Domain Auctions

Latonas Set to Challenge Bido with Daily Domain Auctions

Latonas.comI just received Rick Latona’s Daily Newsletter email, which informed subscribers of a change to its format. Instead of listing domain names for sale at fixed buy it now prices, each listed domain name will be for sale in a 24 hour auction on Latonas.com. This is big news, which is sure to drive up interest and participation in upcoming newsletters.

To be eligible to bid, domain buyers must register for an account on Latonas.com. Bid increments will depend on the current price of the auction, but auctions are slated for 24 hours each. Full details can be found on Latonas.com.

Since Sahar launched Bido, he has been discussing the importance of liquidity in the domain space. Similar to Bido, Latonas.com promises to bring liquidity to the marketplace, as buyers will set the price/value of domain names in auction rather than the sellers. It’s a gamble, but as Latona revealed in his newsletter, at least “15,000 domain, internet marketing professionals, and businesspeople” are subscribers.

The quality of domain names is what will set these two competitors apart. With Rick Latona’s ability to offer great in-house domain names as well as pawn-default domain names, he immediately brings a strong product to the market. Likewise, with good names bringing good buyers, it’s likely that others will be willing to take a chance and list their domain names for sale on Latonas.com.

In fact, I am going to be placing several bids today and will probably send a few of my domain names to sell in the coming days.

Double Check Your Spelling When Bidding on Domain Auctions

This should go without saying, but it’s always important to double check your spelling on drop auctions. I am a bidder in the CognitiveBehavorialTherapy.com auction on Namejet, which ends this afternoon.There are 38 bidders in this auction that has 47 bids.

According to Wikipedia, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (commonly referred to as CBT) “is a psychotherapeutic approach that aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviors and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure.” I am familiar with the term because my wife is studying this as she earns her Psy.D in Clinical Psychology (she’s in her 4th year of 5 years).

While thinking about the value of the domain name, I copied and pasted it into Google, and the first result was Google’s question, “Did you mean: “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy”‘? Of course, that’s what I meant, but it also means that the domain name is a typo. Sometimes typos can be good, but since this is such a long domain name as is, a typo like this is probably not worth a whole lot.

Had I not done the Google search and simply relied on the mentality of crowds (there are 38 bidders, so it must be good), I would have probably bid much more for it without consideration for the actual spelling. As I started this blog post, you should always check the spelling of a domain name before bidding to save on what could be an expensive mistake.

Partial List of Domain Names Revealed for Domain Madness Two

I have obtained an exclusive sneak peek at some of the domains available through the Domain Madness 2 Auction, being held from from March 16th to the 23rd. The second annual conference will feature an online auction, with a live countdown show at 3pm CDT from the Palms in Las Vegas on the 23rd. A link to the auction will be added as soon as it’s set.

From the looks of it, there are some great names up for auction, and knowing the guys running it, I would imagine the reserve prices will be reasonable. More details to come…

Partial DM2 inventory:

  • FreeMovies.com
  • Mad.com
  • GolfEquipment.com
  • Balloon.com
  • FootballUniforms.com
  • Music.net
  • InternetHistory.com
  • Strawberries.com
  • Hook.com
  • VideoRoulette.com
  • Vampires.com
  • BaseballPlayers.com
  • Holdings.com
  • TaxTool.com

WristletPurses.com Vs. WristletPurse.com

I was bidding on two domain names this week on Snapnames – WristletPurses.com Vs. WristletPurse.com.   Both domain names had relatively little bidding until the final day. WristletPurse.com ended a couple of days ago and WristletPurses.com ended today.

Neither domain name was especially interesting to me, but it’s a product (and a plural) so I figured they’d probably be worth a couple hundred dollars or more to someone.   I locked in both bids, and I wasn’t surprised when I was outbid on WristletPurse.com. I was very surprised when I saw the final price was $1,450.

With the singular auction done, I figured I didn’t have a chance at the plural, so I left for the airport without even looking at my Snapnames account. I logged onto the Wifi network on Delta, and I was even more surprised to see that I was the winning bidder on WristletPurses.com for under $100.

Doing some quick research, here’s a brief comparison of the two terms:

Wristlet Purse – 33,600 Google results (lots of advertisers)
Wristlet Purses – 40,300 Google results (lots of advertisers)

Wristlet Purse – 3,300 Google exact match monthly searches (US)
Wristlet Purses – 720 Google exact match monthly searches (US)

Clearly, people are searching more for the singular but in my opinion, it doesn’t really justify such a huge price differential. When I see a name sell for over $1,000, I know there has to be a pretty good reason. However, I don’t understand the reason for such disparity between the two domain names.

What are your thoughts on the price differential for these domain names?

Sex.com Sale To Be a No Reserve Auction

As I previously reported, Sex.com will be up for auction at the law offices of Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP, 156 West 56th Street, New York, New York on March 18, 2010 at 11 am. The auction is a result of a foreclosure, a few years after the 2006 sale, which was reported (but never confirmed) to be in the ballpark of $14 million.

At the time of my initial article, neither the auction house nor the law firm representing the lender would confirm the opening price/minimum bid for the auction, although it was stated that a $1,000,000 certified check would be required to bid.  

I was just informed by Richard Maltz of Maltz Auctions that there will be no reserve price for the Sex.com auction. Registered bidders will be permitted to bid online or in person at the Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP offices. In addition, Maltz added, “the secured party does reserve the right to bid under the law.”

Without a reserve price set, I would expect several bidders to participate in this landmark auction. Full auction details, including the terms and conditions (pdf) of the auction are available on the Maltz Auctions website.

Exclusive Domain Conference Being Held at The Palms on March 22-23

Did you know there’s an exclusive domain conference being held at The Palms resort in Las Vegas on March 22-23? The Domain Madness 2 conference is being run by DomainConsultant.com, and it sold out within a few days. Most of the attendees are domain investors who attended last year, and a few others received personal invitations.

Last year, the conference was held in a private suite at The Palms, and I heard it was a great event. Like last year’s conference, there’s going to be a live domain auction held at the event. Bidders can bid on site or they can bid online using a platform that will be announced soon.

You are welcome to submit domain names for review, but they are looking for great domain names only. Visit the Domain Consultant website for more details on domain submissions.

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