TRAFFIC Conference to Hold No Reserve gTLD Domain Auction

Rick Schwartz sent out a TRAFFIC conference update this morning, and one of the most interesting pieces of information he shared is that there will be a no reserve gTLD domain name auction held during the conference. The domain names that are being listed for sale will be directly from the registry. It will most likely be the first public new gTLD live auction.

Here is what Rick had to say about the auctions as well as the gTLD focus at this year’s TRAFFIC conference in Las Vegas:

“T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Las Vegas will have a No Reserve gTLD auction with domains released directly from the registries plus 18 gTLD proponents representing as many as 2/3 of all the new extensions will be offered 5 minutes of podium time to pitch their new extensions to those that are interested.

By the end of May, there will be many gTLD’s that will be actively seeking your business and T.R.A.F.F.I.C. will give them a platform to do that business. Many will relish the opportunity to sway a professional and skeptical crowd and some will not be up to or ready for that challenge. As professionals, you will take it all into account. THEY have to make the case. The burden is on them and they will have to share their visions.

I am a bit surprised that Rick and Howard are devoting auction time to these unproven domain names, but it is probably a good move because there is certainly quite a bit of buzz, and that buzz will continue to build up to the event. I wouldn’t look at the results as a barometer of what’s to come, but it will be an indicator of interest from domain investors.

Although I am quite sure I will not be a participant in the auctions unless there is something very compelling, I am very eager to see who is bidding and at what prices. This might be the first opportunity for public sales prices on the new gTLD domain names to be revealed and on the record.

I can only assume there won’t be Internet bidding, but there will most likely be phone bidding, so we may not know who is actually participating in the auctions. I haven’t paid much attention to the last few live auctions, but I will probably be an observer at this one to see what kind of action these domain names are getting in a live auction setting.

TRAFFIC will be held in Las Vegas from May 28-31 at the Bellagio Hotel.

Elliot Silver
Elliot Silver
About The Author: Elliot Silver is an Internet entrepreneur and publisher of DomainInvesting.com. Elliot is also the founder and President of Top Notch Domains, LLC, a company that has closed eight figures in deals. Please read the DomainInvesting.com Terms of Use page for additional information about the publisher, website comment policy, disclosures, and conflicts of interest. Reach out to Elliot: Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
    • That history repeaters itself… Flowers.mobi sold for $200K at Traffic auction in 2006, in 2012 it was sold NOT BY RICK for $5K to the end user more as a brand protection, and since they got bid out in 2006, probably a bit of vanity.

      I think of the 2 parties that owned it, a combined $196.5K was lost.

      How can .mobile fair any better?

  1. You got to ask yourself how much of this is driven by ego… In Domaining, the “experts” have to come out a winner or at least try when the opportunity presents itself, to be the guy who made the smart investment when others didn’t, even at the risk of losing a couple hundred thousand.

  2. I was referring to the investment itself..

    As for the auction of GTLD’s, not one big sale will come out of it, unless the buyer has the same blind mentality as the flowers.mobi bidder had.

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