Morning Folks!!
We live in an era of flipping domains ASAP and not for the best prices vs the Patience Game that did. TheDomains did a very good post on how the old timers would do today. Many times our accomplishments have been minimized by folks that have come later. Many lash out because they just have not done well in domaining. But got news for ya, 80% of the folks that were domaining in the 1990's and in the early 2000's did not do well either. The story and comments were very interesting. I posted the following comment myself and decided I wanted to memorialize it here with your indulgence and hopefully your comments. A blog post to me is only as good as the thought provoking comments readers leave.
Just a few points if I may.
1. There was no aftermarket in 1995 or 1996. I and a literal handful of folks were the entire aftermarket that started in 1996 and 1997.
2. In 1995 very few people were online. Only 10% of businesses were online and many of them with just a holding page.
3. In 1995 not everyone had their own personal computer.
4. The average person had no idea what a domain name was.
5. Most businesses did not know what a domain name was.
6. There were no parking companies to monetize your traffic.
7. Many people did not believe there was such a thing as type in traffic and would refuse to pay even tho they made sales and money.
8. I was working in the blind. I had no technical experience. I had not even learned to cut and paste or FTP. What I had was a keen sense of business and understand that the adult world is consistently first in adopting new technology.
9. It cost $39.95/month to activate EACH domain name
10. Domains cost $100 per pop for 2 years after being totally FREE. I completely missed the FREE. So I got in too late RIGHT??
11. Since I was looking at 20 years before I would see great value, each domain was really $10,000.
12. There were NO TOOLS whatsoever.
13. Many of the folks that were domaining at the time and earlier bought domains that had no value. I had a different focus. They were techies. I was a businessman. I was a salesman. I was a marketing guy. I was a student of business and industry and the history of both.
14. I was a loner. Nobody understood what I was doing. I was just a fool according to them. There was nobody to reinforce what I was doing was not insane and might work. There was no support system.
15. There were no domain blogs. There were no chatrooms other than the one I opened in 2000. RicksBoard. That was the epicenter of a fledging industry.
16. There was no Google, no Facebook, no Twitter.
17. Online banking had just begun.
18. We did not have smart phones.
19. You could not get email on the phone until the Motorola Startac
20. I did not have a CLUE which way things would turn out. I had a hunch that I based on an assumption and took a RISK looking for a big reward. I KNEW it would take years if not decades for this to evolve.
I am sure I missed a few. But the point is, when you get on the merry-go-round of life and business, there is NO STARTING LINE!! Only FOOLS and IDIOTS think that way. If I were to have thought that way after domains were FREE just a few weeks before, I would not be writing this post today. I have no sympathy for those that wallow in self pity and only take shots to excuse their own very visible short-commings.
There are domains of value every single day of the week available. I NEVER EVER buy a domain trying to resell it the next day. As many have mentioned, have some patience! And as far as valuations go, the ONLY valuation that counts is YOURS! YOU are the only one that can pull the trigger on a sale. YOU are the only one that can determine your circumstance. And yeah, I get that you need to pay bills. But you can build a machine that stays WAY ahead of the steamroller if you work smart and not deal with that CIRCUMSTANCE!
There has been some great advice given here by many folks. They KNOW what they are talking about. Don’t argue with them. They are right, you are wrong. You need to rise to their level, they don’t need to come down to yours. We have all been there before as we climbed the ladder and WE know the difference.
Just remember, the smarter and harder you work, the luckier you will get.
“Luck is a residue of Hard Work.” Branch Rickey.
Don’t know who Branch Rickey is? Look him up. History is the #1 part of business. success imho.
Good luck and great fortune to all!
Have a GREAT Day!
Rick Schwartz
R P
Rick, I don’t consider myself “old time” as I figured out domains in Feb ’99. The younger guys do though. I was light years away from ’95-’96 as far as the quality of domains left to hand register.
These guys are insane if they think you were lucky. You had VISION and balls. I wish I had your vision three years earlier. Not only did you have vision but you had faith that you were buying undervalued assets when others sneared. The fact that you held and only sold for top dollar proves your FAITH.
How many guys once upon a time owned 6 and 7 figure domains, flipped them for a quick profit, and now there whole portfolio isn’t worth 6 or 7 figures?
Perhaps the difference is “old time” domain investors typically had another career and didn’t depend upon flipping for a living. It was a way to diversify into another asset class that was high risk high reward. Personally I was looking to build wealth and never even heard the term “domainer” until a VC asked me if I was one in 2009.
What you have accomplished, and more importantly what you have SHARED, is far more valuable than anyone in the industry. You never profited off of your blog. You wrote to help. These younger guys need to respect that regardless of whether they think domain investing was “easier” 20 yrs ago or not.
Mark Thorpe
You paved the way, Rick. No denying that.
Tom S
Rick, I’m fairly new to domaining, but have always respected the vision you had back when you had that ahah moment that maybe owning a keyword domain name was a potential goldmine. You saw what others didn’t. Even established businesses were way behind you. You deserve nothing but a big congratulations for your insight. Thanks again for coming back into blogging.
Nobody
Thanks for your contribution. I learned from reading your eRealestate.com website before you started this blog, As a newbie , that was my hahah moment. Thanks for showing me, and those who invested the time to read, the way.
vkkan
Inspiring post, for newbie domainer like me you are the role model , thanks again for sharing your thoughts
Rick Schwartz
I think when looking at the overall Internet back then and how it might develop, the only true sense of urgency I saw was getting the domain names. That was the most time sensitive thing I identified. Then or never in most cases! Still true today. The rest could wait. I knew building a website would get cheaper and more sophisticated as time went on. History proves that. Today a site that may have cost $100k or $750k back then, is a free template and it is much better!
Richard Patey
“Many times our accomplishments have been minimized by folks that have come later.”
I think you need to stop with the victim syndrome. You sound like Trump: “I didn’t do anything wrong, and can pardon myself so screw you.”
Nobody cares about old versus new time. You either provide and are relevant, or you don’t and you retire. You choose.
Rick Schwartz
We found the village idiot.
And YOUR relevance is? lol
Mike O'Neill
Hello,
I am new to domaining in terms of yourself; certainly when you first started blogging I had no idea who you where.
However, as soon as I started domaining your name came up more and more frequently.
My take-away from your earlier posts was:
“Is a domain a commodity? An investment? A safe haven? Real estate?
Yes and much more.
It is the most portable asset the world has ever known.
But bigger than all that is:
A Great Domain Name is an EQUALIZER!”
Never a truer word spoken in my book.
I am pleased you are back in the world of blogging; your post on the new .app extension was great.
Regards,
Mike
Rob
“”Just remember, the smarter and harder you work, the luckier you will get. “Luck is a residue of Hard Work.””
Spot on Rick! … Classic advice that EVERYONE needs to be reminded of from time to time.