Home Sedo Page 62

Sedo

Breaking: Sedo Brokers Sale of Jerusalem.com for Over Half a Million USD

SedoIn June of 2009, it was reported that Jerusalem.com was purchased for $750,000 (the news was also reported in the Jerusalem Post). The website was used on its own for a while, and I later found it to be forwarding to GoJerusalem.com, which I thought was strange after such a big acquisition.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Ryan Colby, one of Sedo’s top domain brokers, announced that Jerusalem.com was privately being offered for sale via his page on Facebook. I inquired about the asking price and learned that it was in the ballpark of half a million US dollars. I was very surprised at this and felt it was a good enough value to pass the information along to a couple of domain investors I know.

Earlier this evening, Ryan updated his Facebook and Twitter pages to announce that the sale of Jerusalem.com had closed at $510,000: “Jerusalem.com: SOLD for $510,000. A glorious geo name in every way.

Since this is breaking news, I don’t have information on the buyer of this great domain name yet, but I am sure Sedo will soon make a more formal announcement with that information.

Congratulations to Sedo and the buyer of this great geographic domain name.

Why Push to Auction on Sedo Might Be a Bad Idea

52

SedoFrom my perspective (as an infrequent buyer on Sedo), a seller pushing a domain name to Sedo auction after receiving a private offer is a bad idea, and it may cause the seller to leave money on the table, as I will explain below.

A couple of weeks ago, I made an offer on a domain name that I wanted to buy for somewhere in the $1,000 range.   I don’t have a record of my opening offer, but it was in the ballpark of $500 and the owner’s counter offer was $1,000. Once I received the counter offer, I knew in my head that I was going to buy the domain name, but it was just a matter of how much I would spend, since the owner’s expectation and my expectation were in the same range.

I didn’t want to buy it now for $1,000, figuring that we’d meet somewhere in the middle between our two offers. I counter offered at $688, hoping the owner would either accept the offer or come down somewhere in the $800 range, where I probably would have bought it or countered at $750, with the idea being that I would get it for $200+/- less than what I wanted to pay.

Instead of doing what I expected, the seller sent the domain name to public auction, which is his right to do, although it was annoying to me. If I won the auction, I would either have to pay Sedo to keep the sale private (even more annoying), or my purchase price would be disclosed, thus taking away an advantage when I want to quickly re-sell the domain name.

As the auction came to an end, another bidder jumped in and bid $738. I opted to not outbid this price, and the domain name was sold for $738.   I didn’t want to get carried away in a bidding war, and I didn’t want to allow the owner to make more money by using my private offer as leverage. As the saying goes, I cut my nose to spite my face, but there are plenty of other good deals out there.

Had the domain seller opted to initially reply that $1,000 was his final price, I would have bought it. Instead, he tried to squeeze as much money as possible out of the name by going to auction, and he lost out on $250+. Not a big deal when all is said and done, but it’s 25% left on the table. Had we been talking thousands and not hundreds, that would have been a nice chunk of change.

Pushing a domain name to auction may seem like a good idea to make as much money as possible from a domain name, but this is a real example of where it cost the seller some money.

Sedo Releases Domain Market Report for Q2 2010

3

SedoIt’s always interesting to read Sedo’s market reports because they tend to give a good overview of what’s happening in the domain investment space. With nearly $22 million in domain sales facilitated during the quarter, Sedo is in a unique position to give an overview on the health of the domain resale market.

Some second quarter highlights, as reported by Sedo include:

  • A total of 11,146 domains sold on the Sedo global domain marketplace during the quarter, showing continued growth in the domain market compared with Q2 2009;
  • Despite the introduction of new extensions, the .com remains the most popular TLD extension, accounting for more than 46 percent of total sales on the Sedo marketplace and 74 percent of all generic TLD sales; The average price of a .com domain was $2,401;
  • Among ccTLDs, the .de extension remained the most popular, accounting for 64 percent of ccTLDs sold. The .co.uk and .eu extensions both took secondplace, each representing 15 percent of sales on the marketplace;
  • Offer-Counteroffer sales are the most prominent sales type. Selling fixed price domains has become the second most popular, due to the increased usage of Sedo.com’s “Buy it Now” option.

