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

Morning Folks!!

In my partner Danny Welsh’s next guest blog post he'd like to discuss our opinion that what created the millionaire domainer club will likely NOT contribute to the transformation into the billionaires domainer club. As more and more of my income comes from just what he's talking about, I think it's safe to say I agree with every word.

Rick Schwartz

By Danny Welsh

I titled my introductory guest post on RicksBlog, Prediction: 10 'Pure Domainers' selected for Forbes 400 Billionaires List by 2035. If you chuckled at that 'Forbes 400' prediction, even just internally, or in ANY way doubt that some of your peers among the top premium generic .com domain name owners in the world--maybe even YOU -- can, should, will and MUST eventually be included in that famous list of mega-billionaires... permit me to tell you that you're less far-sighted than you hoped.
I won't try to 'chastise' you. Who am I anyway? For everyone reading this except for Rick himself you probably first heard my name a few weeks ago. But I'll be frank with you: shilling bullshit to convince someone that what I say has merit isn't what I'm doing. I’m humbly asking that you hear me out simply because of where we are and who has given me the floor and allowed me to talk with you, his most important friends and clients.
I’ll simply say this is also what Rick believes and leave it at that. Reading further will bring you no profit if you can't see yourself and/or some of your peers on that list. May as well click away now, and be happy with what you have. God speed!

What, you're still here? You want more? Good, let’s assume then that you DO have a long-term vision for yourself, for your family, for your industry, and for your legacy. After all…you are a domain investor and if you’re good at it, you predict the future don’t you?

Take a peek into the future WE see and let me know if you agree.

Let’s discuss what Rick Schwartz and I both believe WILL create the wave of domainer billionaires:

1. It ain't brokering domain sales.
2. It ain’t flipping just-registered domains.
3. It ain't parking domains.
4. It ain't self-developing domains.
5. It ain’t selling top domains.
6. It ain’t promoting domain registries.

7. It ain’t leasing domains.

----- >>>> Does that last one surprise you?

With all the talk of “domain leasing” here and there and everywhere you turn in recent weeks, it very well might catch some off guard. Yes, I know that you know if you read Rick Schwartz’s last 6-10 blog posts without putting those into the context of what he's been saying and writing for 15 years it might seem like 'leasing domains' is the end goal for his own portfolio and recommendation for others.
It ain't.

When you start reading about more of the lease deals that have been negotiated under Rick’s model, and the startling difference in monthly income earnings possible over parking and self-development…10x, 20x, 30x, 100x and more….many folks are going to think again that leasing domains is the be all and end all, and not see beyond what we’re doing today to discern what we’re putting in place for tomorrow.

We are not saying that leasing domains is the path to billions for “the 500”. Leasing domains is simply what we believe is the model most likely to be accepted in the next few years by the end user…the model that unlocks SOME of the current value of the best domains in the world, while leaving the domain name owner STILL “in the deal” as the companies using their domains grow.

Perhaps forever.

The end goal for Rick Schwartz is what many of you who know him well have heard him call the “40 year plan”. And what has Rick publicly called the very beginning stages of the vehicle that will propel the second half of the 40 year plan? JointVentures.com and what we’re doing in 2013 together. There's no accident he and I chose that generic category-defining domain name home for the online “home” of our business together.

That website will evolve over time but it has one job and that job is to unlock the same benefits we're selling other businesses on for using a premium category .com domain name for their business, as JointVentures.com the domain became JointVentures.com the BUSINESS.

The job is to tell the story of generic domains to mainstream and have them want the ONE domain name that led them to our doorstep so bad they offer to buy what is NOT for sale. THAT will be the moment Rick's vision and mine coincide as top domain owners around the world adopt the phrase

----- >>>>> 'Not for sale, lease only!”

If you had the foresight to position yourself with the competitive advantage of generic category-defining .com domain names from one or multiple industries, product and services niches, the vehicle to unlock the true intrinsic value of more than one of them is none of those things listed.

