Morning Folks!!
Grab a cup of coffee, this may take a few minutes.
Wouldn't be great if we all got along? Based on the past, that is unlikely to happen so let's admit it and then define it and then deal with it. Keep reading. I will do all three.
As time goes on, more and more LEGITIMATE and SMART domain investors and others in the business, see the BS of the Peanut Gallery. But sometimes the gallery deserves an answer. Sometimes, however, they deserve what they get when the truth is revealed.
Guess which type of post this one is? Are we having fun yet? Did you grap that coffee? Now grab a napkin for the times you may spit up laughing and agreeing or even if you are getting mad as hell and screaming at your screen, you will still need that napkin.
I have been criticized, damned and harangued and sometimes even worse, for everything that we create and accomplish at T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Every change that we make is accompanied by a chorus of complainers. Every decision we make. Anytime you just mention the words, T.R.A.F.F.I.C., or Rick Schwartz, you know that the morons won't be far behind spewing the garbage and hate of the day. I learned how to handle these folks from guys like Jeter and Jobs. So let's cut the cord.
You know who they are, because it is almost always the same naysayers and guys with pseudonyms and aliases to protect their identity. Why don't the 'Ghosts' post under their real names? Because deep down inside, they know they are Morons just trying to stir the pot and adding something nasty to the stew. The more they fail the more moronic they get. Their worst offense is that they drown out legitimate discussion on each and every issue. They slow progress.
Nearly 100% of the complainers have one thing in common. They have never gone to T.R.A.F.F.I.C. to begin with or they have an agenda. They are not the professionals in the Domain Industry, our customers. We would like SOME of them to be, but not most. So let’s review what they complain about and why they are irrelevant.
Some are upset because they don’t go to the show and we have eliminated online bidding. But that’s too bad. We have a well-thought-out reason to do away with online bidding that I have articulated during the year. We still have phones, so if you are LEGITIMATE, you can still bid. So what is the takeaway? In my little pea brain, I believe that SOME of those who complain could easily be the ones who abuse the system the most.
Let me illustrate how silly the complaint is since there is still a way to bid that just makes sure you are LEGITIMATE. I would liken this to folks complaining about us not using a calculator to add up all the sales and using the old fashioned method of simple addition. That is a threat?? No, that just screws up scammers. That puts them out of business as far as T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is concerned. Anyone who is LEGITIMATE and really wants a domain name in the Auction, will find a way to locate one of those old fashioned phones.
Now what makes it laughable, is that these are the same folks who complain that we have crappy domains in the auction. But If the names are so crappy, why would they be concerned about no online bidding?? If the names are so crappy why would they be investing so much time in trying to discredit T.R.A.F.F.I.C.? Because that puts them out of business as far as T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is concerned. And as I stated in THIS POST, until folks have confidence and trust they won't be able to take the auction seriously. What we are doing is designed to accomplish that goal.
Interestingly enough, not a single seller has an issue with the way we are conducting the auction. In fact, most agree with it and are happy about it. The others are open minded enough to try something new because they already know what 'broken' looks like.
I would suggest that a STRONG T.R.A.F.F.I.C. auction could be a threat to many companies and many folks. It shouldn’t be, but some folks see everything as a threat. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is also rewriting the rules for live auctions that others will eventually be forced to follow if they want to have credibility and be taken seriously going forward.
I'm certain that I don’t have to remind everyone of the colossal glitches that have happened that have delayed and cancelled live auctions after months of promotion. Whether they were technical or maybe there were just no bidders, I guess we will never know.
But one thing is for sure; eliminating the bidding on the internet solves one problem and having 300+ of the top domainers in the world present at the live auction, solves the other. Either way it was bad not only for them, but for all of us. We are all connected.
Teams of tech's could not fix the online problems and all the selling in the world won't make an overpriced domain look attractive.
Some folks believe that if my side of the boat sinks, their side stays afloat and they will have a better life and greater success. I would love for every domain auction venue to do GREAT! To set RECORDS! To get HEADLINES about their premiere sales. That is good for all of us. By the same token, when things don't go well, that hurts all of us. Nobody intentionally fails or has something go wrong. So we should all applaud the effort.
Now let’s address the quality of the domains in the auction. This is going to be my favorite part.
Many thanks to all the Pigeon Shit Farmers giving ME advice on picking good domain names. MY reputation is on the line. All I can do is pick the VERY BEST domains available on the market at the time of the show. Once I PROVE what I MUST prove here, then it will get a little easier in the future. But I can tell you one thing for sure. The 115 domains in THIS auction are better than 99% of the Naysayers' ENTIRE COLLECTIVE portfolios by a wide margin. A guy that gets into the business TODAY, can buy every domain in the auction and be in better shape than most of them. That’s the truth.