The pdf report in its entirety can be downloaded from the Sedo website.

Sex.com is Officially for Sale at Sedo

1

SedoI received a press release this morning officially announcing that Sedo will be the broker for the Sex.com domain name. Sex.com was nearly sold at a foreclosure auction in March, but the sale was derailed due to legal proceedings, which included an Involuntary Chapter 11 Bankruptcy petition. If you’ve read about its tumultuous history, Sex.com is certainly a star crossed domain name.

It does not appear that Sex.com will be sold via auction or other special sale. Sedo has requested that interested buyers contact the company directly to discuss a sale. With Sedo’s history of strong generic domain sales, I have no doubt that they will be able to close a sale for Sex.com.

Full press release is below.

————

Sedo, the leading online domain marketplace and broker of super premium domain names, today announced that it has entered into an agreement with Escom, LLC to privately broker the sale of Sex.com, widely considered to be the world’s most valuable domain name, as well as two related trademark registrations with the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“We are excited to be working with Sedo and believe Sedo’s vast experience, expertise with high value domain names, credibility and worldwide network of clients will ensure that Escom receives a price for the sex.com domain name and its related trademarks that reflects its true value as the best domain name in the world” said Del Anthony, CEO of Escom.

“It is an extremely rare opportunity that a domain name of this caliber becomes available for sale”, said Kathy Nielsen, Director of Sales at Sedo. “We are very pleased to be chosen as the exclusive brokerage firm to represent this domain sale. Short, descriptive domains are an amazing marketing vehicle. The sale of sex.com presents potential buyers with a once in a lifetime opportunity. The possibilities for this domain are endless and will enable the new owner to instantly define itself as a leader in its industry.”

Descriptive domains that define a category historically have been the most valuable properties on the Web. ‘Sex’ continues to be one of the most searched for terms on the Web and its mainstream appeal has grown exponentially over the past few years. The new owner of this domain will enjoy a clear competitive advantage as a market leader, dramatically enhanced organic search rankings, tremendous traffic generated from direct navigation and an unsurpassed ability to drive online marketing and branding initiatives.

Parties interested in buying the Sex.com domain should contact Sedo at consult@sedo.com.

About Sedo

Sedo, an acronym for “Search Engine for Domain Offers,” is the leading domain marketplace and monetization provider. Headquartered in Cambridge, Mass., Sedo has assembled the world’s largest database of domain names for sale, with more than 16 million listings. The success of Sedo’s model has attracted a global membership base of more than 1 million domain professionals.

Want to Work for a Domain Company?

I love working for myself, but I know some people would either prefer to work for a large company because of the steady income and career opportunities. Chef Patrick Ruddell recently went to work for Moniker, and there are a number of other individuals who made the transition from self-employed to corporate.

Here are a few job openings I saw at leading domain-related entities in case you are interested:

NameMediaSenior QA Automation EngineerNamemedia is looking for QA Automation star to assist in delivering high-quality, high-visibility, high-traffic customer facing web sites and company-internal web applications. The successful candidate will have a passion for designing, building and executing automated tests against Java and Web applications.

SedoSales ConsultantAs a Sales Consultant in our London office, you are responsible for driving new business in our expanding UK market across all critical product areas while establishing high-level relationships with key decision makers and ensuring both growth and long term client satisfaction.   Successful candidates will have a demonstrated ability to drive new business, develop and leverage a strong client network, and deliver repeatable and consistent business offerings with a focus on quality, creativity, and integrity.

SedoAssociate Account ManagerWe’re looking for a motivated individual interested in the online-advertising industry for our office. This starting position within Sedo’s UK sales division will teach you about all of our products and services (domain-marketing, domain sales, etc.) and key clients groups as well as develop your sales abilities. As part of Sedo’s dynamic UK office, you will assist us to ensure the retention and maximum satisfaction of our client base through a mixture of account management and sales tasks.

Oversee.netPortfolio Account ManagerJoin Oversee.net as the Portfolio Account Manager for the Domain Management operations team. This position will be working with a group of diverse, energetic, and motivated members who encourage team collaboration. This position involves responding to customer inquiries primarily via email correspondence as well as assisting the team in managing internal domain portfolios. This is a great opportunity for an individual to learn more about the domain name industry.

Oversee.netAccount Manager Emerging BusinessesAs an Oversee Emerging Business Account Manager you will be responsible for growing and managing marketing partnerships, primarily for our airport parking reservations web business, aboutairportparking.com. Oversee has a major presence in online travel services with its lowfares.com web site, and seeks to expand its online travel business by leading specific niches like airport parking. This experienced, eager Account Manager skilled at closing new partners and growing and managing existing ones will play a critical role in growing the revenue of the Emerging Business group at Oversee.

Oversee.netSearch Engine Marketing Specialist – Emerging BusinessesOversee.net’s Emerging Businesses division has an immediate need for a motivated, creative and analytic thinker with excellent communication and leadership skills to join the paid search marketing team. Oversee.net’s Emerging Businesses division has the proven ability to leverage core competencies in bid optimization, landing page design and to monetize high volumes of traffic into quality leads for a network of advertising partners. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the company’s core brands include LowFares.com, Degrees.com and IdentityTheft.com.

MonikerSales & Marketing Lead Generation SpecialistMoniker Online Services, LLC (www.moniker.com) is a leading provider of domain name registrations, auctions, appraisals and brokerage services for individuals and businesses that wish to have a unique address and branded identity on the Internet. The Sales & Marketing team is looking for a high energy and tech savvy individual to assist in developing lead generation and marketing programs to sell the company’s products and services – primarily focusing on premium domain name sales.

Domain SponsorSoftware Development ManagerOversee is looking for a talented and passionate individual to help bring our Domain Sponsor product to the next level. We are currently looking for a Software Development Manager to lead our core Monetization team which serves millions of page views a day. This is a critical position with big responsibilities and high visibility. The position requires a strong individual with demonstrated leadership ability that enjoys taking on big challenges that directly affect the company’s results.

Domain SponsorSoftware Development ManagerOversee is looking for a talented and passionate individual to help bring our Domain Sponsor product to the next level. We are currently looking for a Software Development Manager to lead our core Monetization team which serves millions of page views a day. This is a critical position with big responsibilities and high visibility. The position requires a strong individual with demonstrated leadership ability that enjoys taking on big challenges that directly affect the company’s results.

Domain SponsorSenior Data ArchitectWe are currently looking for an architect to identify and lead a comprehensive data strategy across our organization and design and build a scalable, extensible, and operable data infrastructure.

eNomSenior Director, Sales and SupportManage a team of over 40 Sales Representatives and Technical Support Representatives…etc.

Thought ConvergenceDatabase AdministratorThe ideal candidate will be a strategic thinking self-starter with a passion for technical problem solving. Strong candidates will have a solid understanding of the issues surrounding large-volume websites and scalability.

Thought ConvergenceSr. User Experience DeveloperIf you enjoy taking client user interfaces to the next level, are driven by the challenge of defining and maintaining long-term strategies, and want to contribute new and unique ideas to the UI design of rich Internet applications, this position may be perfect for you!

GodaddyKeyword Search AnalystThe Keyword Search Analyst is responsible for researching and compiling a list of keywords that target specific industries. This position requires the ability to write copy based on the top keywords within the category.

