VisitCuba.com Sells for $100k + Stock

Elliot Silver
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45

According to a MarketWire press release on Yahoo Finance, a publicly traded company called Leisure Canada has acquired VisitCuba.com for cash and stock. Leisure Canada “acquired the domain name, website and assets related to “visitcuba.com” for total purchase consideration of $100,000 USD in cash and 84,746 Class A common shares of the Company.” The value of the shares right now is a bit over $11,000 USD.

The domain name was previously owned by a New Hampshire-based company that owns a significant number of Visit domain names. Incidentally, the company is called Visit Canada, but it does not appear to have any relationship with the buyer. The seller also owns names like VisitCanada.com, VisitMiami.com, VisitQuebec.com, VisitBoston.com, and a number of other Visit geodomain names.

Leisure Canada’s President and CEO, Robin Conners commented,  “the opportunity for growth in the tourism sector is significant and visitcuba.com fits perfectly with Leisure Canada’s current assets under development and with its broader growth strategy in Cuba.”  The company is expecting to re-launch a website by next year, and it will offer a hotel reservation engine and have Cuban tourism information.

I think it’s a pretty good sale for the former owner. I’ve sent him an email, and will post comments when I hear back.

Thanks to  George Kirikos for the tip.

Lisa Box of Oversee in Video Sharing How to Price Domain Names

Elliot Silver
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8

I saw this video of Lisa Box from Oversee.net discussing the various factors that may influence the value of a domain name on the aftermarket, and what information a domain owner needs to know when negotiating to sell a domain name. I recommend that you watch the video since there’s some pretty good advice given.

Lisa previously worked for IREIT where she had experience in selling domain names, and her role at Oversee is Senior Director of Sales.

Let me know if she missed anything or if you agree/disagree with her assessment.

High Value Names Coming Up For Sale on NameJet

Elliot Silver
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7

While reviewing FreshDrop a couple of days ago, I saw that a number of high value domain names were coming up for auction on NameJet. I thought it was a bit peculiar for all of these names to “drop” at one time, and they aren’t actually dropping.

According to a post on FindYourDomain.com, a number of valuable domain names will be up for auction with a small reserve price of just $69. Some of the better names (in my opinion) are listed below:

  • Aerospace.com
  • AloeVera.com
  • Copy.com
  • GoCarts.com
  • HouseRentals.com
  • Rex.com
  • Trumpet.com
  • Tx.org

As you may recall, GoCarts.com sold on NameJet in July of 2009 for over $91,000. It will be interesting to see how it does this time around. The auctions start throughout July and August, so visit NameJet to find the exact date of the auction to place your bid.

I also noticed a number of other great names that are up for auction but weren’t mentioned in the article. I don’t know if they’re related to this sale, but additional names on sale include Modifications.com, TennisEquipment.com, Countryside.com, ElectricCompany.com, Polygamy.com, and others.

Venture Beat: Foodie.com Sells for $100k

Elliot Silver
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0

There’s an interesting article on Venture Beat today discussing the recent sale of Foodie.com. According to the article writer’s sources, it was confirmed that “Glam Media CEO Samir Arora purchased the Foodie.com domain last week for over $100,000.”

I don’t know the article’s sources so I can’t say for certainty that the sale price is legit or factual, but it seems to be a good price for a very good domain name. The domain name appears to have been previously owned by publicly traded Marchex, and it appears to have been a part of the Ultimate Search portfolio it acquired several years ago.

As can be seen in the 1st quarter earnings report from Marchex, the company doesn’t appear to break out its domain sales individually. For this reason, unless someone from Glam goes on the record to confirm the purchase price, it may never be reported as factual.

Glam Media also owns several other descriptive domain names, and it apparently has a valuation of close to a billion dollars.

Thanks to  David Bleaman for the tip.

Have an Industry Association “Broker” Your Domain Name on Your Behalf

Elliot Silver
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10

I am about to try something fairly unique (at least for me) with one of my domain names, and I wanted to share this idea with you.

I had reached out to a number of companies regarding a domain name I own in an attempt to sell it. I also reached out to an organization comprised of members that offer the type of service described in this exact match .com domain name. The organization offered me $2,500 for the domain name, which I didn’t accept. I also turned down an offer in the $10,000 ballpark from another company.

I reached back out to this organization and made them an offer. I asked if they would send an email blast out to their membership offering the domain name for sale. If the name sells, they will get a 10% commission for the sale. If it doesn’t sell, I won’t have to pay for anything.

From my perspective, it’s win/win/win for everyone involved if a sale is consummated.  I will make a sale, the organization will make a nice profit for sending an email, and a member of the organization will be able to acquire a great domain name. I may not have been able to connect with the decision makers on my own, but the organization has the contact information and the attention of industry executives.

I believe the key considerations are the quality of the domain name and the price. This won’t work for a secondary domain name or if your price is significantly higher than its value. This is something I’d likely pay for if they charged me, but under these conditions, there is very little risk for me.

Pros & Cons of Using a Domain Broker

Elliot Silver
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20

There are many advantages of engaging a domain broker to sell one or more of your domain names. Companies like Sedo, Afternic, MediaOptions, and others sell millions of dollars worth of domain names a year, many of which are sold privately with non-disclosure agreements preventing the sales prices from being released.

Like everything, there are also downsides to working with a domain broker. I want to give you some pros and cons to using a domain broker to sell your domain names. Feel free to add any I missed.

Pros of Using a Domain Broker

  • They have experience selling expensive domain names.
  • They know who the biggest buyers in the domain space are and most brokers have an extensive mailing list.
  • Brokers should know the market well, and they can give you an idea of what you can expect for your domain name.
  • Domain brokers will know how to get your domain name in front of the right person/people at a company when selling to end users.
  • You won’t have to worry about negotiations because they will work out a deal on your behalf.

Cons of Using a Domain Broker

  • Commission rate may be high simply for sending an email to client list.
  • No “real” market regulations, so you may never know if they’re 100% working on your behalf when they sell to another domain investor.
  • You may have to give them exclusivity for a period of time, which will prevent you from selling the name elsewhere.
  • If you have a name that’s listed exclusively with a broker and you receive an offer elsewhere, you may have to pay a commission anyway.
  • Broker may not do more than email his client list, and may not reach out to end users on your behalf.
  • If your domain name isn’t as valuable as others under contract, it may not receive as much attention as it should.
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