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

Morning Folks!!

At every stage of innovation throughout history the masses or certain segments or those with skin in the game have warned about economic collapse and loss of jobs during every innovative period. But that really does not happen. Here is the reality.

Innovation gives us more time to be productive and efficient. It never goes the other way! NEVER! When computers came out everyone was going to be replaced by computers. There was a shift, but it never does what they warn it will do. It ALWAYS does exactly the opposite. More productive, more opportunity, more money, higher standard of living.

When cars came out the poor blacksmith was going to go out of business. Maybe they just got shifted to working on cars and making more money. Things change. But they don't change for the worse. They change for the better. ALWAYS!

With robotics and AI and Virtual, these are all things that will help humanity increase their standard of living. People will work less and make more or they will work the same or harder and make MUCH more.

Poverty today comes with all the modern conveniences. When I was growing up, poverty meant no electric, no running water, lack of food, no TV and possibly lack of shelter all together. But as society becomes more efficient, even those living at the poverty level have many things and a standard of living much better than their ancestors. That's all a result of the inventions that the fools feared and warned of.

Before computers and the Internet, kids would make a few dollars mowing lawns or selling lemonade or babysitting. Today those same kids have the opportunity to open REAL businesses and make FORTUNES! And it does not matter if they are sitting in New York City, Oklahoma City, Panama City or Ho Chi Minh City! Access is close to equal for everyone on earth. That's POWER! Power folks never had before. WOW!

Progress is nothing to ever fear. It's something to embrace and exploit and gain freedom from. So, Vive La Robots! Vive La AI, Vive La Virtual, Vive La every single advancement we can make!

If you have not made your fortune yet, pay attention and you can. It's there for the making. But it's up to you to drill down, explore, think and figure out what it all means. Good Luck!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The outrage in the domain industry about Verisign is laughable. 10 years ago when it really counted, domainers were AWOL! There was a lawsuit against Verisign, but domainers did not support it and eventually we ran out of funds to fight. Guys with 250,000 names or more sat on the sidelines. They contributed nothing. Now they are outraged?? Give me a break!

Go buy some Verisign stock! I hope the prices go up and it forces the wannabes out. Remember, I was paying $100 a pop at the start. Then $70. Then less. At $8 I am not sure why everyone is so upset. For a REAL business $8/year is a joke! You can't get a decent Burger, Fries and Coke for $8 let alone a WORLDWIDE presence!

So stop the whining! Increasing the registration prices only hurt domainers and NOBODY gives a rats ass about Domainers! I don't think a real business owning 1-10 domains cares. Why should they!?

I would suggest that some dump all their domains. With the savings on renewals just buy Verisign and you will MAKE MORE MONEY!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Here is a list of metals. If you ask the average person on the street to list all the metals the best they will do is come up with about 10-15. Probably less. That's out of about 100. And they have been around all of our lifetimes and it was taught to us in school.

There are going to be 1000 GTLD's. The average person could not name 10-15 and NEVER will. The average person could not name ONE today! NOT ONE!!! The fact that "Domain Speculators" can't even see, discuss or understand this tells you everything. It's just too simple to understand. But as their wallets keep getting lighter, they should eventually figure it out. MAYBE!

They do have one thing in common. Most new GTLD's have a lower value than TIN! But everyone knows TIN! GTLD's for the most part are BILLS not ASSETS! Do domainers actually know the difference? Tin at least has value and there is demand.

Lithium
Sodium
Potassium
Rubidium
Cesium
Francium
Beryllium
Magnesium
Calcium
Strontium
Barium
Radium
Aluminum
Gallium
Indium
Tin
Thallium
Lead
Bismuth
Nihonium
Flerovium
Moscovium
Livermorium
Tennessine
Scandium
Titanium
Vanadium
Chromium
Manganese
Iron
Cobalt
Nickel
Copper
Zinc
Yttrium
Zirconium
Niobium
Molybdenum
Technetium
Ruthenium
Rhodium
Palladium
Silver
Cadmium
Lanthanum
Hafnium
Tantalum
Tungsten
Rhenium
Osmium
Iridium
Platinum
Gold
Mercury
Actinium
Rutherfordium
Dubnium
Seaborgium
Bohrium
Hassium
Meitnerium
Darmstadtium
Roentgenium
Copernicium
Cerium
Praseodymium
Neodymium
Promethium
Samarium
Europium
Gadolinium
Terbium
Dysprosium
Holmium
Erbium
Thulium
Ytterbium
Lutetium
Thorium
Protactinium
Uranium
Neptunium
Plutonium
Americium
Curium
Berkelium
Californium
Einsteinium
Fermium
Mendelevium
Nobelium
Lawrencium

Rick Schwartz

Morning folks!!

It is often pointed out to me that I won't sell my domains in my lifetime. DUH!!! I knew that the day I started seriously investing in domains. My portfolio would outlast my lifetime. But I am not going to sell on the cheap. EVER! That's what Generational Wealth means to begin with.

Do you think the Rockefeller's and the Carnegie's and the other land barons and industrialists of the time sold their properties before they died? The Biltmore Estate in Asheville is the largest private estate in America. George Washington Vanderbilt built this in the late 1800's. Still owned by his family to this day. It has some 6500 acres, over 125,000 feet in the house. On the property there are  2 hotels, museums, large working winery, gardens, a dozen restaurants, etc. and takes in a small annual fortune. Yeah, I know, he is dead. But his legacy lives on.

Did Steve Jobs sell all his iPhones and computers? If you do it right, you're gonna die with a whole lot of stuff! Assets. Things of value. Things that will help the next generation. Maybe Jobs has inventions that have never been made or marketed yet. Elvis, Michael Jackson, Prince, have songs that are released after their death.

So, while everyone else was so busy trying to sell, I only focused on buying and still do. While others focus on ROI, I could care less but I break calculators with my ROI. While others focus on selling 1%, 2%, 5% or more of their portfolio each year I am geared exactly the opposite. I am happy with 1, 2 or 3 sales per year. I simply want to make at least $1 million or more per year. EVERY year. The value of what I have will eventually be understood and appreciated. And if not, that's okay too.

So my buddy Mike Berkens sold most of his portfolio to Godaddy.com for a little over $35 Million. It was a great portfolio. Contained about 70,000 names. Nice names!!! He did great and I am happy he was able to cash in and so is he! And he earned millions in revenue with his traffic along the way. His timing was perfect. I never even had an offer for my portfolio nor do I expect one.

I have not even sold 70 domains. I have gone out of my way to preserve my portfolio. I have sold maybe 35-40 at most! A rate of 0.061% divided by 23 years!!! I am such an idiot for still having 6500 names and 99.94% of my domains left. Some domainers try to put me down for lack of sales. Maybe they have a lack of BRAINS! Maybe they don't understand MATH as I will show below! Maybe they are just poor businessmen and women. Maybe they suck at selling. Maybe they use Estibot. Maybe this and maybe that. Maybe they are just jealous of anyone's success. Yours, mine, everyone.

I face the possibility that I may never sell another domain. But then again, I probably will. So do I cash out by taking a lump sum that may only end up being $1000/domain or do I take the path that may lead to less, but then again, maybe quite a bit more. Perhaps even a windfall. Well, I have chosen the latter. I chose it because I believe in the portfolio I have. I believe in the long term viability. And what work is really involved selling a domain? This blog post takes more effort. I just shoot out prices. Maybe try to spark a conversation. Not exactly digging ditches. So something I can hopefully do until the very end.

Some think I should sell at a higher rate don't understand the equation because I'd rather sell for higher money.  Yes, I know I lose sales. Guess what?? I don't care. I play a different game. And yes, I have a different inventory. Am I supposed to apologize for that?? Feel guilty because I recognized something before most? Especially all those that take their time to criticize me. LOL!

So my total domain sales are in excess of $28 MILLION! And my portfolio is more than 99.94% intact!

The way I play the game it is a marathon. The longest and slowest with the mostest, WINS!! But I also think I have most of my "Life Lines" intact. I have plenty of supplies. I am financially strong. I don't have to decide which domains to keep or sell and which to drop for financial reasons.

Many in domaining have made more than me. Much more!! But I doubt anyone was as efficient as me! First of all I have been semi-retired for my nearly my entire time as a domainer. No headaches, no employees,no schedule, no worries. As a solo artist my domain career earnings are over $60 million over my 23 year domaining career.  But they say it is not what you make, it's what you keep.

1. Cost of Employees $0


2. Cost of Rent $0


3. Cost of advertising $0


4. Cost of Electric $0


5. Cost of ??? $0 $0 $0 $0


6. Cost to run this business $55,000/year


7. Traffic earning reimbursement $60,000/year+

I took about $7.5MM and reinvested in domain names.

I paid an average of about 30% taxes per year.

I took 25% of those dollars after taxes and bought high end real estate.

I took another 25% after taxes and stashed the cash.

Then I invested in many things of great value. Things that I enjoy and give me pleasure but also have a liquid cash value.

The rest, I enjoy the best of what life has to offer and will continue to do that as long as I can. I am a consumer of world travel, luxury hotel suites and the top cruises on the high seas with their owners suites. I like really nice cashmere sport jackets and comfortable shoes.

I get to buy the best. Even if the best is a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese! Arby's or Taco Bell. It's hard for me to pass up Checkers. But then for dinner I can easily drop a few hundred for the 2 of us and do it often. I love eating. I am really good at it! I reached a high of 217 back in 2005. But I have learned to eat well but in moderation. Today, 181 LB's. I'm a lean, mean eating machine!

Sure, it would be nice to sell my entire portfolio and ride into the sunset. But I have no expectation of that happening. They would really have to have a long term vision and very deep pockets. Besides that they would really have to understand domains and value and future value and power. I don't see anyone that would meet that criteria. They buy the low hanging fruit that you don't need to be that experienced a domainer to buy. NNN.com, LLL.com etc.

If you read my posts over the years I have always stated that there are so many different ways to climb the Domain Mountain and make your fortune. Many paths lead there. The best I can do is share my path and hope others do the same with theirs. It's been a fantastic journey so far! One thing is for sure, the future looks quite different than the past when it comes to domain and domaining. Great domains will pass the test of time.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

You can expect seeing Christmas related things starting very soon. As early as today. But for many businesses that depend on Christmas, it's over. The cake is already baked. The orders placed in June and July are arriving NOW!! Christmas for Business happens in the summer. EARLY summer! If they place an order in China TODAY, it won't even arrive until Christmas or later!! Like I said, Christmas is over for business. The only thing left is selling and tallying up the totals.

Now many don't know or understand this. That also means they don't know while everyone is focusing on Christmas, Business is planning for 2019 and beyond. The marketing, the strategy, the budgeting. That's an important time for domainers. Business is being done. This is OUR season!!

That means take offers more seriously. There are real hunters out there right now. They are aiming for something specific. In domaining your job is to have something specific.

And speaking of something specific, I would imagine we are looking at the last Christmas for Sears as we know it. Once the best run company in America and maybe the world, is going bye bye. There is no excuse for this but POOR LEADERSHIP! HORRIBLE LEADERSHIP! Poor vision. NO Vision! They could not make the leap to this new century. They did not even try. The rise and fall of Sears should be taught in every business school but it probably never happen.

It's tough to learn business in school. You learn business by opening a business. Then you are forced to go thru each and every step. You learn from Failure and success. You learn by selling and buying and paying your bills on time. You learn by doing. At the end of the day, there is no substitute for experience and talent.

Getting back to Christmas. Could be a WHOPPER!! Especially for big ticket items. People have jobs and they have $$$ in their pockets. It's been 10 YEARS since the crash. They are ready to let loose!

So now that we have an idea about Christmas, let's look past it. As I stated above, Sears is gonna go Bye Bye! But who else will collapse and have to shut their doors? I guess that depends on how much of that pie Amazon snaps up.

Malls continue to have more and more space for lease. Especially in suburban areas. Times are a changin' and in changing times you can always make money.

One thing you MUST and NEED to believe. There is more opportunity RIGHT NOW than any other moment in history. There is an abundance of opportunity. Every new product presents opportunity.

10 years ago when the crash happened, the first iPhone came out. Many shrugged their shoulders. I wrote about the iPhone in detail. I also said that if I had nothing to do, I would have gone into the iPhone accessory business. Of course I was not taken seriously. But I was serious and you can look back and see what a HUGE opportunity it WAS!

I still make $$$ from my Vanity 800 Numbers but I am no longer active in that business. I am still making $$$ in Domains, but am retired other than sharing my views from time to time. I walked away from the trade show business for reasons I have described previously. I made a 7 figure hit with Bitcoin but I am out of Crypto as well. I think of businesses to open all the time. Then I realize I am retired and I just don't want to work that hard or work again.

