Morning Folks!!

Today is the day to take out some of your really good domain names and make a deal. As always, I get a 3 hour right of first refusal.

The domain can be priced anywhere from $5k-$10k.

No more than 3 entries!!

Good Luck!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

In 2018 two domains that I personally financed for the new owners were paid off. In February I received the last $1 Million owed on Candy.com. Then just last month I got the last 10 payments for Teem.com and that deal is now paid off.

I have always been willing to help a SERIOUS buyer with a PLAN to get into one of my domains for a very reasonable monthly fee. Sometimes just $1000 or $1500 a month just to allow them time to find their footing and make a REAL decision. I am not out to choke them. I am out to help them with life Support".

Today I inked a deal to lease Mens.com for $1500/month for 24 months with an option at $250,000 during that lease period. It's an $18k investment on their part for the first year to see if they can make their idea work. That's CHUMP CHANGE! That's not a big number. That's less than a kiosk at your local mall. So if someone has a great idea and they can't manage to get over that small hump, then they probably don't have much confidence in what they are doing and why should I?

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Stupid: "having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense."

My brother taught me many years ago to never call a stupid person "Stupid". They won't react well. They will lash out. Don't believe me? Try it! lol You'll be a quick convert.

But now let's get past the knee jerk reaction and see how "having or showing a great lack of intelligence or common sense" plays into domaining. Instead of using the word STUPID! Intelligence without common sense is like a one winged airplane. It will go in circles and never get anywhere.

But let's focus on "Common Sense". As the saying goes, it ain't too common. And that my friends is probably the #1 issue most domainers face. They lack common sense let alone any BUSINESS SENSE . That's why they deal in Pigeon shit and that's why these folks feel compelled to lash out. Some have been around for decades and have very limited success. However they speak like they actually know what they are talking about. But they don't understand business. They don't understand sales. They THINK they understand branding. But branding comes from sales and since they know squat about sales they know even less about branding!

I tend to give more credence and credit to those that have achieved monetary success. Some of the loudest most obnoxious voices in domaining are from those that have made VERY LITTLE MONEY over many years and can barely support themselves. But they know EVERYTHING!! They have few if any reported sales and when they do it's marginal at best and infrequent. They sell to survive not to thrive. That's a BIG difference and the prices they sell for prove it.

I piss off everyone and if you are honest that is what happens when you let common sense rule. When you speak truth not to power but to just regular people. If the shoe fits, It's not my problem DUDE! I have nothing to feel bad about. I just hit a nerve and you don't react well. So that's on YOU, not ME! I did not target you. I did not mention your name. But you know who you are. So I am the one that you will lash out at and I will laugh cuz you are still misguided. Pissed off? GREAT! The shoe fits.

Let's piss off auction houses and brokers today. How much is their service worth? Well a lot of it depends on the size of the sale. Put the legit range should be 5%-15%. Real Estate agents work on 6%. Middlemen usually get 10%. Jobbers and wholesalers that have to have inventory 20%-25%. I don't give  a rats ass what Christies or Sotheby's gets. Nobody in the domain space is or acts or has the credibility like Christies or Sotheby's nor has their BRAND and pedigree!

I'll probably get an email or 2 from some brokers and auction houses or some snide comment somewhere. That's what happens when you hit a nerve. When you present the reality which may not dovetail with their agenda. But I don't care! They do! LOL

I started in domaining with a GOAL. An achievable goal. Not a pie in the sky nonsense goal. You don't make $1 million, you make a dollar 1 million times! Once you hit your achievable goal, it's time to set a new goal. Repeat, repeat, repeat. That's the path to success.

And to the desperate and truly STUPID domainers that not only send me an emails with all their pigeon shit, but they are SO STUPID that when I don't answer them, they keep sending their crap over and over again. You guys can't take a HINT?? Are you that stupid?? Are you that bad of a business person that you can't figure it out? Nobody wants your PIGEON SHIT! And no, you are NOT a fellow domainer as so many of you tell me in your SPAMS! You are spammers trying to sell worthless crap and your job is finding someone stupider than you! So stop telling everyone you are a domainer. A domainer earns a living with domains or at the very least supplements their income enough to pay the mortgage or a car payment. These guys could not earn enough to last a single day! Desperation is an ugly thing! If you are a starving domainer, maybe domaining ain't your thang!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Does your business have all the bases covered? Did you do your homework? Were you smart or dumb?

If you were to sign a contract for mall space and you sell pretzels, you may include a clause that prohibits the mall from leasing space to a competitor. That's just insuring your success and your business. There are dozens of small things that as business people we have to think of BEFORE something goes wrong.

You don't have to run your business on an "Exact Match Domain" but it's a lot smarter for YOU to own that domain than to allow a disruptive force come in and eat your lunch.

Strategically businesses have been slow to recognize the opportunity as well as the pitfalls. Now if you are a small business and you don't intend to grow that much then maybe it is less important.

If you are late to an industry an Exact Match Domain gets you recognized and taken seriously in an instant. Of course the rest is up to you. But that "Instant" is PRICELESS!!

While many focus on getting millions of visitors to their site, I think that's not how the universe really works. Let's say you get 10 people to your site, maybe the conversion of those 10 into sales have more value. Imagine a retail store getting a million customers all at once.The place would be overwhelmed and probably shoplifted out of business. Compare that with serving 1 customer at a time and getting a sale.

An Exact Match Domain has the ability to bring in real sales at a higher rate than other ways of gathering traffic. A permanent trickle of sales.

In the real world a store may hire a person to put 1000 door hangers on people's homes. From that 1000 they only need 2 or 3 new clients to make the effort worthwhile. An Exact Match Domain can be looked at as a permanent door hanger. It will ALWAYS provide a TRICKLE OF SALES!! Oh you don't want a trickle? Then how many other sales do you piss away genius? Sales happen 1 at a time. If you throw a sale in the garbage you have to work long and hard to get the next one to replace it.

Just remember during that Trickle of business, a GIANT ELEPHANT may magically appear! The way I see the Internet and a website it is all about having as many doors open as possible. As many lanes going thru your intersection as possible. Never turn a blind eye to more business because it will make your competitor stronger while making you weaker.

Now here is a confession. A BIG ONE!

Candy.com no longer needs the domain Candy.com. That does not mean they will ever get rid of it or stop using it. What it does mean is that it accomplished the mission. It took two 20 somethings with nothing but a great domain and a plan and that allowed them to be taken seriously. Allowed them into places they would not have gotten into with GregsCandy.com. It gave them the fuel and credibility to grow. It was their Booster Rocket that allowed them to crash thru all the layers and competitors. They went from $0 to some pretty staggering numbers that I am not at liberty to say. But the point is now they are in outer space. The domain launched them. But as much as I am a proponent of domains, I will also concede that the effectiveness of the domain and the greatest value comes early on. Credibility and recognition. Then it's all about performance of course. But that "Location" gets you a look. THAT is the single greatest value in an Exact Match Domain.

It's also impressive when you present your company going the extra mile to market and attract customers. Smart business is attractive business.

I don't take search or social media seriously when it comes to basing an online business. That's strictly bonus traffic. That happens from being relevant. From just doing your work and your homework each and every day and those days turn into years.

An exact match domain will not guarantee your success. But it will guarantee a host of other things for smart business people that can exploit the benefits from a few added sales and faster growth.

The Internet is nothing more than the game of Monopoly. Choose well, you will do well. Position yourself right and things will work out.

Rick Schwartz

Afternoon Folks!!

Ever wonder how some of these crappy domains ever get sold? Well first you need to find a domainer dumber than you are. There is an entire industry now comprised of dumb domainers. They all deal in Pigeon Shit and do everything including begging to sell their crap.

There are no end users buying these domains so you are forced to find the dumbest domainers you can find that still have $$$ in their wallet. But the Dumb Domain Industry is in a whole lot of hurt right now. They are running out of dummies! Now what?

The dynamics of domain investing is fluid. It changes. The demand that was once very high is now very low. The once lucrative business of buying high profile domains for investment is no longer thriving. Those $$$$$$$$$ are going other places. Safer more liquid places.

The demand for domains today is a tiny fraction of what it was 10 or 20 years ago. Unfortunately the understanding of domains by business has progressed extremely slow. Social media bumped domains right off the radar. Maybe the recent developments with regards to who controls the destiny of your hard work when just one jerk-off somewhere in cyberspace can cut you and your business off FOREVER!

So while the dummy to dummy market goes on with worthless domains, it won't go on forever. Crap is crap and somebody will always end up holding the bag of worthless crap.

So happy dummy hunting! :-)

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Well well, what seems to be a solid formula for independent evaluation of "Exact Match Domains".

Not only a solid formula, but the article appearing in Forbes gives domain valuation a lot more street cred. Domainers now have something to point to. Something to base your price on and it's not from any of the phony valuators out there.

"Present Domain Value = Number Of Global Monthly Average Searches x $1 Cost Per Click (CPC) / Number Of Years Required To Be No. 1 In Search Engines From Today

Essentially, you are valuing the EMD on global search volume provided by Google Keyword Planner and factoring in the amount of time it will take you to grow the domain to the No. 1 position in search engines.

For example, in 2016, the global monthly average of “VPN” was about 8,800,000. At $1 per search and four years to become No. 1 in Google Search results, this still indicated that $976,730 was a great deal.

Example Formula = 8,800,000 Monthly Searches x $1 CPC / Four Years = $2,200,000"

This formula comes from the CEO of VPN.com and the article appears here.

It's a GREAT article and ALL domainers should read and re-read.

Also remember that after you achieve your #1 seo spot, the domain itself will still be paying dividends and the value still rising. If you want to invest in domain names, you should be targeting these type domains.

So put your EMD domain to the test. Remember, it MUST BE AN EXACT MATCH DOMAIN! Close is only good in Horse Shoes and Darts! And it mainly, if not exclusively, applies to .com domains.

Now I also think there are other factors that weigh into the exact value of any specific domain. Lots of considerations and factors. But this formula is a serious baseline.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

Want to be in charge of your own destiny on the Internet? There is only ONE WAY to accomplish that. It starts with EVERYTHING revolving around your Domain Name. EVERYTHING!! I mean that IS your front door is it not?

Many of us have been talking about how big a mistake it is TRUSTING these 3rd parties with your content and with your future since Day 1. Now the world knows why.

So with the recent bannings and the fact that third parties control YOUR destiny has finally woken people up inquiries are going thru the roof. This was something I could see coming and my first post when I started to blog again may make a little more sense now. My shortest post ever:

The Life, The Death and The Rebirth of the Industry of Domains.

Welcome to the rebirth! 8-8-18. Mark it on your calendar.

Sorry, but free speech is free speech and as we burn the books and words we don't like it sure reminds me of another time. I thought that was a lesson learned. I guess not.

But be that as it may, it is GREAT, for domain names. It is great for those that invested wisely in domains. It will also be a tough lesson for those on the sidelines trying to sell worthless crap.

Google, Facebook, Apple, and Twitter have "Re-Birthed" domain names. It won't do crappola for the "Domain Industry" but it is doing wonders for solid and in demand domains.

These events will challenge EVERY brand and entity to rethink their social online strategy. While first contact may be made on social media, follow up contact should be done within the confines of their own website. It is a HUGE business mistake to allow these third parties such control of your business and lives.

If you are opening an online business and you dependent on Google for your traffic, GOOD LUCK!! Google traffic is a BONUS. Your job is to use all other sources FIRST! If Facebook or Twitter is where you conduct customer service, it's FOOLISH at best! Their #1 job is to transition them off of these platforms and to their website!

These 3rd parties are TOOLS, they are not FOUNDATIONS! The domain name is the ONLY foundation you can control on the Internet.

This is a tough lesson that MILLIONS of businesses around the world are learning TODAY! It will take a while to manifest itself further. Many board meeting will be setting new agendas and that is ripe with the fall business boom!

The "Masters of the Universe" are they YOUR master? Do they control YOUR destiny? They do and will if you allow them. Unfortunately millions of businesses have been blind to it. But they are blind no more. They are TERRIFIED! As they should be.

GAME ON!

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!!

For about 15 years domainers throw the word "Developing" around like it actually means something. But please, Developing is not the same as a Business. I will explain why in a moment. But I have to put my "Plumbers Crack" on to show you.

A domain name is the same as a pipe that carries water. The goal of a pipe is to carry water from one end to the other. That's the purpose. But when you develop a site or slap together a mini site, NO WATER comes out of the other end. Something is not working. It's more like a roach motel from Raid. You can get in, but it goes nowhere. The minimum standard would be to get some water out the other side and then figure out how to get more and more.

Now take that same pipe and imagine what a business might look like. You would put water in one end and 3x the water would come out the other end. That's called PROFIT! No profit, no business. Developing domains has nothing to do with a business. It is a "Feel Good" term that domainers with no direction use to make themselves feel better.

Developing a domain name without a purpose and/or a potential for profit is a waste of time. It's just foolish. A business needs a cash register and a purpose. So when I hear a domainer tell me how he is going to develop this domain and that domain, it's simply meaningless. My eyes roll and I tune out. Tell me about the business, I will tune in.

Rick Schwartz

Morning Folks!! 

I am sure many of you keep asking or will ask why I spend so much time talking about things other than domain names. Well there are many reasons. The easiest example would be a real world developer.

Before he buys the land he has done research to make sure it can sustain itself. That the traffic is good. That the demographics support their business formula. That the growth of the community will continue. They familiarize themselves with all sorts of interesting information. As they go from city to city and town to town looking for new sites to build on they discover things. Flaws, weaknesses,
strengths, things that work, things that don't work. So they get a peek into the inner workings of things to have a view most folks can not have until they have been under the hood so to speak.

So targeting a specific domain name is more than just writing a check. You look for past performance. Current performance and then you go thru a mental check list of sorts. Future performance may lead that list. See, for every virtual world event, problem, solution, etc there is a real world parallel.

Let's say Sears builds a store. They have an entrance on their 3 sides and one entrance to the mall. That is because there are real world limitations that are without limitations in the virtual world.

For example....Sears is a department store. They have lots of different items. What would stop them from having a sign or another doorway to their store for folks looking for something specific. Imagine if Sears owned Jewelry.com and when you typed it in you would be transported to Sears Jewelry Department. And if they owned shoes.com and you landed in their shoe department....and appliances.com and luggage.com, etc.....I would bet you that had anyone at Sears had that foresight they would be a much stronger company today. From where I sit, that was a colossal failure and a missed opportunity to regain the crown they once held. A failure of merging what was learned in the last century and not having a vision of this new century.

Where are the Hero's of corporate America? Are they brain-dead? Do they not see what is coming. Isn't THAT why they pay them the big bucks? And they are failing daily! For the cost of building just ONE STINKING Sear's store they can corner the market on these "Department Names". It will insure they will survive and thrive. Without that strategy we will just watch them die!! The people running Sears are MORONS!!

Rick Schwartz