Rick Schwartz Archives - Page 11 of 16

TRAFFIC Cancels San Francisco Show, Announces Ritz Carlton as October Venue

Elliot Silver

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January 3, 2011

I had been strongly considering attending the TRAFFIC show in San Francisco in March. I love the Bay Area, and it would be a great reason to visit again. Unfortunately, this trip is not going to happen.

Rick Schwartz just announced that the previously scheduled San Francisco TRAFFIC show, which was to take place right around the time of the ICANN conference also being held in San Francisco, would not be taking place.

According to Rick in an email that was sent this morning, “after an exhaustive search and then sending out a poll a few weeks ago to see what most folks thought, it became clear that the interest was not really there to have a meaningful and impactful show and on the heals of the other shows, just did not make sense.”

In other better news, Rick also announced the venue of the October show in Ft. Lauderdale – the newly opened Ritz Carlton. The conference will be held from October 16 – 19, 2011, and it will be the 22nd TRAFFIC conference.

I can’t say for certain that I will be there, but it is highly likely. Registration opens soon, and I will let you know when it does, since the prices are generally much better the earlier you book.

Dallas Cowboys Suck, But Cowboys.com Now Available for Sale via Sedo

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November 4, 2010

27

It looks like rookie Sedo domain broker (but veteran domain investor) Dave Evanson has scored a touchdown with this recent catch. According to the landing page on Cowboys.com, the domain name is now for sale with Evanson quarterbacking the transaction.

The Cowboys.com domain name has had an interesting recent history. Previously it was a country western website, and it then went to auction at the TRAFFIC conference. A representative for the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys had the winning bid of $275,000 at the live auction, but it turns out that he apparently thought the price was $275 rather than $275,000. It was later sold at the silent auction to a group of domain investors.

The group originally had some big plans for the domain name, but any time you get a group of A-type personalities on a project, it can be difficult to make headway. As the saying goes, it looks like there were “too many chiefs, but not enough firefighters.” You can see two videos from the Cowboys.com party embedded below (via YouTube).

If you are interested in bidding on the domain name, you can visit the Sedo listing or contact Dave Evanson by sending an email to dave.evanson@sedo.com or by calling 1 (617) 499-7222.

Rick Schwartz, Darren Cleveland, and a fake horse.

Eric Rice and Darren Cleveland

At What Price Will Flowers.mobi Sell?

Elliot Silver

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October 14, 2010

35

A few weeks ago, it was announced that Rick Schwartz would be selling Flowers.mobi at the Traffic Miami live auction held by Rick Latona, and there would be no reserve price. Flowers.mobi was originally purchased for $200,000 when the extension was originally released. From what I understand, the lawyer from 1-800-Flowers was there, but Schwartz outbid him to win the domain name.

Since buying Flowers.mobi, a lot has changed with regards to the perception of .mobi domain names. I don’t believe I own (or my company owns) more than maybe a couple of hand registered .mobis. I don’t even track how .mobi domain names are selling, but I can’t remember the last one to crack DN Journal’s weekly sales report.

There are a number of questions that will soon be answered, but I am sure there are those who are already thinking about them. Will .mobi investors bid heavily on this domain name to help improve the value perception of the extension? Will someone buy it and build a profitable website?

One of the biggest questions is will 1-800-Flowers turn up and bid again? 1-800-Flowers is highly regarded when it comes to direct marketing and Internet marketing. Should they opt to not show up, having been willing to spend a lot of money just three years ago, it would really say something about what mainstream marketers really think about this extension.

So… at what price do you think Flowers.mobi will sell?

Sunday, Muddy Sunday

Elliot Silver

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October 3, 2010

4

I ran in my first “Mud Run” this morning. It was a 5k race in the Bronx sponsored by Merrell shoes company as part of their Down and Dirty National Mud Run Series. We ran through a series of obstacles, like wood hurdles, rope wall, ocean run, and of course two mud pits. Lots of fun!

Anyway, here are some updates:

September was a pretty solid month for my company. I made a few pretty decent sales, including NassauHotels.com, which had been listed for sale on my blog. I don’t know if the economy is turning a corner, but I do know if you are willing to sell solid domain names at good prices, there are buyers.

