Domain name Punchbowl.com sold by legendary “Domain King”
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Purchase and acquisition transaction of Punchbowl.com
between Punchbowl Software Inc. and “Domain King” Rick Schwartz
Framingham, Mass., July 19, 2010 –Punchbowl Software, Inc. today announced the
acquisition of the web domain Punchbowl.com from legendary domainer Rick
Schwartz. Punchbowl Software Inc. develops web applications for start to finish
party planning. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
With Punchbowl.com, the
company plans to re-launch the domain as a leading consumer site for party and
event planning. With new technology and a new look, the party planning site
will be ready to launch in time for the holiday season of 2010. At
Punchbowl.com, consumers will be able to plan a party from start to finish. The service will offer unique features including the innovative “Date Decider”
which enables users to find the best calendar date for their event, beautiful
Save the Dates and digital invitations, photo and video sharing after the event
and other services that will help consumers throw an unforgettable celebration.
“A punchbowl is the center
of any great party,” said Matt Douglas, CEO, Punchbowl Software. “The acquisition of Punchbowl.com will allow us reach new customers and expand our
growing customer base.”
Rick Schwartz, aka the “Domain
King,” is one of the early domain pioneers. Domains he has sold include
iReport.com to CNN for $750,000, Candy.com to G&J Holdings, LLC for $3
million plus dividends, and Men.com for $1.3 million back in 2004.
“During my domain career,
I’ve sought prime, recognizable domain names that were easy to spell, easy to
remember and could be developed into a major brand in their respective
industry” said Rick Schwartz. “I
was the first to see the intrinsic value in Punchbowl.com and knew that it
could be developed into a huge brand in the social expressions and celebrations
industry. I’m thrilled that Punchbowl Software will now develop the domain to
its full potential.”
The party planning industry
is ripe for a new entrant to provide a service for party hosts. Whether it’s a
mom planning a birthday party for her five year old daughter, a friend planning
a baby shower, a family planning their annual reunion, or the company Christmas
party, everyone has multiple reasons to plan a party every year. As the
industry moves from traditional offline sources to online, the market will
consolidate. A new brand will emerge – Punchbowl.com – that will define this
new industry.
Stay tuned for frequent
updates and milestones for the new Punchbowl.com. While you can visit the Web
site in its current appearance, the complete re-launch and re-branding will not
be official until sometime this fall.
“Working with Rick Schwartz
on this domain name acquisition has demonstrated to me that he’s not only a
visionary in the domain industry, but he’s a savvy businessman who understands
how to extract the most value from the Internet” said Matt Douglas, CEO,
Punchbowl Software. “I couldn’t be
happier to be the new owner of Punchbowl.com.”
About eRealEstate.com
Rick
Schwartz, aka “Domain King” and “Webfather,” is the CEO, President and
Cofounder of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. found at TargetedTraffic.com-- the premiere domain
conference for the domain industry. It is both the oldest and largest and
attracts over 500 of the top professionals in the industry in what was a by
invitation only event until 2009 and now open to all. As one of the early
domain pioneers dating back to 1995, Rick has a knack for predicting big trends
and getting it right. He may have been the first to recognize the value of
“type in” traffic which is now commonly referred to as “direct navigation” --
the most potent and targeted traffic on the net. Rick has a prime portfolio of some
7000 one and two word domains, and is considered by many to be among the
leading experts on domain names, traffic, Web site flow and valuation. www.eRealestate.com & www.RicksBlog.com
Media
Contact:
Matt
Douglas
Punchbowl
Software Inc.
info@punchbowlsoftware.com
650
814 3393
andy
Congrats !!!
hmm let us know the details lol
ok its non-disclosure but can’t you give us a clue Rick?
Don Robinson
I am surprised that you did not have a long hour webcast announcing the big news, being that you are the King and all. You are to domaining as LBJ is to NBA both good and bad
Rick Schwartz
I did not issue or even write the press release. But I will say this was one of the last sticking points. The last thing to go into the contract. Buyers like to keep things close to the vest. But that is in conflict with what I want to do and how I build my sales up both for me personally and the industry as I point to one deal after another. Each deal is a stepping stone and at the same time lays a foundation and hits new milestones along the way. A rising tide for all.
I really wish all domainers would fight for the public disclosure of sales especially to end users. It is not an easy fight. As you can see in this one I can’t post the details but we can all point to this sale as more evidence as to the importance of a great domain name.
howard
CONGRATS PARTNER – Another great sale and great deal
event hire
congrats Rick, but without a price it’s not a recordable sale
i understand they wanted a non-disclosure though
fair to assume it’s six figs, but low, medium or high is the question……….
Mark Fulton
I’m sure when looking into your glass punchbowl this software company is exactly the end user you had envisioned, huh? :) Congrats.
Gazzip
Pitty we don’t get to hear how much you sold it for this time but its understandable that some buyers don’t want to divulge that info.
