Comments on: Stop The Presses: Rick Latona Auction Stopped After 33 Domains Due To Online Bidding Problems

By: Latona’s Las Vegas Extended Auction Runs Today Through Feb 4th, 2010 - Product Domains

Mon, 25 Jan 2010 15:27:01 +0000

[...] in Las Vegas starts today at 9:00am EST and runs through Feb 4th, 2010 1:00pm EST. After the snafu during the live auction last Friday this auction will be run on the Proxibid platform instead of Latona’s auction [...]

By: Warren

Warren — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:46:19 +0000

Rick and his excellent team made the best decision they could, having to choose from several difficult options. I think they did a remarkable job considering the challenges and complexities of coordinating an event like this. It’s easy to sit back in the cheap seats and complain about the way it was handled, but these guys stepped up and made the best of an extremely difficult situation. I was a seller in the auction and I think they handled it very well.

By: npcomplete

npcomplete — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:19:59 +0000

Great thoughts Soroosch.:

“Also, that was the night of the party…I’ve been to enough TRAFFIC shows to know the parties go late and people sleep in. So live auction attendees are groggy and rushing to the room, instead of a bit tipsy and ready to bid!!”

The auction lost the “sizzle”. There is a big difference between an auction the night of the party, and an auction *after* a big party night and early in the morning…

By: Soroosch

Soroosch — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 19:00:34 +0000

Hello,

While I agree that it took a lot of guts for Rick to step in and admit the system isn’t up to par and things needed to be fixed. I don’t think that decision to postpone truly helps the sellers in the auction. All the buyers that were online made time for that auction last night. Domainers are busy people with personal lives and other appointments. I actually think it would have been better to delay 30 mins and continue with auction then. Also, that was the night of the party…I’ve been to enough TRAFFIC shows to know the parties go late and people sleep in. So live auction attendees are groggy and rushing to the room, instead of a bit tipsy and ready to bid!!

With that said, I feel an auction with such value and high dollar amounts, there should be a team of people ready to troubleshoot these types of cases. Don’t spare any expense on something this major!! So as the auction runs this morning…mostly all domains have been passed on so far! Still a smart move?

Respectfully,

Soroosch

By: npcomplete

npcomplete — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 16:44:01 +0000

That did take a lot of courage to pull the plug, and was the right thing to do. I worked for years in the field of performance management of distributed systems. Spending “Hundreds of hours” testing a distributed or web based software system is *nothing* in this business, and would usually be described as a superficial test. Once a system goes into production the bugs crawl out of every crack in the system.

The problem of matching a performance lab test to production within specified tolerance of observed production metrics is “NP-Complete.”

By: Danny Pryor

Danny Pryor — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:16:31 +0000

This has to be a tough pill to swallow. Rick’s newsletter blast last night about this difficulty situation was pretty courageous. Getting something as complex as an online auction fixed, during these overnight hours, is a task I do not envy. The coding is challenging enough when there’s plenty of time to do it!

Anyway, my very best to Rick and all the Latona team.

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:13:04 +0000

Mark starts off “You donkeys” as if we’ve done something wrong, jumped over the corral and he’s got the noble task of rounding us burros back again. Reality is that mark would shet his pants and piss his diaper if he had to organize his closet let alone a live event with outside bidders.

Bozo doesn’t like Rick so instead of just saying so, he belittles the entire effort as if that is the reason he dislikes Rick. I think Rick may have bought a domain from Mark and turned it for 10x the price so Mark is a bit asshurt.

No sweat mark may be you can be asked to speak at a lunch room near you sometime. Rick will compete well in the future.

By: Domain Investor

Domain Investor — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 13:48:35 +0000

Mark,
When I read your comment on DNW, I figured you had a different opinion than many of the major domainers which is “ok”.

When I see you posted here the exact same wording as your other posting, it is clear you have an agenda.

By: Mark Stenplopols

Mark Stenplopols — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 11:39:21 +0000

Can’t believe you donkeys still pay to go to these shows, they have second rate speakers which have nothing to do with the industry and the auction system after 4 YEARS still doesn’t work.

Total joke. Go home Rick(s), Amature hour all around.

By: Stephen Douglas_Successclick.com

Stephen Douglas_Successclick.com — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 10:09:26 +0000

I’m really surprised. Didn’t the TRAFFIC NYC auction last year have problems too, where an auctioneer didn’t make it to the show because of flight problems and they fumbled through with a replacement found on location?

I feel the pressure for Rick and the domain sellers/buyers and TRAFFIC. Hey, I produced shows for 25 years, and the saying goes “Don’t let all the little brush fires turn into one big forest fire”… but it looks like Rick is taking control, so we should all support his efforts to get things back on track. Stay focused and it will all turn out alright. All domainers should support TRAFFIC through this…