The Rick Schwartz Domain Name and Traffic Blog: RicksBlog.com – Home of The Domain King®

Morning Again Folks!!

I just want to get these posts out before I board a plane to Europe as I go enjoy a few weeks off.

As many of you know we have had some really great speakers at TRAFFIC. From Steve Forbes to John Reese and 6 others as well. They were all much easier to select than what we needed in Silicon Valley for this particular show. We needed a nuts and bolts guy. An idea guy. A guy who has actually had a record of success and still, had some FIRE left in the belly to keep trailblazing. Enough so that he could apply himself as an outsider to the domain industry yet still had a lot of knowledge about the space to begin with. Where the hell was I going to find a guy like that??

It took me 6 months. I read bio after bio. I listened to TV, I read articles, I looked anywhere I could to find a perfect fit for a really important time. I was really about to give up. I would rather have no keynote speaker than one that would not do what we needed....or even worse....insult the intelligence of the audience.

Then just a few weeks before the show I found the right guy. Scott Klososky. I knew that Scott would not sell me any more tickets. But I also knew that anyone that attended would feel like his keynote was truly meaningful and actually walk away with incredible value. He sounded like the guy that could link multiple worlds together to show us our place from a view out side the industry but far from ignorant of it. Long story short, Scott was everything I envisioned and he pulled of what I asked him and then raised it a level or 2 by himself as he went even further. So for that....Tip of the Hat Scott Klososky and I believe our paths will not only cross again, I believe they will crisscross for years to come!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As promised, I am going to list the domains I bought at the auctions. For the last couple years I have made very few acquisitions because pricing did not fit my business model. That is no longer the case. You will see from the list below that I have a 'Sweet Spot' when it comes to pricing. I have always focused on domains under $10,000 and almost always under $5000 or very premium domains where my desire is the only limit.

Rick Latona Auction:

1. Rickshaws.com $5500
2. NetMarketers.com $1250
3. BreakfastBars.com $1300
4. AsianFlu.com $3000

Moniker Auction:

1. HotProducts.com $9000
2. ReTrain.com 4500
3. Bribes.com $3000
4. AffiliateAdvertising.com $5000
5. Wager.co.uk $5000
6. Exhibiting.com $5000

I will tell you that I 'Targeted' Hotproducts.com and Exhibiting .com before the show. I was buying those 2 domains. Period! I will also tell you that with each domain, I have an idea for a business if I ever get around to it. I bid on a few more as well. In a better economy I would have doubled my purchases as there were some real gems.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

This is the tale of two industries within one. The first sector is doing ok to good. They understand the market we are in the economy we are in and this is not their first rodeo. Income may be down on PPC but they more than make up on it with other sectors and other investments and different ways to make money with their domains.

Then there is the second sector. Don't kid yourself, they are in a world of hurt and their survival will not likely be determined by them. This IS their first rodeo so this is what they are dealing with. First, they did not see this downturn coming. The folks I talk to started preparing for this in 2007 and 2008. They are in a strong cash position and there biggest problem is deciding which opportunity is worthy of their time and money. Secondly, not only are they not in a cash position they are also highly leveraged. So they talk about 'Burn rate.' The money each month you are upside down with as you compare your income to expenses. That leads to the BIG question.....How many weeks, months or years do you have as a reserve. If you are jot in the 'Years' column, you have work to do to get there.

Those that have mediocre portfolios of huge amount of names may face some very serious problems. You equation has changed so drastically that your business model may at some point collapse. One just has to look at the chat boards out there to notice how much posting has tailed off.

A lot of this was evident at TRAFFIC. Just one look around the room and the first thing you would notice is that the age of the folks that attended averaged higher than at any previous show. The reason was evident and that was a big topic of discussion at the show. For some it is like watching a slow motion collapse.

Here is the fallout....MILLIONS of low quality domains will be dropping or changing hands as things deteriorate. MILLIONS. As I have stated for a very long time, those low quality domains are not assets, they are liabilities and the numbers over the next 12-24 months will prove it.

In my next post I will talk about the auctions at TRAFFIC. I bought more domains at the 2 auctions than any in the previous 2 years. The market was not priced for my business model lately and I made few acquisitions. That has now changed. So while the weak get weaker, the strong get stronger.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz