Archive for February, 2010
The Mysteries and Stories behind Poker Domains: Was Poker.com the Biggest .com Sale Ever at $27M?
The landmark sale of Poker.org by National A-1 this week that fetched a record $1 million for a .org is all over the news.
Poker domains, one of the most sought after categories of domains in the world, have been the holy grail for many organizations and individuals since the beginning of the internet. Back in 2007, the silent auction of the domain name Poker.com grabbed the attention of the domain industry and gambling industry.
Whatever happened to the domain?
Poker.com, a long, sordid history
The domain, Poker.com has a long, sordid history and the verbal offer of $27 million that came at auction in 2007 was an apparent bust. Gambling911.com, an odds authority and gambling news site that regularly covers poker domain related news and gets at times over 100,000 unique visitors per month – also covered the saga back in 2007. But news of what finally happened with the domain seems to remain a mystery. Gambling911 had a series of articles covering the auction, and in the final article titled Poker.com Domain Sale a Bust? they explained the domain name that had as many ups and downs as another category-killer: sex.com.
As Gambling911.com has been reporting for the past few weeks, it appears that the silent auction of the domain name Poker.com may not have gone through according to plan. While a verbal offer of $27 mil was reportedly thrown out there, a written commitment for $22 mil seemed the more likely of the two options. But a third option of “no deal” may be the ultimate ending to this most unusual of sagas.
The full story along with related coverage can be found here.
While Poker.com might always remain a mystery, Poker.org has been a success story.
Original Owners of Poker.org, Convoke Communications
Back in the nineties, one of the first owners of Poker.org owned a slew of great domains. Convoke Communications listed several names in their portfolio that were for sale or under development. The names included Gamble.org which they still own to this day. Holdem.com another category-killer gambling domain was also purchased by National A-1 and they still own it. Other gambling domans that Convoke originally owned but now have new owners include: Slots.com and CaribbeanStud.com.
Other names Convoke owned in 1998, included:
deliver.com
deliver.org
deliver.net
psychics.net
climb.com
Gambling Names, We Love Them, Too
We know we all can’t own great domains, but like others in the Domain Industry big and small, we still try buying what we can afford – these are buy and hold domains, some we hand-registered like LimitGame.com, and others we got on the aftermarket like PocketPair.com. Sales like Poker.org are a boost to the gambling domain industry, but more importantly, it’s a boost to the .org industry – an industry with plenty of opportunity including hand-registrations.
Mike Berkens has a great article on this that’s sparked an insightful discussion about the sale of Poker.org being a game changer.
If you have more information on the Poker.com domain name, we’d love to hear it.
Never-Before Released .ME Domains at Auction: Wipe.me, Defy.me, Readto.me, Preview.me (more)
The .ME registry held back several premium .ME names and every once in awhile, dozens of the premium names go up for auction. .ME domains are not for everyone, but they definitely have social appeal and make easy domain hacks since the character extensions can be used to create a phrase like: DontLeave.me. Domainers like Bruce Marler run businesses on .ME. Even major brands such as WordPress (WP.me) and Facebook (FB.me) use the extensions to promote their products.
While every extension has its backers, there certainly seems to be interest in .ME. Previous sales include Date.me ($70,000), Cloud.me ($22,500), Teach.me ($20,100), Buy.me ($17,500), Marry.me ($12,000) and Show.me ($10,000).
While many of those sales sit parked, Show.me actually launched a website which is currently in Private Beta called Show.me – Real Estate Gone Social. The sales pitch for the site is:
Show.Me is taking online real estate to the next level! Since we are all different, it’s only natural that we would have different real estate needs. Show.Mm is the first online real estate platform that personalizes your user experience and brings you the answers, connections and tools you need. Even if you are not Internet savvy, Show.Me provides you a step by step guide to taking full control of your real estate activities easily.
Unreleased .ME Domains at Auction
NameJet is holding a .ME auction for domain names that have never been released. The auction starts February 19th, but you can start bidding now. Here’s a sample of the names going for auction:
Wipe.me
Layout.me
Cart.me
Defy.me
Kitchens.me
Probate.me
Aqua.me
Clothe.me
Eatwith.me
Farmers.me
Portrait.me
Readto.me
Tobacco.me
August.me
Authentic.me
Bluray.me
companies.me
Dane.me
Dontleave.me
Doyoulike.me
Giftfor.me
Investin.me
Preview.me
Solution.me
YouFind.me
Woody.me
Who bought the Domain Name HomeRun.com for $130,000 and is resurrecting Group Buying?
