A Record Low For A TRAFFIC Auction? RickLatona.com TRAFFIC Auction Results: 12 Domains Sold For A Total Of €86,820
The RickLatona.com domain name auction from the TRAFFIC Dublin show just ended with what I’m pretty sure is an all time low for a TRAFFIC show.
Just 12 domains sold for a total of 86,820 Euro’s or around $110K.
Two domains accounted for 85% of the total sales, ShortFilms.com sold for €58,000 and Italian.net €15,400.
Meaning that the other 10 domains sold accounted for only €13,420 in sales.
Poor
The poll we took on this domain foretold the results.
Not because people correctly picked the domains that would sell, (actually I didn’t even select those as choices for the poll) but it showed a huge lack of interest in the domaining community for the auction.
Only 44 people voted in the poll casting 77 votes (each voter could select up to 3 domains), in which we asked which domain would sell in this auction.
690 votes were cast over the 4 DomainFest polls in which we asked the same question.
Here are the other domains that sold:
Eqi.com €3000
Microphones.net €3,150.00
html.in €770.00
usk.com €3700
skills.us € 100
ShannonTourism.com €125
MobilePhone.bz €25
Talking.net €2000
PDFReader.net € 100
Party-Costumes.com € 450
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@snoopy
“Saying “get enduser to auctions” isn’t constructive criticism, it is just a comment about something that has already been tried by everyone running live auctions. Domainers keep saying it but the people who actually have to pay for all that promotion aren’t interested, they’ve been there, done that.”
At least we both seem to care about what direction things could take in the domain aftermarket, we just have different perspectives. but as I quoted you above… implies that a lot of domainers may be getting increasingly frustrated at attending these conferences and not quite realizing a ROI. Your comment implied domainers do want to see more end user participation and that makes perfect sense albeit the hard work. I agree it is hard like most things and businesses are, but here is what I openly suggest could be the methodology:
Instead of trying to auction domains at SEO and Affiliate Conferences where the primary focus of the attendees is not to buy domain names, but to learn about SEO or whatever it is they came for, TRAFFIC, SEDO and AFTERNIC should mechanise a marketing plan to contact HR of fortune 5000 companies, or the marketing executives at these companies. Now, that direct approach inviting them to come and learn how domain assets create scale for their marketing will grab more attention. They can then budget for their biz or marketing execs to attend these conferences and they will pay for it. it becomes an annual event held by the BIG 3 ( sedo, traffic and afternic). Marketing execs will attend because they will realize their competitors are attending and may loose out. They will pay for attendance seminars etc… Then they will also understand the pertinence of the domain auction and compete against each other. they will come more prepared and do this year after year! I worked in HR as the Stock option Analyst at macromedia and I know how we send our employees to various events as long as the expense is justified. For the Big 3, they will make money holding these events and other added value, plus a broader sponsorship from big brands. Until something like this is done, the domainer market will continue to shrink year after year. Even Rick Schwartz is concerned about the domainer market shrinking if you read his blog. One final thing… Rick shwartz has clearly demonstrated his ability to sell directly to the business end user e.g ireport.com, roomdivider.com and so on. Plus Funds.com was bought for $10M by an investment media company…again an end user, business.com and so on..
I hope the Big 3 can come together, put some resources together and they will be the biggest winners over the long term. Sorry for any typos.
Robert, after reading all that there are many reasons why this will never happen,
Why would three auction house get together to run a conference, when was the last time you saw competitors do something like that? Too many cooks, cooks who want the others business. Would you start hatching business plans with competitors? I wouldn’t.
Moniker has reached out to try and get endusers to conferences before, I don’t think it resulted in them buying “whatever domains were on offer”. Domainers window shop, endusers don’t.
“One final thing… Rick shwartz has clearly demonstrated his ability to sell directly to the business end user e.g ireport.com, roomdivider.com and so on. Plus Funds.com was bought for $10M by an investment media company…again an end user, business.com and so on..”
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Those are sales that occur when someone wants that exact domain you have. They contact you via whois or use a broker. They don’t need to go to a conference to buy a domain they specifically want.
@snoopy
So what exactly is your solution then? Even Yahoo and Microsoft collaborate, Apple and Microsoft collaborate and there are several more industrial collaborations. We are going to be in a deep recession for several years, so what do you propose?
So what exactly is your solution then? Even Yahoo and Microsoft collaborate, Apple and Microsoft collaborate and there are several more industrial collaborations. We are going to be in a deep recession for several years, so what do you propose?
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Market to domainers which is what live auctions are doing now.
The days of auctions are over… Going to actually run it like a business and work for it now. End-users if you want sales volume.
On the topic of marketing domains to end users, I think we should tell ICANN to add $.10/yr to all .coms and .nets, the funds from which are dedicated to a third party marketing company whose sole purpose is to market the power of great domain names to end users.