We believe without doubt that big companies desiring to dominate their niche or small companies desiring to “shake up” their lazy industry are BOTH increasingly going to COVET and pay whatever it takes to get their hands on your properties as things unfold in the next few years. Business transactions happen when there is an exchange of value among parties, each of which feels like they got the best possible deal they could for what they want and need at that moment in time.

If you want Candy.com style deals, your job was and is patience.

The job of those who covet your asset for themselves is to convince YOU they are worthy to operate your domain name and build a store on your land while you still own it, and share their profits with you.

How can we each make that happen, together?

Adopt 5 words as your motto for the next 3 years:

“Not for sale, lease only!”

Danny Welsh
JointVentures.com

P.S. Whether you’re a signed JointVentures.com client for 2013-4 or not, if you believe in the value of your VERY BEST .com domain name properties, and are as convinced as we are that values are intrinsic and prices will always go UP for the very BEST category-defining .com domain names in your portfolio...go ahead and give it a try.

Say it out loud if you want, it feels damn good.

“Not for sale, lease only!”

Afternoon Folks!!

Today my partner in JointVentures.com, Danny Welsh, wants to explore the parallel of commercial real estate property valuation and income as it relates to the absolute best of the best MOST VALUABLE domain name properties, AKA “internet real estate”, and how he sees things being from the Physical Real Estate world.

This series of posts Danny will be making will crystalize what I see and he does a much better job explaining it than I do. I’ll let him take it away. What I can promise you, neither of us will waste a minute of your time. We hope you will see exactly what we see and exactly how it plays out into the future and why selling your unique assets without a residual could be the single biggest mistake a domainer can make going forward.

Rick Schwartz

By Danny Welsh

Let’s follow the thread from that oft-told story about a $24 purchase of the entire Manhattan Island to a world of today where we see a $2000 per square FOOT cost to buy a “luxury” 2000 square ft home in Manhattan…

I want to follow the thread even further than a residential use of prime land to the small niche of the “highest and best use” of the most valuable properties in the physical real estate world….

I’m talking about a small niche where numbers of $1.00+ per square INCH per MONTH just to LEASE— not buy— the most premier retail properties on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue or Times Square is now the norm….

Those numbers are not “made up” like 77.2% of all statistics you see on the internet…

Those numbers are taken straight from my notebook of notes from real phone calls made to real residential and commercial real estate brokers in New York City while I was up there for the Macy’s Day Parade just a few weeks ago. Of course, they didn’t exactly tell me the price per inch. I had to do the math and reduce the prices to the extreme absurd of “per inch” to get the numbers I wanted to make the analogy I knew would be possible...and powerful…when applied to domain name properties.

The point is that the difference between a 2013 PRICE of $1.00+ per square INCH per MONTH just to LEASE— not buy— in the same area where HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS of square inches once had a TOTAL PRICE of $24….that difference has NOTHING to do with the PRICE of those square inches then, and everything to do with their VALUE now and in the future.

Price and value are NOT the same, are they?

Let’s continue to follow that thread from a PRICE of a premium keyword category domain such as Property.com (or one YOU may own), for what you bought it for in 1993…through its VALUE in 2013, all the way to its PRICE if you were to sell it in 2033.

A hundred bucks to the new norm in 20 years:

http://www.dnjournal.com/ytd-sales-charts.htm

Is that a LINEAR progression by any definition of the word?

Or does it parallel Manhattan’s real estate prices?

A + B = Conclusion: The biggest profitable upside for top valued domains will not happen in my lifetime or the lifetime of anyone reading this in 2013, and this parallel proves it.

In my inaugural guest post on RicksBlog I said I’d be posting in the future to answer this question:

What are the past historical asset parallels to domain names that give me confidence in stating that my prediction that one or more 'pure' domain name investors— (i.e. pure NOT referring to those owners of domain names that developed a business on it themselves— will be profiled in the future as members of the Forbes List of Billionaires must and will come true?

There are many historical parallels that show us the path of value increasing for top domain names, and Rick Schwartz has talked about a number of the best most relevant ones on this blog...as I see it, evangelizing domain names to an audience mostly of other evangelists…and from time to time an end user businessman comes along and finds a gem of value too.

Just like I did.

The premium domain valuation parallel that struck me as most powerful reading thru RicksBlog.com is the topic of “highest and best use” development of any given property in any given area in the world of physical real estate.

Vacant land in a prime area sold as land or developed. When and if developed, something small vs. a shopping center or skyscraper. Same land underneath, same potential advantages. Most squandered with anything NOT “highest and best use”, and in domains only a FEW of the top-value landowners seemed to see any of that future money— Rick himself chief among them with Candy.com style deals.

Why?

Is it because he’s Rick Schwartz, nice guy?

Nope.com.

It’s because he looks and filters for just ONE buyer for his best properties.

It’s because he looks at a domain name as vacant land in a prime area, and judges inquiries through a lens of “highest and best use” of that property.

I also see that the real estate parallel has maybe the best possibility of making inroads in showing NON-domain investors in the commercial world the power of the “category domain names” in THEIR niche industry, and that the true VALUE of the very best dot com domains in 2013 and 2033 and beyond has NOTHING to do with the PRICE of domains in 1993…a persuasive argument domain investors have been making for almost 2 decades to “end users” in business, with varying success.

You see, I’ve had my successes in physical real estate and so I think along those lines.

Because I see the best dot com domain names in the world as a vacant plot of land, waiting for a skyscraper or a shopping mall, and I see it as inevitable that those will be built in my lifetime so I may as well help make it happen and earn a lot of money.

For those of you among “the 500” who own the very best internet real estate, Rick Schwartz believes (and I totally concur) that doing NOTHING with the few in your portfolio that meet that criteria in 2013-2015 is much better than selling for cash only.

Confucius say: “Sometimes, wisdom knows that doing nothing is better than doing the wrong thing for the wrong reasons at the wrong time.”

Translation?

When you KNOW your property is right for a skyscraper or shopping mall, don’t settle for less
and don’t accept not having a piece of the developed “highest and best use” of your land.

That’s what the vision for JointVentures.com is all about.

So go ahead, and sell any of your ‘good’ properties like Rick’s recent 3 word domain for $150,000 that I don’t even think has even been publicly reported. Most good domain names have a “magic number” that might be on the low end if you had complete future vision but there’s nothing wrong with taking the money and doing that straight-cash sale deal when you have better properties for your “hold” strategy anyway.

But if you believe you have one or more Property.com-value domain names, Rick’s advice I believe too is to hold onto those BEST internet real estate properties for the BEST long-term deal…or kick yourself in a few years when deals like Rick’s Candy.com get negotiated more and more frequently…deals that create cash now, cash ongoing, and cash for generations to the smart domain investor who kept the Golden Goose until it was the right time to sell anything but the Golden Eggs.

In coming posts— with Rick’s blessing— I’d like to answer more of the who/what/when/where/why/how much questions I posed in my inaugural guest post...and go more in-depth on our ever-evolving but already proven formula to attract and execute a deal with that ONE right 3rd party end user company who will see the VALUE in a long-term domain lease arrangement or even a full-blown Candy.com style sale-with-royalties joint venture deal as a WIN-WIN to get their hands on that very best of your very best domain names they covet at a PRICE that far exceeds the domain owner’s current income, with nothing but more upside and mitigated risks for all parties involved down the road.

Until then,

Danny Welsh
JointVentures.com

Morning Folks!!

This is how you play T.R.A.F.F.I.C. R.O.U.L.E.T.T.E.

Morning Folks!!

The way to inoculate ourselves against things like Reverse Domain Name Hijacking is letting them know ALL THE TIME that they have crossed a line. That while they were busy calling us cybersquatters, it has been nothing but a smoke screen to cover an attempted theft. Or perhaps a premeditated attempted theft. Either way the folks get to decide how to split the hair.

But today I made a decision. I decided to post those convicted of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking every month or so. Maybe every day. Whatever it takes to get the message out loud and clear.

I have 23 such cases so far and each win will discourage the next would-be hijacker. A tip of the hat to all owners below that fought and a big congrats to the attorney that represented them! I will list any and all cases as I learn of them.

SaveMe.com The Grand daddy of RDNH. Here is my post on this very big win against Márcio Mello Chaves, aka Márcio Chaves aka Marcio Chaves

The Complainant is G.W.H.C. - Serviços Online Ltda., E-Commerce Media Group Informação e Tecnologia Ltda. of Sao Paulo, Brazil, represented by Almeida Advogados, Brazil. Found guilty of Reverse Domain Name Hijacking

Case #1 is our Friend Scott Day of Digimedia who won a $100k+ judgment against GOFORIT ENTERTAINMENT, LLC who IS a REVERSE DOMAIN NAME HIJACKER.

Case #2 Rain.com Media Rain LLC engaged in Reverse Domain Hijacking

Case #3 CinemaCity.com The Complainant is Prime Pictures LLC of Dubai, United Arab Emirates (“UAE”), represented by Law offices of Vince Ravine, PC, United States of America (“USA”). Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #4 CollectiveMedia.com The Complainant is Collective Media, Inc., New York, United States of America, represented by Lowenstein Sandler PC, United States of America is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #5 Elk.com The Complainant is ELK Accesories Pty Ltd. of Preston, Australia represented by Pointon Partners, Australia is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #6 ForSale.ca Globe Media International Corporation is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #7 Mess.com Kiwi Shoe Polish Company, The Complainant is Mess Enterprises, San Francisco, California, of United States of America, represented by Steve Clinton, United States of America is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #8 Goldline.com The Complainant is Goldline International, Inc., represented by Spataro & Associates is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #9 K2R.com The complainant is a Swiss company, K2r Produkte AG of Haggenstrasse 45, CH 9014 St. Gallen, Switzerland is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #10 CarSales.com The Complainant is carsales.com.au Limited of Burwood, Victoria, Australia represented by Corrs Chambers, Westgarth, Australia is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #11 Proto.com The Complainant is Proto Software, Inc., New York, New York, United States of America, represented by Byron Binkley, United States of America is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #12 TrailBlazer.com Trailblazer Learning, Inc. represented by COO Brett W, Caledonia, Michigan is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #13 DreamGirls.com The Complainant is Dreamgirls, Inc., Tampa, Florida, United States of America, represented by Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro, LLP, Los Angeles, California, United States of America and have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case #14 Mexico.com The Complainant is Consejo de Promoción Turística de México, S.A. de C.V., Colonia Anzures, Mexico, represented by Bello, Guzmán, Morales Y Tsuru, S.C., Mexico is a Reverse Domain Name Hijacker

Case #15 Windsor.com Complainant in this administrative proceeding is Windsor Fashions, Inc., a California corporation with a principal place of business in Los Angeles, California, United States of America. Complainant is represented in this proceeding by Abraham M. Rudy, Esq. and Julie Waldman, Esq., Weisman, Wolff, Bergman, Coleman, Grodin & Evall LLP, Beverly Hills, California, United States of America. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case #16 Mindo.com Complainants are Scandinavian Leadership AB and Mindo AB of Uppsala, Sweden, internally represented. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 17 and Sha.com he Complainant is Albir Hills Resort, S.A. of Alfaz del Pi Alicante, Spain, represented by PADIMA, Abogados y Agentes de Propiedad Industrial, S.L., Spain. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 18 etatil.com The Complainants are ÖZALTUN OTELCİLİK TURİZM VE TİCARET LTD. ŞTİ. of Istanbul, Turkey, Allstar Hotels LLC of New York, Unites States of America and Mr. Metin ALTUN of Istanbul, Turkey, represented by Istanbul Patent & Trademark Consultancy Ltd., Turkey. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 19 Takeout.com. Complainant is Tarheel Take-Out, LLC of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America (“U.S.”), represented internally. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 20 WallStreet.com The Complainant is Wall-Street.com, LLC of Florida, United States of America (the “United States” or “US”), represented by Flint IP Law, United States. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case # 21 parvi.org found for the complainant in 2009 but in 2012 the courts rules that the City of Paris, France was guilty of 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacking' in a landmark case that resulted in a $125,000 judgement against the city.

Case #22 Gtms.com The Complainant is Sustainable Forestry Management Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of Bermuda, with its principal place of business in London, United Kingdom. The Complainant is represented by its general counsel, Mr. Eric Bettelheim. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'.

Case #23 PetExpress.com The Complaintant is Airpet Animal Transport, Inc. represented by Mark W. Good of Terra Law LLP, California, USA. They have been labeled a 'Reverse Domain Name Hijacker'

My hope is this is the last RDNH case I will ever have to post. The reality is this post will be re-posted EVERY SINGLE TIME there is a case of RDNH. Every time and now maybe some value based companies will think twice before flirting with this tactic and come to the bargaining table un good faith instead of being labeled forever with bad faith.

THOU SHALT NOT STEAL!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

When I look back I can say I have NEVER had a business plan online that included Google in any way, shape or form. Google is a bonus not a foundation.

When I talk to folks online about every 10th word is 'Google'. Every thing they do dependant on Google. All their numbers revolve around Google. Every 3rd word is Google. The minute I see folks do that, I RUN!!!

Google is the LAST thing I think about. Google is the LAST resort not the first. Google has its place in the food chain and in my mind it is at the very end of that chain.

I just see other ways to market. Other ways to circulate. Other ways to build a business and not be dependent on a company that can shut you down on a whim with no recourse.

Google is a plus for your business but it is FAR, FAR, FAR from a trustworthy foundation. It is an ADD ON! It's great to get extra traffic from Google. But that is exactly what it is. Extra traffic.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

2013 is the year WE will make things happen. WE will shake things up. WE will take back our own destiny. WE will do great things in 2013. We are going to 'Shake the Bushes' and that means put FEAR in the market. FEAR that it won't be business as usual. FEAR that the comfortable road could have some turbulence. FEAR that YOUR success will not help their success.

In every industry there are folks preparing and trying to disrupt business as usual. Put a sense of urgency in the equation. Make a bold and daring move that their industry will recognize and reward them for. Shaking things up. Shaking those bushes. And when you do that you would be amazed what shakes out. Opportunity! Opportunity is what shakes out of those trees when you rattle those bushes. FEAR likely drives some business out of the woodwork.

Fear comes in many forms. For some fear is a call to action. For others fear means go hide under your desk. But either way fear causes a reaction and a reaction is what you need to do business. To move the needle. To shake the fruit out of the tree that is ripe and who knew until fear enters the equation.

Like I stated before, 2013 won't be boring. There will be big change and those that are gullible and easily swayed will be confused. But there is no need to be confused or even fearful. We fear what we don't know. But if you do know then you can turn fear into power and opportunity. 2013 is such a year.

We will see utter collapse at points and we will also see a new breed in every industry coming to the game with a different angle, a different view, a different way to play the same game.

2013, good or bad, who cares? We are stuck with it and we should do great things to look back on. This is a period of great opportunity because there are talented folks sitting on the sidelines with no jobs and some cases no careers any more. They have a clear and more contemporary view of things and that just may turn out to be a very good thing.

This is a time to recruit an ARMY of great talent and worth and have them all do big things. Passionate folks looking for an avenue to direct that passion. What does this have to do with domaining? More than you may ever know! Something we can come back someday to discuss after the fact.

But from here on out it is about getting one 18 wheeler over the crest of the mountaintop with the help of like minded folks that understand the concept.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As of the morning we have accepted 240 domains from nearly 100 different domainers and we have made 100 of them public. Danny and I have decided to close submissions for the first half of 2013 when we hit 300. We believe that taking on a larger amount of inventory will not be in anybodies best interest and will just dilute our efforts in your behalf at this point. We would rather concentrate on a smaller group and demonstrate 10-15 maybe even 20 deals during 2013 that we can build on for the years ahead.

Just a heads up. We MUST be very picky with the remaining 60 domains. Once we get to 250 we will operate like Studio 54. Your domain better be knock out gorgeous for us to take on. When we finally release the full list of 300 names I think you will begin to see a picture of what we are trying to do.

I want to thank folks for giving us some great inventory to work with. To go to the market with and demonstrate why we can help all parties do more business and make more money. When everyone wins nobody loses!!

Just for the record not all GREAT domains are leasing material. Of my 6000 domains I was able to isolate perhaps 10% that I would accept to my own program. So when we decline, it is no reflection of the domains themselves. For the most part we have seen some really nice domains that just were not leaseable.

Thanks for the very widespread support. I know even if you have not submitted any domains you are rooting for our success because you know how important it would be to break things wide open. It's gonna happen folks!!

Have a GREAT day!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

Can you even imagine the NOISE we are about to hear from every tom, dick and .whatever coming down the pike? Each are going to tell you why THEY have the extension that will be the second coming and 1790 of them will be absolutely full of shit.

So brace yourself for this avalanche. I don't know how things will ever be the same. A flood of crap is coming our way and nobody reading this can escape it. It may be deafening what goes on. How do these folks compete let alone do it at virtually the same time? We could see about 20 new extensions rolling out EVERY WEEK for 18 months. HA! I have a headache just thinking about what is coming.

The cubicle whores will be magnified by 1800 x who knows. What we will see will be kind of ugly. It's one thing to offer and do business. It is another thing to fight for turf as these folks will be FORCED to do and we will be the poor victims watching this mess all unfold.

The noise oh the noise. Please be ready. They will yell loud and wide and they will get pissed at the mere mention of Mr. Johnson. But the freeway will be so crowded with .whatever's elbowing other .whatevers that we may just have a ringside seat to a demolition derby as this bottle neck heats up.

The 21st century coliseum may be coming right before your eyes. Oh the carnage to come. Big boys could go down hard. Others may hold their fire for 5-10 YEARS waiting for the fire to burn itself out and they can have a better shot. But we are going to see a blood bath on so many levels. And mixed in with that blood will be gobs of money. There will be hundreds of different marketing plans and hundreds of ways to take advantage of their success or failure.

I wish the all luck. I really do hope we have a repeat. If that happens everyone reading this will be just fine.

Just know that wishing and hoping is a fools game. Knowledge has the power to get those $$$. Smart dollars will end up in one place and most of us will be waiting and enjoying the show. Because what comes after is the light of day that will mark 20 years and this derby will be in the history books.

That is what I see and that is how I would describe it. Folks, start you engines! We will be there every step of the way and if one breaks out we will be there too!!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

They say it is all in the timing. Something I subscribe to. I wrote this post on December 21st as you will easily see below. What was your take away from one of the great events of the era? Maybe the single biggest event of 2012. Advertised for centuries!!

5000 years ago a Mayan salesman was looking for a gimmick. So he came out with a calendar with an ending date and while he died 4960 years ago, his marketing plan was a success. He should be very proud.

Now let's talk to the nuts and suckers that bought into this shit. Yes I know, the day is not over. Of course it is minutes from the next day in certain parts of the world as I write this. And man may have enough technology and evil to actually accomplish that task at some point. We are probably doing that very slowly.

Let me say that Mr. Gimbel, Mr. Macy and Mr Walton would be damn proud of the achievement of this salesman. Did you know that Mayan salesman I invented has a LOT in common with a lot of 3rd tier domainers? They may see something, but if that something can't occur in their ACTIVE lifetime, what value does it really have??

Just add 40 years to your age and see how old you will be and then ask yourself if something that happens in 40 years really going to help you as much as something happening in the next 5 years.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz