Fearing Innovation is for Fools! Disruption is Good! The Sky is Not Falling!!

Morning Folks!!

At every stage of innovation throughout history the masses or certain segments or those with skin in the game have warned about economic collapse and loss of jobs during every innovative period. But that really does not happen. Here is the reality.

Innovation gives us more time to be productive and efficient. It never goes the other way! NEVER! When computers came out everyone was going to be replaced by computers. There was a shift, but it never does what they warn it will do. It ALWAYS does exactly the opposite. More productive, more opportunity, more money, higher standard of living.

When cars came out the poor blacksmith was going to go out of business. Maybe they just got shifted to working on cars and making more money. Things change. But they don't change for the worse. They change for the better. ALWAYS!

With robotics and AI and Virtual, these are all things that will help humanity increase their standard of living. People will work less and make more or they will work the same or harder and make MUCH more.

Poverty today comes with all the modern conveniences. When I was growing up, poverty meant no electric, no running water, lack of food, no TV and possibly lack of shelter all together. But as society becomes more efficient, even those living at the poverty level have many things and a standard of living much better than their ancestors. That's all a result of the inventions that the fools feared and warned of.

Before computers and the Internet, kids would make a few dollars mowing lawns or selling lemonade or babysitting. Today those same kids have the opportunity to open REAL businesses and make FORTUNES! And it does not matter if they are sitting in New York City, Oklahoma City, Panama City or Ho Chi Minh City! Access is close to equal for everyone on earth. That's POWER! Power folks never had before. WOW!

Progress is nothing to ever fear. It's something to embrace and exploit and gain freedom from. So, Vive La Robots! Vive La AI, Vive La Virtual, Vive La every single advancement we can make!

If you have not made your fortune yet, pay attention and you can. It's there for the making. But it's up to you to drill down, explore, think and figure out what it all means. Good Luck!

Rick Schwartz

I Don’t Care if Verisign Registration Prices go up! You guys are 10 YEARS Too Late to be Outraged!

Morning Folks!!

The outrage in the domain industry about Verisign is laughable. 10 years ago when it really counted, domainers were AWOL! There was a lawsuit against Verisign, but domainers did not support it and eventually we ran out of funds to fight. Guys with 250,000 names or more sat on the sidelines. They contributed nothing. Now they are outraged?? Give me a break!

Go buy some Verisign stock! I hope the prices go up and it forces the wannabes out. Remember, I was paying $100 a pop at the start. Then $70. Then less. At $8 I am not sure why everyone is so upset. For a REAL business $8/year is a joke! You can't get a decent Burger, Fries and Coke for $8 let alone a WORLDWIDE presence!

So stop the whining! Increasing the registration prices only hurt domainers and NOBODY gives a rats ass about Domainers! I don't think a real business owning 1-10 domains cares. Why should they!?

I would suggest that some dump all their domains. With the savings on renewals just buy Verisign and you will MAKE MORE MONEY!

Rick Schwartz

Which Metals do you Trade in? GTLD’s are Like the Metals Few Ever Heard of!

Morning Folks!!

Here is a list of metals. If you ask the average person on the street to list all the metals the best they will do is come up with about 10-15. Probably less. That's out of about 100. And they have been around all of our lifetimes and it was taught to us in school.

There are going to be 1000 GTLD's. The average person could not name 10-15 and NEVER will. The average person could not name ONE today! NOT ONE!!! The fact that "Domain Speculators" can't even see, discuss or understand this tells you everything. It's just too simple to understand. But as their wallets keep getting lighter, they should eventually figure it out. MAYBE!

They do have one thing in common. Most new GTLD's have a lower value than TIN! But everyone knows TIN! GTLD's for the most part are BILLS not ASSETS! Do domainers actually know the difference? Tin at least has value and there is demand.

Lithium
Sodium
Potassium
Rubidium
Cesium
Francium
Beryllium
Magnesium
Calcium
Strontium
Barium
Radium
Aluminum
Gallium
Indium
Tin
Thallium
Lead
Bismuth
Nihonium
Flerovium
Moscovium
Livermorium
Tennessine
Scandium
Titanium
Vanadium
Chromium
Manganese
Iron
Cobalt
Nickel
Copper
Zinc
Yttrium
Zirconium
Niobium
Molybdenum
Technetium
Ruthenium
Rhodium
Palladium
Silver
Cadmium
Lanthanum
Hafnium
Tantalum
Tungsten
Rhenium
Osmium
Iridium
Platinum
Gold
Mercury
Actinium
Rutherfordium
Dubnium
Seaborgium
Bohrium
Hassium
Meitnerium
Darmstadtium
Roentgenium
Copernicium
Cerium
Praseodymium
Neodymium
Promethium
Samarium
Europium
Gadolinium
Terbium
Dysprosium
Holmium
Erbium
Thulium
Ytterbium
Lutetium
Thorium
Protactinium
Uranium
Neptunium
Plutonium
Americium
Curium
Berkelium
Californium
Einsteinium
Fermium
Mendelevium
Nobelium
Lawrencium

Rick Schwartz

 

Rick’s Version of The Domain Game: Hold or Sell? How Many? How Often? How Much?