Congrats…keep on cruising…or trailblazing :)
Einstein
Legendary? Come on dude, slow down on the self-promotion, it’s sounding more and more ridiculous. If you had property.com maybe, but punchbowl.com? Can’t be that much money in it
Graham
Rick was just quoting the article re: legendary. Talk about Einstein!
The price is just a number, same press release!
Good name for party planning, I used to program scheduling software e.g. dentist booking, and had an eye for ClockWise.com
Rob Chandler
Congratulations Rick! Thanks for educating us fellow domainers on the importance and benefits or generic .com domains. I have owned Tortillas.com for over 10 years now and think I am finally ready to sell it to the right investor or end-user. It is not only the best possible domain for the $6 billion a year tortilla industry but because of its national and international appeal and recognitions will also be great for most any other product or service industry wanting to make their mark internationally online!
Congrats again Rick and thanks again for your keeping us domainers informed and educated!
rob
punchbowl.com
is not worth much unless they have a huge
budget to spend marketing the name, and even
then people aren’t going to instantly relate
punchbowl.com to a party unless they have heard it
advertised multiple times with the message,
im pretty sure they paid waaayy too much for it
why dont you build an online business? that would be impressive
rob
and its stickiness for parties is not much better than what you could hand register
these people are wood ducks when it comes to domains
rob
punchbowls.com $3000 or something at godaddy
rob
sorry Rick but if you eally wanted to disclose the price they would have backed down on the disclosure clause
rob
but why push the point if theyre prepared to give you everything else you wanted lol
rob
celerystick.com $3400 at godaddy
really how much difference is there between the above domain examples
and punchbowl.com for a party business?
Graham
This is exactly what Rick has been talking about again and again.
CeleryStick.com – the center of the junk pile
I think Rick spiked the Punchbowl.com the way people are talking round ere!
Mr. Deleted
He sold it to the company that has”MyPunchbowl.com”, so since they already have a site at that domain, they were probably leaking traffic to the Punchbowl.com domain, and it made sense to them to guy this one.
Stephen Douglas
Wait, I thought I was the”King Of Self Promotion”!!
That news release almost made me make a shrine to you, Rick!
Anyway, congrats!
(Now, are you going to give your BP domain name profits to charity for cleaning up the Gulf?)
steve cheatham
Way to go Rick.
Dan
A complimentary match. Way to go!
The undisclosed sale is understandable since most buyers insist on it. But with your proven past record I’m sure it wasn’t cheap.
Congrats!
john
Im guessing 10k for the name?
rob
celerystick.com has as much to do with a party as punchbowl.com does, and its just as marketable.
if you think the difference is worth paying the extra $$$ for plus equity then go for it, join the list of bad deals
rob
and thats not a form of cyber squatting?
rob
he has sold silver as gold for years
rob
i could understand them paying 10k, anything more and they shouldve changed their name years ago
rob
granted punchbowl is better than celerystick for a party website, but if the difference means $$$ + equity + major anouncement + legendary = bad deal
Graham
MyPunchBowl.com Alexa 35,000
Roughly 5,000 hits a day, they could spend $10K on a table cloth to go with it if they wanted.
And celerystick.com??? where did you get this moronic idea from it’s a vegan blog domain at most.
rob
last time i went to a party i ate a celery stick, had a beer etc its just an example, just like you drink punch from a punch bowl,
the only reason punchbowl.com has any particular value for a party website is because it is the name of a pre existing business, otherwise no-one in their righ mind would pay anything above 10k for it
there would be a number of much cheaper alternatives compared with being part of a legendary major announcement and giving away equity
rob
ill try to explain a little better this time,
did you think of a party when you saw the name punchbowl.com? Most likely not.
but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value for a party business, it just means it goes from being
a raw type in domain/search engine querie (for people searching for parties or party planning etc) to
another stage of qualification,
is it a sticky/memorable domain which will maximize your advertising dollars and
repeat traffic VS a non sticky/memorable domain?
and the answer to this is, it has value.
but at this qualification stage, there are a number of much cheaper alternatives which can do the same thing.
Meyer
Rob,
When I first saw xerox did I think of office equipment?
When I first heard starbucks did I think of coffee?
If I owned a company called Punchbowl Software, I would want to own the domain punchbowl,com.
Obviously, they could not afford to purchase software,com . :)
If they want to be a first tier website, they are not going to get there by using mypunchbowl,com.
Every promotional effort they did would bleed over to punchbowl,com .
How effective would an advertising campaign be for a fastfood restaurant that had to say –
“We are directly behind McDonald’s on Ocean Highway.”
Some people just resent any success others might have.
I congratulate Rick on this sale.
Nice going !!!
Graham
Rob wrote”there are a number of much cheaper alternatives which can do the same thing.”
Put your money where your mouth is!
What cheap alternatives?
CeleryStick.com is
a/ a really useless dumb domain
b/ 5% the searches of PunchBowl