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

Morning Folks!!

I am making this post on the first full day of a 12 day cruise that will bring 8 of us including my wife’s parents, Sister, brother-in-law and my good friends and best man taking us from Rome to Athens to Istanbul with stops in Capri, Naples and 3 other ports of call. The ship is the newest afloat and “Magnificent” is the first word that comes to mind.

When I started cruising over 30 years ago there was not even a TV in the room and for women to do their hair they had to go to a common “Hair Room” to blow dry their hair as that was the only place on the ship with 110v. Today, 52” LCD TV’s. Bose sound system, wifi and the list goes on and on. The business center has more than 50 cubicles. Each equipped with their own laptop.

It’s been about 5 years since they equipped ships with some of these conveniences. But now it is at a level that makes it possible to cruise the world and still do business as if you were at home in the office. Miracle of miracles.

Now on to today’s subject. As I have been saying, this is probably you last chance to buy great domains that actually have value. When this window closes, and it will, it will be over. Period. The chances of buying quality domains after this downturn for prices like we have been seeing are nil.

After my Property.com purchase in 2005 and even before I sat on the sidelines most of the time. I just did not see value and so I did not care to participate in a market that gave insane prices to worthless domains. Today, there is value like not seen in close to a decade. See, when I buy a domain I ask a number of questions. While many are satisfied with flipping domains for 2x, my focus has always been more of 100x and more. It’s just a different way to play the same game. You can have great success either way if you do it right or great failure if you do it wrong. We are at the day of reckoning.

In Florida there are 2 housing markets. The prime land of the coast and the waterways and the swamp land that was filled in and golf course communities were built. The homes in the swamps sold for many millions. The prices rivaled and in many cases were higher than the prime land of the beach and deep water canals. When things were going well it did not matter much. But for years I kept pointing out that those in the interior that bought in the filled in swamps would be decimated. To me that was like buying a 6 letter domain that spelled nothing. Since people did not believe things would ever turn bad, they laughed.

Well, guess what? Today the prices of PRIME waterfront in South Florida has not only not gone down, I just paid for apprasials on all my properties and even with the extra caution and even during the WORST market in generations, my properties have all gone up substantially. Each and every one of them. I was SHOCKED to say the least. I felt like I was in good shape, but until an independent pro comes in, you really don’t know for sure. Now the properties inland and in the swamps, multi million dollar properties, are 50% of their original prices and STILL are not being sold. In a good market, everything sells. In a bad market, you get your report card. Same is true with domains. Those with crap are paying the price and many are hanging on for dear life. Their only avenue to survive is selling their best domains under market value just to sustain themselves. Their loss is the gain of those that are strong and play the game differently. That is why we are seeing so many FANTASTIC domains coming to market at 1998 prices. Once this period ends, and it won’t be that long, the game is over. Done! At least this phase of the domain game. The game will begin to shift. Big players, deeper pockets, interesting proposals. All coming but not on our timetable. On their timetable. So I continue to say that PATIENCE is and always will be the KEY ingredient to this phenomenon called domains.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Monday Monday, so good to me,
Monday Monday, it was all I hoped it would be…….

Those are the first 2 lines of a song by the Mama's and the Papa's from 1966.

So what should I write about today? That is always my first question. Then an idea usually hits within a minute or so. Ok, let’s pause. Ok, idea formed. I used to hate Monday’s. When I was young it was the day to go back to school and there was the seed of that hate. Then in 1984 I went into business for myself for the first time. That was when I started to like and even anticipate Mondays.. It got to where I could barely wait for Monday to come? Why? The phones would ring and I would start doing business. I loved Monday! I still do. Monday means money.

I can’t remember the last time I woke up not looking forward to what this new week would bring in terms of business. The excitement of the future keeps me going. Gives me fuel. Gives me whatever it is. Spinach to Popeye.

These Monday’s are especially exciting. Each week brings new challenges and new opportunities. Oops, there is that word “Opportunity” again. I can’t seem to hide or shake it. See, I have lived thru days where either there was no opportunity or my eyes were not trained to see it. My soul was not trained to feel it. My wallet could not take advantage of it even if it was there. But a few times, opportunity was few and far between even with the dollars. Not today. Today is ripe with opportunity never seen before on this planet. Really. Truly. I am just overwhelmed by the choices.

I guess my question then becomes if this is a time of opportunity and the wrapper keeps saying recession and the opportunities keep growing, are we really in a recession? The answer is that we are about to see whatever is coming. See, when 10 or 15 million folks lose their jobs they can survive on their savings and credit cards for a while. How long? THAT is the question. THAT will tell the story. As I see it, the fall has the potential to be the worst ever. So you still have a few more months to cut those recurring monthly expenses because likey those expenses will dictate how well you get thru what is yet to come.

