Another day, another good deal. Today I am selling Saxophonists.com has sold. There are 271,000 Google listings for the term “saxophonists.” One cool idea would be to build a website/blog with profiles of famous saxophonists like Bird, Coltrane, and Michael Brecker (who I saw live). To monetize the website, you can add mini Amazon.com shops/widgets with cds from these artists in addition to Adsense banners.
Come to think of it, if the name isn’t sold by the end of business today, that’s what I will do with it! The name is registered at Moniker, and my blog is the only place I will list it for sale.
Deal of the Day – Saxophonists.com
Deal of the Day – TaxGuide.com & TaxGuides.com
TaxGuide.com and TaxGuides.com have sold at the BIN price.
Why Companies Are Selling Domain Names
I have seen various blog posts and forum commentary discussing the recent listing of large quantities of domain names by various domain companies and individuals. I can’t speak on behalf of anyone else, but it looks like many domain owners are in the midst of evaluating their portfolios. Companies and individuals have been sifting through their portfolios, choosing names for development, names that are earning their keep in PPC revenue, and trying to sell the other names that aren’t performing well and have little intrinsic value to them.
In the past several months and years, many companies and individuals made large portfolio acquisitions. When a portfolio of thousands of domain names is purchased, there is relatively little control over what is included in addition to the gems of the portfolio. Oftentimes a domain owner will include swaths of unprofitable names in a domain sale, as it will help increase the overall sales price of the portfolio. As these domain names come up for renewal, the buyer has to make a business decision about whether to keep the underperforming names, let them expire, or try to sell them.
A domain owner needs to decide if an underperforming name is worth keeping, as it could be worth quite a bit if developed. There are many fantastic generic domain names that are parked, but they don’t generate a ton of revenue because traffic is light. When there is tremendous competition for certain keywords, parked pages might not yield significant traffic if there aren’t links or type in traffic, but the name might be strong nonetheless. For some companies, a valuable domain name on paper isn’t as valuable as cash in the bank. Therefore, selling these domain names is the best option – especially for second tier names that might be great for a smaller portfolio.
With the cost of full-scale development being expensive, it makes sense to be picky about which names get developed. Some names (like typos) get great traffic and generate revenue, but would be silly to develop. In this case, it’s better to keep them parked and possibly list them for sale at a generous revenue multiple. The worse case scenario is that a link is created on a respected website (like Afternic), which could be of passive value to the name.
With tremendous uncertainty in the domain market as well as world economic markets, many domain owners have been using this time to evaluate their holdings. If a domain name wouldn’t be good for development, doesn’t generate PPC revenue, costs $7.00 per year to renew and may possibly be a legal liability, there really isn’t a reason to list names for sale. One person’s junk could be another’s treasure. I think it is a great move to sell names that aren’t worth the expense.
Deal of the Day – UnemploymentLine.com
I just bought a mega geo domain name, which is currently in Escrow and will be announced the acquisition next week. I am looking to raise capital to fund this purchase. Therefore, I am selling UnemploymentLine.com.
UnemploymentLine.com is for sale for $5,750.
Here are a couple of things to think about. Unemployment continues to rise across the United States, and it will probably be worse before it gets better. People will be seeking unemployment benefits and information, and I think this is a fantastic domain name for an informational, Adsense supported website.
This is posted in a few places today, so first to respond gets the name.
Price Drop: IsraelVacations.com
I just bought a mega geo domain name, which is currently in Escrow and will be announced next week. I am looking to raise capital to fund this purchase. Therefore, I am reducing the price on IsraelVacations.com.
IsraelVacations.com is now on sale for has sold
Here are a couple of things to think about. Israel is currently promoting its 60th anniversary and encouraging people to take a vacation in Israel in 2008. Tourism is one of the biggest revenue generators for the Israel economy, and tourism will remain strong.
Additionally, here are some comps for similar names that have sold recently:
CaribbeanVacations.com $130,000
EuropeanVacations.com $85,000
VacationWorld.com $45,400
VacationPlans.com $35,700
IrelandVacations.com $17,250
AustraliaVacations.com $16,000
AsianVacations.com $15,000
VacationGetaway.com $14,640
VacationAlaska.com $12,750
BudgetVacations.com $10,300
CanadaVacations.com $9,600
FijiVacation.com $9,200
BahamaVacations.com $8,188
GlobalVacations.com $7,750
SurfVacations.com $7,522
SwitzerlandVacation.com $7,500
IsraelVacations.com – For Sale
I’ve decided to list IsraelVacations.com for sale. Israel is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary throughout 2008, and there has been a big tourism push. With the cost of booking a trip to Israel at several thousand dollars per person, this could be a great name for someone willing to take the time and effort to create a few informational pages and open an affiliate account with WC Travel or Ian.com.
I would even suggest installing a blog on the IsraelVacations.com website and adding information about various destinations in Israel. The more content you add, the more rapidly the name will get optimized and ranked in Google. Obviously that will increase your traffic organically.
I will probably do that if the name doesn’t sell. SO… IsraelVacations.com is available for 24 more hours (5pm on Friday). Otherwise, I will develop it.
***UPDATED BY ELLIOT***
I forgot to list the price in this post. I had it listed here with a group of other names a few days ago. The BIN price is $10,000. I sold AsianVacations.com for $15,000 a few months ago, and I think this is also a great name. I will keep this sales thread opened until 1pm EST on Saturday.