Morning Folks!!
The last 2 years I have stated that Ron Jackson will get on the stage at TRAFFIC and report a record breaking year in domain sales. I have been wrong both times. But the third is a charm. Regardless of the report, I can tell you WITHOUT DOUBT that 2011 saw more domain sales of any year in history and by a HUGE margin.
Like many of you, I have my ear to the ground. There are mega deals every day just about and seldom do any get reported. But with an economy such as it is the auction houses are busy and doing loads of transactions. I think Sedo by itself has had a number of 7 figure weeks as has a few others. That translates to big numbers over the course of a year.
I am not sure but I think that number has been hovering in the $30-$40 Milion annual range for reported domain sales. I think in 2011 that number breached $100MM. Like much more than that when you add up the deals you will never hear about. I mean more transactions in domains in ONE MONTH or less then the years 1996-2000 combined.
Domains BUST out in 2011. Mark it on your calendar. The world went bust in another direction the same year. We have new highs with great value on unique assets that circumstance forces some domainers to sell so they can pay the bills. That drives part of the market. The other part that drives the market is need and demand. Those levels are at record highs because folks and companies need to throw as much up against the wall as fast as they can because they have a ticking time bomb chasing them called debt. Once the sand runs out, game over!
So the worst of times becomes the best of times when you see through the fog of business. Domains are taking center stage in the universe. Just like real estate has for centuries. Domains are the new real estate of the 21st Century. You will NEED eReal Estate to be able to afford REAL Real Estate.
Now I can't prove any of this but I know it to be true. It will be reported in a decade from now if ever. It's an assumption based on more things that I care to list. In 1995 I did not have the money to invest in domains. Other people had much more than me. Millions and Millions and Tens of Millions of them. But I beleived then like I believe today.
As then, I still buy the future not the past. The past has its place. To show you the pitfalls to come and the parallel sucesses you can have.
With partners, Mike Berkens and Ammar Kubba, I own 1/3 of Meet.me, Date.me and Marry.me. I think we have 1 or 2 others. In 5-10 years the same morons with different faces will say the same things they do today. So what? They completely discount that I/we had to compete with BILLIONS of other people.
Domains were no big secret. Just few saw the future of how it would all unfold. The same folks keep having a knack for finding things first. Figure out things first. See and understand things first. We bought all 3 domains at auction. We competed with all other domainers. We saw something others did not. No guarantee on success. But we have already turned down RECORD BREAKING offers for a .me extension on the domain in that group that we spent the least on. We get offers nearly every day on one of those 3 domains.
I have also bought several .me on my own. About 50 of them. I planted the seeds. It's not a bottle with a genie in it. It is an educated guess on how things will unfold in the future based on how things have unfolded in the past. Sometimes that works well, and sometimes you buy flowers.mobi.
There is the stadium full of people in the seats and there are a handful of players on the field. I would much rather be on the field recieving the cheers and jeers than in the bleachers with some jackass puking on me.
'Don't let the NOISE of others opinions drown out your own inner voice.' Jobs 2005
My blog, my diary, my vision with a date and timestamp. Nobody gets to rewrite history. On thre record for the record. For better or worse. Right or wrong. Succeed or fail. Some put a goal list on the wall. I just put it out there. That seems to motivate me that much more.
Did you plant any seeds today?? I lost count of how many seeds I plant each and every day of my life. Some call that luck 5-10 years after the seed is planted. And beleive me, some of it is luck. But my freinds, 'LUCK is the residue of hardwork', as Branch Rickey said.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
Shane
I GUARANTEED I planted more seeds this year than any domainer in the world. :)
bra
I see the sales reports for domains have been good this year, but I haven’t seen it with my own portfolio. And I don’t have all crappy domains, I see a lot of comparable or worse domains selling for $1000 to $5000 every week. Hoping my time will come, would like to get a few good sales to help get to the next level. Luckily I also make money from affiliate programs and developping some of my domains, but a good sale or two can help put you over the top. Funny how the little guy rarely gets the $xx,xxx or $xxx,xxx sale, but I keep on keeping on!
Rick Schwartz
Shane,
I don’t know about that.
Scott Day of Oklahoma may have planted more on his 1600 acre Watermelon Farm. ;-)
Ras
Sold domain in the 6 figures range thru broker, which has not been published anywhere, however very well-known brokerage have not paid us after 1-2 months. Our patience is running paper thin.
If 2011 will be a record year, then I wonder, if we are alone?
ScottM
Love the .me extension too Rick! Been buying them since they came out and got one really good one on a drop last year, Promo.me. The .me may be the most brandable of any extension besides the .com, and in some cases even better. Just a matter of months and probably not years before Madison Ave. and the copy writers start to fall in love with the .me domains, then their value will really soar.
Shane
You may be right. Damn that’s a big watermelon farm. I’ve definitely got to go see that.
Poor Uncle
Rick,
To answer your question, I am not spreading any seed today nor any other day. Wife would kill me. hehe