Morning Folks!!
As you know I aim to sell no more than 1 domain per year to bridge that 20 year gap I talk about all the time. In June I stated that the "Financial Recession is over". Now look at the wording. The keyword there was "Financial". That meant that the institutions were back on solid ground. We paid for that as the incomes declined and so did standard of living. But that discussion is for another day. I wrote that on June 9th.
But the one I wrote 2 days later spelled it out even more clearly:
"In 2007 I wrote about it and prepared for it cuz I saw in coming.
In 2008 we were in New York City when they were jumping out of windows.
In 2009, 2010, 2011 we lived thru the fallout.
In 2012 we started rising from the ashes and by the end of 2013 we may be roaring back. My first post about this just 2 days ago."
On June 22nd I write a post entitled:
"I Stated the The Recession Was Over on June 9th! Now Even Bernanke Agrees." That post is here.
On June 24th I asked "What Evidence there was that the recession was over?" That post is here.
On June 28th I talked about the "Great Domain Industry Boom" That post is here.
On July 11th I stated "Keep sitting on the sidelines but this is 2003 all over again!" That post is here.
On July 12th I explained why "Domains were the single most undervalued asset in the world." That post is here.
On August 1st I explained how we were entering a new era. That post is here.
On September 1st I shared the story of my first days in domaining. That post is here.
On September 3rd I explained why this was the most important Labor Day ever! That post is here.
On September 8th, just 10 days ago, I proclaimed that 2013-2018 would be the "Golden Era of Domaining". That post is here.
Point is I spent all summer writing about this during the period of doom and gloom so I would be 100% clearly on record like I have never been before and that is not an easy thing to do as I have been on the record for a very long time.
In 2003 the sale of Men.com ignited things overnight. It was the fuel that gave birth to T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
This time it was not overnight. My new 7 figure sale was preceded by 2 other huge 7 figure sales just in the last 10 week!!
Just a few days ago, on 9/11, IG.com sold for $4.7MM
In July 114.com was sold for $2.1MM
Compare that to 2012 when there were only two reported 7 figure transactions for the entire year. Investing.com at $2.45MM and PersonalLoans.com at $1MM.
So with my new sale that I can make public in the weeks ahead, that makes three reported sales in just the last 10 weeks! That's significant. And what is even more significant is the size of the sales.
So fine, ignore all those posts and sit on the sidelines. But my only question is "How can't you see what is coming?" More importantly, "How can't you see what is here?"
Evidence can't be ignored. Just today Elliot is reporting the sale of Chicago.com now confirmed by Crain. I think it safe to say it was well into the 7 figures if not more.
Stop selling yourselves short. If you have premium domains you are set for life. If you don't, and the $$$ are not rolling in, scrap what you are doing and go get some before it is too late.
Rick Schwartz
Scott Alliy
Congrats Rick, Having great name inventory and patience seem to be key factors. Salesmanship and negotiation skills as well as expertise to recognize and articulate true value also played a role in this latest success I am sure.
Leaders followers Winners losers. We all have the same start each day and where we finish today is often attributed to what we have done many days, weeks, months and years ago. In other words, “Your tomorrow starts Today!”
What are you doing today for your tomorrow?, your next week? your Next year? Is a question all of us need to ask.
The lack of interest in the GTLD program makes me wonder if the art of opportunism still exists.
P.S. notice your plan was measured in years not minutes or hours. There is a good lesson for those domainers that you have mentioned lately who have given in price value wise or worse … given up.
Vivian
Wow! Congratulations! Thanks for the post (archive) linking. As I’m very new to this it should give me not only background, but maybe a way to approach your two questions. Those seem to be “simple” questions but not easy to answer (but not impossible, either).
Observer
Congratulations. Just terrific!!!!!!!!!!!! Why don’t you establish a domain sales company and sell my domains?
greetings
Congrats! Waiting to reveal your 7 figure sale…
Dr Domainer
Congrats Rick!! This is going to happen
all the time soon. Buyers always get a bonus from buying from Rick with free
exposure.
Jonathan L
Hey Rick,
Congrats on your sale and thank you for sharing your thoughts and inspirations!
