Domain Auctions

It’s great to wake up and see an article in my local newspaper about an upcoming domain auction. In this morning’s New York Post, there is a small article announcing that Israel.com will be on the auction block at TRAFFIC East in May. From the article,

“Israel is being sold off to the highest bidder.
Jean-Noel Frydman, 46, registered the domain name in 1994 and never imagined at the time it would be worth millions.
“Mainly, I didn’t want anyone to misuse it. That’s why I registered it,” he said, noting he retains final approval on the sale at the May 23 auction.”

Of interest is that Moniker may have given the owner authority to back out of a deal if he doesn’t approve of the new owner. On a strictly personal level, I am glad to see this as it would be terrible for Israel.com to go into the hands of a terrorist or other extremist group. As a domain investor, I think this sets a pretty poor precedent, as a domain owner shouldn’t be able to cancel an auction because he doesn’t approve of the bidder.
If I was a betting person (which I am), I would wager that the domain name will not sell for $5m despite the hype. I think it’s a fantastic opportunity, but organizations who could afford to spend $5m probably can’t justify spending it on a domain name – yet. People will kick themselves for missing out on this opportunity in a few years though.

I took a quick glance at the just-released preliminary list for the Domain Roundtable live auction next week, and there are a few pretty good names listed at reasonable reserves. Just on a very quick glance, the few that strike me as well priced include:
Sirloins.com – $10k
Tuscan.com – $15k
Renewals.com – $25k
Dangers.com – $6k
Bicyclists.com – $5k
Moral.com – $10k
Anyway, maybe it’s just me, but I found some of the owner-included descriptions to be particularly humorous (in no particular order):
1) “huge potential over next few months. Huge ROI.”
2) “Country in the Middle East. Pizza.com sold for more.”
3) “Paramedic students and people interested in Paramedic courses will be flocking to this domain.”
4) “Old people are always looking for solutions to this huge health problem.”
5) “Priced and an extremely great price. It is catchy and easy to remember. This is a deal!”
6) “Alcohol is a confusing subject. There are thousands of recipes for types of alcoholic drinks.”
7) “There is literally a Park St. in every city. Only one company on all those streets in all those cities can claim their street name as their domain name. Great investment.”
8) “Mothers are ordering these like crazy”
9) “The First Club! There are literally tons of clubs that use this name. This is so generic and a great investment. You will have people begging you to sell it to them.”
10) “Extremely common last name. Several Williams have companies. There are hundreds of Williams Family Companies that would repurchase this one.”

Just a reminder about my auction that ends in a little less than three hours. I am selling the entire set of names below for the highest offer that I receive by 12pm EST (noon) Today. No extension will be given for last second bids. Highest bid received by 12pm (noon) EST will get the names. Since I have to go back and forth between 2 forums and my blog, I think it would be best to put your best bid in a few minutes before noon, that way you may be able to update it should another higher bid be received. The auction is for all of the names below, and the highest bid on TTF is $900.
This is a multi-venue post, but I will update the thread when offers are received. All names are registered at Moniker for an easy free push to your Moniker account.
ApplePickers.com
ArkansasSite.com
CheapToiletries.com
ChristianityExpert.com
ChristianityExperts.com
ChristianityTeacher.com
ChristianityTeachers.com
ChristianityWebsites.com
CommoditiesInvestors.com
DelawareBusinessLoans.com
DelawareInsurer.com
FloridaSubprimeMortgages.com
HaveBeens.com
HealthcareBargain.com
HiTechFund.com
HMOCompanies.com
ImmediateAlerts.com
ImmediateCreditScores.com
MerlotWorld.com
NevadaForeclosureAuctions.com
NewJerseyBusinessLoans.com
NewJerseyForeclosureAuctions.com
NewJerseyInsurer.com
NewJerseyInsurers.com
NewJerseyShoppingCenters.com
NewYorkInsurer.com
NewYorkInsurers.com
OhioInsurer.com
OhioInsurers.com
OregonTeacher.com
PortableComputerMemory.com
PortableMemoryCards.com
PortableVideoDevice.com
ReusableMemory.com
RhodeIslandLender.com
SubprimeHomeLending.com
SubprimeHomeRefinancing.com
SubprimeMortgageProblems.com
TelemarketingSite.com
TexasInsurers.com
TexasSubprimeMortgages.com
TruckDrivingInsurance.com
WirelessHandheldComputer.com
WirelessHandheldComputers.com
WorkersClothing.com

I am selling the entire set of names below for the highest offer that I receive by 12pm EST (noon) on Thursday. I am not selling the names individually, so please don’t ask. This is a multi-venue post, but I will update the thread when offers are received. Feel free to start the bidding at $10 with $10 increments. All names are registered at Moniker for an easy free push to your Moniker account.
ApplePickers.com
ArkansasSite.com
CheapToiletries.com
ChristianityExpert.com
ChristianityExperts.com
ChristianityTeacher.com
ChristianityTeachers.com
ChristianityWebsites.com
CommoditiesInvestors.com
DelawareBusinessLoans.com
DelawareInsurer.com
FloridaSubprimeMortgages.com
HaveBeens.com
HealthcareBargain.com
HiTechFund.com
HMOCompanies.com
ImmediateAlerts.com
ImmediateCreditScores.com
MerlotWorld.com
NevadaForeclosureAuctions.com
NewJerseyBusinessLoans.com
NewJerseyForeclosureAuctions.com
NewJerseyInsurer.com
NewJerseyInsurers.com
NewJerseyShoppingCenters.com
NewYorkInsurer.com
NewYorkInsurers.com
OhioInsurer.com
OhioInsurers.com
OregonTeacher.com
PortableComputerMemory.com
PortableMemoryCards.com
PortableVideoDevice.com
ReusableMemory.com
RhodeIslandLender.com
SubprimeHomeLending.com
SubprimeHomeRefinancing.com
SubprimeMortgageProblems.com
TelemarketingSite.com
TexasInsurers.com
TexasSubprimeMortgages.com
TruckDrivingInsurance.com
WirelessHandheldComputer.com
WirelessHandheldComputers.com
WorkersClothing.com