I remember a day back in the late 90s when I advised my then-boss -- hey we've got to buy as many domain names as possible!!! There was a sense of a landgrab. Rush to get your share before somebody else snakes them away from you.

Boy have things changed. These days I get approached by at least a domain-name-owner every week asking, "Hey wanna buy some names?" Even though the names they have to sell are related to our business, we never buy them anymore because we're all about building one focused brand now, instead of zillions. (Hey, it's hard enough to build one, let alone zillions.)

If you are enticed by a domain name offer -- for example reader Barry Kluger just wrote in that he's selling some useful B2B domain names such as HighTechPortal.com and FarmPortal.com (see a complete list here) -- ask how much traffic the URL is currently getting just from folks typing it in to see what's there. Then adjust your bid accordingly.