Rob Halliday-Stein is a British entrepreneur and founder of BullionByPost, a highly popular platform that helps regular people buy gold and silver as investments. He is now the owner of the most expensive .CO.UK domain name ever sold: Gold.co.uk, which sold for £600,000 (currently equates to around $925,000).
After creating BullionByPost in 2008 with a £10,000 ($15,000) inheritance, Rob built a successful company during the global banking crisis. He made £1 million in profit by April 2012, and by April 2013, he owned his physical weight in gold.
With a history like this, it only seems natural that Rob is the owner of Gold.co.uk. Find out why Rob acquired Gold.co.uk, how he found out about the domain's availability, and much more below.
NP: Can you give us a brief description of BullionByPost - the company behind Gold.co.uk?
Rob: Founded in 2008 at the height of the banking crisis, the business has grown rapidly to become the UK’s biggest online bullion dealers. BullionByPost was launched with the aim of making it easy for people to buy gold and silver coins and bars at fair transparent prices with free insured next day delivery. We now turnover around £100 million per annum and have over 100,000 customers.
NP: Can you tell us when gold.co.uk was purchased?
Rob: We bought gold.co.uk towards the end of 2013. We waited to announce the deal until this summer when we launched the new gold.co.uk website and brand, as otherwise any PR would be wasted!
NP: How did you find out that Gold.co.uk was available to purchase? Did you actively seek out the name or was it a domain name that was offered to you?
Rob: By 2013, BullionByPost was firmly established as the UK's No. 1 bullion dealer and so it was offered to us.
NP: How did you determine that gold.co.uk was worth £600,000 to you? Did you use any tools, services, or data to determine the price you paid?
Rob: We firmly believed that the benefits of such a strong and easily memorable domain name would provide a very significant uplift to our TV campaigns and wider marketing strategy. We were looking to launch a new brand targeting higher net-worth investors and gold.co.uk just felt right. We forecast a payback within 5 years.
NP: Do you think the domain is worth more than you were willing to pay for it?
Rob: Not yet. However, we are confident that with the effort and money that we are putting into building the brand, it will prove a good buy in the long-term.
NP: Can you give us details of the negotiations that lead to you agreeing upon a price?
Rob: The price was driven by what the seller wanted for it. Cruises.co.uk had sold for £540k and he was clear that he wouldn't sell it for anything less than "significantly more." He wasn't interested in negotiating and was more than happy to sit on it. Given I knew the owner was very wealthy, it was obvious he was prepared to wait for the right buyer.
NP: For you, what is the advantage of developing a premium domain name such as Gold.co.uk over buying a brandable domain name?
Rob: In our industry, trust is key; such a strong and simple domain name gives an instant boost to credibility. A key part of our marketing strategy was to advertise on TV and a short and memorable domain name is obviously a big plus.
NP: Where does the majority of your traffic come from now for Gold.co.uk's new website?
Rob: Like everyone, Google!
NP: What advice would you give to others looking to buy a premium domain name for their business?
Rob: Don’t spend more than you can afford. Whilst it was a large sum of money to spend on a domain, we already had a very successful and profitable business.
NP: Do you invest in domain names for yourself?
Rob: Yes, I spent £10 on hallidaystein.com. Not really an investment but it could prove useful.
About gold.co.uk
We sell gold bars and gold coins to investors for delivery or secure storage. We are committed to providing great customer service and transparent pricing. We also have a great selection of real-time charts for investors to analyse the gold price. We continue to invest in the brand with the objective of making it the first choice for high net worth investors to buy gold.
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Thanks to Rob for taking the time to provide these fascinating answers. Gold.co.uk is a good example of an excellent domain name being teamed with a successful company to produce a leading service. The domain goes down as the most expensive .CO.UK domain name ever (in the public knowledge), but as Rob said in his interview, the domain name will pay for itself within five years.
Inside Interviews is a blog series profiling the buyers of high-value domain names. Find out their motives, negotiation tactics, and their opinions on popular domaining topics only on the NamePros Blog.
After creating BullionByPost in 2008 with a £10,000 ($15,000) inheritance, Rob built a successful company during the global banking crisis. He made £1 million in profit by April 2012, and by April 2013, he owned his physical weight in gold.
With a history like this, it only seems natural that Rob is the owner of Gold.co.uk. Find out why Rob acquired Gold.co.uk, how he found out about the domain's availability, and much more below.
NP: Can you give us a brief description of BullionByPost - the company behind Gold.co.uk?
Rob: Founded in 2008 at the height of the banking crisis, the business has grown rapidly to become the UK’s biggest online bullion dealers. BullionByPost was launched with the aim of making it easy for people to buy gold and silver coins and bars at fair transparent prices with free insured next day delivery. We now turnover around £100 million per annum and have over 100,000 customers.
NP: Can you tell us when gold.co.uk was purchased?
Rob: We bought gold.co.uk towards the end of 2013. We waited to announce the deal until this summer when we launched the new gold.co.uk website and brand, as otherwise any PR would be wasted!
NP: How did you find out that Gold.co.uk was available to purchase? Did you actively seek out the name or was it a domain name that was offered to you?
Rob: By 2013, BullionByPost was firmly established as the UK's No. 1 bullion dealer and so it was offered to us.
NP: How did you determine that gold.co.uk was worth £600,000 to you? Did you use any tools, services, or data to determine the price you paid?
Rob: We firmly believed that the benefits of such a strong and easily memorable domain name would provide a very significant uplift to our TV campaigns and wider marketing strategy. We were looking to launch a new brand targeting higher net-worth investors and gold.co.uk just felt right. We forecast a payback within 5 years.
NP: Do you think the domain is worth more than you were willing to pay for it?
Rob: Not yet. However, we are confident that with the effort and money that we are putting into building the brand, it will prove a good buy in the long-term.
NP: Can you give us details of the negotiations that lead to you agreeing upon a price?
Rob: The price was driven by what the seller wanted for it. Cruises.co.uk had sold for £540k and he was clear that he wouldn't sell it for anything less than "significantly more." He wasn't interested in negotiating and was more than happy to sit on it. Given I knew the owner was very wealthy, it was obvious he was prepared to wait for the right buyer.
NP: For you, what is the advantage of developing a premium domain name such as Gold.co.uk over buying a brandable domain name?
Rob: In our industry, trust is key; such a strong and simple domain name gives an instant boost to credibility. A key part of our marketing strategy was to advertise on TV and a short and memorable domain name is obviously a big plus.
NP: Where does the majority of your traffic come from now for Gold.co.uk's new website?
Rob: Like everyone, Google!
NP: What advice would you give to others looking to buy a premium domain name for their business?
Rob: Don’t spend more than you can afford. Whilst it was a large sum of money to spend on a domain, we already had a very successful and profitable business.
NP: Do you invest in domain names for yourself?
Rob: Yes, I spent £10 on hallidaystein.com. Not really an investment but it could prove useful.
About gold.co.uk
We sell gold bars and gold coins to investors for delivery or secure storage. We are committed to providing great customer service and transparent pricing. We also have a great selection of real-time charts for investors to analyse the gold price. We continue to invest in the brand with the objective of making it the first choice for high net worth investors to buy gold.
--
Thanks to Rob for taking the time to provide these fascinating answers. Gold.co.uk is a good example of an excellent domain name being teamed with a successful company to produce a leading service. The domain goes down as the most expensive .CO.UK domain name ever (in the public knowledge), but as Rob said in his interview, the domain name will pay for itself within five years.
Inside Interviews is a blog series profiling the buyers of high-value domain names. Find out their motives, negotiation tactics, and their opinions on popular domaining topics only on the NamePros Blog.
