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

Morning Folks!!

If you want to know what makes one domain have great value and one domain have almost no value, you need to look no further than the Diamond Business. For years I tell folks to get the best domains they can. That would be like me telling Diamond miners to get the biggest and best diamonds.

Here is the parallel that I hope will have you understand how I see things so you too can see what I see.

A 1 carat diamond can be any price. It depends on the quality and a few factors. For this example let’s leave that part out for the moment. Let’s agree that an average 1 Carat diamond is about $5000 today. As you go up in size to 2 carats the price just does not double. It goes up much more. So by the time you get to 10 carats you are not at $50,000. You are more likely at $500,000.

The opposite holds true when going smaller. If you have 100 little diamond weighing 1/100 of a carat each,(1 point each) you would have 1 carat of diamonds. But that 1 carat ain’t worth $5000. It isn’t worth a fraction of that. Those diamonds may only be worth a few hundred dollars. They are not significant. Their value is much less. No significance.

But when you have BIG diamonds, they mean something. They have exponentially greater value. That is why I look to domains that are like raw diamonds. I am not looking for tiny insignificant things and no domainer should with all the opportunity with the GREAT domains out there.

So we can see parallels with domain names in Land, Real Estate, Oil, Gold, and Diamonds among so many others. That is why it should be easier for many than it is. The road map is already there. Understanding of the map is what holds the KEY to getting a domain name that others would desire. If nobody desires something there is no value. Simple. Selling sand in the desert just may be hard to do. But if you look at it the right way you may have the right idea just the wrong domains. You sell water in a desert.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I have seen a lot of Thanksgivings come and go since I started investing in domain names. The landscape today looks nothing like it did a decade ago and nothing like it will look like in 10 years from now.

We are the 'Homesteaders' of this era. It’s really that simple. We are in a great industry with unlimited opportunity and we are still in the first innings of a great game. Investing in domains is money in the bank if you are patient and KNOW what makes a domain have great value. Great domains are on the market and some have great prices because of the times we live in and the “C” word. Circumstance.

I would venture to say that things will bottom out next spring. But between now and next spring will be some of the best buying opportunity we have seen in years if ever. After that, the shakeout will be over and those that remain will be stronger than ever before.

Have a safe holiday!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

17 Christmas Seasons online and I am still waiting for mainstream to get it right. Whether it was eToys.com that could not figure out that when people had to put in the http:// they would lose a lot of business. You type in etoys.com and got a 404 error. GENIUS!

Where are we and where are we going? Well this Christmas season was a giant step BACKWARDS! Retailers are now forcing their own workers to work on the one holiday a year few work. Most restaurants are closed but the waiters that do work make 3X the tips they normally do. But retail?? What happened to pointing them to your website on Thanksgiving? I mean this is just desperation at the worst because their remedy just may backfire.

The one day a year that your website should be carrying the load. Sales won’t necessarily increase because of the move, just change the dates the $$$ go into the register. I think they must have been consulting the o.co guys in this flawed decision. Sure, you will hear how much business they did, but who cares?

It just shows they STILL don’t get it.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I just don't get it. Like you, I am ripping my hair out. Folks want to save the world, build schools, hire teachers and all the rest. They don't seem to care about $4 BILLION a DAY in interest. $4 BILLION a DAY. How many could you feed, clothe, educate, etc. with that $4 Billion a DAY? I just don't get it.

Never in my life have I watched a President Squander his good will. Never in my life have I seen a President basically abdicate his duties with over a year remaining in his Presidenctcy. Never in my life have I seen somebody blame everybody in sight. Never in my life have I seen a President that can't seem to lead. And when he does lead, he goes where the majority do not want to go.

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden got booed at a NASCAR event this weekend. There is a reason for that.

Don't take my word for it, just listen to some of the more responsible Democrats. Even lefies like Chris Matthews is ripping his hair out. This country is in DEEP shit. Obama is fiddling while the country goes bankrupt. There is no excuse in the world for what is going on. I can narrow it down to 2 people. Harry Reid and President Obama. The only thing good about 'Gridlock' is they can't do anymore damage. Actually they can and are. Each passing day we dig deeper into this financial hole we will likely not climb out of without great inflation.

