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GetAFreelancer.com Acquired Freelancer.com Saw Spike in Traffic

Elliot Silver
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Freelancer.com and GetAFreelancer.comSometime around early October of 2009, GetAFreelancer.com acquired the better domain name Freelancer.com for an undisclosed amount, although it was reportedly a “six figure sum.” The company then moved to the easy to remember Freelancer.com domain name, and according to Compete results, traffic numbers are greatly improved, despite the fact that Freelancer.com didn’t seem to receive much traffic prior to the changeover.

According to Comptete, in the last year, GetAFreelancer.com maxed out at around 289,000 unique visits per month in July 0f 2009. As of May of 2010, Freelancer.com received 364,000+ unique visits according to the same Compete chart. While this comparison doesn’t take into consideration additional advertising that may or may not be in place, the acquisition does show the value in a generic domain name for a company like this.

So what was the purchase price for Freelancer.com? Although I couldn’t find a published sales price, I looked through my email archives to find an exchange I had with the former owner of the domain name. In May of 2006, when times were arguably better than what they were towards the end of 2009, the owner was asking “$100k usd.” I didn’t reply back to negotiate since it was out of my budget at that time.

Playboy’s Smoking Jacket Website May Be Good News for Kevin Ham

Elliot Silver
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Playboy.com The Smoking JacketAccording to a report in today’s New York Post, Playboy is rolling out a website that should be safe for people to view at work or other environments where nudity and sexual content would be inappropriate. The new website will be known as TheSmokingJacket.com, and it intentionally contains no references to Playboy, allowing it to bypass work filters that have “playboy” blocked.

The article cited Theresa Hennessey, spokeswoman for Playboy who said that Playboy’s editorial director Jimmy Jellinek “will be pleased if TheSmokingJacket.com receives 1 million unique visitors a month.”   Playboy’s flagship website, Playboy.com receives around 6 million visitors per month.

The website was aptly named The Smoking Jacket because of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s love for silk smoking jackets. Ironically, the Post’s article joked that Playboy chose the name they did because SilkPajamas.com was already registered, but it should be noted that SmokingJacket.com is similarly registered (since 2000) and it appears to be owned by one of Kevin Ham’s companies.

With the hopes of getting 1,000,000 visitors per month, perhaps Playboy should consider reaching out to DomainBrokers.com about acquiring SmokingJacket.com.   According to a note in the Whois record, “Domainbrokers.com  is  authorized  by  the  domain  owner  to  facilitate  the  sale  of  this  domain.“

.CO Registry: 40k Names Pre-Registered, 6 Figure Sale Already Made

Elliot Silver
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.CO Registry Founders ProgramTomorrow is a   big day for the .CO Registry, as they will be publicly launching in the afternoon at 2pm EST. People will begin finding out if the .CO domain names they ordered were secured by their domain registrars, and others will learn more information about auctions and domain availability.

I received an email from the .CO Registry with some impressive news and updates I thought I would share.

  • Nearly 40,000 .CO domain names have been sold in the pre-launch phase
  • 70% of the worlds top 500 brands have secured .CO domains
  • The first public domain auction sold for $81,000 USD (www.e.CO)
  • The Registry will be announcing its second public sale this week for six figures.   This may be the domain name Mike Berkens mentioned yesterday.

I know a number of people who are buying .CO domain names, and I personally back ordered around 10 or 12 of them. I am not making a huge investment right now (aside from the development cost of the Founders Program name I was awarded), but I think this extension is going to strong results.

As I’ve said here in the past relating to .CO and other extensions, I’d rather invest heavily when I see the money rolling in and a solid aftermarket formed, even if it means less upside. There’s less risk when names begin selling for high values on the aftermarket.

Surprisingly to me, nobody correctly guessed the Founders Program domain name I was awarded; however, I am not going to reveal the domain name yet until it’s in my possession. Hopefully that will be soon and development will start ASAP.

Buying Names for $xx-xxx and Selling for $x,xxx Thanks to FreshDrop

Elliot Silver
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I’ve recently started using FreshDrop.net every day because of the valuable information it provides. I primarily use it to scan expired/expiring domain names that will be coming up for sale on Snapnames and NameJet (requires premium account), and I’ve done very well on domain names I found using FreshDrop that have been flipped or received offers.

In the last few weeks alone, I’ve bought several names via Snap and NameJet   that have either received offers for at least double the purchase price (offers over $1k), or I’ve sold the domain names for at least double (under $10k each). Making it even better is the fact that a few of these domain names have had three or less bidders involved in the auction, meaning that I am finding hidden gems. I can say gems without question since they’ve sold or have received offers after buying as opposed to just being my opinion that I have found value where others didn’t. This is a pretty nice return on my investment.

I have a couple of filters that I created on FreshDrop to better enable me to find these names, although there is still the manual process of researching the individual domain names. For example, when I see a name that looks good to me, I will check the # of Google results for the term, the number of companies advertising on Google for the term, it’s GAKT search #s, and just my own gut feel vs. what other domain names companies are using in the market.

I know there are other sites out there that have a similar offering, but if you haven’t tried FreshDrop, I recommend trying it.

** This is not a paid post nor did I use an affiliate link.

After Liquidation Ski Market Domain Name Expires

Elliot Silver
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SkiMarket.comIn December of 2009, Ski Market filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company, which was founded in 1958 and originally known as St. Moritz Sports, changed its name to Ski Market in 1971. There were 16 locations in the northeast US chain at the time of its bankruptcy filing.

The company also did business on its website, SkiMarket.com. Compete still shows over 1,500 visitors per month, but I’ve generally found those numbers to be light (for my websites anyway).

Because no other retail stores placed a bid to purchase Ski Market, in February of 2010, the bankruptcy court approved the company’s sale to Gordon Brothers, a Boston-based liquidation company. Gordon Brothers was hired to sell the company’s merchandise via liquidation sales over the following two months to help pay back creditors which were owed a significant sum of money.

For some reason, the bankruptcy court didn’t take action on the domain name, which would certainly be a salable asset. In June of 2010, the domain name expired and is currently on the pre-release list at NameJet and already has a $500 bid with 71 bidders.   Instead of the creditors getting anything from the sale (which included South Shore Savings Bank), the proceeds will go to NameJet and Network Solutions if this domain name is auctioned.

Geographic .CO Domain Awarded via Founders Program

Elliot Silver
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.CO Registry Founders ProgramI received some good news a couple of days ago.   My Founders Program application for a geographic .CO domain name was approved, and I can take possession of the domain name very soon. I will need to build it out and launch it in the next few weeks, and I will share the development process as I go.

I am very excited about this domain name because it wouldn’t be possible for me to own the .com, and the .CO will be used as part of the branding strategy behind the website. I am still working out the development details, but it’s going to be an exciting project.

Before I announce the domain name I was awarded, I want to see if anyone can guess which name I applied for and was awarded, and the first person to post the correct domain name will win a $50 credit from me at Name.com. I won’t reveal the answer until Monday. One guess per person, and the few people I told aren’t eligible 🙂

You can also have a look to see who is currently using .CO domain names via the same program.

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