a thought dumpster on domaining & site development

If you’re gonna jump in this game, jump in already..

learn to swim while you’re in the water

half-wits like me learned that way

And by the way, there is no wrong way

the more you tread, the more you learn

you’ll find your own direction

there’s no set path. make that up yourself

let it present itself over time

it’ll do that when it’s ready

….

just be ready : )

{ 0 comments }

I thought it was a joke at first… but it wasn’t.

Here’s the security check captcha Google presented me this morning when attempting to access their keyword tool..

: )

[click for larger view]

{ 0 comments }

I tend to beat myself up when I review historical records on names I’ve lost at auction. Names that, looking back, I shoulda bucked up and purchased. Names that woulda been great projects to develop. Hell, fun projects to develop (down the road).

But, as I typically self-finance all acquisitions, if a name doesn’t have a clear road-map on how to re-coop its investment within a year (or two), I bail.

That methodology has worked well for me over the years, but it never lessens the sting of a lost asset. Assets which, in my imaginary world, I’ve already acquired, developed, monetized, and I’m sitting at the desk in a private equity firm signing the papers for their acquisition of the property.

To Shane’s question, though, if I had a million bucks, I’da acquired every single one of these.

On that note, let’s review (in no particular order) :

BridgeLoan.com
Sold Date: 9/7/2009
Sale Price: $27,101
By the time this name reached my radar, the bid was above my limit, which woulda been around $8-$10k. But Lawdy, it’s a gold-medal name. Lead-Gen written all over it.

Canyonlands.com
Sold Date: April’ish 2010
Sale Price: $4,188
I fell asleep at the wheel on this one – didn’t even realize it was headed to auction, so I never back-ordered…

oops.

I’m a sucker for the tourism and travel segment, though. I prob woulda bid up to $5k on it.

FlashCards.com
Sold Date: 1/30/2009
Sale Price: $40,200
My pea brain required many (many) flash card exercises growing up. And look at me know!

:\

The $40k range spooked me though.. And – actually – now that I’m revisiting this, $40k is a bit overpriced, imo. I would’ave liked to grab it for $5k-$10k. Still a neat name, though.

CowboyHat.com
Sold Date: 10/27/2008
Sale Price: $16,801
CowboyHat.com for $16k is like Mad Magazine – CHEAP. The ecommerce angle on this name is as ripe as a Georgia peach. Sling a couple hats here and there, and the investment is paid off. I didn’t even watch the full auction, as I expected it to last for hours and sell north of $30k…

ShotGlass.com
Sold Date: 11/10/2008
Sale Price: $16,655
A name I liked, but was concerned on the flip and/or development at that price.

CarlsbadCaverns.com
Sold Date: 1/14/2008
Sale Price: $15,000
A name I actually bid up to $2,000, then bailed. Again, I’m a sucker for this segment. And I thought this one was a beaut.

KeyWest.net
Sold Date: 2/9/09
Sale Price: $13,800
Yeah yeah, it’s a .net. But Lordy, it’s Key West! One million people visit there every year! I actually bid this one up to $5,050, but chickened out there.

PaintballGun.com
Sold Date: 11/7/2008
Sale Price: $10,299
Again, not necessarily one I’d try to develop, but one I’d potentially try and sell to a paintball gun manufacturer.

WhiskeyBarrels.com
Sold Date: 4/15/2010
Sale Price: $504
Mr. Berkens beat me for this one. I was hoping to snipe it for a couple hundred bucks, but in the end, I bid up to $479, and he won for $504. I’m not a big whiskey drinker, but thought it’d be loads of fun to start some sort of broker / middleman businesses buying and selling these barrels (as they’re re-used & recycled several times over their lifetime). But I can’t now. Mr. Berkens ruined my dream. : )

{ 2 comments }

{ 2 comments }