Morning folks!!

It is often pointed out to me that I won't sell my domains in my lifetime. DUH!!! I knew that the day I started seriously investing in domains. My portfolio would outlast my lifetime. But I am not going to sell on the cheap. EVER! That's what Generational Wealth means to begin with.

Do you think the Rockefeller's and the Carnegie's and the other land barons and industrialists of the time sold their properties before they died? The Biltmore Estate in Asheville is the largest private estate in America. George Washington Vanderbilt built this in the late 1800's. Still owned by his family to this day. It has some 6500 acres, over 125,000 feet in the house. On the property there are  2 hotels, museums, large working winery, gardens, a dozen restaurants, etc. and takes in a small annual fortune. Yeah, I know, he is dead. But his legacy lives on.

Did Steve Jobs sell all his iPhones and computers? If you do it right, you're gonna die with a whole lot of stuff! Assets. Things of value. Things that will help the next generation. Maybe Jobs has inventions that have never been made or marketed yet. Elvis, Michael Jackson, Prince, have songs that are released after their death.

So, while everyone else was so busy trying to sell, I only focused on buying and still do. While others focus on ROI, I could care less but I break calculators with my ROI. While others focus on selling 1%, 2%, 5% or more of their portfolio each year I am geared exactly the opposite. I am happy with 1, 2 or 3 sales per year. I simply want to make at least $1 million or more per year. EVERY year. The value of what I have will eventually be understood and appreciated. And if not, that's okay too.

So my buddy Mike Berkens sold most of his portfolio to Godaddy.com for a little over $35 Million. It was a great portfolio. Contained about 70,000 names. Nice names!!! He did great and I am happy he was able to cash in and so is he! And he earned millions in revenue with his traffic along the way. His timing was perfect. I never even had an offer for my portfolio nor do I expect one.

I have not even sold 70 domains. I have gone out of my way to preserve my portfolio. I have sold maybe 35-40 at most! A rate of 0.061% divided by 23 years!!! I am such an idiot for still having 6500 names and 99.94% of my domains left. Some domainers try to put me down for lack of sales. Maybe they have a lack of BRAINS! Maybe they don't understand MATH as I will show below! Maybe they are just poor businessmen and women. Maybe they suck at selling. Maybe they use Estibot. Maybe this and maybe that. Maybe they are just jealous of anyone's success. Yours, mine, everyone.

I face the possibility that I may never sell another domain. But then again, I probably will. So do I cash out by taking a lump sum that may only end up being $1000/domain or do I take the path that may lead to less, but then again, maybe quite a bit more. Perhaps even a windfall. Well, I have chosen the latter. I chose it because I believe in the portfolio I have. I believe in the long term viability. And what work is really involved selling a domain? This blog post takes more effort. I just shoot out prices. Maybe try to spark a conversation. Not exactly digging ditches. So something I can hopefully do until the very end.

Some think I should sell at a higher rate don't understand the equation because I'd rather sell for higher money.  Yes, I know I lose sales. Guess what?? I don't care. I play a different game. And yes, I have a different inventory. Am I supposed to apologize for that?? Feel guilty because I recognized something before most? Especially all those that take their time to criticize me. LOL!

So my total domain sales are in excess of $28 MILLION! And my portfolio is more than 99.94% intact!

The way I play the game it is a marathon. The longest and slowest with the mostest, WINS!! But I also think I have most of my "Life Lines" intact. I have plenty of supplies. I am financially strong. I don't have to decide which domains to keep or sell and which to drop for financial reasons.

Many in domaining have made more than me. Much more!! But I doubt anyone was as efficient as me! First of all I have been semi-retired for my nearly my entire time as a domainer. No headaches, no employees,no schedule, no worries. As a solo artist my domain career earnings are over $60 million over my 23 year domaining career.  But they say it is not what you make, it's what you keep.


  1. Cost of Employees $0

  2. Cost of Rent $0

  3. Cost of advertising $0

  4. Cost of Electric $0

  5. Cost of ??? $0 $0 $0 $0

  6. Cost to run this business $55,000/year

  7. Traffic earning reimbursement $60,000/year+


Total operating cost $0

I took about $7.5MM and reinvested in domain names.