Can three and or four word domain names attain “Premium Status” or are one and two word domain names only capable? Being “Set for life” with premium domain names is every domainer’s dream yet many are unsure to what extent you mean by “premium” names. Based upon your writings, you give the impression the valuable names are a few digits, a single word or an abbreviation and two word names may qualify too….is this an accurate thought? So, do we “get rid” of our three and four word domain names or should we keep the faith and believe we possess premium names?
Jeff Edelman
Congratulations on another 7 figure sale, Rick. I look forward to hearing about the details. For a number of reasons, I definitely sense that we are entering a good period for the value of premium domain names.
Joe
Congrats, buddy! Really happy for you. Looking forward to the “revelation” :) At least tell us the price you sold it for.
steve cheatham
Dude. Keep it up. I am right behind you. :-)
M.G.
Yes, you are King. Rick, how about to make it 8-figure next year..? Congrats!
UFO
Good one Rick, you deserve it.
But you have to fess up a bit, I remember in 2012 you were talking negative on 2013 and I was talking positive… and I guess some people will remember my ‘Chicken little’ statements about all the doom sayers.
When things are darkest the brightest invest.
But, domain sales count and money talks, so irrespective of whoever said what first you managed to get the real domains long before most others could see their potential.
7 figures….. and likely all profit. That’s about as good as it gets…
Harry L Shields
The “Roastermaster General” strikes again, WOW! Congrats Rick! Keep it going. Can you say 8 or 9?
Josh
Elliot’s also reporting the sale of GoldPrice.com for just shy of 1 million dollars. This flurry of activity may be proof of the market heating up. It’s certainly proof of your idea that business likes to get things done between September and end of the year.
UFO
Looking back at 2012 posts though doesn’t really agree with what I’ve said, must have been a one off post sometime perhaps prior to 2012. There were some dark days for sure along that path. There’s a good post on how people should take a 5 year nap after 2007 which seems to have come true.
Ramahn
Jonathan,
Do not get rid of your 3-4 word domains IF they have value…if they have meaning then they are worth something. The short one word domains are a no brainer. Most of those have value due to their rarity. Words mean things and sometimes less is better. But the same goes for 2-3+ worders if they have meaning and relevance.
just for reference: gamesforgirls.com, triplecreditreport.com, freesexcams.com (Rick), all sold well into 6 figures. Cellphonecases.com sold for $75k. Those are just a few examples that were reported. They all have meaning and were worth large amounts of money to someone.
Rick congrats on the sale. Things only heat up from here.
Brett Napoli
Nicely done Rick, congratulations
Ramahn
@Jonathan
More examples: waterfrontproperty.com $80k, Homeownersinsurance.com $570k, onlinecollegeclasses $91k….
As time goes on new things become relevant. Ideas are born. Don’t listen to the bitter tell you “its too late…all the good names are taken”.
LSM
It is definitely too late to hand-register good names. They are most definitely all taken and the number of ‘new ideas’ replenishing the namespace is so miniscule as to be hardly worth mentioning (notwithstanding the group of tragic idiots who chase ‘future trends’ with names that will be just as as worthless then as they are now)
The point isn’t about registering good domains names.
It’s about buying them on the aftermarket, what value they can bring to a business or start-up and whether or not that price is worth it.
There are idiots who price mediocre names delusionaly high. Excluding them, how about names like “HomeownersInsurance.com” for $570K?
Do you realize what the leadgen ecosystem looks like for that keyword? It’s a whole lotta fucking money. Excluding type-in traffic, the ‘implied credibility’ of exact matching keyword domains that are used in paid google or facebook advertising campaigns carries a fully quantifiable conversion premium as well.
So, yes, it is too late to register great domains. Morons need to stop belaboring that. People who think that don’t understand what a good name is. That ship sailed. We’re now in the waters of “can I buy an identity on the aftermarket that will raise the bar of my business for a fair price?”
The answer is yes, you still can. There are still MASSIVE deals out there. There are also MASSIVELY overpriced nonsense. Working the middle is where everyone makes money.
UFO
There was a major insurance company paying near $100 USD for every sales referral. And how many home owners insurance policies are renewed each year in the US? Shed loads. Nothing comes close to the up and personal of a one on one website that is either the result of a SE search or type in.
So is Homeownersinsurance worth 570k… you bet… assuming they can do right with the SEO.
