Thanks to Everyone!! It’s Showtime! Keyword This Year is”SOLD”!

Afternoon Folks!!


The schedule is done, the domains for the auction are picked, badges have been printed and the show program will be ready tomorrow. Once the show begins and people get their credentials, my job is done other than to make sure things run smooth and the train stays on schedule.


Starting today folks from all corners of the world begin their final plans for TRAFFIC. I am packing and we head out tomorrow.


So first and foremost, I want to make sure everyone has safe and uneventful travels and let them know the weather will be considerably better than last year! No storms, no hurricanes and no threats of one. You will actually see the Florida sun and the prettiest blue water you may have ever seen. Come on down the weather is great!


Now for the auction on Monday. We have no plans of broadcasting it. We will record it. Folks are free to blog or use skype to keep things current. What you will continually see and hear is SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! SOLD! SOLD!


I want to take a moment to thank all the sellers, the buyers and the bidders.


First the sellers. If I did not choose your name I am sorry. Either it was priced too high for a domain audience or I saw not enough interest in something over specific. And of course there were a fair amount of pigeon dropping that we all have.


But to the sellers that signed contracts and have domains in the auction, thank you for providing a list that will work. See nobody has to look at the list and say I want all 400 domain names. But every open minded and willing domainer can look at the list and find at least one domain of interest. Just one. That was a simple and achievable goal. And if they saw more than one and they have, then all the much better.


Now for those that think there are no gems and bargains there, you will be hugely surprised not only with the sales but the amount of bidders for each domain. When 20 people walk in a room targeting one domain name, THAT is an auction. So we are going to see action like never before and that is before we even talk about the gallery of phone bidders that are assembling. I would not be surprised to see over 100 domainers involved in the phone bidding.


You will see 'No Reserve' auctions going into the thousands and maybe even the tens of thousands of dollars. That will be the single biggest proof of success.


Getting back to the sellers. Thank you for promoting your own names. That is a large part of the formula. I am honest enough to tell you that we just can't do it and we don't have to fool you into thinking we can. You can focus on your name and that focus will bring much better results. Collectively it all adds up. That too is part of the formula. It's all part of a formula and when the vision becomes a reality I can point to what I said before hand that will just add more and more credibility and that is really what it is about. Building on credibility. That takes time. That takes patience. That takes a persistence to see a vision through regardless of pressure to change it.


Sorry, no $4 Million domains. Not even $1 Million. If a domainer can't realize a 10x gain to 100x gain it is not in the auction. I have to look at it through a wide variety of eyes. Not just mine. That is why we have .com, .co, .org, .info, .tv, .me, .us, .co.uk and other extensions in the auction. There is opportunity in our auction list and for those that don't see it now sure as hell will see it next Monday.


If I buy a domain for $1000 is there somebody in the world it might have a $10,000 value or even $100,000 or higher. THAT is the question. If the domain is $10,000 is there a $100,000 customer, partner, opportunity or idea? Collect enough of those and you will never look back.


I started asking that question when domains were $100 a pop before the aftermarket was even a thought. If it is not a 10X return as a minimum, it has no value when I am looking for a domain to invest in. It's not about today, it's about tomorrow. It's about circumstance. It's about opportunity. It's about somebody else seeing what you see.


When I see a portfolio I look at it four ways. Is there ONE gem in that ocean? Is there more than one gem? Would others see that gem? Or combined, could it be meaningful?


Most of all when I thank the sellers I thank them for taking a risk, trusting the market and trusting my vision of what a REAL live domain auction should look like, feel like and result in.


Then I turn to the bidders. You! The bidders are the key. They are the report card. Without them this all fails and I get to fall flat on my face in front of all of you and it will be a horrible day for all domainers. But I think I see things thru 'YOUR EYES' as best I can with the inventory available.


But I look at the names of the phone bidders alone and that thought goes right away. We are on the eve of a great success. Everyone is going to be a winner except those sitting on the sidelines and watching opportunity slip away.


If you can't afford to bid, it is likely because you have a lot of domains in your portfolio that are just costing you money. ADJUST!! You are not locked into failure unless you don't try. It's called 'Risk' for a reason. But what is 'Risk for some is a 'Sure thing' for others.


I want to thank Escrow.com for being our new partner and stream lining the process after the show. I want to thank Zenscrow for offering domain financing on our auction. You can buy a car or a great domain for $500/month. The car will be worthless in a few years and the domain could be life changing.


Most of all thanks to all of you for keeping an open mind and understanding what I am trying to accomplish and do. Failure starts at the beginning and so far we have a solid plan and we think we can execute it in a way that will change the spirit of the industry at what I would call one of the lowest points I have ever seen as far as spirit and confidence.


