I don’t like posting other people’s domain names for sale on my blog, but I saw a great deal on Rick Latona’s newsletter today and wanted to share it with those who aren’t subscribed. Rick is selling PinballMachines.com for $35,000 and I think it’s a very good price for a name of this caliber.
When I worked at Wunderman, my first job out of college, I worked with a guy who was a pinball fanatic. Frequently when I visited his office I saw him checking out pinball machines on Ebay and on classified ad sites. I remember commenting a few times about how expensive the older machines were and how much parts cost. People spend hundreds or thousands of dollars buying old pinball machines, dozens of hours each week talking about them, and the pinball community is very strong – full of “pin heads.”
Anyhow, I really think this is a great domain name, and if I had time I would probably buy it and build it out. I haven’t checked, but I would bet some of the newer pinball machine companies have affiliate programs that would presumably pay well.
When there are a whole bunch of advertisers for a business that has a considerable amount of enthusiasts, you have a great combination. My bet is that this sells sometime in the next couple of days. If you’re interested, drop Rick a note and tell him.
As another disclaimer, I don’t have anything to gain from this domain sale and wasn’t asked or compensated to post it.
Good point. I saw that on the newsletter also, my only concern is that its popularity might diminish over time, but for the right end-user it’s a bargain.
Think about all the other domain names that will eventually be obsolete, if not obsolete already: dvdplayers.com, cdplayers.com, beepers.com, vhsplayer.com, etc.
With xbox and ps3, and so on, will pinball machines continue to be relevant?
In any event, a great name, at a great price for the right buyer.
@DomainerResource
It’s a niche gaming industry, but is very popular among a small group of people.
PinballMachines.com is a business just waiting to happen. With the $35,000 investment in the domain, $20,000 in website design and development and $10,000 in SEO and advertising you will have a business that will bring in at least $100,000 a year.
Of course it is easy to say that then to say like me… “I don’t have the cash”…=)
@Troy,
For the right end-user, and taking a very conservative approach, even if they only generated $5,000 a year in revenue, they would recoup their initial investment in 7 years, and everything after that would just be gravy.
I agree that it is a great domain name. DomainerResource.com, I believe that pinball machines have passed the test of time. Looking at Google’s new “Timeline” feature I discovered that pinball machine’s roots go back as far as 1679 or at least 1757. Got to go…my VCR clock is flashing!
@Jeff Jones,
Good point, I just looked it up on Wikipedia and Pinball Machines have a rich history.
I also found this pretty interesting article about it on NYT:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/25/us/25pinball.html
@DomainerResource.com – Agreed! Very interesting article. Good luck Rick with this name! Hope it sells high.
I’ve been told the name is now sold.
I agree, it’s a great domain at a great price…
For Rick Latona not the buyer though.
If the buyer is an end user, it’s a good deal I suppose to own the category killer for your industry. As a domainer, I would not pay over $10K for it.
I would bet money a domainer has agreed to buy it. It’ll be interesting to see if the transaction goes through though.
Slavik probably bought it, either that, or someone reading this blog bought into all the hype, and read the NYT article.
@DR
I don’t think someone would spend $35,000 because of hype 🙂