Lastly….the ONLY FOLKS I am accountable to are the Buyers, Sellers and Attendees. PERIOD! THOSE FOLKS AND ONLY THOSE FOLKS! And guess what? Not a single one of them has had anything negative to say. Not a one!! Want to know why?? Not because they necessarily agree with me. That ain't it. It's because they know that I am trying to do something very big. They know that I am fighting against the norm. They know the “Norm” is broken. They know that there are shill bidders driving up prices. They know some have been caught and many more are still in operation. They know there is so much abuse that they know they think twice and more before they bid. They know whatever is going on a lot of feathers are being ruffled and we are doing the ruffling.
They also know (or hope) that I might fail. But that's not likely! We all know that it may or may not work. And if not, I'll just keep fixing it and tweaking it until we get it right. They root against everything that I do, and I love cramming it up their collective asses when I achieve my goal in the face of their negativity that I use for FUEL. Not that I need any more fuel or the desire to put up with needless shit from morons and trolls that sit in the bleachers but have yet to step on the playing field.
It’s in the collective best interest of the entire industry and our futures that we have a good auction. I have done what I can to insure that this will be the outcome. We have 25 domains at NO Reserve. We have 25 more domains under priced. We have 12 domains from .xxx that will be exciting as hell to watch develop. So, I will say with a fair amount of certainty that you will see a minimum of 40%-50% of the domains sold on Tuesday, October 18th.
Lastly, let me thank the sellers personally for having confidence in me and what I am trying to do. You guys have set the price. Many of you have paid for a Guaranteed Placement because you were sick of being told “No” or it was too much money or whatever. YOU took control and I believe the market will reward you. You are actively courting end users and sending out Press Releases. You understand that I can't do it alone. Your reward is that you take control and then you get a second reward by paying a substantially lower commission fee.
This is the reason why this will be so successful. I can give a date and time certain with a credible and qualified audience at a credible venue with tight controls and as much transparency as any live auction has had.
This is what I can promise. This will be the single most exciting live domain auction that you have seen. I have sat in the audience for each and every live auction. I know why folks fall asleep; why they leave early; why they don’t pay attention. Wthin the first few minutes EVERY person in that room is going to know, understand and watch something unfold that they are going to love. And to show you how much confidence I have in the outcome, the next session following the auction is “Meeting of the Chiefs” and the #1 subject will be the auction, the results, the good, the bad, the ugly.
So I ask you to reserve your judgment for another week. That is the only difference between “Fair Minded People” and “Agenda driven people” and their know-nothing followers. That's the 1 over 2 in this equation. Fair minded people vs. all the bullshit. I am the one at the plate and if I strike out, we all strike out. If I hit a home run, we all hit a home run.
That's all I have to say on the subject until 2PM Tuesday October 18th. I am asking you to root for OUR COLLECTIVE SUCCESS! Those who root against us can only be Morons, Trolls and Blah, Blah, Blah! The rest of the industry should note who they are. They add nothing to the industry. They perpetuate the negative stereotype of domainers as cybersquatters and those who yell the loudest are most often anonymous and if THEY were held up to public scrutiny like they try to do me, they would not last the day before becoming 'Personna non Gratta' to most of you who read this.
And when the curtain of anonymity comes off of them, they blame me. That's coming soon. Exposed! Tail between the Legs, take a hike. I don't mince words or play games. Life is too short for those who waste your time and energy.
I just do what I say. I do what I promise. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it does not. All I know is I have done my very best to make this work. The rest is up to the market and as you know, I do trust the market. Good luck to all the buyers, sellers and bidders!
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
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Tony
Rick, regarding the quality of domains at auction, just let the marketplace determine if you made the right selections. There is no need to beat your chest about it. It won’t change reality.
Craig
I see crappy domains listed as”sold” on the reports every week…I mean domains with no apparent commercial value.
Maybe I’m missing something, but how would you develop some of these turkeys, and who buys them anyway?
Don’t sweat the small stuff Rick, at the very least your venue
helps keep the resale market alive and brings domainers together.
Maybe next year schedule a couple weeks later to allow snowbird domainers easier access…..Good luck
dcmike77
Amen brother!
