Selling ice to the Eskimos: Why domain auctions are a waste of time
I like social gatherings. Parties, conferences, meetings, galas. It’s part of my personality and nature, as I am eager to communicate, to reach out to others and exchange ideas and share information. Plus, the drinks, food and further “opportunities” are there, especially when one is single.
A while back, I considered attending the GeoDomains domain conference in San Diego. It’d be an interesting change from the non-themed domain conferences, such as TRAFFIC, that tend to “steal” the majority of the industry’s limelight.
Then I realized it’d be an expensive party to attend, for an East Coast guy like me. Investing time, effort and money to temporarily interact with the same industry entrepreneurs that I interact daily via email, phone and social media didn’t sound like a good idea, for the overall cost. So I decided against it, and seeing the results of the auction as it was relayed yesterday from DNN I should add that I am glad I did not submit any domains to the auction.
Exactly one year ago, I had my biggest domain sale to this date: Constantinople.com left my domain fleet as the main battleship and into the hands of a fellow Greek investor, for the sum of $38,000. Considering how the city is no longer named Constantinople but Istanbul, it was a geo-domain that in the eyes of many would have triggered little interest; in fact, initially Sedo refused to list it. It was subsequently sold outside of Sedo, using Moniker’s escrow and left me with the sensation that domainers can sell their soul, if needed. I’m just glad I didn’t sell mine to the devil.
So yesterday’s GeoDomains auction results show that 29 domains were sold, for a total of $101,089 and the biggest sale being SierraMadre.com for $15,000. That’s a shocking departure from the hype and expectations of such a well-publicized event. In fact, the total selling amount of the first 15 domains, barely matched my single geodomain sale of last year!
Why’s that, you may ask. Simple: selling ice to the Eskimos does not work. They have their own tools to cut it up from the glaciers. You need to sell them something exotic, or better still, find a market far away from the icy lands of North Pole. The domain circle of trust has become too close-knit, too overly saturated and too controlled in order to maintain a constant flow of high figure sales.The people that attend domain auctions are not the type of investors that you should be targeting, in order to maximize your ROI.
Chasing end-user sales is the key to survival in the well-understood low economy that we’re going through. That is, sales that are promoted and achieved outside of the known channels of the domain industry. Want to *buy* domains at low prices? Then by all means – based on the paltry results of recent domain auctions – use these venues to get the best domains for your buck. But if you’re looking to *sell*, start thinking like a combination of a private investigator, a used car salesman and a pimp.
It’s time to take care of your own matters, as auctions won’t take care of them for you. And that’s the single best advice I can give – without charging for my services. But hey, you can always follow me on twitter.
