Deep South Ventures
deepsouthventures.com · Personal blog · on HN since 2017
Deep South Ventures is a small business owner's blog about running side businesses, expired domain names, onions, and hot tubs.
What HN saysHN commenters link the 'I Sell Onions on the Internet' posts as a favorite example of a niche business, and discuss buying expired domains.
35HN people shared it
23linked it in comments
37stories submitted
4.9Kstory points
4 months agolast shared
2017people per year2026
Most-shared posts
- 1I Sell Onions on the Internet17 people · 3.3K points · first shared 2019 · 435 comments on HN
- 2Want to build a side business? buy a great domain name9 people · 546 points · first shared 2017 · 217 comments on HN
- 3Part two, I sell onions on the Internet4 people · 8 points · first shared 2021 · discussion on HN
- 4Window Shopping for Expired Domain Names3 people · 2 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 5Slow Down and Wander3 people · 2 points · first shared 2017 · discussion on HN
- 6How on earth I became an entrepreneur2 people · 222 points · first shared 2022 · 85 comments on HN
- 7Building things that do [ just one thing ]2 people · 5 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 8I don't spin plates; I manage hot tubs (2023)2 people · 3 points · first shared 2023 · discussion on HN
- 9Give Me Grunt Work2 people · 3 points · first shared 2020 · discussion on HN
- 10Homepage2 people · first shared 2020
- 11Being laid off and unplanned entrepreneurship1 people · 396 points · first shared 2024 · 162 comments on HN
- 12Must ride mule to and from work location1 people · 254 points · first shared 2020 · 55 comments on HN
- 13The dude that built DudeRanch.com1 people · 153 points · first shared 2019 · 39 comments on HN
- 14Clearing the Cache of My Life1 people · 5 points · first shared 2025 · discussion on HN
- 15Now. That's what's next1 people · 2 points · first shared 2024 · discussion on HN
What HN people wrote when they linked it
pinkmuffinere · 2025-12-26
There is also a follow up article: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/part-two-i-sell-onions-on-the-intern…
eightturn · 2025-12-25
What mainly caused it: I kept getting laid off, and that nonsense infuriated me. So I was actively trying to find ways to save myself. Great domains, via the expiry marketplace, slowly became an unfair advantage I could lean into and compete with larger companies, just because I owned this unique .com domain. Hope that makes sense. I've written a few essays on my experience being laid off, if you're bored and wanna read: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/how-on-earth/ ; https://www.deepsouthventures.com/on-being-laid-off-unplanned-entrepre…
captainnemo229 · 2025-01-03
I agree with you, but I also love when people intentionally go the other way and come up with something cool. Like that Vidalia Onions guy.[0]
[0]: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
senkora · 2024-06-17
Oh wow. I'd read that post before but didn't make the connection to this one. Well worth a read as well:
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
zombielinux · 2023-09-26
There is actually a distinction.
I raise hair sheep (Katahdin/Barbados crosses) , which produce no useful (that I've seen) wool. But are fantastic in terms of meat.
I'm starting to see a market for them in the specialty realm (beyond halal/kosher/immigrant markets)
I'm thinking I'll need to eventually set up something like this: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
personjerry · 2022-11-14
I love the internet for this kind of content. I feel a breath of fresh air with this kind of niche piece.
It reminds me of that guy that sells onions on the internet: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
fotta · 2021-09-16
Was it this[0] guy? Previously discussed on HN[1][2].
[0] https://www.deepsouthventures.com
[1] https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
[2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19728132
albertshin · 2020-09-21
but does this really matter in a world where people basically Google every business anyways to get to the homepage?
I feel like everyone around me will Google whenever they hear about a cool app, website, store, product etc.
or we're charting online or talking on Zoom and they'll just send me the link directly
I'm not sure what the purpose of a URL is anymore... unless you're this guy [1]
[1]: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/
tbran · 2020-06-30
Good stuff. This author builds businesses off kind of serendipitous domain name purchases.
Find a domain, build something useful on it, grind for a while, you have a business. He also wrote:
I Sell Onions on the Internet [0] - He buys the vidaliaonions.com domain and works with local onion farmers to sell them. Has been linked at least a couple times on HN.
Want to build a side business? Just buy a great Domain Name [1] - I like this idea because it can give you a steady stream of ideas, puts some constraints on you, and you'll probably be a lot more committed if you plunk down a few hundred or thousand dollars for a domain!
[0]: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
[1]: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/build-a-side-business/
virtuexru · 2019-04-23
Loved this story. Your writing style is succinct & speaks to the heart. You really should write more essays if possible (found only 4 here: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/essays).
- A captivated reader
sanjayts · 2019-04-23
Great read! The blog has another post which I found personally interesting -- Slow Down & Wander [1]
[1] https://www.deepsouthventures.com/slow-down-wander/
bizzletk · 2026-06-25
I've always enjoyed the "I sell onions on the internet" story:
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
sogen · 2025-12-26
Here he writes about where to find domain names:
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/window-shopping-expired-domain-names…
xivzgrev · 2025-02-22
Rock on man. The contrarian attitude reminds me of the “I Sell Onions on the Internet” guy
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
bradrn · 2022-03-15
Note that this is the same person from https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/.
(HN discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=19728132)
cushychicken · 2021-08-08
If you believe Peter Askew's writing, then yes, I do believe domain squatting is still a profitable venture.
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/build-a-side-business/
wlesieutre · 2020-09-21
It was an expired domain picked up at auction, but the related story of VidaliaOnions.com:
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
lethologica · 2020-07-02
Sounds like this article. https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
Which seems to be successful.
alexpotato · 2020-05-19
I think this is a much better article about this from the same guy: https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
erikig · 2019-09-24
I agree. I just finished reading this guide on how to build a profitable side business and it is as practical as it is - eye-opening.
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/build-a-side-business/
gitgud · 2019-08-18
Reminds me of the article [1] "I sell onions on the internet"... There's a market for everything I guess...
[1] https://www.deepsouthventures.com/i-sell-onions-on-the-internet/
dmix · 2019-04-23
Oh true. The author was also promoting domain name driven businesses [1] so I was mostly replying to that idea and other thoughts I had to sound off on the topic :p
https://www.deepsouthventures.com/build-a-side-business/