Kevin Davis
I don’t understand why there are so many haters in the domain biz.I like what you’re doing Rick and we are all on an endless learning curve in this business.I say F The haters. They are all so full of shit, their eyes are brown!I am looking forward to watching the auction and can’t wait to attend in person soon.Have a good time all of the time. Thats my motto.Cheers.Kevin Davis
Homero A. Gonzalez
Rick: Great post. Haters are irrelevant and more irrelevant each day they continue hating. Traffic will continue to be successful for many years to come, and the new auction format will be a hit. As per the domains in the auction, there are very good ones, and a great selection. It shows that a great deal of work and dedication is behind everything you and Howard Neu do. I am rooting for your success and for the success of all the participants in your auctions. I propose a toast to the innovators, the risk takers and the No Bullshit personalities that push the domain industry forward. Cheers and Good Luck. Haters, take a hike!
DomainDon
Thanks Rick;
Great post, I looked over the list, It’s a great mix and should make for a fun and exciting auction. Very little should be left on the table like other auctions lately!
I’m still bummed, Neustar took away my PigeonShit.US. I guess”shit” is on their naughty list. A tip of the hat to PigeonShit.CO
As a side note. Thanks for the new term. Just hand registered; PigeonShitFarmer.com and PigeonShitFarmers.com Hope that brings a smile to your face.
A BIG Thank You Rick for all you do for us Domainers!
Jason Thompson
I see the term hater being repeated. In my eyes haters are enemies. Those are the individuals you keep the closest to you because they are easier to read then those that are friends. Regardless of this auction, the fact that you have such a large group of enemies means that you are successful. If people didn’t scrutinize your every move then you wouldn’t be the”Domain King”.
Spend less time giving these individuals life and more time continuing down the road of success.
EmergingDomains
@ Rick said:” And to show you how much confidence I have in the outcome, the next session following the auction is “Meeting of the Chiefs” and the #1 subject will be the auction, the results, the good, the bad, the ugly.”
THAT would be stupendous to watch live, whatever the outcome. You’re going to broadcast the auction live, how about the analysis? It would remove the elitism veneer.
LS Morgan
I don’t understand why any industry participant would be rooting against the success of a premier industry event. The fact remains, every good domain name that sells for six or seven figures benefits everyone who owns a good domain name.
LS Morgan
Oh, and another thing…
I’m seriously considering attending a domain industry event in the next year or two. Always kind of said I never would, but I’m thinking it might not be a bad idea for a few different reasons.
Is there any way you guys @ TRAFFIC can develop some teaser video content, so prospective attendees can have at least a rough idea of what they’re in for? Like, 10 or 20 second clips from the seminars, what the after parties look like, etc?
Wouldn’t take much to make, but would be a pretty powerful marketing tool for those thinking about attending the convention.
EmergingDomains
@ LS Morgan, Look! A nice collage of photos from venue: http://targetedtraffic.com/auction/auction_stream.php
LS Morgan
@ EmergingDomains
Pictures of people shaking hands, drinking Mai Tais and standing on balconies doesn’t tell me if I want to spend a couple grand at Industry Event A versus Industry Event B.
Meyer
“Some folks believe that if my side of the boat sinks, their side stays afloat and they will have a better life and greater success”
I have not heard that analogy before.
Great point.
Philip
Trying to post Again: My interest is in seeing if the TL Domainers are purchasing and if so what they buy for future investment or short term income streams. The direction shows faith in the future & what the TL Domainers consider to be a long term TDL investment.
EmergingDomains
@ LS Morgan, Would 10-20-second videos represent? Here is Ron Jackson’s excellent recap of TRAFFIC 2010:
http://dnjournal.com/events/2010/traffic-miami-review-page1.htm
http://dnjournal.com/events/2010/traffic-miami-review-page2.htm
http://dnjournal.com/events/2010/traffic-miami-review-page3.htm
It’s one of the two major domainer get-together parties. In February it’s on the west coast, in October it’s on the east coast. It is said, many deals get done and visiting and partying outside the scheduled events.
EmergingDomains
@ Rick, Would you address what made you change your mind on the sponsors? I thought this would be the first-ever sponsor-free domainer event.
owen frager
Rick- time to change up your profile shot her. There was such a more”upgraded” photo of you in a black jacket with a new hair style less fur and with the Ocean behind you on FB- crop and install
LS Morgan
@ EmergingDomains
Thanks for the links, but you don’t get what I’m saying. As much as I enjoy reading Ron Jackson’s website, I have limited interest in basing my decision on narratives. A nice, 4-5 minute video showing 15-30 second clips of the various domain conferences and the functions they offer would be a strong selling point to someone like me.
What I need to be sure of is that I don’t waste my time attending a conference that offers a bunch of 101 Level marketing and development stuff that may be hugely informative and useful to the domainer crowd, but doesn’t mean shit to me. So, maybe TRAFFIC is for me and Domainfest isn’t, or vice versa. It’s really hard to see through the smoke, since there’s just so much bluster and bullshit about the conferences.