A flop during the nineties, Group Buying is back with a vengeance
HomeRun plans to be an exciting, fun website. The concept of the website is Group Buying, which apparently many have tried and failed since the nineties. But the owners of HomeRun have invested in their web site and in their brand, shelling out $131,200 for the domain nameHomeRun.com
at Moniker. While most won’t associate the idea of “group buying” with scoring a home run, the site is branding itself HomeRun. The name actually ties in nicely with “scoring”. In this case, when enough people buy, everyone gets the deal and they score by getting an unbeatable price.
The site is also tied in with social networking and allows you to connect through Facebook. It also has a hip look-and-feel.
For businesses, HomeRun uses the domain HomeRunDelivers.com where businesses can apply to market their offers. HomeRun offers a guarantee to businesses since a minimum number of people must buy for the offer to be given at the unbeatable price.
Group Buying Power is Back
Other startups have gotten back into group-buying online. Another site called GroupOn which launched in 2009 has been getting a lot of press, and it appears the concept group buying power is back.
The site’s traffic has gone from about 1,000 visitors per month in June 2009 to over 2 MILLION unique visitors in December 2009, according to Compete. This looks to be one helluva business model.
AllHotGirls.com Sells for $15,000 at Sedo, Seller Reaps $7,000 Profit in less than 3 years
AllHotGirls.com which expired in 2007, was snapped up on SnapNames for $8,260. Less than 3 years later, the name has sold at Sedo for $15,000. This is a great sale for the previous owner who took in almost $7,000 in profit before fees. The original sale was reported by Ron Jackson in July 2007 in DNJournal.
What’s in Store for AllHotGirls.com?
Obviously it won’t be a great surprise to see this URL end up as an Adult web site dedicated to pictures, videos, or cams – or a combination. The online porn industry is huge and owning a great domain to build your brand is important. AllHotGirls.net (not-safe-for-work) has had as many as 50,000 visitors per month in 2009. The site provides galleries and hardcore videos of only hot girls.
AllHotGirls.com used to have a web site online which displayed nude photos of celebrities and models and the domain name still receives hundreds of unique visitors per month in traffic. Right now it’s parked at Network Solutions.
In case you’re wondering who owns HotGirls.com: the name is owned by NTS (Network Telephone Services) who redirect the URL to zip.com. The company also owns HotGirl.com and they redirect the name to the same place.
Coincidence? Shortly After our Story on Glitch.com, Flickr Founders Launch Site, TechCrunch Runs Story
The massively-multiplayer game “Glitch”, which is playable in the browser and built in the spirit of the web according to the website has launched their official website announcing the soon-to-launch game which will be in Private alpha shortly.
Though it’s most likely one heck of a coincidence, the website announcement just went online today – a day after we revealed Glitch.com was acquired by the former founders of Flickr for their secret project Tiny Speck.
Our story ran on the popular Domain Industry web site Domaining.com.
We tweeted @Stewart, one of the founders of Tiny Speck yesterday and also emailed the News Tip to TechCrunch yesterday as a follow up to their July story that discussed the Tiny Speck project.
AND TODAY: TechCrunch’s lead story is none other than -
Tiny Speck Uncovers Glitch, A New Flash-Based Massively Multiplayer Game
A quality backlink from a web site like TechCrunch never hurts, but unfortunately there was no mention of the News Tip we sent yesterday afternoon.
While it looks like the folks at CNET have been eagerly awaiting to publish their story, it seems to be quite the coincidence that after we post our story, that TechCrunch puts out the news today.
Either way, the premise for the game looks interesting and for the seller of the domain Glitch.com, they made a $16,000 profit before fees. Below is a screenshot from the Glitch Teaser video.
From the Domaining angle, there are a lot of great backstories to domain names: Glitch.com is another excellent example.
Minisites using WordPress by the BIGGEST in the Industry: Domain Development Corp; Boys & Girls.com
Most everyone in the Domain Industry has heard of Domain Development Corp. The secretive Domain Development company that struck a Partnership with Yahoo Sponsored Search ads for BOSS.
Despite their skyrocketing popularity and their work with Yahoo!, they’re still making web sites for their clients and big partners like National A-1 Advertising. They’ve also made themselves more accessible with their redesigned web site, that showcases their work and their services (http://www.ddc.com/).
Minisites are only the Beginning
One of DDC’s big partners is National A-1, who has been launching several web sites lately including Antiques.com and the redesigned Pizza.com. They’ve also churned out some of the best looking minisites using WordPress themes.
Two of their newest sites using WordPress include Boys.com and Girls.com, two category-killer domains owned by National A-1 that recently shifted the names out of Parked. The sites are so new, it looks like they even need a little more work (for example, the sidebar on Boys.com says “Featured Grant Programs” instead of “Featured Categories”). DDC also developed Grants.com using a WordPress theme.
If you still haven’t given WordPress a shot, now is the time
Whether you have no experience with web development or have domains sitting idle, WordPress is a good first step in the development and implementation of a website that could bring you organic traffic from the search engines, and much greater control over the monetization of your web site, including using affiliate ads, which is where the market is increasingly going, especially with advertisers wanting more accountability over their publishers.
The custom WordPress themes used by DDC for Boys.com and Girls.com have a more hip look for a younger crowd, and with the content, visitors may be more likely to click around the website and see what’s happening, whereas before with the parked page templates, visitors are a lot more likey to move along and not return.
WordPress is a great choice for getting your names out of parked, and you can test your abilities with content, marketing and much more without others taking a cut.
Who Paid $19,000 for the Domain: Glitch.com? The Founders of Flickr who resigned. Interesting site (Sorta)
Back in June 2008, the co-founders of Flickr, husband and wife team Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake, resigned from the company. And by the looks of things, they’ve been staying busy ever since, working on several projects like Hunch.com and a secretive project called: Tiny Speck. TechCrunch even ran a story in July 2009 that discussed the new project and the news that the company was hiring.
While it’s not entirely clear what the project is all about, TechCrunch writes, “The word on the street has been that it’s some kind of new social gaming endeavor.”
The project does look interesting and fun, even from the little we’ve been able to gather.
Seller of Glitch.com Made a Nice Profit
While searching through recent domain sales we came across the sale of Glitch.com for $19,000 on Sedo. The Seller actually made a handsome profit on the name having paid a mere $3,000 in 2007 on Afternic. Minus broker fees, the profit was good after only a few years of holding onto the name.
How’d we stumble upon Glitch?
We checked the registrant information on Glitch.com to see what the name was all about after seeing the price tag of $19,000, which took us to the Tiny Speck project over at TinySpeck.com. Back in 2005, TinySpeck.com was a photography website for Damian Hevia.
While there still isn’t a lot of information on Tiny Speck, you can sign up to help them test their upcoming products on their website. Right now, Glitch is a Baby Pig. When you visit Glitch.com you’ll see a Flash Presentation. Nothing more.
Whatever the duo have in store for their new project, they’re certainly not holding back on paying whatever it takes to get the domain names they need to brand their products.
When all is said and done, don’t be surprised to see the husband and wife team amass a nice portfolio of names plucked from the Aftermarket.
Your Sold Domains. Where are they now? Check out the Stats of Eric Borgos, InsuranceQuotes.com, More
Many of us hope to develop our best domains, but when an irresistible deal comes along, the odds are you might just sell the name you had big plans for. Have you ever wondered what really happens to these domains? In the case of Eric Borgos, one of our favorite domainers we enjoy covering who has been highly successful at both domaining and development, has sold a number of quality names that have gone on to be very successful web sites. Eric also sold Bored.com and several related properties for over $4 million.
His domain marketplace at NameShopping.com offers domain shoppers a little bit of everything, including great domains and bargain-basement prices in some cases – like his sale of TrueRomance.com for $1,000. Or one of his earlier sales: Cookies.com for $5,000.
Here are some quicky stats from just 2 domains that Eric Borgos has sold that will make you think about your own domains. And who knows, you might think twice the next time you get an offer on one of your own domains that you know has lots of potential — especially if you only own a very small handful, like us.
InsuranceQuotes.com
Eric sold InsuranceQuotes.com for $85,000. Many times names that even sell at this price, still end up parked. But not InsuranceQuotes.com. Type in “insurance quotes” into Google, and it’s the #2 result on Page 1 just below Progressive.com. The site gets over 10,000 unique visitors per month.
TotalPorn.com
TotalPorn.com was sold for $11,000. While it might not sound like such a great name to you, the owners who purchased the name saw its potential. Since launching, traffic to the web site has climbed quickly to over 30,000 visitors per month. While much of the traffic might not be organic, the new owners are onto something.
Eric’s NameShopping.com is definitely worth looking over. There are thousands of names listed and you might find your diamond in the rough.
National A-1 Relaunches Category-Killer Domain Name Pizza.com, with Fresh New Look
National A-1, owners of some of the best domain names in the world, have given Pizza.com a fresh new look.
The site now offers pizza news, pizza games, pizza coupons, supplies, and listings. There are even pizza fun facts like, “Domino’s Pizza is the world leader in delivery.” If you remember the old site, the new look and feel is more vibrant and inviting to visitors.
What’s the History of the Pizza.com Domain Name?
It all started with a hand registered domain name in 1994 by Chris Clark who paid a small registration fee to continually renew the domain name. That name paid off in the tune of million+ dollars in 2008. The original Sedo deal of $2.6 million fell through, so the final sales price is unknown.
NJ.com even ran a story just over a week ago about Pizza, which opened with Pizza.com and DDC.com. In the story Sean Moriarty is even quoted as saying, “It’s probably the best generic domain name in existence..”
Devan Moriarty, along with rest of the world, is crazy about pizza.
The two-year-old insists that her dad, Sean, play Charlotte Diamond’s “I am A Pizza’’ whenever they get into the car. It may be two-plus minutes of silliness (“I am a pizza/with extra cheese/plum tomatoes/onions and mushrooms’’) but little Devan can’t get enough of it.
Her dad loves pizza, too. Moriarty, a former Morristown resident, is CEO of pizza.com. DDC, a domain development firm where Moriarty is an executive, bought the pizza,com name…
Cash in on Dating: PageRank, Traffic, SEO, Expired Names will help; AdultDating.org LoveNow.com MORE
Online dating sites are on the rise and so are opportunities for domainers and internet marketers looking to cash in.
If you’ve been looking to get in on the action and use some great domains that already come with traffic, page rank, huge amounts of search volume and more – here are some domain names that are expiring that will be up for auction over at NameJet.
GreatBeginnings.com
In 1999, GreatBeginnings.com was a website dedicated to facilitating connections between ideas and people and to increasing the quality of connections that people make within and across cultures. GreatBeginnings.com gets over 1,000 unique type in visitors per month and in 2009 had some months near 2,000 visitors. The URL GreatBeginnings.com has a page rank value of 4 from 10 possible points.
LoveNow.com
Going back to the late nineties through 2005, LoveNow.com was an adult oriented site and the site provided listings of adult products and services. Lovenow.com doesnt’ register any traffic with Compete and has a page rank score of 0, but it’s a great domain for branding a dating or adult web site. Lovenow.net is listed as a Premium Domain for sale at GoDaddy for $1,688.
AdultPersonals.net
Since the early days of the internet, AdultPersonals.net has been just that – a website for helping people looking for love for every need, lifestyle and fetish. The website was a simple 1 page landing page with a lot of affiliate links to a variety of Adult Friend Finder websites. Since April 2009, the site’s traffic has been flat and the page rank is 0, but the Monthly Search Volume Globally for the term “Adult Personals” was over 60,000 in January. That’s Exact Match Type.
AdultDating.org
While this is a .org, the term “adult dating” had a Global Monthly Search Volume of 1,500,000 in January 2010. That’s over 1 million exact searches globally. Locally, it was nearly 75,000. That’s a killer name.
1Love.com
1Love.com has been on the web since the nineties and comes with a page rank of 3 out of 10. The URL receives hundreds of type in visitors per month, and could definitely help an individual or organization looking to make a splash in the online dating scene.
MyHeart.com an expired domain name that recently went to NameJet auction, is currently bidding at $3,933 with still a day to go. The name has over 200 bidders.
