What Elements Make an Everyday Item have GREAT Value? Become a Collectible? An Investment?

Morning Folks!!

If you were to study the markets for antiques and collectibles you would certainly see the domain market quite differently. If you understood these industries you might understand how I see things. Something that is rare MAY have value. But something that became rare usually once had tons of that item all over the place and they slowly disappeared until the realization they were virtually gone. They become from everyday to rare and THAT is where value and growth comes from. DEMAND. Demand and limited availability causes prices to rise. This phenomenon is not controllable for the most part unless you are De Beers.

This clusterf*ck that ICANN is in charge of and the delays show how poorly thought out this entire mess is. Delays are very costly to those with new extensions. The meter is ticking and the overhead is accelerating and not a DIME is coming in. But what does ICANN care? They ain't De Beers.

And what happens when for many this is the bridge to nowhere other than collapse? How does one collapse figure into the other extensions? That will be a factor. What happens when an extension collapses? Nobody can say there will be no fallout because we just don't know.

What we do know is there will be consolidation as we already see. Some registries will make a profit. But what EXACTLY does that have to do with DOMAIN INVESTING?? Collecting maybe. But investing?

And for every successful .whatever there will be a .com counterpart swallowing up possibly a MAJORITY of their traffic and business. So I am looking forward to all this cuz I see nothing but great things because of where I am positioned. Where you are positioned. We have nothing to worry about. The poor schmuck that tries to build his empire on sand may have something to worry about.

The world is about sales and if I were to have come 18 years ago with the sole purpose of flipping for a profit, I would have been SOL pretty quickly. Markets and demand have to develop. This is like watching 1900 new hula-hoops coming to market. Instead of round they will try square and triangular. They will copy the greatest success of all time and repeat it 1900 times and everyone will become rich!

Not so fast.

Does not work quite like that.

And of course you will hear some BS releases about manufactured deals less than arm lengths deals and then some will swallow the bait. I have an entire post coming just for that.

Many domainers focus on a smaller and smaller subset of less and less targeted groups of people with lower and lower  spending power and wonder why they make no money. I just think that is a poor formula with unneeded and unwanted limits.

I PRAY one of these 1900 will break out and we have the chance for a replay. But to be honest. I think the next big extension is one that has already been around for a very long time. That extension will just get a second look because next to most of the .crap that is coming out, they look pretty damn good.

If we were in Vegas, the odds makers would not give you very encouraging numbers. The odds of success if just ONE net gTLD came to market is watered down 1900 times with 1900 different directions. And 1900 companies with many sets of problems and some will go broke. Eventually you run out of other people's money. Eventually lots of things happen as failure is exposed.

Point is, study what has become valuable in the past and you will find out what a DUD looks like. There are missing elements here. It's almost folly. Now I will exclude .Brands. They can have use but it is just that a USE! Their MAIN ADDRESS will still be Brand.com. The front door. The main Entrance. The door that can still lead to all others. Including .Brand but with few or no roads to .whatever.

Rick Schwartz

 

Confustion Factor 50 And Extra Ad Costs and Profit Losses

Morning folks!!

The "Confusion Factor" that is coming has a dollar and cents cost. Or Dollars and SENSE!

So let's draw a line in the sand where transformation to an Ortrich occurs. (There goes Rick with another bird)

Yup, that's right. Those that think there is NO EXTRA COSTS in promoting, marketing, branding, etc for .whatever are Ostrich's with their heads in the sand.

So The ONLY discussion is the percentage. The FACTOR!

Now if we go by Mr. Johnson with Overstock, you will see that would be a factor of 61%.

Well Rick, what does that mean?

Well for a simpleton like me it means that your advertising costs are actual cost multiplied by a 61% invisible tax. Because 61% of the folks went to the wrong place. So it costs more to get the same traffic when 61% get LOST or confused.

Now in time (assuming a company survives that long) you can cut that number by half. So now the invisible tax is only 30%.

But that factor does not stop there because there are other factors at play.

Where did that 61% go?

Well if you have a competitor at the .com, he is a happy camper because his ad costs just went down by as much as 61%. So not only are you feeding your competitor, you are giving him great leverage and buying power at YOUR expense. You are helping him grow. Helping him find better help and able to pay more to keep that help. You are basically doing one of the stupidest things I have ever seen in all the years I have been in business. And ignoring over a DECADE of evidence.

