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Ask HN: How many unused domain names do you have?

2 points by notadev ↗ HN
I received an e-mail that one of my domains was set to expire. When I logged in to my registrar to see which one, I was shocked to see just how many great ideas I never executed in the form of parked domain names. I have 22 domains. One for family email, a couple of my kids' names, but the rest are just collecting annual fees. Anyone else have a similar problem?

6 comments

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tony-allan
I've still got five even after letting most expire over the years. Turns out that it is quite easy to have a great idea and devote just enough energy to it to register the domain name.

It is very easy to delude yourself that the idea is so great that dozens of other people are just about to hit submit and take the name (and idea) away from you.

I get as far as learning some new technology, which is great, but not far enough to get to a useful MVP.

There is also a lot of housekeeping to sort out for a real service, which is a time and sometimes cost issue for something that must be bootstrapped.

The underlying issue is that many worthwhile ideas are hard and need solid effort and commitment to execute. Registering a domain name does get you very far.

sideproject
I have about 50 and have the same problem. So I scratched my itch.

https://newsy.co

Hope you find it useful. Let me know if you have any questions. We are still in beta.

enonevets
Buttons are somewhat broken on mobile, just FYI.
Dicey84
99% of the ones I own are unused. The 1% is for email.
grizzles
About 25-50 at any given moment. I buy for myself but seem to have a good branding sense because I often get acquisition inquiries.