Sorry, but even the Democrats are calling for Obama to not run and have Hillary Clinton instead. We are in perilous times and it is self induced. The train is derailed and the guy in the Whitehouse seems perfectly content.

My biggest question is why would he run again and a bigger question is why would America hire him again as their CEO when he isn't doing the job he was elected to. Leading is a job. Having ideas is a job. Harnessing the power of Americans is a job. Turning the country profitable again is a job. The money people are going towards Romney. Lots of them. Last time most supported Obama. They are abandoning him and that is a great rebuke.

Lastly, his campaign to divide people is doing quite the opposite. He can try class warfare, but that is unbecoming a leader. That is a divider not a leader.

His support of Occupy Wall Street, along with Maxine Waters and Nancy Pelosi is probably the final straw for most folks that have a job and a mortgage. But the very worst thing he does is talk down his own country at every opportunity. I would call his administration a thugocracy and I can only hope the majority is as sick as I am. I don't like these years of intimidation when you don't feel free to speak your mind for fear of retribution. I never saw that until the last 3 years.

He is an incompetent CEO and a disappointing President. Look what I wrote about him on inaguration day. Look what I wrote about the world and our enemies. I just hope the Republicans put up somebody electable. This country will not survive a president that has his heels on the throats of business. He is choking the economy with uncertainty and fear. He is strangling the lifeline of our economic engine. It may or may not survive the year. It is MATHEMATICALLY impossible to survive 5 more years of meandering. It will all come down to the vote and we will be responsible for the outcome even more than Obama.

Personally, I think there will be clarity after the 2012 election because America will speak loud and clear. There is still right and wrong. There is still a sense of 'Can do' and I think the words of Obama will be what comes back to haunt him during the months ahead. The buck stops where? With Obama you never know who he will blame next. Who he will try and shut up or who he will try and shut down. He can try and pit Americans vs Americans, but that will fail. Americans want an optimistic leader with bold ideas and the wherewith all to carry it out.

Romney would probably be the most acceptable to the broadest electorate but getting through the primaries will be no small task at a time where Republicans want a true conservative. Going to be an interesting year. Mark my words on this one no matter which side of the political spectrum you are on. But if I were a liberal, I would be going crazy pissing away $4 BILLION a day when that money could be used for the very things we will have to cut.

In 2009 I suggested we 'Give them Seattle' to satisfy the debt, today we would have to give away everything west of the Mississippi. How sad!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Evening Folks!!

eReal Estate Holdings, LLC, owner and operator of Condo.com and Houses.com, today announced the official launch of their third category-defining domain - Property.com (http://www.property.com). This latest addition extends the Company's online real estate platform into the massive global commercial real estate market.

Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/11/11/p2143743/property-com-launches-as-category-defining-portal-for-massive-commercia#ixzz1eO09gRbl

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

Not often do friend and foe alike unite in a common feeling of loss until there is a death in the domainer community. Maybe times like this will make us 'paws' for a little bit to reflect and remember what is important in life and just how short it really is. How sometimes we need to dial it back and realize we have more in common than not.

After Donna Mahoney's suggestion on Mike's blog to induct Bandit into the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Hall Of Fame, she emailed me and during that email conversation I believe I came up with a perfect and befitting alternative.

I am happy to announce that T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will present a new award in honor of Bandit Berkens. Starting in 2012 the Bandit Berkens. 'Goodwill Ambassador Award' will be presented to a deserving domainer that fits the description the best.

Only Judi Berkens and secret weapon 'Bandit' could get a NYC cop to pose this way

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I wrote this Saturday Night just minutes after we learned that Bandit had passed. Mike and Judy are obviously devestated but the support of the domainer community during tough times is always quite striking.......

Very sad night for Mike and Judy Berkens on the passing of Bandit. Known by most domainers from his appearance at many industry events. Bandit was 13.

Alina and I along with Freddy are just without words and know this is a really tough time for the Berkens.

I will remember Bandit the most as a Ladies Man as pictured below. A 'Bandit' that can tame even the toughest 'TRAFFIC Cops'

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Miami 2010

Bandit at TRAFFIC 2011 just 4 weeks ago. Still with the ladies.

