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

Morning Folks!!

Let me define foolish. The following was a post I made on October 22nd of 2000 and then had the audacity to post it on Afternic. (the old Afternic with a reputation for shill builders and worse) Another Sunday more than a decade ago and I am still having the same arguments today........They said THEN what they do now. Too funny. Look back to see the future. This is to all the non believers then, now and in the future. I got flamed big time and this was the last post I ever made there.

Is the crap I heard in 2000 the same crap we hear now? You bet it is! But to PROVE what type mentality I was dealing with.....Franky had yet to purchase his first domain but these pinheads were all saying the same things the pinheads of today say. I hope it opens just one set of eyes out there.

Has the game changed? You bet it has. But the basics don't change. The attitude determines everything. Think it is over and it is over. What would you label the folks that said that in 2000???? You can use the same label for the same thinking in 2011. More opportunity, It just comes in different forms.

October 22, 2000

Morning Folks!

Many, maybe most believe you could not do what I did again. In some respects they are right. In others, they are completely wrong.
I started in 1995 with $1800. So I decided to do an experiment recently.
I bought geteven.com for $760
I bought peeshots.com for $500
I bought ??? (still looking for 1 more domain)
The #1 thing is BE PICKY!! Choose well. THIS is THE most important part of your job.
The above 2 domains make $80/day
Both of these domains have been bought RECENTLY.
With $75 a day PROFIT I have 2 basic choices. I can buy 5-10 domains a DAY for free. Or I could realize that they will earn $2250/month. That $2250 a month now gives me BUYING POWER.
The next thing will determine what kind of businessman I am or you are. It's the ART of the deal. The FORMULA you must CREATE in which 2 parties walk away happy and getting what they want.
I can buy a domain for $2250 CASH.....OR.......you can make a deal and buy a $25,000 domain and pay the guy $2,000 a month for a year. Or you can buy a $2,000 domain EVERY month. or a THOUSAND different scenarios.
Point is:
#1 You can STILL do this.
#2 The FIRST domains are more important than ANY other domains you EVER buy. It is the FUEL you need to get to the next level.
So to those folks that BELIEVE it is all over.......BULLSHIT!!! You just have a BAD attitude and have given up.
I just proved you wrong. But if you buy WORTHLESS domains, you will NEVER make a cent.
Here's the road map folks. I can't make it simpler than that.
I REFUSE to even answer a question about this cuz it is in such SIMPLE language that I just don't have the temperament to deal with naysayers.
Got it you Afternic lurkers without the balls to even post??
NOW you understand why I don't deal well with MORONS. If they are not capable of following a SIMPLE example, they are not capable of going to the next level and the next and the next. Morons populate this planet in numbers too high to measure. :-)
Have a GREAT day!!
Rick Schwartz
Sun Oct 22 08:01:16 2000 - 172.130.220.171 - message #4991

My Thoughts the next day:

Will human nature will NEVER change!!??
Serge, you are one of the few that remember my reception at Ynot, then the real estate board and others. Imagine going to a domain forum and receiving the SAME treatment!
http://www.afternic.com/index.cfm?a=th&fid=15&tid=20992&mid=21097#21097
Well yesterday I made a post at Afternic with a reprint from my post #4991 that was my morning post yesterday. I thought it was valuable enough to post over there. WRONG!
All I got was flamed by the folks that THINK they understand domains. I readily admit I don't know everything and I learn EVERY day and from nearly EVERY person.
Check out the thread and see the reaction after I give them a FORMULA that works and is the EXACT formula I follow.
Now I understood being flamed at Jonathan's World at the end of 1996 and I understand the early days of Ynot, I even understand Cresline to some degree. But here are domain speculators that for the most part are walking east trying to find the sunset and they too throw stones.
Human nature spits out morons at an incredible rate. Can anyone turn off the 'Moron machine'?
Have a GREAT day!
Rick Schwartz
Mon Oct 23 08:08:52 2000 - 172.154.39.59 - message #5085

Morning Folks!!

When objectively looking at the auctions and the process I would like to articulate a difference on approach and why that is going to be a big game changer. You will read below about our “Guaranteed Placement Program” and how you the domainer can have more control in helping to market your domain name. It's a collective effort and I think we have a new road map that will reach a much larger audience and get the most lucrative bids. We will give everyone a REASON to change the current stale dynamics.

With the business Monte was in, his job was to beat the competition and grab as many contracts on domains as possible. That was his job and he did it brilliantly. Rick Latona had a challenge by having so many auctions so close together and not being able to invest the time needed to comb thru 100,000 domains and be as effective as if he were focused on one auction. It's a tough task so hats off to both Monte and Rick and their teams.

Our job and goals are different. I already discussed in my last post how a successful auction is part of the formula of TRAFFIC. Without the auction there would never have been a New York show in 2007.

So we have no interest in tying up domains. That’s not our job, not our goal and not our business. Our job is to showcase great domains at great prices. Whether it be 20 domains or 200 domains. It will be based on quality and the chances it will sell to the audience we have.

Now we don’t want to pick through thousands of domains. That is not our business. We don’t want to be the auction. What we want to do is work with each auction house and the registry’s to facilitate and showcase the best domains at the time of the auction. We already have commitments from the 3 largest houses and the others are welcome. There is no barrier other than a great domain at a market price.

Howard and I are discussing a lot of new things when it comes to the TRAFFIC domain auction. One change we are thinking of is a “Guaranteed Placement Program”. With this innovation you will pay a flat listing fee ($500-$2500) that guarantees your domain will appear in the live auction. In addition, we will reduce the commission of the domain name should it sell from 15% to a predetermined percentage. Bottom line, we all have skin in the game and as a serious seller you save money when the domain sells.

Now I don’t want to set myself up as the guy that rejects your domain. If you believe your domain is worthy of the auction, and you want to show us we are wrong…..well here is a chance to bypass the process and jump to the front of the line.

This is not for low end domains. But this does allow a domainer to take control of his destiny. It allows the domainer to market his domain name and start to do it when he chooses. It allows us to use the domain as a “Headliner”. It demonstrates that the seller is serious. It allows a domainer to use our High Profile auction to market and attract END USERS. It also minimizes our risk. It could lead the way to an auction that is entirely flat fee with no commissions at all. That would reduce the cost of selling your domain dramatically.

So we are doing things different because the process is stale and off course. This is going to be a breath of fresh air and will open up the auction process by taking barriers down. By getting the serious sellers with the best domains to rise to the surface. Allows both the domainer and TRAFFIC to promote to folks inside and out of the industry to cast a wider net.

This will be the most open auction ever. Each auction house has the same leverage. They can submit up to 50 domain names each. All we want is the best available domains. The earlier the better. So we are working on the auction FIRST and not LAST.

This isn’t the past where the names had to be hastily assembled. Our auction for October is in swing right now! We also realize it won’t be easy to have folks tie up their domains early. So this is a balancing act. But when folks see what we are trying to accomplish, I think they will realize that to sell their domain at auction and get the best price then you have to build momentum by having bidders come just for your domain name.

If you want to sell your domain at the highest price you need to promote and create desire among interested parties. 3 weeks does not cut it. NOW is the time to think about courting buyers and have them vie for your prize this October. It takes months to create an effective 'Buzz'.

We also have decided there will be no “Silent Auction” following the live auction. There are a host of other changes that will streamline things and restore credibility to the live auctions. Like I said there will be no fake bids. PERIOD! If the domain has exhausted the bids we will move on. We will not FOOL YOU to have you bid higher. The domain name will have to do the work.

The main thing is that we are looking at it with a fresh set of eyes. I have one small advantage. I have always been in the audience of the auctions and never on stage. I hear the moaning and groaning. The laughter when CRAP goes on auction. It’s no fun. Sometimes it is me moaning the loudest. I FEEL YOUR PAIN! So we are at to change that dynamic. And we are starting the process now.
Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The spam engines.....I mean search engines.....namely Google....don't do much searching these days. They just try and suck you in to what you have already been sucked into before.

One of the best most candid pieces I have ever seen on search was done yesterday by Michael Arrington. He did a much better job articulating something I have been trying to convey for quite some time. He also gives some historical reference for those that do or don't remember the rise and fall of Alta Vista and his take on Demand Media that is dead on imo.

As things evolve this point and problem was predicable and foreseeable. What is not so apparent is how the surfer will eventually react and behave. To be fed garbage results over and over again until they become meaningless.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning folks!!

The biggest mistake some of the auction houses are making is they don’t know how to ask the right questions, they don’t know what price points are attractive to domainers and then of course they don’t choose the right domains because they are not looking at it through the eyes of a DOMAIN INVESTOR.

And a domain owner is not looking at the audience they want to sell to. Therefore we have had some lackluster auctions over the last few years. We are investors not end users although eventually we might be both. Some already are. But they know the difference in a retail price vs a wholesale price.

I have a List of TEST of questions that must be met if a domain will be making it into the auction. The auction houses are not asking these questions and thus we see what we have seen.

Listen, we all want the end user to be there and buy. And generally 1 or 2 show up and a partly prearranged sale is confirmed in front of everyone. That sale saves face. But screw face. Let’s get to making a difference.

We are selling to domainers. What are domainers looking for? They are looking for an undervalued domain that they believe has a value at a minimum 10x what they are buying it for. But more than that they are asking the $1 Million test question. Can this $10,000 domain really have a $1,000,000 value? That’s what they want. They want at a minimum to know there risk is low. The best way to do that is having really good domains that everyone knows are really good domains. That can be developed if they choose. That mean something.

The domains for 6 figures still have to pass the minimum test or it is too risky and you can use you dollars better. So a $250,000 investment has to be easily worth $2.5M for it to be a bargain, for it to be attractive, for it to sit on the shelf for years while the value appreciates to that level.

There is a “Sweet spot” for selling domains to domainers. Buying a $10,000 domain that you could see being important enough to demand $1 Million is what the audience wants. To buy it for $10,000 and flip for $15,000 is all well and good but that part of the audience won’t be driving up the price to a real value. It will be undervalued.

Having multi-million dollar domains in an auction might look good, but unless there is a REASON to be in the auction, it’s wasting everyone’s time and the “Show-boaters” come out in droves.

It’s all about the upside and what I see in most auctions are domain names that can’t pass this test because nobody understands this test. Sure it is exciting to see a 6 or 7 figure auction. But what is better is watching genuinely great names at domainers prices being put on the table and letting the MARKET drive the value. If you want end user prices you need to go to that industry and have that auction. Domainers are not going to bite unless they see a HUGE upside. Especially now. Money is tight and every purchase is important.

What’s exciting is seeing a GEM come to auction with a low reserve and starting low and letting the market give it a great value. Great value because 1 or 2 saw a great use.

There was only a handful of magical moments in auctions. The first live auction in 2005. I still remember the line that broke the ice that made the audience feel comfortable. Somebody yelled out a ridiculously low bid and the auctioneer responded, “That’s for the bid Mr. Rockefeller”. That had everyone laughing and THAT was the MOMENT history was made. We had lightning in a jar and then we had a damn good run culminating with the 2007 June Auction in New York. $12.5M

Coincidentally, this was the only auction I had hands on input. Not taking away anything from Monte and his crew. They did the heavy lifting. It’s tough work and I know what a pain in the ass it is. But Howard and I had everything at stake because the show itself was going to lose $250,000. New York is expensive and the math did not work. But I also knew the industry needed to get there. There could be a real opportunity bringing domains to New York. The entire show rested on a successful auction. A bad auction and we were out of business and $250k in the hole. Game over. This was the moment and we had to go “All in.”

So when I tell you that everything rested on the auction, I am serious. It was the entire enchilada. I was banking that domains in New York would create a stir. Would be well received. But it was only what I believed in my gut because the spreadsheet let me know what a risk it was.

$12.5M later we did it. The big gamble paid off. I just wanted to break even and get New York under the belt of an emerging industry. Mission accomplished and we had some walking money. Point is, that was the model to copy and because of one thing or another it never was.

That auction was carefully crafted as to what domains would appear when to get momentum and excitement to build. It was done methodically. We had the right domains at the right price points for domainers. We had each domain in those slots for a reason. It was done with a lot of care. Once auctions became like every day events, that type planning never returned.

