This morning on Twitter, Rick Schwartz announced his plans to open a domain name brokerage. Based on some of the hashtags and prior tweets, it would not surprise me if he launched a brand called Game Changing Domains with the matching GameChangingDomains.com domain name:
I will be having a major announcement about a new #DomainBrokerage firm I am opening up VERY SOON!!
It’s gonna be a Game Changer!!
STAY TUNED!!#Domains #GameChangingDomains #DomainNames #NFT #btc #Crypto #RealEstate #branding #marketing #names #domainsforsale pic.twitter.com/lgShRIHs8W
— Rick Schwartz 👑 The DomainKing® 👑 Since 1995 👑 (@DomainKing) June 29, 2021
The domain name brokerage space is fairly crowded with many experienced domain brokers. Rick has sold many millions of dollars worth of his own domain names, and he certainly presents his own way of negotiating.
Based on my observations, Rick appears to be unwilling to settle for anything less than the best possible offers for his domain names. This likely means Rick turns down some great offers that most of us would find irresistible. It will be interesting to see how Rick might reconcile his desire to get the absolute most money possible with client interests in selling for a great price, as these two numbers could be far apart.
It’s interesting that Rick appears to be interested in offering brokerage services to other domain investors. I look forward to see how this evolves.
Rick will focus on exclusivity via minimum values, commission, and long term contracts. Here’s my prediction
.Com only
US$ 1M+ names only
30% commission
1 year Exclusive
and his brokerage will negotiate royalties for many years. great for the domain owner and his brokerage.
Oh boy…sounds like more “friction” on the horizon.
Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
This is good for competition. now top brokers will have to work smarter.
It is about time, now other “brokers” have to work their A***SS off to get my business.
Others so called fake brokers that don’t have the experience and all they care is their own selfish financial gains.
I’d be surprised if the self-proclaimed domain king would open a domain brokerage on a mediocre (read “pigeon shit”) 3word .com domain. If he chose GameChangingDomains.com as his base, he probably wouldn’t get a chance to upgrade to Gamechanging.com, GameChangers.com or even GCD.com anytime soon. All domains are developed and GCD.com is owned by Godaddy. GCdomains.com is available for $4k though.
Here’s what Rick brings to the table:
A rolodex of prospects and endusers
maybe the best negotiating skills on the planet per the intrinsic and real value of domains
stellar reputation in the industry (it’s like having top gallery in world sell your art)
the only potential negative I could see:
Rick advising NOT to sell domain at say 1.5 million, saying the domain is worth 3 million and it’s better to wait, which is the wise move, unless cash flow is needed fast…btw, this is the opposite of most brokers I’ve worked with who recommend, “bird in hand is better than 2 in the bush” (yes, but only if a really fat bird in the hand)
rick will be stellar broker
well said.
He’s a little late to the game, but at least Rick will broker domains at their true value.
Tired of seeing 7 figure domains sell for 5 or 6 figures and 8 figure domains selling for low 7 figures.
A domain name owner needs to say “yes” before a broker sells their domain name. If you own a good name and ask broker Joe to broker it and the best offer is $150,000, you can pass on the offer. You can either let him try for more, hire someone else, or just keep your name as is and wait. In addition, most people confer with a broker extensively before the domain name is marketed. If there’s no meeting of the minds on value, you move on and hire someone else. If you think your name is worth $500,000 but broker Joe says he hopes to get $200,000 for it, you move on and choose someone else. If you ask 10 brokers and they all say it’s worth $200k or less, perhaps your expectations are too high or you are going to need that 1 in a million buyer to come along.
I assume Rick can pass on a $1.5 million offer because he has plenty of liquid assets and a $1.5m offer will not be life changing. It’s worth risking that $1.5m to get $5m because $1.5m more does very little for him. For almost everyone else (with a handful of exceptions), a $1.5m deal would be life changing money or at least business changing money. The power of no is very strong.
yes, agree
i try to make my asking prices based on comps, demand for rhe key word
i don’t believe i have any single domain worth 1.5 million…not yet