What's the next big thing??

Opportunity is plentiful. What is not plentiful is imagination, ideas, follow-thru, patience, understanding, PROFIT. So as we roll around to another Christmas season, pay close attention to what happens. THIS is your school! This is the time of year to get new information. This is the season you prepare for your future not your past.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Go to any construction site and you will see the "Lunch Truck" come by several times a day to sell food.

So imagine that the internet is the construction site, the address is of course the domain name and the lunch truck is the domain industry. Now imagine there is a HUGE construction zone and multiple structures are all being built at the same time. Now you have many dozens of those Lunch Trucks serving those workers.

What happens when the construction is over? There are no longer 4000 projects but only a few here and there? What happens? You know what happens! Those trucks go bye bye. They go out of business or they have to move to another place that is developing. But if things are pretty well developed, not many lunch trucks will survive. The numbers will shrink dramatically.

Well, that is where the Internet is. It's built up. It's matured. The Lunch Trucks are gone! Yes, some may choose opening a restaurant, but the cost difference between the two is no small matter. Most can't make that leap.

Point is things are always evolving and you need to see that evolution on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual, 3 years, 5 years, 10 years, 20 years basis. It takes time and effort to develop this skill and part of it may be just a gift or is natural or whatever. But it's always about practice. Predictions are not a whim if you hone this skill. They are based on facts and elements and conditions and a host of other things like life long experience and history.

Point is the demand for domains is down. Way down. We went from almost 100% end user need and customers to nearly 100% domain speculators with very few end users. The Internet is built! In 1993-1995 the building started. The Internet has passed Critical Mass. It is now mature. No longer an infant. All grown up. The game has changed. It will continue to change.

The most promising sector today are those businesses upgrading to better domain names. The .Net guys acquiring the .Com. The extra word at the beginning of a domain that gets eliminated. MyThis.com or VisitThat.com or OurProduct.com etc.

Then you have the startups. Most of them come and go very fast. Usually they make a mistake with the domain name and that becomes their biggest hurdle and they don't even know it.

The high end domain investor class is all but gone. Simply put, the risk is too great and liquidity is no longer there. It's no longer a safe and good investment.

The last quarter of the year that starts on Monday is important. Important to domaining and business in general. Big business is done and big decisions are made. October/November/December are HUGE month in domaining. And I like February and March as well with new budgets and fresh cash. Domain Buying Season is HERE!

Is the big money in domaining over? Probably not. 2018 sales seems inline with 2017 sales so far. But it may take a multi-year break at some point and that will change the landscape of what the domain sector looks like and who participates in it.

Supply and demand folks. Supply is overflowing and demand is going down like Sears customers. The Need, Want, Desire, Project levels out there are not what they once were. Not even close. And, it never will be ever again. Sorry to burst your bubble. But the #1 part of business is dealing with reality and that reality is in constant change.

If it were not for the China Frenzy, the entire domain industry would have already been unrecognizable today. Frenzy's come and go. The best you can do is put yourself in a good position for the next frenzy. What's the next one? Who knows? That's why you need to pay attention and evolve with the times. Times are a changin'!

I made my fortune by buying domains from domainers. Those same domainers lost fortunes by selling to me. Sell your domains and dreams to dreamers. Don't sell to domainers. But soon, many may have no choice as the walls begin to close in.

My income was mostly PPC and rose to about $4.5MM/year until the crash. In 2009 it went down to $750,000. The first year since 1998 that PPC did not earn at least $1.5MM-$3.0MM or more. Today, not even $100k from PPC. But still enough to pay all the renewals. My goal since 1995 was to make at least $1 Million/year online.

PPC was a bonus. I never depended on it because I knew it could go away overnight. But that crash is directly related to the value of domains and the marketplace of buying domains. The equation changed drastically. I could no longer justify buying a $100k domain from another domainer because I could no longer calculate a return. Before then, I had a decent idea of how many years or months I would have to hold to break even. That would make my domain purchases free. They were all free.

The $42,000 mortgage for Porno.com was paid in the first 6 weeks. The $12,500 mortgage on Ass.com was paid in 125 days. Some were paid off even faster. The slower ones still were paid off. Every prime adult domain I bought was FREE! Paid for themselves in spades and then still had the domain itself.

