Part 2 :

How to Determine if a Domain is Valuable?
The value of a domain is determined by several factors, including: 

length - how long is the domain; is it short, sweet and memorable? 
characters - does the domain includes any numbers or hyphens? Certain names work well with hyphens, such as science-fiction, and others do not, such as do-it-now. extension - .coms are the most valuable, with .net next, then .org. Some country domains, such as .cc or .to, are increasing in value. 
brand - is the domain or anything similar to it already being used in the industry? Is the domain likely to confuse visitors? A strong, clear domain free of ties to other sites/businesses is the most valuable. 
generic or specific - is the domain name generic, likely to appeal to a wide audience (music.com), or is it specific, and likely to only appeal to those interested in the subject/business (bodypiercing.com). 

What You Need to Know To Register a Domain
You'll need to know several things in order to register a domain on your own (i.e. without your ISP holding your hand). First, you'll need to know the primary and secondary DNS (Domain Name Server) that you'll be using. If you don't have two already in mind (yes, you'll need two DNS), most registrars provide a service in which they'll let you use their DNS when you register a domain. Some charge for this service, while others don't. You'll also need to know the IP addresss of the 2 DNS you mentioned above. 

If you intend to be the admin, technical, billing and zone contact for your domain, all you will need to know if the above DNS info. If you don't know this info, but you plan to use your web host as the host for your domain, you can use whois to look up your host's domain name, and use the DNS entries from that domain name. If your host is to be the technical or admin contacts for the domain you will be registering, you'll need to know your web host's NIC ID, which can also be obtained by looking at their whois record (or you can just give your host and call to find this information out. 

The Domain Business (Domain Sales)
Domains are not just an easy way to point folks to your site, they're a virtual real estate property now. In the last couple years, many domains have fetched some amazing prices. Here's a list of some of the more impressive sales: 

Business.Com -- $ 7.5M 
AsSeenOnTV.Com -- $ 5M 
AltaVista.Com -- $3.25M 
Wine.com -- $ 3M 
Loans.com -- $ 3M 
Autos.com -- $2.2M 
WallStreet.Com -- $ 1.03M 
Drugs.Com -- $ 823K 
Question.Com -- $ 175K 
Vote.Com -- $ 250K 
Rock.Com -- $ 1M 
University.com --$ 530K 
BlackJack.Com -- $ 460K 
eFlowers.Com -- $ 1M 
Computer.Com --$ 500K 
internet.com --$ 100K 

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