I paid an average of about 30% taxes per year.

I took 25% of those dollars after taxes and bought high end real estate.

I took another 25% after taxes and stashed the cash.

Then I invested in many things of great value. Things that I enjoy and give me pleasure but also have a liquid cash value.

The rest, I enjoy the best of what life has to offer and will continue to do that as long as I can. I am a consumer of world travel, luxury hotel suites and the top cruises on the high seas with their owners suites. I like really nice cashmere sport jackets and comfortable shoes.

I get to buy the best. Even if the best is a McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese! Arby's or Taco Bell. It's hard for me to pass up Checkers. But then for dinner I can easily drop a few hundred for the 2 of us and do it often. I love eating. I am really good at it! I reached a high of 217 back in 2005. But I have learned to eat well but in moderation. Today, 181 LB's. I'm a lean, mean eating machine!

Sure, it would be nice to sell my entire portfolio and ride into the sunset. But I have no expectation of that happening. They would really have to have a long term vision and very deep pockets. Besides that they would really have to understand domains and value and future value and power. I don't see anyone that would meet that criteria. They buy the low hanging fruit that you don't need to be that experienced a domainer to buy. NNN.com, LLL.com etc.

If you read my posts over the years I have always stated that there are so many different ways to climb the Domain Mountain and make your fortune. Many paths lead there. The best I can do is share my path and hope others do the same with theirs. It's been a fantastic journey so far! One thing is for sure, the future looks quite different than the past when it comes to domain and domaining. Great domains will pass the test of time.

Rick Schwartz

Christmas for Consumers Begins TODAY! Christmas for Business Ended in July.

Morning Folks!!

You can expect seeing Christmas related things starting very soon. As early as today. But for many businesses that depend on Christmas, it's over. The cake is already baked. The orders placed in June and July are arriving NOW!! Christmas for Business happens in the summer. EARLY summer! If they place an order in China TODAY, it won't even arrive until Christmas or later!! Like I said, Christmas is over for business. The only thing left is selling and tallying up the totals.

Now many don't know or understand this. That also means they don't know while everyone is focusing on Christmas, Business is planning for 2019 and beyond. The marketing, the strategy, the budgeting. That's an important time for domainers. Business is being done. This is OUR season!!

That means take offers more seriously. There are real hunters out there right now. They are aiming for something specific. In domaining your job is to have something specific.

And speaking of something specific, I would imagine we are looking at the last Christmas for Sears as we know it. Once the best run company in America and maybe the world, is going bye bye. There is no excuse for this but POOR LEADERSHIP! HORRIBLE LEADERSHIP! Poor vision. NO Vision! They could not make the leap to this new century. They did not even try. The rise and fall of Sears should be taught in every business school but it probably never happen.

It's tough to learn business in school. You learn business by opening a business. Then you are forced to go thru each and every step. You learn from Failure and success. You learn by selling and buying and paying your bills on time. You learn by doing. At the end of the day, there is no substitute for experience and talent.

Getting back to Christmas. Could be a WHOPPER!! Especially for big ticket items. People have jobs and they have $$$ in their pockets. It's been 10 YEARS since the crash. They are ready to let loose!

So now that we have an idea about Christmas, let's look past it. As I stated above, Sears is gonna go Bye Bye! But who else will collapse and have to shut their doors? I guess that depends on how much of that pie Amazon snaps up.

Malls continue to have more and more space for lease. Especially in suburban areas. Times are a changin' and in changing times you can always make money.

One thing you MUST and NEED to believe. There is more opportunity RIGHT NOW than any other moment in history. There is an abundance of opportunity. Every new product presents opportunity.

10 years ago when the crash happened, the first iPhone came out. Many shrugged their shoulders. I wrote about the iPhone in detail. I also said that if I had nothing to do, I would have gone into the iPhone accessory business. Of course I was not taken seriously. But I was serious and you can look back and see what a HUGE opportunity it WAS!

I still make $$$ from my Vanity 800 Numbers but I am no longer active in that business. I am still making $$$ in Domains, but am retired other than sharing my views from time to time. I walked away from the trade show business for reasons I have described previously. I made a 7 figure hit with Bitcoin but I am out of Crypto as well. I think of businesses to open all the time. Then I realize I am retired and I just don't want to work that hard or work again.

What's the next big thing??

Opportunity is plentiful. What is not plentiful is imagination, ideas, follow-thru, patience, understanding, PROFIT. So as we roll around to another Christmas season, pay close attention to what happens. THIS is your school! This is the time of year to get new information. This is the season you prepare for your future not your past.

Rick Schwartz