LS Morgan
PS- here’s a rough example of what I’m talking about…
http://www.namm.org/thenammshow/2011
You get a really good idea of what namm is all about with that video. Pretty much every big-boy conference has similar marketing tools to help out prospective attendees. Just a suggestion to Rick. They cost next to nothing to produce and hugely expand your reach.
Mr T
I’ve always liked your attitude and honesty Rick, every word you say comes straight from your heart.
Personally I’ve never wasted a calorie on the morons trying to tell me it can’t be done. Think big, work hard and don’t get distracted by all the”wannabe noise”, that’s a great way to success.
Unfortunately, more success = more haters, but as long as the mute button is active, ALL the haters/nay-sayers can scream, jump and cry as much as they want. In the end they’re just jealous anyway, and that’s not your problem!
Ian
The difference is that Rick walks the walk. Anyone can talk. Its that simple. Do however believe that the auction format is best suited to the 10k domain range, unlikely to get a decent number of serious bidders for the top end to have a proper auction, better off having a proxy letter bid auction that lasts months etc.
Bird of Prey
I have found TRAFFIC to be great resource for meeting people and networking who are big into parking their domains. Not much talk about development at the panels. Rick may be focusing more on Development this time..I am not sure as this is the first one I have missed in a LONG time. I have been to about 6 TRAFFICS and I found them very useful for my purpose at the time (domain portfolio management via parking strategies). Go to one to cut your teeth and judge for yourself. I am a developer so my goals have changed over the years. The conferences I have found useful are Domainfest Global, Affiliate Summit (east and West), SES and a few invitation only private developer meetings
John
Rick
Congratulations on what appears to be a Great Show from all the DNJournal posts
Looks like a couple of the ones the securities industry has yearly
It takes time and money to put on these types of shows and it’s great for the domain industry. Hope you guys knock it out of the park.
If there are critics they should try doing one themselves.
J.R.
Correct! And there are no”Crappy Domains”, no”Overpriced” and no”Underpriced” domains. Value is just what some people may believe, based upon whatever selection of information. There is no such a thing as Fair Market Price. Why would somebody sell a domain to one person for a lesser price because somebody else says the domain isn’t worth that much? The domain appraising industry works against the domain trading industry. Let buyers and sellers fix things between them, and all others mind their own business.
EmergingDomains
Don King made an interesting analogy between the early days of cable tv, which he helped get off the ground with his boxing shows, and the skinflint tiny percentage Google/Yahoo pays to domainers for bringing traffic. He said he was paid a pittance, and the answer is to develop one’s own distrubution channels, and contact advertisers directly.
Plus, it was a moment of high-charged drama when Dr. Chris Hartnett said,”he knows who the thief is and startled the crowd by telling them that person was in the conference room” about his domain theft incident, during the Emergency Security Session, featuring famous Albert Angel – I would have liked to be there! Ron Jackson does a nice recap.
LS Morgan
@ BirdofPrey-
Thanks for the thoughtful reply. I’m seriously considering it.
Personally, I’m neutral on the internet persona of Rick Schwartz himself (there are times he’s publicly done stuff I find distasteful and I’ve always put in my .02) but some ankle nippers are being hugely unfair to what he’s trying to do with TRAFFIC. By all accounts, it’s a very well run event.
My interest in parking is 0%, but there are some driving factors behind parking that are very relevant to what I do. There’s a lot to be learned from people who make a ton of money parking their domains.
Based on your experience, how open are the more successful attendees with their time, as far as allowing someone to buy them a single malt and pick their brain for a few minutes?
RAYY.co
@Jason,
“…you have such a large group of enemies means that you are successful…”
Many people hate you because they are JEALOUS of your big success…Domain King!
LS Morgan
I see they did put together such a video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/TargetedTraffic
Pretty good.
jane
Hey Rick,
You just spent more time on your haters than they do on you.
Tasha Kidd
I hope you have a great auction, Rick and Howard, and that all the attendees have a great show!
Jason Thompson
I watched the auction today and was impressed by some of the deals. Really wish I could of placed a few bids since I was here at work. Its a little tough to pick up the phone when your handling other things.
iphone psd
That’s also explained why media never criticize Steven Elop, the terroist of nokia investors. and why media is full of hatred of symbian and meego
http://www.appdesignify.com
Labrador
There’s a lot of that going around. I find it amusing no”pundit” is mentioning the growing number of Democrat House incumbents who are planning to be washing their hair during Obama’s Second Immaculation being a clear sign the Chicago politburo has already denied funding to numerous Congressional campaigns. The corollary is the fact the candidates have no fear of retribution during Obama Act II cause they know damned well there ain’t gonna be one.