Many domainers will collapse as their renewals bury them in debt. Desperation will set in when they find it next to impossible to sell what they have. Why? Worthless domains don’t sell well during times like this. You bought SWAMPLAND and the gators are about to eat you for dinner.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Last post this morning before I get distracted. The one question I hear more than any other and sometimes the question comes with an accusatory tone. Like I am supposed to apologize for recognizing the value of domains in 1995 when others did not. Like I have something to be ashamed of. Try they may, but it will never work. So back to the question. 'If you were to start today how would you do it?' Of course the underlying tone is 'You could not do it.' which is of course nonsense.

First I always say....Stop buying WORTHLESS domain names. But few pay attention. They still buy garbage and in many cases pay for crap what I pay for a domain that can be a business standing by itself.

So look at the list of domains I bought this week. Nothing over $10k. The best domains cost me the least. There were a dozen others I could have won as well but at this stage of things I am looking to fortify what I have which is different than somebody starting out today.

Rick Latona Auction:

1. Rickshaws.com $5500
2. NetMarketers.com $1250
3. BreakfastBars.com $1300
4. AsianFlu.com $3000

Moniker Auction:

1. HotProducts.com $9000
2. ReTrain.com 4500
3. Bribes.com $3000
4. AffiliateAdvertising.com $5000
5. Wager.co.uk $5000
6. Exhibiting.com $5000

Now some of these domains are not the way I would START a domain collection....but domains like breakfastbars.com that is a multi billion dollar industry is an example of how to start. $1300 to go into business?? Insane! If I had nothing in life to do, I could make a living with this single domain name. Same with RickShaws.com. Same with AffiliateAdvertising.com. Same with HotProducts.com.

So while others are buying qzy.com for $20,000 and dgrhyd.com for $1000, I do it differently. I look for meaning. I look for a domain name standing alone to be a business. I don't expect anything less. So I will say to folks, it is time to raise your game. Liquidate the CRAP and buy prime. There are sooooo many GREAT domains coming to market that you have ONE LAST CHANCE to make it in domaining. This is going to be your very last chance of buying great domain names. The window of opportunity is open. I am not smart enough to tell you how long that opportunity will last. Months maybe, a year. That's about it. So if you pay a lot in renewals and your domains don't do it, get rid of 160 worthless domains that are a liability and trade it in for one breakfastbars.com or thousands of other domains that actually mean something. Turn your liabilities into assets. Quality rules now and rules always.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Last night a new video taken at TRAFFIC was posted on my blog. As I was sitting right next to Div it shows something that until now I may have been the only one privy to see.
Here you can see a close take of Divyank's face during the ad.com auction. Those are the eyes of a hunter. The eyes of determination. The eyes of a tiger doing battle and getting the prey. It is PRICELESS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypz3Mf7xHkI


Posted by Javier Zaffaroni as he took the video at TRAFFIC sitting about 3 rows in front of us. Thanks Javier for sharing this intense video.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

There has been a lot of talk about the 'End User.' But I am not too sure domainers even know what an end user is or looks like when they see one. See there was an auction last week. An end user bought the highest priced domain but domainers think he too was a domainer. WRONG! Div bought Ad.com NOT as a domain industry pro. He bought it as an end user and now has the chance to transform Skenzo into a mainstream powerhouse. This domain puts Skenzo right in the middle of Madison Avenue and not even they know what has really happened.

By acquiring Ad.com as an END USER, Div has the chance to transform his business into something priceless. He has a chance to disrupt things on several levels. So my surprise is that nobody recognized the end user when they saw one. Maybe we need to pass out t-shirts with END USER in big bold letters.

Now as far as end users......both Moniker and Rick Latona spent countless hours courting end users. It works a TINY little bit. In this case, enough to show what happens when you have a real auction and you mix it up and have the right audience. As I have stated now countless times....End users are coming one domain, one project, one need, one use at a time. They will likely never come in mass. We all hope they do. We will see many more auctions like this if that were to occur. But stop thinking it will happen overnight. It will happen, but we could still be a decade or more away. You can't force them to get the religion. It will happen when it happens. But when and if that day ever does come, it will make major art auctions look like stuff for rookies. Imagine not domainers selling to end user, imagine end users selling to end users. What does an auction for Loan.com look like if auctioned by Bank of America and 10 banks are there? Now THAT is an auction and that is likely something we may never see. At least in our life times.

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Greetings from Rome. I just wanted to point out the youtube video from the TRAFFIC auction.

Now that is an auction!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVZuQiYCpAo&feature=channel_page

Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz

Morning Again Folks!!