Rick Schwartz has been posting quite a bit on domain sales and acquisitions, and I think the articles are good reads. If you didn’t see the sponsored headlines on Domaining.com, you should check out Rick’s Blog when you have enough time to read a few articles. I agree with much of what he says, although I’ve made my living primarily by buying and selling quickly, which is something he doesn’t recommend. It’s something you should keep in mind because there are many different business models in this biz.

I am going to be at the Traffic conference in Miami for a day if you’d like to connect. I am extending a previously scheduled Florida vacation, and I’ll be traveling an hour or so south to Miami for the conference. I already have a couple of meetings scheduled on Monday, but if you think there’s a reason we should meet, drop me a note and I will try to make some time.

Day Late & A Dollar Short: Win a Cabana for a Day at TRAFFIC Miami

Elliot Silver

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September 14, 2010

1

As the saying goes, I seem to be “a day late and a dollar short” when it comes to sharing my favorite TRAFFIC story about making a deal during TRAFFIC New York and making a good friend in the process. According to an email this morning sent by TRAFFIC founder Rick Schwartz,

“TRAFFIC will be giving away a free Poolside Cabana to the Domainer who can explain to folks why TRAFFIC is virtually free because of all the business they do. Perhaps just one event that changed your destiny. One deal that will pay you forward for a lifetime. What value did that really have as opposed to the expense of coming? Just send us a short story or essay by midnight tomorrow by return email. Winner will be announced later this week.”

Bummer. I guess mine doesn’t count. The cabana sounds pretty nice, too. It comes with champagne, water, flat screen tv, chairs, towels, and bottle/drink service from a “TRAFFIC cabana girl.” Domain investors who are interested can also lease a cabana for $375 (costs $750 for sponsors). If you’ve ever been to South Beach or Vegas on a Sunday before during the football season, you probably know this is actually a good price for a poolside cabana, although you’ll be surrounded by a bunch of domain investors rather than hundreds of hot women in bikinis. At least there will be some football on tv 😉

If you want to share a story about a TRAFFIC experience that made the conference virtually free, drop a note to the TRAFFIC founders by the end of the day.

BP Cares About BPCares.com

Elliot Silver

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August 20, 2010

27

There was a lot of commentary on Rick’s Blog when he mentioned that he bought and was successfully monetizing many BP-related domain names. It seems that whenever Rick writes something controversial, there are dozens of opinions voiced in the comment section of his blog, and this post was no different.

I received a Google News Alert today about an article appearing on Charlotte, North Carolina’s Fox affiliate website about the owner of BPCares.com. Apparently BP wants to acquire BPCares.com from the registrant, and he isn’t interested in selling it to the company. According to the article, the domain registrant purchased this and other companyCares.com domain names apparently after seeing NBACares.com used in action by the National Basketball Association.

The article mentioned that BP has tried to buy this domain name more than once and that the company keeps calling him about the name, but it didn’t mention whether BP threatened a UDRP or any other legal action. In my opinion, it wouldn’t be outside of the realm of possibility if it did threaten legal action, especially since the owner apparently confirmed that he registered other names related to other companies.

Smartly, the domain owner does not appear to have BPCares.com monetized (or even resolving to another website), and he didn’t mention a sales price, so perhaps his aim wasn’t to profit from the BP brand. However, it does appear to be listed for sale on Sedo without an asking price.

I don’t understand the motive for having this article written, as it only serves to show that he did register the domain name along with other corporate domain names that are similar. A quick search shows the registrant also appears to own GoogleCares.com and DisneyCares.com. If the registrant or someone he knows hadn’t mentioned the situation to the news station, it likely would have remained below the radar.

Let’s hope for his sake that BP doesn’t care enough about BPCares.com to take legal action because that could get quite expensive.

Rick Schwartz

TRAFFIC Cancels San Francisco Show, Announces Ritz Carlton as October Venue

Dallas Cowboys Suck, But Cowboys.com Now Available for Sale via Sedo

At What Price Will Flowers.mobi Sell?

Day Late & A Dollar Short: Win a Cabana for a Day at TRAFFIC Miami

BP Cares About BPCares.com

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