Mike and Bandit with TRAFFIC Cabana Girl

Bari Meyerson's picture from October 29th 'Bandit, Mike and Judy'

Alina with Freddy and Judy with Bandit at their Birthday Party

Christmas 2010

Bandit really did steal all of our hearts.
Rick, Alina, Freddy

Morning Folks!!

Just days away from December and every year I use the month of December to do two major things. First is to look back and see what was accomplished in the past year and the next is to see what the future holds for next year. I also take the month off. It's a working vacation. My mind is going but my body is relaxing.

December was the month I got my first domain. How did that happen? Doing exactly what I just described. Using the time to think, plan and then implement. 2012 is not going to be a boring year.

It's still a bit too early to see 2012 because we have yet to get the info from Christmas 2011. That is an important piece of the puzzle. Watch the news in the next 6 weeks. I look for big deals to happen. The last days to get your ducks in a row financially speaking.

If you never take the time to STOP, you can never reassess where you are. Here is myDecember 2007 post. I took inventory then and was not to happy with how things were set up. Take a look and see if the landscape has changed.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

You read that right! Non Disclosure Clause is Bullshit. It can actually be a benefit to you. The penalty for violating a non disclosure is usually the return of the item and the money. OK. I can buy into that. Let me tell you all my secret deals and see if the buyer wants to give me back the domain for what he or she bought it for.

Get the point? It’s a paper tiger. It means nothing. It only means something during the first days of the deal. After that, meaningless and most of the non disclosure agreements can be violated with no penalty whatsoever.

Aside from that, I have only been involved with 1 non-disclosure deal and while I can never disclose, the buyer never had the broker sign the non-disclosure.

The #1 reason for non-disclosure seems to be “Embarrassment.” True. Companies are scared that others will laugh or think they overpaid. That usually goes away within days of obtaining the domain. Few ever regret buying the domain name.

So when folks want non-disclosure I say no. No! NO! and NO again! Why? Because I am trying to establish a market. The sale has more benefits to me and the domain industry than just the dollars. Look at the story and take out all my sales. Some like Men.com and iReport.com were markers in the sand. Sales like that help to build the foundation for other sales.

So go ahead. If you sold a domain too cheap and it is now worth a lot more, you can talk without fear in most cases. The remedy in most cases is you have to give them their money back and you get the domain if they were to exercise their rights. I am not saying go back on your word, I am talking about the penalty for violating the contract. There really is none.

At the very least you can go back and ask them to release you from that clause. Many have a time limit built in. So after 3 years you can speak. So you can always use that as a backup.

I think folks would be STUNNED by how many deals we never hear about. For example, I would venture to say 3 of every 4 million dollar deals are never reported. Even in the iReport deal that was the final sticking point. NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, Not going to happen. Yes, I would walk away from the deal. YES! YES! YES!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Just a little footnote. On the Meet.me deal, the 3 of us agreed we would not sell with a non-disclosure. That deal would have not happened if a non-disclosure was involved. If it were involved, that information would have never seen the light of day. Nobody would know about that deal. That is why new info is so important and we all have a responsibility to support what we do.

Afternoon Folks!!

So why ask a question and then close comments? Maybe just an oversight. But I will post my comment right here.

DomaimGang asks a funny question about my posts today and this week. But I would like to focus on the statement below:

'Rick’s statement that you need to own the .com in order to launch a business on a different TLD such as .co really surprises me.'

Why would it surprise anyone. I have stated that for well over a decade. But more importantly, is NOW we have independent confirmation from somebody that spent millions to find out.

We have NEW INFORMATION. Why would anyone close their eyes to a major discovery by an end user? It demonstrated that if you plan to build a business on a non dotcom you will likely bleed a substantial amount of traffic. That costs money and profitability and makes your competition stronger if they are in the same field.

When the President of the company makes a statement like this based on the numbers, it can't be ignored. This is a bombshell. I recognize it. Castello recognizes it, I won't mention others but they are all old timers and they get it.

'Mr. Johnson said customers responded well to the O.co advertising, but after watching the spots, 'a good portion' of those who sought out the website went to O.com, instead of O.co.'

And btw, my 4 posts pale in comparison of your 10 posts this month so far on Rick Schwartz. :-)

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz