Morning Folks!!
Yesterday was not a good day for Domainers but many don't know why. In 2004 WADND filed a lawsuit to stop Verisign from raising their prices 7% a year regardless that their costs are going down, not up. When we ran out of money ($56,000) and there was no support from the industry the lawsuit was combined with that of CFIT. That suit lasted from 2005 until yesterday. Howard gave hundreds of hours to the cause “Pro Bono” as did others. It would have cost several million to carry on this suit and with little support, game over.
So for every 100,000 domains in your portfolio, you are about to spend $50k more a YEAR in fees the first year. Another $50k the second year and another $50k+++ for every year in the future. So in 10 years from now with compounding increases, 100,000 names will cost you about $300,000 MORE than they do today. That will destroy some of the models out there. Turn them from an asset into a liability and therefore will be dropped. MILLIONS of domains will fit in this category.
So Verisign is your new partner. The $$$ they take are right off the top. PROFITS!
My mindset had a hard time ever playing the quantity game because at $100 a pop, you have to make decisions of what to get and what to leave. That sucked. But that was the reality. That was what I had to deal with. Maybe a blessing in disguise as my portfolio is among the smallest not the biggest.
When domains went down to $6, it changed the way some viewed things. With payouts strong, they bought and bought. But there is always a tipping point. A point you just don’t want to get to. But when you are aggressive, that is the pitfall you always have in front of us. We push the envelope until the envelope pushes back.
Ok, the envelope is pushing back. What to do? Well if you are surprised, then you may also be in trouble or at least have a problem. These are the stormy waters I have been speaking of as early as 2007 and 2008. You could see it back then. The event started back then but would take years to manifest themselves. Well, consider things manifested and there is more to come.
If you have been paying attention to what I have been saying you are way ahead of things and life is on top of the rapids. Slow, serene, peaceful. You get to enjoy the days. Even if it is cloudy or raining or cold.
Now the other folks are still in the Rapids. They are having a hell of a time keeping the raft upright. They are still dealing with those other elements just not in the serene way others are.
See the difference? When you see it coming you can build that financial bunker to see you thru. When not, scrambling day and night to keep it together. Been there, done that. No fun.
But now that you know, you have an opportunity to size it down and benefit from what you have learned. Like traffic on a domain does mean something regardless of the naysayers.
When I started I knew nothing. I still don’t know much. But when you own a great domain name you have the luxury of time to figure it out and you got those folks that dream that say “If I only had SuchandSuch.com I could do this and that. That's the time!
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
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