I’m talking weekly TV commercials, web ads, etc….yes, we all know we’re sitting on valuable assets, but I don’t think anyone would complain about the value of our assets sky-rocketing. And the only way that’s going to happen is if domain names become a major part of mainstream marketing and a popular topic for society in general.
Snoopy said “Those are sales that occur when someone wants that exact domain you have. They contact you via whois or use a broker. They don’t need to go to a conference to buy a domain they specifically want.”
That’s so valid and the reason you rarely see end-users at tha conferences. An exception is the Dallas Cowboys but do we want buyers who only want to pay $275 for Cowboys.com
I believe the conferences are mostly social gatherings of domainers.
The problem has existed since the beginning of domain conference domain auctions. First, a lot of domains changed hands between domainers. Very few domains were sold to end users.
In 2005, I started LAMENTING about the fact that end users weren’t being contacted by the auction sites. Sending out a few PRweb news releases and emails to their domain clients isn’t “MARKETING” to end users.
Marketing Associations, New Media focus, and several other organizations need to be EDUCATED about domain values to the companies that need relevant prodserv domains to cover their butts.
I doubt that ANY domain auction site spends more than $50,000 in PR to announce their category-specific domains to the demographics needed to get results. This is because most auction houses are frightened to spend that much capital to actually receive results from their auctions.
As domainers, we can all pay big bucks to attend a domain conference, just to see the same old crap, people still talking about PPC (really?), and then are we going to drop $100k to pick up a domain when we already have 100 domains that are worth as much or more?
Nope.
It’s END USER TIME. And I know the Domain King will agree with me on this one. I said it five years ago, and every year since then — a domain is only worth what it sells for to the END USER.
This means domain auction houses have to learn Standard & Poor, ThomasNet, and other company/marketing directories to seriously pound them with advertising that educates the people who control what a company’s online advertising is going to be, and where that money is going to go.
It’s kinda sad to see that that “easy money” status is gone, and domain auction sites will now have to invest some of their profits into EDUCATING THE MARKETING WORLD.
Don’t attack me, I’m not a millionaire who can do this by myself. But there at least 10 domain companies who can embark on a marketing education program that will enhance aftermarket domain purchases. (Wait, I said this in 2006).
Stephen is 100% accurate… It is like any other commodity. You have to have value in the name and it has to be something that will generate income for someone. It takes planning, marketing and project management to sell to end users. I do it every day and it is work… which it should be.
Want end user prices, work at it… want domain wholesale prices, keep sitting on the couch.
Stephen
I agree with you as well.
However as far as this one goes:
“It’s kinda sad to see that that “easy money” status is gone, and domain auction sites will now have to invest some of their profits into EDUCATING THE MARKETING WORLD”
Not sure if Latonas has any “profits” to invest since I’m pretty sure he has lost money at each of the shows.
However he still needs to invest, not only in PR but in staff to do the work required to get end users to the table and sales people to SELL.
some of the above is crossing over from an auction service and into a brokering service…
I still don’t think the auction houses should exclusively bear the burden of marketing domains. There are now hundreds of millions of registered domains, right?
As I mentioned before, why can’t we just allocate a small slice of reg fees toward marketing and creating general awareness? For domainers, this actually works out incredibly well: even though our bottom line is impacted slightly, the benefits of such a program will be highly skewed in our favor.
I have to believe this discussion has already been raised many times…but I’m not surprised it’s gone nowhere…we’re still a very fragmented industry.
“I still don’t think the auction houses should exclusively bear the burden of marketing domains. There are now hundreds of millions of registered domains, right?”
David… good idea, however the onus is on the auction houses to make this and end game to end users. The cat is out of the bag now and most domainers by the look of things are now calling for end user sales. I’ve pointed out my suggestions above. let’s hope something happens.
Robert
I’ll agree with you also here, in that auction houses should not be the only ones to bear the cost or olbigation of promoting domains in the auction, the owner of the domain should also in their own best interest let potential end users know about the auction.
After all the owner of the domain has the most to gain from the sale of his domain.
@Stephen Douglas_Successclick.com
Hey stephen! Remember we discussed all this and shared ideas on Domain Name Wire about 3 years ago? Well we’re still here flogging these ideas. Methinks it’s time for INCEPTION!! Just went to see the flick last night…wow! Come on guys let’s do this… there has to be an end user game… lol! This is reality…WAKE UP!
@ Bruce
I think it is best and more appropriate Not to refer to domain names as commodities…. There is only One domain name in each extention…the Uninqeness & rarity of a domain name is among the most meaningful and influential facests of a domains value…….
One of the most prevelant definitions of the word commodity is: ” A good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price” ….another is —-> “Mass-produced unspecialized product” ….sure there are some commodities that more valuable commodities than others ie: gold and plattinum
There are many domain names registered out there, however, each one is unique and different… even if it is just a .Com, .Net, .Org, .US .De …..etc, differentiating same word or same phrase domains.
When domain names are “deemend” as just commodities… by the public or mass media…..that’s not really a good thing overall.
@ Rob H 2 T,
Yeah, I remember. I also remember screaming about this in 2005. I tried to work with Yahoo. I tried to work with the Domain King. I tried to work with companies I was working with. In 2007 when I produced the DRT 2007 in Seattle, my main focus was “supposed” to be about SELLING TO THE END USER. Issues prevented that from happening.
Why is it that these auction houses aren’t able to reach Marketing Associations and lay out a red carpet and some yummy benefits to get these people into a big room and pitch domains?
The auction houses should sell by CATEGORY for each auction. Period. They should contact the marketing directors from the demographics of that CATEGORY. Educate them. Done deal. More sales, happier domainers, happier companies, and maybe a “HOT RUN LAND RUSH” for generic prodserv domains would start.
oooohhhh… I’m soooo tired of saying this. I have no confidence anymore with ANY domain auction site. They’ve got MILLIONS of domains, and nothing to do with them other than LIST THEM. So they’ve become, in reality, a LISTING SERVICE, and charging 15-20% commission. Shameful.
I’m trying one more project in this area, and we’ll see how it fairs. After that, I’m going ballistic.
@Stephen could not agree more… The auction platform has seen it run. Direct marketing to businesses works… Doing your homework to ensure you are talking to a decision maker is key.
Good look with your project…
@netjohn… They are like any other bulk item. They are traded in bulk and they are products that we sell… There is nothing unique about domain names other than a niche. I buuy to sell myself…
Like most of us, I have been saying for a long time we need
enduser business.
BuyDomains has been selling to endusers for a long time.
What we might not realize is that there are probably a number
of domainers (domain companies) selling directly to endusers
and we don’t know anything about it. And, they are not going
to tell the domain community about their niche.
All we know about are the sales announced.
@ Meyer,
That’s the most astute comment I’ve ever read in my 11 years of domain investing. Why? I’ve never thought of it. I have been focusing on the fact that GoDaddy spends millions yearly, demeaning powerful women in a man’s world, but never participating in generally “educating” the public on why they should buy aftermarket domains.
To GD, marketing domains is tantamount to getting titillated from a Danica Patrick vid clip in the shower.
Meyer, not sure I know you, but I wish I did. Excellent.
I am still in a state of disbelief how unsuccessful Latona’s Dublic auction was what with the extremely dismal overall results. In addition to the slow market it must also caused by too many auction events and venues, imo.
Em-Bee,
Just noticed this quote from you:
“Not sure if Latona has any “profits” to invest since I’m pretty sure he has lost money at each of the shows.”
I don’t have a record of Latona’s live auction success, but I think he had four auctions in a row end in catastrophe, then his development service AEIOU.com suddenly wasn’t something he wanted to do anymore.
If someone has a “timeline” and reviews of Latona domain auction success since 2007, it would be interesting to see just for the purpose of studying what “not” to do and what TO do in selling domain names.
Looks like the Domain King once again had near perfect timing when he sold the Traffic venue to Rick Latona, with domain king getting out near the peak of that now seriously over-saturated market, I assume with a subtantial sales profit too. Rick S must have a crystal ball.
David
The “domain king” did not sell TRAFFIC.
He gave Latona a license to use the TRAFFIC domain to run certain shows, but they did not sell TRAFFIC.
For example, the South Florida show going to be run by the Domain King and Howard Neu who I guess is the “Domain Prince”
OK, thanks for correcting me. I was not aware it was a license and not a sale but now I am. You can delete that post of you wish.
@ Bruce
Still have to repectfully disagree …. Domains are not fungible commodities as I explained above….particularly premium & high value domain names….each one is different and non-identical…Sooooo many domains out there have different values and attributes…at least in the secondary market.
Homes are also bought & sold every day but they are not really commodities in the “full” or fungible sense…. just about each one is unique and/or different (not including some identical appartments/condos and clone homes by new builders/developers )
I am definitely not just winging this stuff either. I am a licensed (with the CFTC & NFA) the Commodity Futures Trading Advisor (“CTA”) for over 15 years….In this regard, since my last post also polled a few experienced & Savvy Commodity/Futures professionals and the consistant consensus is that Domain Names in the secondary market are NOT commodities by the “full” definition of the word.
Also, this is coming from a guy who owns both DomainFutures.com & DomainNameFutures.com ….if I develop those domains it won’t be for commodity futures contracts…..but perhaps “Futures” vehicles more akin to sports & election betting/wagering Futures. This terminology is currently even more prevelant in sportsbooks and betting parlors in Europe moreso than the US.