I just want to get these posts out before I board a plane to Europe as I go enjoy a few weeks off.

As many of you know we have had some really great speakers at TRAFFIC. From Steve Forbes to John Reese and 6 others as well. They were all much easier to select than what we needed in Silicon Valley for this particular show. We needed a nuts and bolts guy. An idea guy. A guy who has actually had a record of success and still, had some FIRE left in the belly to keep trailblazing. Enough so that he could apply himself as an outsider to the domain industry yet still had a lot of knowledge about the space to begin with. Where the hell was I going to find a guy like that??

It took me 6 months. I read bio after bio. I listened to TV, I read articles, I looked anywhere I could to find a perfect fit for a really important time. I was really about to give up. I would rather have no keynote speaker than one that would not do what we needed....or even worse....insult the intelligence of the audience.

Then just a few weeks before the show I found the right guy. Scott Klososky. I knew that Scott would not sell me any more tickets. But I also knew that anyone that attended would feel like his keynote was truly meaningful and actually walk away with incredible value. He sounded like the guy that could link multiple worlds together to show us our place from a view out side the industry but far from ignorant of it. Long story short, Scott was everything I envisioned and he pulled of what I asked him and then raised it a level or 2 by himself as he went even further. So for that....Tip of the Hat Scott Klososky and I believe our paths will not only cross again, I believe they will crisscross for years to come!

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

As promised, I am going to list the domains I bought at the auctions. For the last couple years I have made very few acquisitions because pricing did not fit my business model. That is no longer the case. You will see from the list below that I have a 'Sweet Spot' when it comes to pricing. I have always focused on domains under $10,000 and almost always under $5000 or very premium domains where my desire is the only limit.

Rick Latona Auction:

1. Rickshaws.com $5500
2. NetMarketers.com $1250
3. BreakfastBars.com $1300
4. AsianFlu.com $3000

Moniker Auction:

1. HotProducts.com $9000
2. ReTrain.com 4500
3. Bribes.com $3000
4. AffiliateAdvertising.com $5000
5. Wager.co.uk $5000
6. Exhibiting.com $5000

I will tell you that I 'Targeted' Hotproducts.com and Exhibiting .com before the show. I was buying those 2 domains. Period! I will also tell you that with each domain, I have an idea for a business if I ever get around to it. I bid on a few more as well. In a better economy I would have doubled my purchases as there were some real gems.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

This is the tale of two industries within one. The first sector is doing ok to good. They understand the market we are in the economy we are in and this is not their first rodeo. Income may be down on PPC but they more than make up on it with other sectors and other investments and different ways to make money with their domains.

Then there is the second sector. Don't kid yourself, they are in a world of hurt and their survival will not likely be determined by them. This IS their first rodeo so this is what they are dealing with. First, they did not see this downturn coming. The folks I talk to started preparing for this in 2007 and 2008. They are in a strong cash position and there biggest problem is deciding which opportunity is worthy of their time and money. Secondly, not only are they not in a cash position they are also highly leveraged. So they talk about 'Burn rate.' The money each month you are upside down with as you compare your income to expenses. That leads to the BIG question.....How many weeks, months or years do you have as a reserve. If you are jot in the 'Years' column, you have work to do to get there.

Those that have mediocre portfolios of huge amount of names may face some very serious problems. You equation has changed so drastically that your business model may at some point collapse. One just has to look at the chat boards out there to notice how much posting has tailed off.

A lot of this was evident at TRAFFIC. Just one look around the room and the first thing you would notice is that the age of the folks that attended averaged higher than at any previous show. The reason was evident and that was a big topic of discussion at the show. For some it is like watching a slow motion collapse.

Here is the fallout....MILLIONS of low quality domains will be dropping or changing hands as things deteriorate. MILLIONS. As I have stated for a very long time, those low quality domains are not assets, they are liabilities and the numbers over the next 12-24 months will prove it.

In my next post I will talk about the auctions at TRAFFIC. I bought more domains at the 2 auctions than any in the previous 2 years. The market was not priced for my business model lately and I made few acquisitions. That has now changed. So while the weak get weaker, the strong get stronger.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

The search for competency in a world of mediocrity is what many of us deal with daily. I expect way too much from folks in everyday life. Way too much. I actually expect them to do their jobs. I expect them to be competent. But in case after case I am finding out that those in power no matter where on the food chain they are located are mediocre and in many cases they hold hostage everyone else to their mediocre standards.

When I grew up and you murdered somebody you were not likely to get out of prison until you were either old or dead. Now you get a plea bargain and in countless cases my past car payments lasted 2X longer than their incarceration.

I saw a guy repeatedly assault another with a shovel for over a minute. Hitting him over and over. He got 10 days! This is just one example of the decay and mediocrity that we are suffering from.

What does that have to do with domains? Everything. It has to do with life and business and domains and they are all intertwined and sometimes even on the verge of getting tangled up. It takes energy and a plan to keep them as separate as you can.

I always try to come at a conversation in either of two ways. Either be extreme and confrontational to spark discussion or come to the points of agreement in the middle that we all have in common. Point is when you only focus on extremes you lose the opportunity to work on the things of common agreement.

Banks are on the verge of nationalization in the USA. That is a BIG deal. That is something that will have huge ramifications. Maybe it can’t be avoided, but don’t think for a split second that this is a good thing. This is not a good thing.

So that brings me to my greatest disappointment. While I write my blog for domainers, the people I really want to reach are on Main St. and Corporate America. In that regard, I have failed. The greatest value here is for them. Maybe someday they will discover this blog, dust it off and take a read. But as the years pass, I see less of a chance. So this is my greatest disappointment and my biggest failure.

I have not given up, but the chances of a “Buzz”, of a break through, of even a serious discussion on how a business on Main St. can change their own destiny’s is still as big a dream as it was over a decade ago. It really is not their lack of interest in domains that disappoints me. It is their utter disregard for understanding the different qualities of traffic and asking the right questions to get the proper traffic that can convert to sales. This is the one point of commonality to all business. Traffic and sales. Traffic that produces sales. Sales that make the world go round.

A lot of time has passed. In some cases too much time. Habits are formed and once that happens it is hard to break. I do most of my online purchases from Amazon. It is a HABIT. It is also a convenience. Plus over the years I have learned that not only do they have everything I ever looked for, but their prices are right in line. So I can go there, search for what I want, put it in my cart, pay for it and I can do that in the same time in took to compose and write this sentence.

Point is the greatest sales machine ever invented has largely passed most businesses without a single ka-ching in the register. They did not harness the power when they could, when they should. So now they face a much harder and much steeper mountain to climb. They face failure and extinction.

Now, there is also a new phenomenon happening as these businesses try to stay in business. The last few weeks I have noticed MANY meeting of business people when I go to Panera for lunch sometimes. I keep hearing the word “Hosting.” As folks scramble to stay in business and keep their livelihoods in place, they KNOW there is only one place to look to….the Internet. So we are going to see another round of Internet growth. Does not mean Internet success. But we are going to see growth as everyone realizes that is the only frontier left to exploit. The only place they can look to save them.

They say it is always darkest before the big break. Well it is pretty damn dark. I wake up each day waiting for my biggest failure to turn into my biggest success. Some days I feel confident that it is right around the corner. Then there are days like today that I have to look back for 14 years and just shake my head in disbelief, then lower it and wonder if I will ever see the day? When do folks see the obvious? When do companies realize the lessons of Hotels.com, Loans.com, Toys.com and soon Candy.com and apply it to their business?

Susan Boyle has always been a great singer.....it just took the world 45 years to see it. In life, in business, with any of our new ventures, at the end of the day we are looking for that Susan Boyle moment.

The Internet is the greatest equalizer ever known. Any person, any business any idea can rise from obscurity to the next big thing is SECONDS. The competition gets greater every single day. The next news, the next gimmick, the next hoax, the next overnight sensation.

We are entering an era of 'Go for Broke.' No kidding. Many companies in a broad sector of the market are going for the long ball. If they succeed, they survive. If they falter, they are doomed. That is where we are soon to be at.

Do you see contradictions in my posts? Well there are many. That is the reality of the current conditions. The wind is blowing from multiple directions and each is very intense. Each has peril and each has opportunity. In 2008 I wrote what 2009 would look like. Few really believed it. Well here it is. On one hand I am having a record breaking year. On the other, I watch fire after fire and embers flying and no matter how well your home is doing , when the neighborhood is on fire, their problem is your problem.

We have WITNESSED a collapse. We have WITNESSED a meltdown. The conditions in place right now and the seeds that have been planted we will next face an implosion. The only way to survive that is plant the seeds now. Doom and Gloom? No, reality. Let's see what a hot summer brings in cities with 20% unemployment. In Detroit they riot when the Tigers win the World Series. What do you think it may look like when it is hot and you are hungry? Do you have a plan 'B' in place? How about a 'Plan C'

Having lived through the turbulance of the 60's, the gas lines of the 1970's, the 21% interest rates, the crash of 1987, the dotcom bubble burst of 2001 and saw what we are going through for a couple years before it actually manifested itself, I am convinced we are going to make all those events look small in comparison to what we face right now. When wrong is right and right is wrong then something needs to give. It is never wrong to do right and it is never right to do wrong. Where exactly did we lose that?

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz