Seth Rogen was a guest on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show last night, and I thought the conversation about a recent domain name acquisition was funny. Seth Rogen is involved in a cannabis brand called Houseplant. The company owns the matching HousePlant.com domain name.
During the segment last night, Kimmel asked Rogen about the domain name. In particular, he asked if the company had the domain name prior to the launch of the business. From a domain investor perspective, it’s pretty obvious a domain name like HousePlant.com was registered long before the company was established. In fact, the domain name was created in June of 1997.
Commenting about the acquisition of the domain name, Rogen said that it was “shockingly easy.” He also mentioned that the owner of the domain name did not know who was behind the acquisition or why. Joking about it further, he said, “We ripped those ‘****’ off!”
A quick look at NameBio shows that the domain name was sold for $5,000 via Uniregistry in July of 2017. Assuming Rogen and his company were behind that purchase, they did get a very reasonable price.
Here’s the segment from last night – thanks to Gregg for sharing this with me:
He got a good deal .
Winced when I read that. Then again, Uniregistery’s brokers back then were mediocre at best. We had some of our secondary domains registered there. Names easily worth in the 10K-25K range. Would get plenty of 1-2K offers and their brokers would suggest we take it. Never sold a name.
Hello David,
In our opinion, all brokers should access the wealth of knowledge contained in RicksBlog.com Archives. If more people start to Emulate Ricks examples and techniques
those 1-2k offers would turn into 50K+ easily. JAS
Gratefully and Respectfully, Jeff Schneider (CONTACT GROUP)
We don’t Follow, We Create
David, Sounds like most of those uni brokers went to godaddy because they don’t even respond back to you when an offer comes in. They take $119 fee plus 20% commission. This should be illegal and they should not have the right to represent a domain name on anyones behalf just because they can say we will contact the owner on your behalf. They should have an opt out section by where the lead just goes direct to the owner and not to the godaddy. I suggest dan-com for all future sales. That $10 domain is costing owners millions and it all goes to godaddy,
Hello Elliot,
We sense, (.com EPA’s) are becoming more Main Stream,as well as necessary for Online Success. People are getting more curious of our Industry, and ND sales don’t seem as necessary anymore. Its becoming a Badge of honor and success to own and operate a (.com EPA). Extremely good news for all that own them. JAS
Gratefully and Respectfully, Jeff Schneider (CONTACT GROUP)
We don’t Follow, We Create
It does appear he was joking and not expressing any disdain for domain sellers, which a lot of people unfortunately have. Maybe we should have some kind of trade organization (apart from the ICA, which focuses on regulatory issues) which promotes domaining not only as playing a valuable role in the economy but also as a great democratizer of economic opportunity, by which people regularly buy domains for $10 and then sell for hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands weeks, months or years later. I’m not sure any other kind of investment offers that kind of return.
Jon – I could not agree more and the industry still reels from the “characters from Breaking Bad” image that was created by some of the early prematurely successful, more flamboyant domainers around the early and mid 2000’s. A trade organization, or better still a guild would be a great thing for the industry. I not talking about conformity but about just being professional, understood and respected. I’d also like proper practices to be taught, certain important functions certified with training. We need trust and dependability to mature and grow and to bring the right people into the industry. Seriously – how do we begin?
I still remember tryin to be sold a trip to Europe where there would be playboy models and flowing champagne and “because that’s how we roll…” machismo and hubris. Oh and a $10,000 ticket price. I envisioned fools being parted from their money, standing around awkwardly in their cargo shorts – Fyre style. 🙂
Just look at the comments below on pricing! The same happened in real estate I bet that’s why it needed licensure and professionalism.
Just look at the comments below on pricing! OMG this should be more uniform and trusted by now… it’s why real estate became licensed, think about it.
That the reason why you don’t want to sell your domains cheap because you will be ridiculed and insulted in your face!!
Uniregistery’s brokers are a joke-they want me to sell my zmmr.com for just $500 when I have higher offers and all s/he cares is making money for themselves
The price was on the low side but hardly an amazing domain. Probably 20-30k is more the enduser price.
Agree with what David is saying, Uniregistry brokers would recommend accepting almost any offer. They are ok with 4 figures sales but don’t trust them to broker valuable names.
Price is definitely on the low side.
I should of been priced 50k at least. What was the seller thinking??
Hindsight is awesome