Morning Folks!
A 9 is a 9 is a 9 is a 9 and it will stay that way until the
end of time. A 9 is a 9 for me. A 9 is a 9 for you. A 9 is a 9 even if you are
not 9. A 9 is a 9 for everyone. Every person, every place. It does not
matter what language you speak, what party you are affiliated with, what religion you believe, what part of the planet you are on. A 9 is a 9. A 5 is a 5. It’s the one
piece of the universe that is constant. That is perfect. Numbers don’t lie,
people do. People with motives to make a 9 anything other than a 9. To be
frank, nothing pisses me off more than somebody bastardizing numbers to suit
their own purpose. We have witnessed the greatest bastardization of numbers
since dirt came to earth and folks, we are all going to pay dearly for this. Don't believe me, believe the damn numbers if you have enough balls to actually do the math and follow the bouncing ball.
I tried to do a little math on my iphone calculator today.
It crashed it each and every time. My old calculator can’t handle the numbers
either. But I am a numbers guy. I can still do it long hand. I can also attach
a meaning to what we are all going through. My friends, the numbers don’t work,
we are coming to a true crossroads. Don’t believe me, believe the numbers.
Numbers don’t lie people do. Politicians do. Stock brokers do. Accountants do. Banks
do. And when you find out that they all lied, it is YOU that will be hosed. It is you that has already been hosed.
I have thought long and hard this year. I have worked every angle. I have looked at things 1000 different ways. The numbers don't lie. Numbers are my friends. I have come to the conclusion that income producing domain names are the single best asset on the planet. Not a one better including gold. No matter what happens to the dollar or the euro or any other currency or political unstability or war, income producing domains have no equal. None. It is the single best hedge against whatever is to come. It may fluctuate, that is what markets do, but I don't see greater safety in any other single asset at this moment in time. Of course the rules can and will change and your assets will and have become targets. But they are targets for the very reason I have stated. It is the electronic gold of this century and your #1 JOB is to protect your booty.
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
Anthony
Rick … some very smart people still haven’t worked the numbers that a basket of fruitful domains is worth more than a single aging painting … this leads to the conclusion that good domains can only increase in value.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_expensive_paintings
Anthony
Borat
Lots of usage of the word ‘numbers’ in a post that could have simply been ‘Traffic domains are good’
Mike
So many domainers (I am also guilty) do not spend enough time studying numbers before/while investing in domains. Gut feeling and tunnel vision drive millions of hand regs and aftermarket sales every year.
billandted2
@Borat no, the subtlety of the post, or actully not so subtle is that domains are an especially good asset beyond their general value because the manipulation of economic data and NUMBERS which has fleeced people and made other asset classes dangerous and manipulatable.
Once again, thank you for your brilliant posts that have encouraged me to plant seeds. And, for your hard work in protecting domainers (new media property investors). I(we) will never be a Rick Schwartz or a Michael Berkins in our portfolios but this window of the last year was enough imho to pick up some monsters at $0.02 on the dollar or better. Thanks for sharing your info. We are dreamers and creative thinkers who despise an Office Space environment, getting our wings clipped and screwed out of commissions by crooked bosses etc. Domaining is still an opportunity to come up big time if you are intelligent and don’t get distracted by”big brother”.
Troy
Numbers don’t lie, people do, you say domains are the best investment, now show the”numbers” behind that statement.=)
Anunt
People are always putting domains for sale…but with no numbers to prove the income…so i am assuming those domains that are for sale without income numbers are usually people’s trash that they are trying to get rid of to another sucker like you!
Adam
Haven’t domains taken just as a big a hit as the rest of the economy? I mean aren’t all domainers reporting losses of 30-40% over the last year+ ? Income producing domains are not producing what they used to . . . that means they suffer like other investments, right?
Kevin
Agree completely. Nothing else out there feels safe anymore.
