It sounds like a pretty wild rumor, and for now that’s all it is.
A reader tipped me off that the owner of Dirt.com, who put the name up for auction on the internet site Flippa for $3MM, might be entertaining a deal with NewsCorp – who is considering selling off its social networking site MySpace.
The story of Dirt.com started back in September 2010, when the domain name sold on GoDaddy for $100,000.
For months, the owner displayed a “Coming Soon” page, until December when the name went up for auction on Flippa. Despite the big payment and obvious construction of a website, the owner decided to auction the property, because in his own words: “I recently sold my Company and have decided to take a hiatus for thirty-six months to travel and focus on Foundation and Charity Work.”
Less than a week after listing the name over at Flippa, a website was unveiled.
Whether the owner was creating buzz for the pre-launch of Dirt.com or whether he truly was headed off to do charity and fundraising (as I wondered back in December), whatever the case is now it seems he has definite plans for a website and charity work – that is, if the domain name doesn’t sell for $5,000,000 – 50 times its purchase price.
Yesterday, Yessman (the owner’s Flippa username) posted a message on the sales page that gave more details.
Since so many people are watching this domain sale on Flippa, and there has been so much speculation and rumor on the internet in various forums and Blogs regarding the sale, it may make some sense to lay out a few discussion points about the domain, the site, and the sale at this time.
1. As mentioned in the description, I am an Internet Entrepreneur. I have just sold my Company and the reason that I wish to sell the dirt.com domain name is that I am planning on taking a hiatus for thirty-six months to travel and focus on my Foundation and Charity Work.
2. Thankfully, I have no financial need to sell Dirt.com at this time. However, due to the recent interest in Dirt.com from buyers throughout the world, it would have been foolish for me not to test the waters in selling the domain name versus building the business I had planned for it. This is why I have placed the domain up for sale on Flippa. Any good business person would look at all available options, and that is exactly what I am doing here.
3.. The business that I have planned for Dirt.com is to build the World’s Largest Celebrity Gossip and Entertainment Site. If I do not sell the domain, I will proceed to build the site out as I continue my Charity Work. I will also donate a portion of the dirt.com advertising proceeds to the ASPCA, The Humane Society, and PETA.
4. I am willing to sell the domain now as there is an opportunity cost in building out the World’s Largest of anything. If I do not get a buyer now, I will proceed to build out the Site, and sell it down the road after it is has reached the metrics in my business plan. I will continue to do my charity and foundation work, but will obviously have to spend time, energy, and effort, building out Dirt.
5. At that time, the value of the site with be more than the 5 Million asking price today…Substantially More. There currently is a site up where the domain exists. Already, people in Hollywood are talking about Dirt.com, and we haven’t even gotten busy yet! Weather i sell it now for the 5 Million asking price, or sell it later for much, much more, is simply a matter of what is called “Opportunity Cost”. Any serious Entrepreneur following this sale will understand the concept.
6. It has been reported throughout the web that the new owner of Dirt.com (me) purchased the domain for $100,000 just a few months ago.
Is the site worth 50 times the purchase price (if the reports are true)?
The answer is best served with a question…
…Name a more brand-able domain name available in the world right now…especially in the Entertainment Space (Which happens to be a Multi-Billion Dollar Space)…YOU CAN”T
If the rumor of NewsCorp partnering or buying Dirt.com becomes reality, it would be interesting to find out whether its listing on Flippa had anything to do with it.
It would be even more interesting to see the final sale price.
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