Don't be an Ostrich!

But I am thrilled many disagree. I wish them great success on whatever counterpart of my or your .com they choose to build their empire. They will each empower me/you and that factors in to the equation. Factors. There is more. This only touches the most visible elements.

Content will determine success. After 20 years folks are more sophisticated. I will admit that the extension will have little to do to deter folks from doing business with you if and when they actually find you. Attention spans are very short. If you are willing to have you competitor sitting at your front door and greeting each person before you do and in many cases diverting them to his store, then one of us is missing something. Likely you and your customer if you are an end-user.

I could write about this all day long because there are so many pitfalls and great opportunities to profit from idiocy. That is even before we talk about just how undervalued domains still are. When they rise to par with the prominence and prestige of a real world counterpart, you will see an explosion in prices. I believe gTLD's are the gun powder for that explosion. The "Confusion Factor" will be the fuel for that explosion. Patience is still the key ingredient.

Any business that has a GAPING 61% leak will either RETHINK their strategy like Overstock.com with Overstsock.co and Wantable.com  with wantable.co or GO OUT OF BUSINESS! No entity can survive a 61% loss. No entity could survive a 50% loss. No entity could survive a 40% loss and few could survive a 30% loss. And if you are a happy camper because you only lose 25% of all your traffic and all your business and pay 25% more for advertising, then you too will soon be out of business or WORKING FOR FREE FOR YOUR COMPETITION!

Overstock.com FIXED their problem the day that they stopped promoting Overstock.co.

Wantable.co FIXED their problem the day they acquired Wantable.com.

End users can fix their problem before there is a problem by understanding what the "Confusion Factor" is and why it should be avoided. The BEST and maybe ONLY way to get on a .whatever and succeed is to own the .com because then at least your leak factor is ZERO because you leak to yourself and not your competition.

Now there will be HUNDREDS of .whatevers that will disagree. Their employees will disagree. So the NOISE is about to be overwhelming and while many will try to discredit me, they will be discrediting themselves as the EVIDENCE mounts.

Rick Schwartz

 

 

T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Announces New Venue and More for 2014 & 2015

Morning Folks!!

Published for the record.

No question that this has been a working summer for business in general. Huge mergers and acquisitions. Big deals being done after 5 YEARS of stagnation. Business is moving again. The bulls are back and things are happening.


Howard and I are positioning T.R.A.F.F.I.C., the show that MEANS B.U.S.I.N.E.S.S., as the Intersection of all the domain-related shows to come. The
shift will be moving away from ICANN meetings as they become less relevant and towards the entrepreneur. The focus then becomes marketing and sales and not legislative.


This will spawn all types of splintered meetings, self promoting events and small groups and that makes doing business expensive and time consuming.So with that in mind and hundreds of gTLD's coming into existence that will require extreme marketing, Howard and I are proud to announce our 2014 and 2015 T.R.A.F.F.I.C. shows will be in a hotel that can handle the volume and size of what is coming.


T.R.A.F.F.I.C. has been the hub for TLD rollouts for many years. Whether it was .mobi, .me, .co or .xxx, each found great success at TRAFFIC and each were able to parlay that exposure into even bigger successes. And that does not even mention the overall sponsors we have had over the years and the success and growth they have enjoyed. Each sponsored for multiple shows and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. was THE turning point.



1. DomainSponsor came to TRAFFIC and did a years worth of business in 3 days. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. helped transform their company.


2. TrafficZ and Company was our second sponsor. Rolled up to Las Vegas in an old van and left as the top dog. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. helped transform their company.

3. Skenzo was our next sponsor and they too rose to the top. T.R.A.F.F.I.C. helped transform their company.

Anyone that has stepped up to the plate at TRAFFIC has been able to lead the pack. We have a track record of success and it is contagious.


With the GLUT of new extensions coming out, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will become more important than ever. Why? Because those gTLD's that think they can survive and thrive without the support of the domain investing community are going to find out pretty quick how hard it is to sell one domain at a time to end users and all the overhead.


I have no doubt that several of the 1900 new gtld's will break out. But those that do will be the ones that the domain investment community and attendees of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. embrace. YOUR JOB is to show them why they should be embracing yours.


And the one that is most confident, will join the others on the list above and the HISTORY that goes with it.



In 2014 and beyond, we will have outgrown the current venue as you will see in October. So we decided to move T.R.A.F.F.I.C. a little south in 2014 to the WORLD FAMOUS Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami Beach.So with the Fountainbleu in the East and The Bellagio in the West, T.R.A.F.F.I.C. is setting the stage for great expansion that is coming to the Domain Industry.


We simply provide a common intersection, a hub from which all can benefit, and by keeping the bar high, promotes very serious business and INTEGRITY.


T.R.A.F.F.I.C. MEANS B.U.S.I.N.E.S.S. because we take advantage of a formula that has been working for a decade when that 2014 show takes center stage. Howard and I get out of the way and simply facilitate your success.


That's not all, we will have some more exciting news over the summer as we gear up and expand. New faces joining and helping T.R.A.F.F.I.C. including Adam Dicker that I will tell you about soon.


If you have been reading my blog you know I have been saying the worst of the economic crisis is behind us and the market has turned. Business is back!




Rick and Howard.

JointVentures.com Bulletin

Morning Folks!!

This note has just been sent out to all JointVenture.com clients and since I did this all so publicly I think you are entiled to see it as well.

Rick Schwartz



Dear Friends, Colleagues and Clients.


The decision to take on 3rd party domains came as a result of a discussion on RicksBlog.com back in the early fall of last year. I personally thought it would be the right time and having domains even better than my own would help give us credibility and accelerate our vision.


Well instead of accelerating our vision it actually led us off that path just a bit and as you will read further below the delay of the new gTLD's factored in as well.


Business to me is a very solemn obligation. It is even more so when I deal with third parties. And even more paramount when I personally know most of you and even those I have not met, we have had a healthy amount of chat and emails etc so we do know each other.


So your domains became a priority. We have worked diligently for months developing these pitch pages for each and every domain. But the further we got down the road the more overwhelming the task became.



We spent many days and hours with the sales team trying to train them to be effective and professional. Most important to me was "Do no harm". I know some types of marketing will lower the value of a domain so we were very sensitive to that. And while we had 2 or 3 go getters, there was just nothing to get at this moment.


I had hoped at this point to have several successes to point to that we could build on. I can't do that.

I had hoped by December 31st that we would have presented enough evidence and enough successes for you all to swing with us for another year. But I can't do that either.


In fact, I can't even ask you for the next 6 months. We are not out to tie up your property and so I hear-by release each and every one of you and the contracts we have with you effective July 1. I would hope you allow us to pursue any active contacts. There are a few names we have ongoing and active negotiations on and I want to ask those folks to stay on board.


Dispensaries.com & MarijuanaDispensaries.com, SEOConsultant.com, CRMSoftware.com. But these all have multiple parties interested and we have ongoing and active negotiations. Deals are all within reach and we are working to get those deals.


There are a few others like Rings.com, Disrupt.com and Nope.com that we have had some talks but nothing concrete yet and think movement will occur.


So while I would like to keep running with those domains, not up to me. I know we have planted a lot of seeds on many other domains and in time they may sprout.


Our current clients can even forward us future inquiries if you would like me to respond in your behalf. I still see GOLD in them thar hills! But if the timing is wrong, I would rather preserve our relationship until the day when the timing is better. There is NO QUESTION that domain leasing or lease/option is the way of the future. I still see it happening by the end of next year. But it is too far off on the horizon to ask you to tie up your assets any longer.


Bottom line, we were not able to meet our own goals that we set. Bigger is not always better and scaling back to regroup and get more proof of concept on my own domains before doing anything with 3rd parties is the right thing to do at this point.



I am all about timing. I saw the future last fall and jumped on board. As you have seen, Leasing has become the buzzword around over the last 6 months or so. It is still coming. Delayed but not canceled. And that is why I would rather release our obligation now and have the ability to come back when we are ready and the future is a little closer.


I want to thank each and every one of you so much for believing in us and I am sorry we let you down. Truly sorry!! It weighs heavy on me personally as we promised so much and delivered so little.