It’s crazy that domains feel safer than even gold but they do. Gold is solid as a rock, but it is a rock and doesn’t have the upside opportunity potential like a domain has.
Cash in dollars is a total joke and will just keep losing value every year going forward now as the Treasury floods the market with dollars to devalue it to relieve the deficit pressures.
Stocks are a rollercoaster ride.
Treasuries pay tiny returns.
Real Estate is gonna be stagnant for a long time and will never appreciate again like it did in the hey days.
So yep domains and business ventures are it.
jeff schneider
Hello Rick,
We have seen for some time now, considerable, structural damage in our capital markets. These imbalances are becoming more evident as the tarp money is waning. The institutional investors are starting to recede as witnessed by slowing volume levels. When the credit markets or big money centers restrict credit as they have, Capitalism as we know it goes into a coma.
That said, this does not mean we should all be sanguine on all asset classes. The assets that are closely tied to the credit markets, such as CMOs, stocks and bonds should be avoided as they are the most vulnerable.
Collectibles and Intellectual properties along with Cyber assets and gold will not only hold up better in the current market environment but actually should increase in value. The velocity of money flow, will be re-directed towards these assets, rather than equities, bonds, mortgages etc.
Your assumptions above are very astute and on the money in my opinion. The dynamics in place right now are arguably very bullish for all of our Cyber assets.
The digital revolution is kicking into high gear. Domain names are its foundation. The force of this revolution will create vast wealth for the corporations who leverage its powerful dynamics. The brightest sector for all Commerce, is in fact , e-Commerce.
rob
I think you are right.
An asset = something that makes you money. Liability = something that costs you money. A home or car can sometimes be considered an asset, but they are more of a liability because they need care, attention, upgrades, renos etc. that cost you money. A home going up in value is nice but doesn’t put the money in your pocket until you sell – or borrow against it. And from the last year we see homes can lose value too.
A traffic domain, whether it’s type in or search traffic you’ve worked for, costs $10 a year to register, and whether through PPC/Adsense/Affiliate programs or direct ads, puts money in your pocket every day. You can fall asleep for a month and it will still make you money. The ounce of gold on Sept 1 will still be an ounce of gold on Sept 30, it won’t kick off any revenue unless it’s gone up in value and you sell it. You don’t have to sell the traffic domain for it to make you income.
A bond or dividend stock will pay you income, but only a small percentage of it’s total worth each year.
In 2000 to 2003 I got involved in network marketing / MLM, where you try to build a downline of distributors that will earn you income. The dream is to grow you downline and eventually make a full-time or better income off of their efforts. But it isn’t easy and takes a lot of work, finding leads, convincing people, replacing people who drop out, etc. This took time away from my domaining, until I realized that building a portfolio of income producing domains/websites is like having an awesome MLM downline. You set them up to earn income, and they earn money 24/7, whether you’re sleeping, on vacation, whatever. It’s the ultimate MLM downline, with 99% less hassle. The domains are your little tireless workers, they don’t ask you questions, they don’t quit, you don’t have to convince them of anything, they can be automated money making machines. And if you want to put some work into them, they will return many more times the value if done right.
Sorry for the long comment, but your post brought those memories back to me. Keep up the good work!
jeff schneider
Hello Rick,
I just wanted to let you know that of all the domainer sites yours is the most creative of all of them. Chaos is at the heart of creativity and too many other venues block the creative process for fear that the subjects are just too sensitive. And God forbid if they ruffle the feathers of the big boys. Thank you for being the rebel that you are.
Gratefully, Jeff
Dave Wrixon aka Rubber Duck
Right of course, but people are going to get very picky. Only the best will have a market at all. The focus will also switch from markets where the end user use dollars, to markets were the currencies have a bit more legs.
Chris Desouza
Any decent domain name with a great business model and execution can and will produce income.
How many premium domain names would one need to match Facebook marketcap?
There is too much emphasis on the name and not enough on strategy.