Then I took those profits and bought mainstream domain names before there was even a mainstream. There was no way to get a return for those names back then. They could not be monetized. But I kept ploughing that money back into them regardless as I knew that was the future and that basket was huge compared to adult. Eventually my mainstream domains dwarfed the adult ones in size and scope.

There was a sense of urgency to BUY. That sense of urgency is GONE! The "Unique moment in History" has all but passed. It lasted 20+ years, but that window is about closed for the first stage. The second stage has to come with very big money to seize YESTERDAY!

In 1999-2000 I wrote many times about the collapse of the Internet. Brick and Mortar stores tried to kill it off. Said it was unsafe etc. etc. But I had a saying: "From the ashes will rise the REAL Internet". And it did. The collapse left ashes but those ashes rose to where we are today.

Business is about 2 things. History and the future. You can't see or predict the future without a keen understanding of the past. Direction comes from history and your future comes from the destination you decide on.

So it may be a great idea to be in the Lunch Truck business but part of being in business is to see the future trends and not being blind to them. Change is coming. It comes every moment of every day. Your mind has to be as fluid as the things around you. Time to move that lunch truck to a new city. A new project. A new destination or the food will rot and you will go broke!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

There are folks that flip mobile homes and make a living. There are guys that sell mansions and they make much more and they work a lot less! They make many livings!

I have referred to Domains as "Generational Wealth" for DECADES! What does that mean? It means I don't intend nor expect to sell my domains in my lifetime. The assets will roll over to the next generation. In my case I have no kids that I am aware of and so I have set up a foundation that will run long after I do.

I have never been in a rush to sell. Quite the opposite. My entire goal was to preserve my entire portfolio/collection as long as I could. I never wanted to sell Men.com. But I had just gone thru a divorce that cost me millions and I was cash poor. So I had no choice and regretted it for years. But at the same time I used it as an example to point to that helped the value of all domains of value and also parlayed that into the credibility to start TRAFFIC.

Point is except for the Men.com sale I put myself in a financial position to never be FORCED to take a BAD offer! Isn't that the key?? Isn't that the key from selling from a strong position vs a weak one??

When I was selling my visitors on my domains I would rather piss those valuable visitors in the ocean than give them away to people that wanted to lowball me f0r that traffic.

In my world I don't do budgets. I just do it RIGHT and figure it will come out fine at the end. I learned a long time ago not to be a penny pincher. What does that mean. It means when you see a domain for $1000 and you know it is worth $100k, just give the guy the $1,000. Don't have to make a $500 offer first! Why? Because you will lose gems by being cute. That's much more costly in the long run.

Everyone gives advice but very few tell you how much they have made in domaining. Isn't that a key qualifier? You bet it is!! I play the game different and thus I get different results. But I have never hid how I play the game. Been about as transparent as any business can be because it was in my best self interest as well as yours to be public about my sales. Estibot brings values down. Rick Schwartz brings values up.

You are all so worried about Verisign raising their prices but that war was fought 10 years ago and domainers were AWOL! The bigger threat is Estibot and all the valuation tools out there. They are costing this industry and YOU many $$$$. It helps the weak to stay weak and prevents the strong from getting stronger. The way I look at it, it is a cancer on the industry. It's bogus. It's not even good for know-nothing rookies! It should be denounced far, loud and wide!!

I hate talking about ROI. Means nothing to me. I don't care about percentages. I care about long tern value. I care about potential. I care about marketability. And I don't care when I sell. I care that I sell it for an appropriate value. But much of the value has NOTHING TO DO WITH THE DOMAIN NAME ITSELF!! Need, want, desire, circumstance, potential, marketability and the list goes on and on before you even get to the domain itself. But keep selling on a 1 dimensional level like most do and you will keep getting much less than you asset is worth.

If you want to value a domain correctly you have to look at how powerful that domain might become in the right hands with the right idea at the right time and circumstance. I don't fish for bait, I don't fish for a meal, I fish for whales. When a whale is caught you eat for YEARS! You are not dependent on selling your assets to pay bills.

The single biggest reason domainers have problems is they don't really understand domains. So they don't know the difference between the gems they MIGHT own to the pigeon shit that they definitely do own. And since they are lazy, they rely on Estibot to help them make decisions. Decisions what to buy and decisions what to sell for. That's just plain STUPID!

