seven-figure (USD) transactions within the Chinese market. A few of these transactions ranged from Chips to ultra-premium single syllable Pinyin domains. However, the majority of these high sales were bulk deals.
One sale I was involved in brokering was XED.com to the Chinese market for $270,535 USD [editor's note: this sale has been verified via an Escrow.com transaction screenshot]. Given that XED.com is neither a Chip or (to my full understanding) a single syllable Pinyin; I would have to say it was a well above average sale, at least in terms of the Chinese market price.
As far as some large non .com sales reports go, I have a couple that I brokered in the first quarter of this year that you may find interesting.
The first would be brokering just shy of seven-figures worth (USD) of 4N .co domains into the Chinese market. I'm not saying that 4N .co is “the next big thing” but there has definitely been a huge spike in demand over the course of this year.
The second would have to be handling around $350,000 USD worth of 3L .in domains for Chinese investors (both Chip and non Chip).
NP: Your contact list includes some of the most influential investors in China. What type of domain names are popular amongst your clients at the moment?
McKay: One thing people need to remember is that the majority of these Chinese investors came from the stock market. They are used to high risk, high yield returns, and have the money to treat domains in a similar fashion.
So with that said, to be honest, I have two types of predictable clients. The first clients are those who have been investing in domains for a while now, and treat domains as either “personal collectables” and/or “end user” assets (as “normal domains” should be treated).
These types of investors are looking for good deals on 2L, 3L .coms (Chips and/or single syllable pinyin) as well as rare 2N, 3N, & 4N .coms.
However, with the high price tag these domains carry, as well as the possibility that an investor will need to hold onto these assets for an extended length of time, this can really cause the “instant liquidity” of these domains to be quite low in comparison to some other types.
In the same breath I will say that these types of domains are much safer, “as long term investments”, if you’re willing to wait it out. They also drastically reduce the likeliness you will lose any money on your investment because of a small hiccup that may occur within the market.
Moving on, my next type of buyers would be those whom have recently entered from the stock market. These types of buyers are whom I would compare to your average “day trader”. The domain market to them, is nothing more than an open “unregulated” stock market. Domains they tend to target are really lacking the “end user aspect”
NP: Is .COM still the most desirable TLD amongst your clients, or do you have requests for new gTLDs and other extensions?
McKay: I would say .com, like always, is still the king. I would keep an eye on the ccTLD’s but once again I would stick to investing in things you see have “end user” potential, and are not “just hype”.
With regard to the new gTLDs, a few months ago there was some talk amongst investors about .vip and .xin. However, as of late, I have not heard anything about the new gTLDs that is specially targeted towards the Chinese market.
NP: What is your opinion on the future of the short domain name market and Chinese premium domains, and what is your advice for anyone looking to invest in Chinese premium domains in 2016?
McKay: The best advice I could give for anyone looking into invest Chinese targeted domain name would be:
NP: You’re about to launch a website called Ramped.com in September 2016. Can you describe what Ramped.com is? How can domain investors profit from using your platform?
McKay: Ramped.com is a new way to sell premium domains at auction. All the names that are submitted on the Ramped platform are actually hand-vetted in order to create a premium end user friendly marketplace. This vetting process will really help get your domain the exposure it needs for our end user buyers, and in turn keep Ramped.com free of all the clutter that we feel has started to over-saturate other platforms.
We have put together a great team with end user contacts in both the online “start-up” world, and the domain name marketing realm. We've got some really fun and creative marketing campaigns planned to increase end user awareness about the benefits and needs of a premium domain name.
One new feature we are really excited about is “Domain Lease Auctions”, targeting end users who may not have the budget to buy a premium domain yet.
Domain Lease Auctions require the seller to list their premium name with a lease reserve (this reserve would be the minimum amount the seller would be happy with leasing their domain out for per month). From there, the name goes to auction. End users who will benefit from your great premium name then have the opportunity to bid against one another, until the highest bidder wins the lease!
--
Thanks to McKay for taking part in our Expert Exchange.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
In this interview, McKay (@mdtaylor) gives his opinions on the Chinese domain market, and reveals what his own clients look for in domain names. He also gives us an exclusive look at some of his brokered domain name sales, including a three-letter .COM for over a quarter of a million dollars.
NP: Can you tell us about yourself and your history within the domain industry.
McKay: I’ve been collecting domains for personal projects, as well as some other investment opportunities for over seven years now. I didn’t really get into investing more money into buying domains with the intent of reselling until two and a half years ago. I thought diversifying some capital into some more solid premium domain names was a great investment opportunity.
I loved the concept that all it took was just hearing the name of a great domain and suddenly all these ideas for fun creative marketing campaigns and business ventures would start popping into my head!
I continued into the domain investing realm, and funnily enough, I was already learning the Chinese language. I figured, given that China had become such a super power in the business world, it would be a great skill to have at my disposable for any business venture moving forward.
The Chinese domain market then started to take off and I just happened to have some great resources, connections and friendships that I had previously formed within that particular area of the market, which has been really beneficial.
NP: Since the rise in popularity of Chinese domain investments, you’ve acted as broker to a number of transactions. Can you tell us your biggest sales to date?
That’s a great question! I have been involved in quite a few high six-figure to mid seven-figure (USD) transactions within the Chinese market. A few of these transactions ranged from Chips to ultra-premium single syllable Pinyin domains. However, the majority of these high sales were bulk deals.
One sale I was involved in brokering was XED.com to the Chinese market for $270,535 USD [editor's note: this sale has been verified via an Escrow.com transaction screenshot]. Given that XED.com is neither a Chip or (to my full understanding) a single syllable Pinyin; I would have to say it was a well above average sale, at least in terms of the Chinese market price.
As far as some large non .com sales reports go, I have a couple that I brokered in the first quarter of this year that you may find interesting.
The first would be brokering just shy of seven-figures worth (USD) of 4N .co domains into the Chinese market. I'm not saying that 4N .co is “the next big thing” but there has definitely been a huge spike in demand over the course of this year.
The second would have to be handling around $350,000 USD worth of 3L .in domains for Chinese investors (both Chip and non Chip).
NP: Your contact list includes some of the most influential investors in China. What type of domain names are popular amongst your clients at the moment?
McKay: One thing people need to remember is that the majority of these Chinese investors came from the stock market. They are used to high risk, high yield returns, and have the money to treat domains in a similar fashion.
So with that said, to be honest, I have two types of predictable clients. The first clients are those who have been investing in domains for a while now, and treat domains as either “personal collectables” and/or “end user” assets (as “normal domains” should be treated).
These types of investors are looking for good deals on 2L, 3L .coms (Chips and/or single syllable pinyin) as well as rare 2N, 3N, & 4N .coms.
However, with the high price tag these domains carry, as well as the possibility that an investor will need to hold onto these assets for an extended length of time, this can really cause the “instant liquidity” of these domains to be quite low in comparison to some other types.
In the same breath I will say that these types of domains are much safer, “as long term investments”, if you’re willing to wait it out. They also drastically reduce the likeliness you will lose any money on your investment because of a small hiccup that may occur within the market.
Moving on, my next type of buyers would be those whom have recently entered from the stock market. These types of buyers are whom I would compare to your average “day trader”. The domain market to them, is nothing more than an open “unregulated” stock market. Domains they tend to target are really lacking the “end user aspect”
NP: Is .COM still the most desirable TLD amongst your clients, or do you have requests for new gTLDs and other extensions?
McKay: I would say .com, like always, is still the king. I would keep an eye on the ccTLD’s but once again I would stick to investing in things you see have “end user” potential, and are not “just hype”.
With regard to the new gTLDs, a few months ago there was some talk amongst investors about .vip and .xin. However, as of late, I have not heard anything about the new gTLDs that is specially targeted towards the Chinese market.
NP: What is your opinion on the future of the short domain name market and Chinese premium domains, and what is your advice for anyone looking to invest in Chinese premium domains in 2016?
McKay: The best advice I could give for anyone looking into invest Chinese targeted domain name would be:
- Learn as much as you can about “why” some “Chip” domains are better than others. Get a basic understanding of how pinyin works in relation to Chinese characters, and then discover how that can be used to invest in domains that may actually have “end user use” within China.
- Domains that are single-syllable pinyin are, in my opinion, great buys and safe investments. I say this for two reasons:
- The first is a single-syllable pinyin can literally be hundreds of keywords. (Let’s use the pinyin syllable “Bao” for example). Bao can mean:
- Bāo 包 “package”
- Bào 报 “newspaper”
- Bǎo 宝 “treasure/jewel”, and so forth.
If you own a generic single-syllable “pinyin” because of how pinyin converts to characters, not only can you own one “great keyword” but that one domain could mean up to hundreds of great keywords.
- The other reason for suggesting single pinyin domains as a great buy for new time Chinese market investors, is the fact that (not only do single-syllable piyins happen to have multiple meanings), but pretty much all Chinese “last name” or “family names” are single syllable pinyins.
NP: You’re about to launch a website called Ramped.com in September 2016. Can you describe what Ramped.com is? How can domain investors profit from using your platform?
McKay: Ramped.com is a new way to sell premium domains at auction. All the names that are submitted on the Ramped platform are actually hand-vetted in order to create a premium end user friendly marketplace. This vetting process will really help get your domain the exposure it needs for our end user buyers, and in turn keep Ramped.com free of all the clutter that we feel has started to over-saturate other platforms.
We have put together a great team with end user contacts in both the online “start-up” world, and the domain name marketing realm. We've got some really fun and creative marketing campaigns planned to increase end user awareness about the benefits and needs of a premium domain name.
One new feature we are really excited about is “Domain Lease Auctions”, targeting end users who may not have the budget to buy a premium domain yet.
Domain Lease Auctions require the seller to list their premium name with a lease reserve (this reserve would be the minimum amount the seller would be happy with leasing their domain out for per month). From there, the name goes to auction. End users who will benefit from your great premium name then have the opportunity to bid against one another, until the highest bidder wins the lease!
--
Thanks to McKay for taking part in our Expert Exchange.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