Understand, that category killer names are long gone. Those minority who hold great domains can afford to sit and get paid. The rest need to employ strategy.
Work on a business plan. And save for a few, stop calling yourself domainers. Those dealing with bread crumbs are not bakers, let alone dreaming to sell a bakery.
UFO
If a 9 is always a 9, then what is an 8.99999?
In terms of numbers lying, that’s why Warren Buffet has always looked at cashflow.
In terms of Beta cashflows I’d say utilities are the safest around, that’s why some incredibly smart investment trusts were buying big not so long ago. Great cash flow and almost guaranteed with inflation indexed returns and huge barriers to competition.
DomainName Auctions
There’s a good reason why Rick is right and not just pumping up the value of domains. Domains do not need pumping. They do not need a salesman. All that is required is an educated buyer.
Look through all the hidden transactions in domains between corporations that aren’t disclosed until years later after a buyout. Numbers don’t lie – that’s the point. Corporations know that BIG.COM is worth alot more than QuiteBig.com. They always have, and for that reason you should fear them, because they are coming after the assets of domainers everywhere.
If nothing else simply follow the litigation trail and you’ll see that domains are big business for Trademark attorneys. Once they’ve caught the scent of money, there will be no shortage of lawsuits to take domains from their owners. AD.com is just the beginning!
glykon
That was good!
Mr Schwartz, can you also reiterate to Fibbonaccis path, coupled to domaining?
Can you see a connection too?
It could be very interesting for me(us)
Thanks anyway for your post and thanks to the smart people for their comments
Kevin
@ DomainName Auctions
Actually more than ever, you do need to be a Salesman, and beyond that you need to know how to close deals, which very few salesmen know how to do very well.
jeff schneider
Hello Rick,
All this talk about too much emphasis is being paid to domain names is ludicrous. The domain address is the foundation or focal point for all creative development. When creating any structure you must have a strong foundation on which to build.
The domain address is a call to action to access your commerce creation. It also is indeed your brand. A brand that is embedded in the minds of visitors every time they access the site.”Pound for pound a superior Web address is the most powerful avertising any company can buy”
Gratefully , Jeff
DomainName Auctions
@ Kevin
I was hoping you could see the hidden inference that a good salesman is in fact, educating the buyer, rather than”selling” in a pure sense.
A salesman is still a critical component of every deal, and how he perceives himself is just as important.
When I used to sell high end tech equipment, it was always about getting the customer to understand what they were actually getting out of a million dollars in routing, storage or virtualization.
Domains are no different. Understanding their universal appeal, power in ranking, power in branding, and power in social memory takes time. Once the consumer is enlightened, the value of a domain is no longer in question.
Dave Wrixon aka Rubber Duck
@DomainName Auctions
“Understanding their universal appeal, power in ranking, power in branding, and power in social memory takes time.”
And you like many others need to understand that the World is segmented into markets by Culture and Language. Very few domains have Universal Appeal. Most Domains are limited to their market segment by Language, and whilst any Language can be expressed in the very limited ASCII character set, for many cultures and hence markets, this is a total non-starter. In countries like Japan, Domaining has barely been born because URLs are simply gobbledegook to their users. Most marketing strategies at present avoid Domains and URLs and simply go the Search Route, simply because the domain system is broken. The impending fixing those broken system will present huge opportunities. OK, you may not understand Japanese, but ask yourselves how much knowledge of English do you really need to understand that something like Car.com or Computer.com is going to worth a hell of a lot of money?
Rory
what a load of balls this whole article is
John
You guys are drinking your own Kool-Aid. Comparing domains to gold is something only a fool would say. If you think a domain making $10/month has more value than an ounce of gold for $1000, then keep drinking.
Mark
For starters, peak oil directly and/or indirectly powers airlines, automobiles, electrical grids (including the Internet) and our way of life.
Domains are good, but NOT as good as gold.
If or when the day comes that MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) are in short supply, you won’t be paying for them with domain names.