GodaddySocial Media DirectorThe Social Media/Communications Director oversees aspects of internal and external communications for the organization. Part of this responsibility is managing the Social Media department and maintaining a cohesive corporate message thru the various Social Media platforms.

GodaddyProduct Manager (Domain Monetization)The Domain Monetization Product Manager oversees Go Daddy’s domain monetization product line, including the domain parking platform. This person will develop and manage cutting-edge monetization solutions for domain names, and will be responsible for the vision and execution of Go Daddy’s domain monetization strategy.

Name.comUser Interface (UI) DesignerAt Name.com we want to put a greater emphasis on the usability of our tools and services. By focusing on the user, we believe the rest will fall into place. We’re looking for a UI Designer to help drive the design process for new Name.com products and features. As a UI Designer, you will work closely with our development team and company leadership throughout all stages of the product cycle. If you’re a critical thinker with a good design sense, a strong technical background, and an eye for making things better we want to talk to you. This is a full-time salaried position.

TucowsAssociate DeveloperWe’re looking for people that love to program.
This position is for a temporary full-time software engineer (for 3-6 months) that will design, code and test projects and enhancements within a small Agile team. Maintenance and testing of the products is expected, as well as tight collaboration with other developers, QA, product managers and other various members of the team.

Thoughts on the e.CO Auction

I know there is an active discussion about the e.CO auction happening on Mike’s Blog and TechCrunch, but I want to share my thoughts on it because I have a unique perspective. It was reported that B52 and its CEO Lonnie Borck won the domain name for $81,000. Lonnie is one of my closest colleagues in this industry as well as a good friend outside of the business, and I was with him at the auction and after.

In my opinion, this was a very strong speculative acquisition. The .CO registry and it’s registrar partners are spending a lot of money on marketing the extension to ensure consumers know about it. .CO makes total sense for companies to use, and in fact, many companies use similar extensions in other countries – think .CO.UK and .CO.IL. I already gave some of my thoughts on .CO.

With the news that Twitter will be integrating T.CO into its system as the preferred URL shortener, and that there are many applications for the .CO Founder’s Program as well as already awarded domain names (Angel.co and Disrupt.co as examples), I think .CO is going to be big. As a one character domain name in this extension, E.CO will be worth much more than the purchase price assuming things play out like we believe they will, although Lonnie’s team acquired this domain name for a specific reason and may not be inclined to sell it.

I want to address a couple of comments made about Lonnie in the two aforementioned articles.

1) Regarding the charity being kept private: Lonnie is a fiercely private person, and he does not wish to disclose the charity recipient(s) publicly. Some people like to flaunt who they support and by how much, but that’s not Lonnie’s way to do things.

2) Regarding Lonnie’s smarts in this space: Keep in mind this public information – his company sold Scores.com for $1,200,000, owns Funding.com, Bookmarks.com, Shock.com, Winter.com, Camera.net, and Baby.net. He also owns a number of other considerable domain names that aren’t publicly known.

I think the acquisition of E.CO was a shrewd investment, and the charitable organization(s) that will benefit will certainly be very appreciative.

Recent Posts

Ask Platforms to Reconnect on Failed Deals

1
I've had many agreed upon deals die at the finish line. The buyer agreed to purchase a domain name - sometimes after a lengthy...

Negotiate an Inbound Lead via Broker

5
Successfully negotiating a deal is something I enjoy. The negotiation is an important aspect of why I find domain investing to be exhilarating. It...

Candidate Gets Flack for Old Domain Investments

5
When I read about domain names being involved in a political campaign, it is usually because one candidate bought a domain name related to...

Pepe.com Acquired by Pepe Coin ($PEPE)

3
Pepe is a popular meme coin ($PEPE) that has been using the Pepe.vip domain name for its website. According to Binance, Pepe is trading...

FedEx Buys Its 3 Letter .com Ticker Symbol

0
It looks like FedEx has acquired a valuable 3 letter .com domain name. Whois records show FedEx is now the owner of FDX.com. The...