I didn't take the time to read through all the posts, but I think hand-regging is not considered 'investing' 'cause in typical investing, you invest in companies that are already public, successful, and listed on the stock exchanges. So when you're hand-regging, you are not 'investing' in that sense 'cause you're essentially trying to invest in 'nothing' (from a "purist's" point of view) .. nothing already exists.. in contrast to what's available in the aftermarket.. those domains already exist.. and so, there's 'something', and so from that perspective hand-regging is not investing.
Secondly, the reason it is not considered investing has to do with your time horizon. Actually, hand-regging is pure investing for those old domain names (like one word dictionary names) that sold for millions of dollars 'cause the buyers held onto them for many many years. So that's pure investing, 'cause when you invest, you typically do it for the long term (think Warren Buffet). So hand-regging is not considered investment if you plan to get rid of them (sell them) and not hold onto them for many many years so that they 'mature' and become valuable over time. Typically, hand-regged domain names are available not because they have no intrinsic value, but because the time horizon is still far away, from them being 'in the trend', or from them being 'in the now', where their immediate or practical value that everyone can see and agree on is there conspicuously for all to see. You see value in the aftermarket domain names (aged names) and 'invest' in them 'cause the time horizon for them is 'just around the corner' .. like you know according to the current market trend/demand, that they are valuable, and 'invest' in them, so that in a few months or maybe a couple years of holding onto them, a buyer will come along and buy it, 'cause the demand is there right now.. it's just a matter of finding the right buyer who will pay premium for the domain so that you profit from it, which will probably take time. So because of it taking time in that way, it is considered 'investing'... coupled with the fact that those domains are 'aged', and so they are 'investable' (the first point). Now, this definition of investing is kind of different than the typical meaning of investing in companies etc. It is investing 'cause you're just waiting for the right buyer to show up, and it takes time for that to happen. You can see the immediate value in the domain right now.. you don't need convincing, and other people would see it too, right now.. it's just a matter of finding a buyer who will pay premium for it, or more than what you bought it for, to make it worthwhile or _sustainable_ (suggests buying aftermarket domains is actually not investing, as per the normal definition).