As a reader to this blog knows we track auctions of collectibles as we believe they support our theory that good domains are rare assets and therefore regardless of PPC earnings, will continue to rise in value.
Here are a few recent sales
A black jumbo watermelon auctioned off in Japan sold for $6,100 today, making it the most expensive watermelon ever.
Last month, a pair of “Yubari” cantaloupe melons sold for a record $23,500.
The domain cantaloupe.com sold for $21,250 at traffic auction last year.
So what was the better buy?, two pieces of fruit that will either be consumed or rot away in 10 days or a domain that can be used forever.
Last week a rare Brazilian stamp series known as the “Pack Strip” sold for $2,185,000 at a Manhattan auction of early South American postage stamps.
I just registered:
BRAZILIANPOSTAGESTAMPS.COM
BRAZILIANSTAMPS.COM
SOUTHAMERICANPOSTAGESTAMPS.COM
SOUTHAMERICANSTAMPS.COM
For the grant total of $29.32
At least they won’t spoil.
I think SOUTHAMERICANPOSTAGESTAMPS.COM and
SOUTHAMERICANSTAMPS.COM are not good b/c they are so broad.
My experience is these “broad” ones never get any traffic when parked, or traction when developed. Kinda’ like saying USAutoRental,com as opposed to NYAutoRental,com – the second being much, much stronger in potential – IMO. 🙂
Interesting post – You are spot ON
Johnny
The term “SOUTH AMERICAN STAMPS” returns over 35,000 direct references on Google
Well worth $7
Now will they get traffic, no but are they worth a few thousand to a stamp collector or dealer.
Definitely
I collect stamps, and it is the broad searches I start with because those searches will point you in some directions where you might be able to get ahold of rare stamps that an average collector might not be familiar with.
If you are too specific in your search you are taken to expert sites and there are no bargains there. My ebay secret which I will share now and then I will probably never find another bargain(!) is to search for “old picture”, “old stamps” or “old fishing lure”. The people selling using those descriptions have no idea what they’ve got. I bought an amazing Karl D’aubigney painting for change a few years ago using this trick, and I can’t count the number of stamps, lures, coins etc…found in this way. It ‘s all about asking the right question (for you) when you search.
When my daughter shops online she doesn’t search for “jeans”. She searches for cool trendy jeans for teen girls. A domain has as much potential as the creative energy of the person who owns it. It is just there waiting for us to unleash it. The problem is that alot of us aren’t up for the development challenge. Or we own too many to make it feasible.
So we wait until someone’s lightbulb goes off and they get their Oprah “aha” moment and we sell.
Stephen Douglas sold GrapheneSolutions.com a little while back and most of the world had no idea what graphene was.
“Graphene Solutions is a 3-month-old company with a patent- pending technology that dissolves carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets and other materials so they can be purified and spread in a layer one atom thick. ”
It will soon be a household term along with most nanotech terms but the metrics won’t show it so hardly anybody is buying these types of domains on the aftermarket.
This industry just keeps getting more interesting and less predictable.
Do you apply your same $2,500 minimum bid requirement to new regs? I’m not interested in buying those specific names, but curious how you treat new regs in your business.
Thanks,
mountaingoat
Mountain Goat
The answer is yes
We wouldn’t register a domain unless we though it was worth $2,500.
In our mind any domain worth owning is worth $2,500.
Now in some hands that domain would sell for $300.
I think domain are not price sensitive as long as it is priced within a reasonable range.
To be clear its not like your going down the supermarket isle looking for toilet paper. In that case you go down the isle and look at the prices, you find the one that the lowest and pick that one.
Toilet paper is toilet paper as long as its 2 ply.
Domains are one of a kind. If you have a buyer that needs that domain and wants the domain they will pay, within reason, what you want for it.
If you ask for $500, you’ll get an offer for $250.
If you ask for $5K you will get an offer of $2,500.
If they need and want the domain they will pay for it.
Now that doesn’t mean you can ask for 500K for a three word domain.
But they are, not if they are smart, going to pick and build there online business around the cheapest domain they can find.
Huh?
blackjumbowatermelon.com
blackjumbowatermelons.com
jumbowatermelons.com
are all available.
Go for it. If someone will pay $6100 for a watermellon, surely someone will give you a profit on the domain 🙂
thought I leave a few for you guys to register
Scott Day, a watermelon farmer, probably will tell you to stick with domains 🙂