Jonathan L
I think we all could benefit from communicating about what is a Premium Domain name these days? We need not discuss the obvious, but should address the evolution of three and four word names and their value, especially as the new gTLD’s are about to launch. HomeOwnersInsurance.com or HomeOwners,DOT,Insurance, for 570k vs. 185K plus, plus, plus? I am certain we all have analogies to share… Thoughts?
Louise
Enjoyed your comment, as always. Lots of specific, good info. However, re:
For fun, I checked the date of regsitration of a new, “future trend” term, blinkwashing, which was registered via Godaddy by this person:
BlinkWashing.com
Creation Date: 2013-09-17
Tim Cohn
marketingprinciples.com
Checking the above website, Tim Cohn does not look like a fool to me, being that he was interviewed on Forbes, and other listed credentials.
Blinkwash.com was also registered via godaddy, yesterday.
So, your characterizing all future trend investors as, “tragic idiots,” is casting too wide a net. Rick Schwartz himself bought, SmartGlasses.com on the aftermarket, while still available for low four figures. You yourself are a future trend investor.
I respect your opinions, except about future trend investors.
Cambia tu vida, La fuerza de las palabras
[…] Este post esta inspirado en un post de Rick Schwartz […]
Altaf
Congratulations Rick! What you said you proved it again and again. Would you please explain what made you to register and hold such names like 114.com (than 3 NNN). What did you see that others did not see?
I like to point out some of my observation in Google search. If you search term “a” you will find over 25bn results (Page 39 of about 25,270,000,000 results (0.42 seconds) ,but if you go to page 40 the search term is over so fast. Folks! Who could explain this. Is it the correct result ?
Rick Schwartz
I have nnn.coms but not 114.com
UFO
@ Jonathan L: I think we all could benefit from communicating about what is a Premium Domain name these days?
There are loads of different segments to the market, and the values of domains within those segments. But in ALL situations they have one similar aspect, that they leverage an entity using them, that’s what makes them valuable.
Homeownersinsurance is valuable because there’s a big market, lots of searches and high keyword competition (Adwords etc will highlight that).
Other domains can be valuable because of branding, recollection and other attributes.
The key to understanding the value of domains is understanding what an end users ‘value in use’ would be. EVEN if they don’t initially understand it themselves!!!!!!!
Having a good name is one skill, knowing what it’s really worth is another.
As Rick says, don’t sell yourselves short.
Ramahn
@Altaf I believe its because Google will show how many total results (including repeating) and once you get past so many pages omit the results that repeat or are irrelevant.
@UFO
You came at that in a different angle and explained it better than I did.
As far as names/words/phrases go, another thing to look at is the English language itself mixed with human nature. We like to shorten everything. However some things don’t sound right shortened or abbreviated. Can’t make everything slang. Some names/phrases sound better shortened or in an acronym. Its all about what we recognize things as. What sounds natural. Human nature. I think that aspect is interesting.
mike
Awesome, Rick! Your vision, labor, intelligence,,,, has been rewarded, once more… Congratulations, Dotcom King! And keep going…
dn promos
You need money to make money, especially in today’s domaining world.
Groovy
The future is here. dotCOM is deployed and has reached saturation. I hope you guys are backing the gTLD horses.
http://what.a.groovy.name
Claude Dauman
Congratulations Rick,
You were right, are right and have always been right :)
It is great to see strong seven figure sales coming back in quick succession. A premium two letter dot com, in my opinion, is the virtual equivalent of a fourteen room condo on Park Avenue – it doesn’t get much better.
I have a few very nice 2 letter dot nets, which would probably be the virtual equivalents of six room condos on Third.
Keep up the good work. You are a guiding force in the industry!
Altaf
@Ramahn
Thanks for the attention. But do you measure a term on G?
Rick Schwartz Nails Fourth 7 Figure Domain Name Sale! - IDN Forums - Internationalized Domain Names
[…] Nails Fourth 7 Figure Domain Name Sale! Rick Schwartz Nails Fourth 7 Figure Domain Name Sale. http://www.ricksblog.com/2013/09/ric…e-domain-sale/ Any ideas what the domain could […]
Albert Picardal
I hope that someday I could have that same amount of sale to one of my domains! I think selling domain is like a luck.