It was not from lack of will, desire or belief. Many of us have given what we had as we were "All in" and we reached deep looking for a success. I still think a success lays in the future. I will still be trying to blaze that trail a little bit each and every day. But reality trumps what Danny Welsh and I see when we are talking about YOU and your assets and the TIME to accomplish what we set out to do.


So effective immediately the JointVentures site will be pulled down in the coming days and I will be replacing it with something else. I have not abandoned my original idea of Joint Ventures or leasing domains. In fact I am working on a brand new site that will be online in the next few weeks. More streamlined and hopefully more effective. Maybe more geared to PURE Joint Ventures as this is where at least we have the ball rolling and have had some limited success.

It saddens me more than words can say that we let you down. We created as much momentum as we could and it caught on. We took the lead on leasing premium domain names in a new direction and the marketplace was just not ready to buy into our concept. YET!!!!!!! 

 

But I still maintain that day will happen and I still believe that that gTLD's will be the catalyst for that event. We expected them to start rolling out in April-May and planned a T.R.A.F.F.I.C. event in May in Las Vegas to capture that excitement. 

 

We almost lost our shirt on that show in Las Vegas but it came together and we pulled it out and it was a success for the attendees. But as we all see the delays, it won't be until October or beyond before we will see what we expected to see months ago. That was the KEY component in my timing and expectations throughout this. 

 
So it is so long, not good bye. Delayed but not over. Just waiting for the universe to catch up with the future. 


Rick Schwartz aka Domain King®

Chairman, CEO & Co-founder
JointVentures.com


What is the Evidence that the Recession is Over or About to be?

Morning Folks!!

Look from 2008-2013 and you will find that this has been the first set of posts I have talked about a recovery and the recession being over. Today I will explain exactly what I see and tell you why NOW is the time.

If you paid attention in 2008 the way the top economists explained the DIRE time we went thru as a ball bearing on a shiny, flat 18" plate that a restaurant server may carry over his head as he walks through the dining room and the ball bearing was out of control, rolling all over the place and the fear was the ball bearing would fall off the plate and the economy would crash and be out of control. Well the economy crashed but they held control because the ball bearing never fell off the plate. Barely! They admit it was out of control.

So why is the recession over now or about to be as I will explain? Well now they DO have control again. Now they can MANIPULATE things. Now they will use their power to make sure YOU and ME pay for the calamity that was mostly man-made by the political class.

But here is the real reason. Lets look at a Lawn and a Drought.

So a drought comes and your lawn is brown. That is a recession. Just using water as an example instead of money. So the lawn turns brown in 2008. In 2009 not only is it brown, it is brittle. By 2010 there are patches of lawn missing and the drought continues. Then a bit of rain happens in 2010 and some green appears. But then it does not rain again and back to even more lawn disappearing. In 2011 it begins to rain again. So green shoots appear. Then again another 9 months with no rain and the lawn is brown and dirt spots. Then 2012 happens and the drought is still present but there is some rain here and there and there is some green here and there.

2013 comes and the drought is still present but there are some spring rains and there are some folks starting to get more aggressive. But there is still a hot summer to get thru in 2013 and the drought is still a very big problem. But after the summer, NORMAL seasonal rains are going to appear and the difference is that this time the rain will be enough to carry things through the winter of 2014. But the lawn is improving. It looked a lot worse in 2010. There was some false hopes in 2011 and 2012. We are in the process of bottoming out right now. Bottoming out does not mean it is over. It means that you can see the end and plan for it and take advantage of it. I believe we are at the point where the economy can sustain itself as we move into the next business cycle that starts in mid August and int September and then beyond.

How?

By understanding what the politicians will do to. What people will do. What business will do. What stagnation looks like. What stagnation is Stagnation is already in the rear view mirror even tho some are getting a glimpse of it right now because just like a big bad storm, the worst sometimes comes at the tail end.

Now, it is dangerous to talk about politics but politics is at the bottom of this heap of shit called a recession and politics only makes things worse. People make things better. Time makes things better. Change of attitude makes things better. When folks get sick and tired. There are other factors at work. Anger and frustration are playing into the equation.

