I will be traveling south again today. Will be back up and running by Monday.
Dedicated to the Game
Most of my friends know that I am a die-hard Red Sox fan. With the exception of the last few years, living in New York City has been somewhat difficult being a Red Sox fan, especially because I always wear a Sox cap around here. I am passionate about watching the Sox, whether on tv, online or at the game when I can get tickets. For whatever reason, I am dedicated to the Red Sox.
Much more than my dedication to the Sox, I am dedicated to my business. 99% of the time, I am working. I am constantly either locked in on my laptop or my Blackberry, and I am almost always working if I’m not sleeping. Knowing I am a Sox fan, a friend of mine in the industry invited me to his box seats to the Red Sox game yesterday – second row from the field, right above the visitor’s dugout. I kicked back, and I basically took the day off from the computer and Blackberry (I will respond to all of my emails today).
My friend, on the other hand, did not take the day off when we went to the game. He is dedicated to another game – the domain drop auction game. Unfortunately for my friend, a 3:05 afternoon start time meant there were domain auctions to be won. As soon as we got to the field, my friend whipped out his laptop ala Drew Barrymore in Fever Pitch. For most of the game, my friend was battling on his field more than the Red Sox were battling in front of us.
Some people say I am nuts for the Red Sox. I say my friend is “crazy” about the domain drop game – 🙂
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BTW, still no reasonable geographic domain submissions
Traveling South Today
I will be traveling south on business today. Back tomorrow.
$100,000 Budget: US East Coast City .com Wanted
I am once again looking for a city .com domain name for an east coast city (east of the Mississippi). For the right name, my budget is up to $100,000, but it must fit in with my needs. This is the profile of the domain name I am looking to buy:
- City of 100,000 people or more
- .com Only
- City must be on the East Coast of the US (prefer north east)
- City name can not have Saint or Fort in at, as that can be confusing (St vs. Saint)
- Must be the full and real name of the city
- Must have some tourism
- Household income must be at the US national average or above
- Domain name must not have been publicly on the market (domain auction or forum or otherwise)
Please only send names that meet all of my requirements. Any other submissions will be deleted. There’s nothing wrong with other similar types of names, but I don’t want them for this project. My budget is up to $100,000 for a great name, but it obviously depends on the domain name.
Rob Grant Guest Post: The Domain 'Slingshot' Theory
I wanted to let you know that Rob Grant will be offering guest posts on my blog from time to time. Rob is the man behind Adirondacks.com and is a pioneer in the geodomain business. I am looking forward to more guest posts!
Evaluating an Offer for a Domain Name
Sometimes deciding to sell a domain name isn’t as easy as receiving a fair market offer for the name. In addition to considering the value of the offer, market conditions, and the buyer’s circumstances, you really need to think about what the loss of the domain name will mean to your domain portfolio and business plan. While being in strong financial position is important, you need to evaluate how the sale of a domain name might be detrimental to your long-term business plan, even if an offer you receive is for the full market value of the domain name.
When I receive a strong offer on a domain name, I do my best to determine the actual value of the name. For instance, I try to figure out whether I could get a higher sales price if I approached certain buyers, end-users or if the name was auctioned and received bidding action. More often than not, I am able to easily determine that the offer is lower than market value, and I negotiate with the person who made an offer in an attempt to reconcile the difference between the offer and what I’ve determined to be the fair market value for the domain name.
On occasion, a legitimate offer that is received is either for fair market value or greater than fair market value. In these rare situations, since you are probably more inclined to sell after receiving the fair (or better than fair offer), it is imperative to think about what the loss of the domain name will mean to your business plan in the long term. I am very fortunate to have received a significant offer for a domain name I own. While most people would think the offer is probably very appropriate, I need to determine how it will impact me if I choose to sell it.
Sure, a domain name could have a fair market value of $200,000, but with my business plan, design template, and execution strategy, the developed website could make this domain name worth a large multiple of this, especially if the developed website is successful. If I sell this domain name, I would be inclined to go out and find a comparable one to fill the hole, and I might not be able to find a comparable domain name to develop in this price range. It might actually cost me more money to find something equally as compelling, which would make the sale very short-sighted.
While it’s usually a good idea to have a strong cash position, with the low interest rates and the weak dollar, holding cash in the bank is almost a losing proposition. Maintaining a cash position is important for the short term, but I don’t personally think it’s smart in the long term, although I did get a D+ in Financial Accounting when I was a sophomore in college (hey, I was pledging my fraternity).
Selling a domain name involves more than evaluating the face value of the name and the market conditions. It’s very important to evaluate how the loss/sale of the name will impact your business strategy and what else you can do with the revenue generated from the sale. It would be ashame to realize what you lost in 5 years by selling a particular domain name.