This October will be the first time I am personally picking the domains along with each auction house. Each auction house has a responsibility to meet the basic guidelines we set. What you will see is a completely open auction with almost every major auction house participating with a small group of GREAT domains at GREAT prices.

And the biggest difference other than those, we won’t look like fools by starting an auction at $1M and then dropping until somebody bids $1000. Each auction will start at $1 or $1000 and quickly bid up. Even if it does not sell, we will establish “True market value.” Reserves will be handled differently as well. This will prevent showboat bidding to look cool in front of everyone or to do somebody a favor. We won’t take non existent bids. If there are no bids there are no bids and we can just move on.

The auctions will be much faster moving and exciting because we will quickly establish a new way of doing business. We have no favors to keep. We have no direct selection of the domains only REJECTION of domains that don’t fit the audience. And we are starting the push for those domains in the next few weeks.

So why pick TRAFFIC as the venue for your domains and commit early? Because our audience means business and we have demonstrated over the years that given good names at good prices the names get sold and we are capable of having a record setting auction.

It takes time to really market a domain. Each seller has a duty to HELP market their domain. Howard and I will do what we can. The auction houses will each be doing what they can. We will all be rowing in the same direction for the first time and you will see RESULTS when that happens.

There are other pieces to the formula that I don’t want to talk about right now. But I think you will see a huge difference. We will have but one auction to do in 2011. We have already begun the process behind the scenes. But the focus on one project to get it right will yield great results.

And here is a little secret. The “End user” will show up because there is enough time to do this right and not hastily putting names together. The sooner we assemble the final list, the sooner we can market.

So we are serious about fixing the auction process and we are serious about increasing all value by doing it right and restoring some credibility to the process. We won’t get it all right, but you are sure as hell going to know things have changed.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Morgan Linton did an interesting article yesterday on developing. He looks at domains the way I do and many others. As Real Estate because of all the parallels. Like I have always said, for everything in the virtual world, there is an EXACT real world parallel that holds many of the answers. For domains it is Real Estate but there are many others as well. Once you make the connection and study things you will find answers. If you don't have the time or pateince than you will work in the blind.

Let’s say you own a nice parcel of land outside of town. But right now that parcel, that property is surrounded by nothing. Just more land and a few farms and such. But then you get information that in 5 years they are building a huge mall directly across the street from where you have your parcel of land. Do you:

1. Sell it to the first guy that will double your money?

2. Build a competing Mall?

3. Open up a sporting goods store right now even tho it may be 5-10 years before that mall is fully done?

4. Do nothing?

5. Charge the workers to park their cars there.Sell them Hot dogs at Lunch?

6. Listen to offers of interested parties. Maybe even wait and do nothing until the mall is all built and you can see if there are any voids you can fill to find your own niche?

In Domaining, most folks do #1. That’s what domain flippers are doing when they let a great domain slip thru their hands. The first 3 answers are the wrong ones from my vantage point.

Developing for the sake of developing because of peer pressure is folly. I have done enough of it. Lost enough time and lost enough money. Have little to show for it.

First of all to really develop let’s start at the end of the story. A SALE IS MADE. Nobody is making anything until a sale happens. So you need a cash register for the money. No register, than you did not develop. You made a better parked page, but until the cash register comes, The “D” word is not apropos.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!

Figuring out how things will unfold is key to what we all do. Mike Berkens made a post today on the progress of Bing. They are eating away at Google.

Let's rewind to my post of July 17, 2009. This is what I said then: 'So those that think Bing is not here to stay and not going to take substantial market share, will be proved wrong within 18-36 months and indications will be obvious much sooner.'

Now see what many folks said from my original post. Long way to go, but momentum takes time. And speaking of time, 18 months was the EXACT amount of time for this to begin to unfold.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

First of all if you are sick of hearing about Facebook, go get a shot and cure your problem. Now while I don't use Facebook much please don't underestimate the revolutions both figuratively and literally that are going on. Facebook is a front row seat to human nature. To history. To the future. It is where the masses are and if you want to succeed, you need the masses. Their behavior is how folks make money in life.