So when you step back, look at HISTORY and what politicians do and the manipulation that happens, it becomes fairly easy to predict things. Elections then come in play and things magically happen.

Look, I can go much deeper into the weeds but unless you are paying very close attention to some of the hardest to find info, it won't make sense. But when I say the recession is over it is not over in the sense of there is a big honeymoon and roaring comeback. It is the fact that we have bottomed out or in the midst of a summer bottoming out. The fact that after a very slow and hot summer, business will finally heat up in a HEALTHY way. The last weak companies will collapse and disappear and the lawn will be cleared of those dead weeds and make way for a green lawn period. Droughts and floods. That is the way of the world. That is history.

Look, there are MAJOR fundamental problems. We can't control things we can't control. It's ugly. But that aside because inflation will solve some of that.

And then look closer to home in our little pond. By the fall there will be many gTLD's rolling out. Some will do business. Some will collapse. This is a grand experiment of a grand experiment that has yet to prove itself.  But it brings in eyeballs, coverage and dollars. Where is the downside? Oh I forgot, because of being a victim to human nature so may of you worry and fear stuff you should not worry about or fear.

If you look to history you will find out where to be BEFORE you need to be there. Getting there AFTER is just following the herd.

When things change they change faster than you can react. For example the DAY the market turns, real estate adjusts 10%-20% immediately. A bear turns into a bull and so does the price of doing business. And it is no secret that the most desirable and the most undesirable properties sell FIRST!

In  early 2009 I wrote about the Economic fog we were in. There was zero visibility. Today there is clarity. Some of it is not pretty. But it is pretty clear that true stagnation is long gone and recovery is finally under way regardless of the significant headwinds and summer to come. Speaking of  summer, folks are going on vacations they may have passed up during the past few summers because they are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

My Fastest Growing Domain Name. 10,000 Daily Type-ins and Growing.

Morning Folks!!

Every once in a while I download all my stats and look at a detailed view and study them. I did not have to study long as I got to the very last name on the list of domains in that specific portfolio and got struck in the eye? A domain which several years back was getting 750-1000 daily uniques is now getting more than 10x that. Or should I say 10xxx that?

I should also say thanks to ICM Registry and .XXX since they are one of the reasons my traffic and earnings have increased 10 fold.  Just LOVE CONFUSION!!!  So that is why I NEVER see the gTLD's as a threat. I see it as an OPPORTUNITY!!!! And why wouldn't I? I have PROOF, DATA, STATS and EARNINGS!

Human nature and human behavior is easier to predict than the stock market or the ponies. I have been seeing it for a very long time on a multitude of things in many industries because they are all the same. Every pond has their big fish and water.

Now let me take it one step further. I can ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEE that the owner of xxxyyyyyy.xxx does not get 1/6000 the traffic than the xxxyyyyyy.com gets. But of course that is because I am drafting off .xxx as an entire TLD and not the .xxx domain itself. That my friends is important information and $$Valuable$$ information with the coming gTLD's. Lots of $$$ to be made, but not in the way many think. And if my  xxxyyyyyy.xxx does 10,000 a day I can guess that xxx.com is likely much much more.

Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz

Sharks and Minnows and Domain Names that are Priceless

Morning Folks!!

When you are in shark infested waters my advice to you is to have a bigger, meaner, crazier shark on your side than the other. An army of minnows is no match. You can't act like a minnow and fight sharks. As domainers you are fighting battles on several fronts and many don't even know it. Whether it is payouts or reverse domain name hijacking or the new gTLD's or falling values of marginal domains or any of half a dozen other fronts including rapid take down of your domains.

Sharks operate on fear and minnows are no match. So I am keenly aware some don't like my style. But my friend, it is MY style not yours. You can be whatever fish you choose to be. The way I defend my PROPERTY from THIEVES is something for me to decide. The way I see things unfolding is for ME to decide. Nobody forces any of it on you. But if the shoe fits, ask why instead of getting angry. Human nature has us wired to react to certain things in ways that are not in our best interest. So if you know that, maybe ask the question is being a minnow a good way to survive in shark infested waters?

Sure, clams do very well. They don't move much however.

There are the movers and shakers of the sea and the sharks of business. We each get to navigate things as we see fit. And if you want to be a clam, that is YOUR choice.

But now we are in a an open  world and there are many here that come to oppress. If you don't see, recognize and undersatnd that, it just could be you that is missing something. "Free will" is a very threatenting thing to some countries, society's, groups or people. So when somebody like me is this outspoken, it is THE most fearful thing in their lives. Free thought?? Free Speech? Free Will? TENS of millions have DIED in that struggle and it continues everyday of the year for as long as history has been written or will be written. Billions of peple trying to opress billions of others. I reject it and history has rejected it but the battle stll rages.

Words are a THREAT to those that don't understand this concept and therefore they react in a facist sort of way because they themselves may not even know what is going on underneath. Deep underneath. Some see collaboration as a threat to fear. On the other hand many of US see it as an opportunity to grow and expand and learn and progress. FACTS are never anythuig to be feared. But many fear facts because they would have to rethink so many things. So DAMN the facts! We all do it folks!! We are all guilty at some times of this. The POWER is acknowledging and harnessing that power and BENDING it in a positive way vs as a destructive way. But when bending does not work. DESTROYING does and so we become SHARKS fighting SHARKS and that is the game on the field.

So be a minnow on the sidelines and crticize and surpress and defend and be eaten alive.......or fight back and defeat FEAR with a bigger FEAR!

I have learned that fear is one of the most paralyzing forces known to man. Some are a victim of fear. Some use fear as a weapon and some never even thought about t until this post. So if some PRICK is trying to instill fear in me, maybe my JOB is to create a BIGGER fear for HIM?? Sound reasonable?

So when it comes to Reverse Domain Name Hijacking for example, I think I have been able to create a bigger FEAR and that makes folks think of the consequences before rather than after and that leads to different thinking. FEAR backed up by EXAMPLE!.

Now most missed this little tidbt last weekend but the CEO of P&G rsigned over the Memorial Day Weekend. No fanfare. Effective immediately. Did it have something to do with Swash.com and this post?? I don't know but a Bob McDonald was there for over 30 years............something exploded.

So for folks that don't like my style, tough. It's MY style and I suggest you get some style of your own. That way I get to do what you do!

We all get to get angry in a different manner when sharks try and bite and when sharks try and steal. What works for me, may not work for you. What works for you, may not work for me. I look at too many that DEMAND respect but never takes an opportunity to EARN respect. My rections may be "Colorful" but it certainly beats a wrong minded reaction based on being a minnow that fears answers to questions still being asking.

They use intimidation and fear. But if your intimidation is more dangerous and their fear is greater, then you have changed the equation and you have changed it in YOUR favor and the more you do that the less you have to deal with it.

Predators are sharkes by definition. The light of day is the enemy of a business shark. Don't like my style, fine, I'll gladly step aside and allow somebody else to fight the fight and put themselves out there for public ridicule. Step right up Captain Courageous. Minnows don't qualify. Step right up. Just use your REAL name!

Rick Schwartz

The Domain Industry. The Industry that Doubts Itself.

Morning Folks!!


How can it be?? How does it happen? An industry of such strong willed folks that are also strong doubters in what they themselves do. It is so sad to see folks reacting in a short term manner in what is a life long marathon.


There is NO OTHER INDUSTRY ON EARTH with such a low bar to enter and how quickly you can change your destiny. But unfortunately most folks are clueless when it comes to what makes one domain have great value and one that will just rot until you drop.


Worse is when I see domains of GREAT VALUE being sold for chump change. So the opportunity is out there. But if you are not ARMED with the knowledge as to what makes one domain have GREAT value as opposed to doubling your money, then you will find the road difficult. If you don't understand sales and what motivates some to buy you will not understand domain names.


So you want an example? Fine. The other day somebody got a great bargain. Somebody bought a domain that was $2000 at Sedo and whether you agree or not is worth into the 6 figures. It's not worth 6 figures if he sells it tomorrow. It is worth 6 figures if he buys it to plant. It's worth 7 figures if he uses it for a business. It's not even a .com.


So opportunity in domains come in many wrappers and flavors. The problem is so many seeing the true potential value once the music stops and the .com domain inventory shrinks and shrinks and shrinks. See many are in a business of diminishing returns. A domain can only be bounced around domainers a few times until it either sits with the last domainer or is bought by the end user never to return to the market again.