We are the Veteran Real Estate agents of this century and nothing can be more comforting knowing we follow a path in which so much wealth has been created for hundreds of years. It's an exact parallel with less work, less risk and much higher and faster rewards when you have a 10X-100X or more formula you use to measure by.


Good Luck to all of us.
Travel Safe


Let TRAFFIC take your self doubts away and bring back the confidence you need to press on. We have the CURE! Like minded people feeding off each other and that is the way to recharge your batteries and understand tthat the noise out there is just that, noise. See you in Lauderdale for T.R.A.F.F.I.C. #23.


Rick Schwartz


20 Years to Gather Your Nuts. 20 Years to Eat Them.

Morning Folks!!


I have come to the conclusion that as domainers many of us are blessed and cursed with A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder) or maybe some of us are the opposite and focus too much. Possibly we suffer from both.


The more you think like the masses the better you will do. You must recognize that the 'masses' hold the keys. If they don't go along with the program, you have a flop. No matter how much is invested or touted. The Edsel and the Volt come to mind.


The consumer is finicky and only likes a change with a benefit. Change for change sakes seldom gets rewarded. 'New Coke' and 'Classic Coke'. A failure and a victory. The public rejected the new coke, but in the loss, coca cola company now controlled much more shelf space at the grocery store.


Stage one of the net had to be gathering the domain names. The 'nuts' if you will. Why? Because as I have stated many times, this was a unique moment in time that would never ever happen again. Opportunity your father, your grandfather and his father before that never had. That's a FACT NOW and only a crazy pipe dream back then.


My prediction is that window will be CLOSED at the end of this 20 years cycle. A generation it was open and anyone could participate and at the end of 20 years and possibly a few days before, that window will close. Stage one of the Internet will be over. But for me, that is just when it all really begins. The first 20 years devoted to nothing more than gathering nuts and learning. Realizing that sophistication also takes 20 years. We are growing the most enormous tree the world has ever seen. 20 years is nothing.


My first 20 years were always devoted to seeing a dream through for the next 20 years. More meaningful in terms of the Internet and as I get older and can work less, my little nuts will be doing all the work. It's an engine. 20 years to assemble all the parts and 20 years to implement.


So while there are still REVERSE DOMAIN NAME HIJACKERS out there impatiently waiting and losing millions, they can't hijack my vision or how I CHOOSE to implement it and WHEN I choose to implement. And should they try, they will have hell to pay. Ask the poster boy.


Patience is the key and while I can point to tens of thousands of failures they can only point to my slow and deliberate manner as their reason


But here we are. If you want to go into business today you are likely to start on the Internet. There was never going to be a second chance to get great domain names. Once they were spoken for, game over. So our mission was to gather those nuts. Fill the wheel barrels with gold and not even look at the booty for 20 years. Because in 20 years some of that booty would become priceless and others would be worthless.


When you don't know how something is going to unfold you shoot in all directions in the sky and hope some birds fall down. You don't aim, you shoot. You shoot as many as you can as fats as you can and worry about everything else later. You can point the rifle later or at any time in between.


Well, it's getting to be 'Later' and those that have held on and have dozens or even hundreds or maybe thousands of core domains that each on their own could keep you busy for a lifetime are soon to be well rewarded.


I look at the 20 year trip as a wagon train or stage coach going from the east coast of the USA to the west coast of the USA like they did 150-200 years ago. Many were lost along the way and many just gave up. Yet others sprinted off in other directions on their own. It's a tough trailblazing trip. Mountains and valley's and snow and rain and storms and cold nights and summer heat.


So where are we on this trip to the west coast? Well we are nearly there but we will lose more folks now then ever before. We have crossed the mountains of the east, the rockies and now we are in DEATH VALLEY!! A true test of what we are all made of. Some don't believe there is a great ocean just another 100-200 miles away or less. They have traveled 2500-2700 miles and it is at THIS POINT when so many will give up. Will second guess themselves. Will sell out of fear for no reason.There IS an ocean after this hot sand. There is a point where everything will reveal itself and it is at that moment that the your universe changes and the rewards come.


But still remember one thing. Mainstream today is yet to catch up to the adult market of 1997-1998. But they will. The numbers paint a picture for all to see. Stronger than anything I can say those numbers demonstrate what is valuable and what is not.


So that is why I see what I see and how long the journey takes. Frustration starts when you anticipate something happening much sooner and become impatient. Don't second guess the value of a great domain name. Understand that fruit has to be ripe before you pick it or you will likely just spit it out when you get it too soon.


This point is the last opportunity point before the opportunity evaporates completely. The unique moment in time will be gone. The ship will have sailed. So I would imagine this is like 2003-2004 all over again but in a different form and if you knew then what you know now, would you make some corrections to your course? The ONLY way to see th future is to study the past and understand it.


Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

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