The biggest single Advertising mistake since the demise of Impression Based Advertising nearly 10 years ago is in full swing. Facebook has some great elements and is useful in many ways. But today let me talk about the worst way. I am watching morons drive their own advertising traffic to Facebook. It is hysterical. Some already figured it out and stopped. But the masses are just beginning to make this mistake at a time they can hardly afford mistakes.

Now I am not saying Facebook is not a good marketing tool. What I am saying is sending traffic to a 3^rd party site while you are paying the advertising is akin to being insane. Facebook has a place, but driving traffic there in lieu of your own website is moronic. But enjoy the chuckle. It is ok. They are looking. Just looking in the wrong direction. Opening the wrong doors. But they are searching and eventually they will figure it out. That is why Facebook is so important. It helps folks figure it out. It changes habits. It gets people online for more and more HOURS each day.

We have gone from a TV based society to an Internet based society faster than anyone thought possible. We are not even there yet and the change is massive.

Btw, we already figured it out. You know and I know what they want and have what they need. So relax, enjoy life and be patient. I guarantee they will be happy campers once they open our door. Once they get tired of being fooled by impression based advertising. Or fooled by search as they sell traffic like fruit juice. 10% real fruit, 90% sugar and water and other things I probably can’t even pronounce.

Search today is 10% real traffic. OIL Mixed with 90% MUD! That’s only if you are lucky. More often you get much more mud if that algorithm is working well. At least the fruit juice tastes good. You all know what mud tastes like and it sure does not taste any better to the guy spending $$$ on it.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Maybe folks don’t understand the audience I am speaking to so let me define it. Maybe that will clarify some things and help you understand where my comments are aimed.

There are about 500 serious, full time “Domainers”. Those are the core folks I am speaking to but that does not mean I don’t want the ears, eyes and minds of others. But you need to know where I am coming from. I talk to those 500. But I am also hoping to reach others. So let me define “Others”.

In the domain industry there are the 500….let’s call them collectors, connoisseurs, affectionados. Like fine wines, art, watches, they collect prime domain names. But unlike those other collectibles, these items are parcels of virtual real estate that will eventually be developed into businesses. They are the base and foundation of things. They hold the majority of the booty. They are independent decision makers.

The next group are the 600 folks that are really trying hard to make it in domains. They may have been doing it for 10 years or 10 hours. Many have had some measure of success. Many have not. Before you have success you need discipline, direction and understanding of general things not related to domains. Most of this is NOT related to domains. It is related to how you think and how you act and react.

Domains are a vehicle. But you need to learn to drive the domain vehicle or any vehicle by getting the foundation of business right from the get go. If there are 600 here, 120 will get the message and get to work. I spend the most amount of my efforts on this group trying to help them raise their game. Get over the hump. But they have to play by the rules and do things right even if it takes longer or is harder or has a cost associated with it. That's where discipline and honor come into play. So you either understand or you get angry. Understanding means you are moving in one direction. Anger means you are moving in the opposite (wrong) direction.

Ever play golf with someone who cheats? I feel sorry for those that are compelled to cheat. But who in their right mind would golf with them again? Especially when it's no game and money and your livelihood are at stake?

The others (and there are a lot more of them) came to service those 500-1100. Does not sound good to say but that is how things evolved. They built registrars and parking companies and mini sites and everything else to cater to the 500 and then beyond that.

By far the largest part of the new formed industry are the brokers and flippers. Many of them and cost of entry is nothing. That is not a bad thing. That’s called opportunity. So there are many brokers and they are the “Grease”. That’s a compliment. No brokers = no interest. We have brokers in the business because there is money to be made.

Beyond that is the general businessman in either corporate America or Main St. Truth be told. THEY are the ones I want to reach the most but we all need each others shoulders to reach them. To let them hear us. If this were a stadium my focus would be the 1100 in the front seats and the masses in the back seats. Those allied industries would be in the middle but not my focus. They become the beneficiaries of my focus by creating a larger and larger audience paying attention.

The reason I write is that I know the words will be around for a long time. Many of those words will make more sense in 5 years from now than they do now or 5 years ago. Like they said in the Social Network, what you put on the Internet is in 'Ink' not pencil.