So resellers will eventually have diminishing returns. Less inventory. Less quality. Less money. Less demand for less quality. A catch 22 and a peek at the future.


Of course their lifeboat is the new gTLD's. But there is a problem at the ranch. While this is great for resellers, the buyers are likely to have great disappointment in their projects. The end user is smart enough to figure things out even if others don't want him to. I blogged about one such case here on this blog not long ago. Others would be smart to heed the words of somebody traveling the actual path as opposed to thse that benefit from your ignrance and gullability.


But sure, if you don't see things clearly of course you have this self doubt. But it is the self doubt that is killing you and your business not the reality of just how much opportunity awaits you. And I say that regardless of the extension you focus on.


I saw this movie before. Many of you have as well. Around 2002 the folks looked almost the same way. One guy either forgot to listen to how bad things were or decided to capitalize on how bad things were. Somewhere along the way with less opportunity than today Franky was able to amass one of the world's greatest domain portfolios. This is likely the last time you will be able to get meaningful .com domain names at prices that are just cheap. But not because of the value of the property but the circumstance of the domainer.


When this wagon comes full circle I can guarantee that this period will DWARF that period. And that is why it is so sad for me to see not only domainers in doubt but teams and companies in doubt. There is no doubt when I look at the future and the horizon. There are only waves. But when you don't know a diamond from a piece of glass, THAT my friends is the only enemy out there.


So when a domain like Beep.me sells for $2000 that is a domain that has meaning and is brandable and marketable. Of course I will have a host of folks saying that they overpaid or some other such nonsense. But in fact they are clueless on their art.


And a disclaimer, I have no idea who bought it and did not even do a whois lookup. If it was an end user, they bought a nice future with a good idea. For a domainer, if he is a cat on a hot tin roof, he can flip it and make a nice months salary or hold on to it and walk away with 6 figures at some point not in the distant future.


And here is what I see. In the past years we have seen a host of electric cars come to market. They got lots of money and they advertised and got all types of publicity and all the rest. Well Fisker collapsed as their cars blew up. The Volt cost like $75,000 to make and they sell for $45,000 and they too blow up too. So even if you wanted one of these PIGS, would you REALLY park it in the garage at night with you, your wife and kids????? It was THE deciding factor for me.


Now gTLD's are not going to blow up anyones house but it may cause a business to blow up and collapse. But there may be a parallel. Because when it doesn't work, they all circle back to what they used before. In this case, gas. Yes, gas can blow your house up to but the incidents are rare and usually self inflicted. And when .crap blows up, then they all circle back to .com and THEN my friends is when you see the manifestation of a 20 year plan coming together. Values will necessarily skyrocket.


Not all gTLD's will be electric cars. But if enough gTLD's blow up....then what? They might hurt other gTLD's. That's what. So what you think may unfold is not what I seeing unfold. How many of these new extensions will PROVE to be electric cars that just blow up? NONE of us know that. But we do know it will be significant because we are already seeing evidence of it and we as domainers have seen this before.


The bottom line is for any extension or domain in that extension to have value it must be powerful, clear and unique before we even discuss other parameters. The right combinations WILL have great value. But the WHEN question is also part of that equation.


But who cares?? It ALL spells opportunity and domainers have opportunity all around them and MANY are walking around like zombies!! Snap out of it!! Wake up. You are in the epicenter of the most dynamic business on earth right now. Your self doubt is killing your business not the opportunities out there.


Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz


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Why Will the”Domain Industry” Never Look the Same? Last Days of a Treasure we will all Miss!!

Afternoon Folks!!


All things come to an end. What you have grown comfortable with in our small pond is coming to an end. Sadly there is nothing that can be done but remember the good ole days. Folks, this is the sunset of the good ole days. Things are changing that makes our pond something that we will just remember. It's not in our control and it is not our fault. But progress and age are going to rewrite what domaining looks like.


There are two keywords you are hearing of this year,'gTLD' and 'Leasing'. One will cost you money. One will make you money. That's how I see it. The next phase is coming at us faster than you might think and the WORST mistake I could make at this stage is be LATE to the game. To the landing of this new phase.


I have patiently been waiting on the beach all these years. Now it is time to prepare the runway. Build the infrastructure. Get ready for the assault. Why now? Because the movement is already in the air. The plane has taken off and now it is just the time to travel here and land. 18 years of waiting STANDBY at the gate waiting for the plane to taxi on the runway. That plane has finally taken off. There are 1900 bumps along the way so it won't be a smooth ride. But when we emerge on the other side in 2-3 years, folks will look back like it was always that way and new folks coming in won't know any different. They will just think it was always like that just like many of you think there was always a domain aftermarket and auctions and unlimited places to register a domain name as opposed to one that did not work well. Working like your local DMV in those days. But 'Horrible' has its privileges.


In 2-3 years nobody reading this TODAY will even recognize the 'Domain Industry'. It is about to change in an uncontrollable way and voices like mine will be drown out by thousands with an agenda. Including myself and maybe you too. That is the way of the world. That is evolution. We can't control it but we CAN HARNESS IT!!!!


It is that 'Drowning out' that will elevate great domains names to their proper place in the eco chain of business. The more everyone yells me, me me, the more the domains will stand out as a way to.....stand out!


See it is the gTLD''s that will make leasing a viable option. It's just so simple and that is why you are seeing a WAVE of folks focusing on this area. Progress is not to be feared. It is to understand what happens when something new is introduced. ALL of our voices will soon be drown out by 1800 STAFFS of 'Cubicle Whores' each with their job spreading great rumors about their extension. There will be announcements of multi million dollar deals and maybe NONE will actually be done from an arms length. 1900 competing motives. They will rip each others eyes out trying to survive. Let's see how long t will be until 'Consolidation' begins. I suspect very quickly. Each consolidation is an exclamation of failure!


That's the difference going forward. It won't unfold the way 99.9 expect it will. It could be ugly. All I know is you will see a lot of caucuses lining the road to the future. All with high hopes. Most based on the second coming of something that will never be repeated. Each step only fortifying and increasing the value of .com no matter what they spew in their own self interest.


Have a GREAT Day!

Rick Schwartz


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It’s Noon and I am Already on Page 3 on Domaining.com!

High Noon Folks!!


The traffic for headlines on Domaining.com is gaining steam. Seems like in January there were a wave of New Year's Resolutions and blogs and blogging. The result, here it is noon and there are already bloggers poised to fall to the dreaded page 3 and 4 and maybe even 5 or 6 before it is all over. What does it look like this time next year?


The clutter is not just here and it is not just in domaining. If the Internet were physical you would be seeing more crains than you have ever seen on the net at one time. It's gonna get damn crowded and those folks will now be competeing more and more to the same folks. That's a potential problem that will likely benefit us before the ad war ends and the casulaties are declared.


The one I am looking at is the war between Amazon, Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart, Sears, Pennys, etc. One or more of these companies are ether going to suffer a large setback and somebody is going bye-bye! I don't know which one. The weaker ones I think are about to get much weaker.


We are in a different period. The audience is growing online but not in the way or the form of the past even if more numbers are coming online. Much is because of the buying power the last BILLION folks getting online have as compared to the other billions. Hint. It will be less. Each billion before them had greater and wider buying power. That does not mean the first billion had the most buying power. That's a different equation. Could be further down the line.


The pool of searches may not grow as in the past. But the pool of folks trying to sell to those searchers are going to get to the ridiculous point. Millions all trying to be #1 on Google. 1st page on Google. That leaves 99.99% LOSERS.


Meanwhile back to Domaining.com and the countdown to burial on page 3 starts right now. :-)


All eyes on 1800 new gTLD's and the epicenter could turn out to be right here.


We are all such whores for whatever we are whoring. Domaining.com is the front line in our little pond. The whorehouse for domainers. (Francois, that's a compliment) My mind sees things just a little differently than normal folks!! lol


Point is, this space is heating up and this is just the start. Add 1800 gTLD's and we'll be on Page 3 before 6AM. It's coming folks!!!


I think we may have to write a song about it next! 'The way we were'?


Rick Schwartz


btw, ads on the left looks good and will draw more attention to the advertisers.