Domains were and sometimes are like Oil Wells. Now that most of the traffic (oil) has been pumped out and tens of millions of revenue made, I can sell the raw land. Had I done that as I was buying, I would have left the majority of the $$$ I have made in domaining on the table. Tens of millions of dollars in Mineral Rights!!. And many domainers let that money go. They would not use PPC or other ways to monetize. They wanted to keep their domain "Pure". Now the game has changed and many are not in a strong financial position.

To take a domainer seriously I ask one simple question. Their ability to quickly answer says it all. "Just tell me your 3 best domains".  I don't want the list of 5000. I just want to know what you would consider your top 3. From that, I know a whole lot!

That means if you don't have 3 impressive domains, maybe you are not playing the game right. I know domainers that have had 250,000 names and not one worth a penny and I know "Jessse" that owns 10 domains that are absolute killer one word industries!

As a domain investor I feel just as comfortable and maybe more comfortable going to sleep with my domain assets at a safe registrar than $$$ in the bank. When I buy a domain those $$$ are GONE!! But gone for that domain as another one will sell and allow me to parlay, parlay, parlay.

I rarely buy a domain over $5000. Most are under $2000.I like $500-$1000. That is where OPPORTUNITY LIVES!!

I believe LLL.com is solid. But that does not mean as a domainer if you have $100k that you buy 4 LLL.com domains. That's a bad way to go! And if you do, just make sure you don't need those $$$ back in the next 5-10-20 years.

When you buy and sell with my mindset it's such a different game. I am continually buying but ONLY when I see something I am willing to own and even if it is generational. I want to be PROUD to add a domain to my collection. Motherf*ckers.com is a perfect example. I don't buy to sell. I buy to corral POWER! A great domain is also great power when used correctly!

Just like raw land and real estate are generational, so are domains if you play the game the right way. If not, you know where it leads to. Look  at all the undeveloped land in the world still today. Thousands of years and still nothing built on it. Then one day, it changes. It is like Popcorn. You never know which domain will pop next. You job is to make sure you have POPCORN in the pot and not pigeon shit. Pigeon shit will never pop! It rots!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

And the results are in. Thanks for taking your time to express your opinions on what these domains may be valued at. The result in parenthesis are the valuations from Estibot. Maybe you will see why Estibot is a total joke. It is flawed and has no value or even place in the domain industry! It should be marked: FOR AMUSEMENT ONLY!!

According to the geniuses at Estibot the 10 domains have a TOTAL valuation of $1.8MM. Can they really be taken seriously? Do they help or HARM the domain industry??

Moving on.....

Many did not like FaceFind.com. Here is what you are missing. Facial Recognition. The value of what is coming with this technology. $2500 purchase. I never mind exposing the price I paid because it has NOTHING to do with the price I sell. Potential Buyers that even bring that up and I would not even answer their emails.

Many of the valuations were very high. While I appreciate that, I don't think they merit that value at this stage of the Internet.

This experiment does show the difference in how folks look at any specific domain. Either way, looks like everyone agrees that the overall value in well into the 7 figures or more.

So that begs the next question. Is OUR job to sell ASAP or is OUR job to wait until the domain is matched with the right party? If I give this list to a broker how much are THEY going to be able to sell them for? How much money would I be leaving on the table? Being in a strong financial position is a HUGE part of playing the domain game the right way!

Just because I have never had a decent offer for TopSecret.com does that make the value any less?

Should one have a time frame to sell?

In my world, I wait until the fruit is ripe before I allow the fruit to be picked. It's just that simple.

1. TopSecret.com $77k - $3MM ($184,000)


2. Unemployed $80k - $2.5MM ($55,000)


3. Boardroom.com $75k - $2MM ($77,000)


4. FaceFind.com $7,500 - $2MM ($2,600)


5. Stud.com $30k - $1.3MM ($145,000)


6. Queen.com $300k - $10MM ($1,198,000)


7. Homemade.com $150k - $10MM ($83,000)


8. iFlirt.com $7.5k - $1.8MM ($3,500)


9. SXW.com $46k - $2MM ($47,000)


10. SmartGlasses.com $10k - $12MM ($5,300)

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

So let's play a little game today. I am going to list 10 domains. You tell me what price you would sell it for if you owned it and why if you like to expand.

1. TopSecret.com


2. Unemployed.com


3. Boardroom.com


4. FaceFind.com


5. Stud.com


6. Queen.com


7. Homemade.com


8. iFlirt.com


9. SXW.com


10. SmartGlasses.com

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

I am always wrong. Just listen to the guys making less money. Working much harder to make less. My formula works whether it is 1995 or 2025. Just like real estate in 1995 0r 2025. But when you play the wrong game and you don't play smart, you make less money and work much harder and are probably stressed out all the time.

I work on CRUISE CONTROL!! You don't!

Cruise Control did not start with me and domains, it started with me and Furniture when I was 20. I had a choice, play in a fast paced industry like clothing that changes about every 2 days or go into something much slower and possibly just as rewarding and maybe more so.

I work on cruise control on everything I do and everything I ever will do.

What does Cruise Control look like?

I am early for every appointment or reservation. I never run late. Why? I PLAN! I plan my time well. I estimate well. I allow for unforeseen glitches. I have lots of time because I manage my time well. I am efficient. But I also wake up at 5AM. My days are 16 hours long whether I am working or not. They are intertwined.

Ever see a sign for luxury condo that says opening in Fall 2018 and it is now Fall 2018 and they are just starting to break ground? That's because of POOR ANTICIPATION!! Poor planning. Poor time management. Poor everything! They think "efficiency" is an apartment.

What I am saying is 90% of domaining has to do with your personal and business HABITS. 90% of any success or failure will resort to that. Maybe even higher. It's more important than the size of your wallet. The size of your brain and how it controls you or you control it.

Success is about Human Nature. Failure is about Human Nature. Human Nature is about habits and reactions. Knee Jerk reactions. Repeating the same mistakes and never learning but arguing more and more ferociously as their frustration and anger builds. How many times do you have to see the same behavior to know their reactions before they even know how they are going to react? That's because they are predictable. That means Poker ain't their calling either. Everyone knows but them!

I approached domains KNOWING it would be 20 YEARS! Domainers today play a bad game. If I played their game, I would be broke and nobody would have ever heard of me. But please keep teaching ME how to make LESS just like YOU! Thanks, but no thanks!!

Those that have understood what I have been saying over the years and employed it have done well. Those that argue, enjoy winning the argument. I don't care. I am on cruise control. Always have been and chance are you never will be. You win.

If you are behind the 8 ball, get in front of it. It's never too late to change a bad habit. Selling too cheap is a HORRIBLE habit. But that is on YOU, not ME. I am simply pointing out the difference. If you can't maintain your portfolio, maybe you need another source of income or a job until you do. Better than pulling your pants down and losing opportunity because you are not on CRUISE CONTROL!

Ask yourself REAL questions. How many domains can you afford to carry? The annual costs are VERY LOW! Cheap! 100 domains is $850/year. $17,000 for 20 years. 1000 domains, $8500/year or $170,000 over 20 years.

There may be an initial investment to get the domain. But again, don't bite off more than you can chew. I started my portfolio with 18 names. That was it! At $100 each.

Stay away from fad domains. Buy domains with meaning that will pass the test of time. Buy an array of different type domains. Never go to heavy on a single key word. Go wide, not deep. None of us are smart enough to know how it all unfolds. So that is why I always went wide. Covered as many sectors as possible.

Meaning is important and more so than length. WeBuyUglyHouses.com. Their billboard and commercials are everywhere. 4 words. Who cares?? It's memorable and marketable.

Are you a mule? Mules sell to other domainers. Mules do the hard work so people like ME can buy from them on the cheap. So are you a domainer (thoroughbred) or a mule?? Unfortunately most are simply mules and mules are not very smart. However the smartest mule will make much more than the dumbest and laziest mule. But why be a mule to begin with? Why work at Denny's when you can get a job at Capitol Grill and make 10x more and have more dignity and live better?

There are many in Real Estate making millions every year. There are many more that make NOTHING!! NEVER make a sale. The difference has NOTHING to do with the real estate or the market. It has to do with the 10 inches between their ears and the habits they bring with them. I would wager that the majority of licensed real estate agents have sold less than 5 properties in their life. Of those, many sold ZERO. Is it the market or is it THEM????? What do you think they say?? DUH!

Rick Schwartz