The 'End users' are in the bleachers and so is our future. But as I have said for years, they will come one domain, one project, one mission at a time. If you see the right picture, you will have the right amount of patience and patience is the key ingredient in this business for the 500. The guys in the bleachers will have their 'Sense of urgency' moment. But one by one. All we can do is accelerate their knowledge as that leads to desire.

From a lone wolf to an exponentially growing industry is a dream come true. I sit back and look at it in awe. It is everything I dreamed of and so much more. (With a few disappointments and short comings) And to think the dream is just to begin not to end is the most spine tingling part of all. Don't be afraid to look back from where we all came. You will see a stadium filled with interest. Stadiums filled with interest.

My vision is like a 'Beach Ball' that starts here and keeps getting tossed into the air and all of us doing what we can to keep that Beach Ball up in the air and make it all th way to the bleachers. Each Beach Ball with a different message. Getting that ball or post or thought or example up to the bleachers is something we could and should all be participating. A rising tide for one is a rising tide for all.

Like I have been saying, THIS is the start of a 5 year sprint and marathon and when we look back in 5 years, you too will be in awe if you are not already. Captain, prepare for 'Warp Speed.'

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Good Evening folks!!

Are we about to watch the Beer bowl....I mean Super Bowl, going back and becoming the .com bowl? The .co Bowl? The Facebook Bowl? The Soft Drink Bowl? The Auto Bowl, Snack Bowl? Which Bowl are we about to see? Some of you will be seeing the Toilet Bowl.(sorry, could not help myself)

Super Bowl....Where Sport Intersects with Capitalism, Madison Avenue, Testosterone and Ego's, tailgater's, partiers, beer drinkers, joint smokers, butt shakers, Facebook and tweets from the stadium. This is a Super Bowl with a new twist. Will Facebook compete with the commercials? Questions that have never been thought of and never been asked and certainly never been reacted to.

Things are changing faster than anyone can even record or benchmark them. But that does not mean progress is being made. It means things are changing and you can always make money when things are doing that. Momentum creates cash flow but without sales there is no real progress.

Give us your knee jerk reactions to each commercial. Hit or miss? Cute or effective? Funny or not? Does it SELL the product? Is there something memorable? Waste of money? Let's disect and name the winners that make you want what they have to sell. Make you want to do business with them. Make you want to do something other than just be passive.

I am surprised they are interrupting the commercials with this silly football game. Anyway, this is an 'Editorial Poll'. Tell us in real time what you think.

enjoy! ;-)

Have a GREAT Time!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The .co deal is going to have a LOT of unintended consequences imo. Today will be the first time folks even hear about it. 99.99% of folks on the planet don't know it exists. Some MAY know tonight. THEIR reaction, lack of one or even anger will decide many things.

Anger? Don't underestimate that possible backlash when MILLIONS of businesses find out their .co has been grabbed. They might not be happy campers.

Registrars may have their own set of problems if the average guy thinks he is getting a .com and ends up with a .co. But that is small and manageable.

One thing for sure, the lawyers are going to be very busy and the crossfire will be like nothing we have ever experienced. No press release can cover what everyone knows is about to happen. All hell is about to break loose.

If you ask 'Was this foreseen?' Then I say yes. Will it matter? I guess that is the gamble everyone is taking. But this could create quite a backfire if things go south. Many questions even if a great success.

Either way, congratulations to all and good luck. We are going to be in for an interesting ride no matter how it unfolds. Let's hope domainers don't get bitten in the ass with this like some businesses will be bitten in the ass with Social Media. This will rip the scab off the 'Cybersquatter' debate and may have ripples that go further than .co as over reaction is certain to follow.

It is not about what we think. It is about how the average guy perceives it and that is predictable but unknown at this moment. It may not be known for a while as it has to 'Ferment' in people's minds and their positions evolve. That evolution could go either way. But strong head winds would not be surprising at all. And crosswinds will be frequent and even more unpredictable.

And for the hundreds or even thousands of .Whatevers.....This canary in this mine may be your future destiny. Without the crosswinds, without the controversy and without a SuperBowl commercial.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz