Glad I Haven’t Sold a Domain for Bitcoin

Elliot Silver
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12

At the beginning of the year, I shared three reasons why I wouldn’t be inclined to sell a domain name for Bitcoin. At the time of the article, a single Bitcoin was worth about $590 at Coinbase. Today, the value of a Bitcoin is approximately $317 on Coinbase.

The title of an article on BloombergView.com last week, “2014’s Worst Currency Was…Bitcoin,” says enough about why it could have been bad to sell a domain name for Bitcoin in the last year: “The digital currency peaked at a value of $1,130 just over a year ago. Its plunge of more than 56 percent in 2014 makes it the world’s worst performing currency this year, according to Bloomberg, which tracks 175 foreign-exchange values,” wrote Mark Gilbert, author of  the Bloomberg View article.

In my article about why I wouldn’t sell a domain for Bitcoin, I shared three reasons for my hesitation:

  • Large swings in valuation
  • Lack of  a paper trail and trackability
  • I don’t understand it

If I had sold a domain name for Bitcoin back in February, the value of the sale would be far less today. For the ease of illustrating the plunge, had I sold a domain name for around $6,000 in February, that sale would be worth less than $3,500 today. Had I sold it when Bitcoin was worth over $1,000, that loss would be even greater today. Perhaps I would have cashed out the Bitcoin at the time of the sale, but had I felt strongly about the value of Bitcoin, I may not have exchanged it and would have a paper loss right now.

Hindsight is 20/20, so it’s easy for me to say this today. I am also sure there  people who bought and sold domain names before the huge rise in valuation who made even more money as a result of selling a domain name for Bitcoin. Looking at it today after initially thinking about earlier this year, I have to say that I am glad I have not sold a domain name for Bitcoin. That’s not to say that things won’t change in the future though.

Have you sold a domain name for Bitcoin before? If you did, how did you make out with the transaction? Did you exchange the Bitcoin right away or did you hang on to them? As always, your thoughts are invited.

New Leadership May Mean New Opportunity

Elliot Silver
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1

There have been quite a few times where I’ve been negotiating with a prospective buyer, and I can tell the company wants to buy a particular domain name but we were unable to come to terms on the price. When this happens, I let them know they can contact me in the future if their offer changes, but until then, I will keep the domain name and possibly find another company to buy it.

As time passes, new leadership may enter the company. Perhaps a new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) or Chief Executive Officer (CEO) takes a position at the company. The change in leadership, especially if it involved the counterparty in a negotiation, may bear fruit for your negotiation. This new executive may have a stronger interest in the domain name, and the company may be more willing to buy it at a price that is closer to the initial asking price.

This may not

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VVVV.com Sells for $22,100 on NameJet

Elliot Silver
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12

Unique types of domain names tend to sell for significant sums of money. This afternoon, the VVVV.com domain name sold at auction for $22,100 on NameJet. There were a total of 287 bids placed and 210 bidders involved in the auction. This domain name is unique in the sense that there are only 26 repeating four letter .com domain names.

It looks like VVVV.com was an expired domain name auction. Pending payment from the NameJet buyer, the domain name’s registrant is still listed as Pending Renewal or Deletion, and it is registered at Network Solutions. It appears that the domain name had been previously registered to a business based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The VVVV.com domain name was originally registered in 1997, and since it is an expiry auction, the domain name will retain its creation date.

I took a look at the other 25 four letter repeating .com domain names, and it appears that the

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Get Attention from a Press Release

Elliot Silver
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3

When a domain broker or domain brokerage takes an excellent domain name under exclusive listing, it’s a smart idea to distribute a press release to announce that the domain name is for sale. The broker will want to share information about the domain name, why it is special, and perhaps include some pricing information. The idea is to let as many people possible know the domain name is on the market.

In my opinion, the release is important, but getting it in front of the right people is even more important. I think there are four types of people who should receive the press release, directly from the broker:

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Hueston.com: Big Flip for Mike Mann

Elliot Silver
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14

I was browsing Twitter this morning when I noticed the tweet embedded below from Mike Mann, announcing the sale of Hueston.com for $25,000. This is a solid sale price, but even more impressive is the ROI achieved from the sale. Mann reportedly acquired the Hueston.com domain name in March of 2011 for $69.

Judging by the $69 price point and the fact that the Whois shows the domain name had been

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My Thoughts on Phone Negotiations

Elliot Silver
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18

I have never really enjoyed chatting on the phone. This sometimes goes for chatting with friends, but it almost always pertains to domain name negotiations. There are some times when a phone conversation can be fruitful though, and I thought I would share some thoughts on phone negotiations.

When I want to inquire about a domain name as a buyer, I will usually send an email and follow up with a phone call if it could be fruitful. For instance, if the domain owner seems willing to sell the domain name and we need to come to terms on the price, I might give a phone call. Some people will brush off my call and stick to email, but others are more chatty, and we can finalize a deal quickly. I like the fact the I can speed up a discussion rather than extend it hours or days with email.

When someone randomly calls me to discuss a domain name,

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