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information Mike Mann Makes a 324,900% Return on Investment with AnimalsUnited.com

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Mike Mann, the serial entrepreneur and owner of DomainMarket.com, has announced yet another five-figure domain sale today that sees AnimalsUnited.com sold via Sedo, according to WHOIS details. Mike owns a portfolio of around 250,000 domain names and has previously recorded large sales on domains such as Watches.co and BroadSpectrum.com.

Mike told the world about his latest sale on Twitter, announcing that AnimalsUnited.com had sold for an impressive $39,000. His initial investment? Just $12. According to the tweet, Mike purchased the name in March 2012, meaning that his return on investment is 324,900% in under four and a half years, not including renewal fees and any escrow/commission fees.

The domain name is currently in the process of being transferred to its new owners, as the WHOIS lists Sedo's transfer service as the current registrant. There are no indications as yet to whom the person, or company, is that paid $39,000 for AnimalsUnited.com.

The only other domain that could give an indication as to the buyer is AnimalsUnited.org. The name is currently owned by the CEO of SuperClosets, Kip Andersen. Kip's current company, SuperClosets, manufactures and sells Automated Superponic Grow Systems and Grow Boxes.

Kip also has directed Cowspiracy, an environmental documentary that talks about the effects of animal agriculture on deforestation and pollution. The project was backed by Leonardo DiCaprio, who became executive producer of the Netflix version.

Congratulations to Mike and the buyer of AnimalsUnited.com!

Update on Aug 4, 2016: The domain name has moved out of Sedo's Escrow, and the WHOIS currently shows the owner as "Astramedia", an online marketing agency with offices in Switzerland and Germany.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
Sorry but I must be missing something here. Great news for the seller -- well done and fair play to him. But I have to ask why anyone in their right mind would pay 39K for that domain ?

Please explain. Others say 5K would be a good price -- why ?

veryconfusedindeed.com

Best,
Paul
 
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someone tell me people like this.. bid domaining shots.. + huge portofolios get heavily discounted renewal rates... assuming it's all on same registrar.
 
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I am still intrigued to know why the domain would sell for mega(ish) bucks ? Maybe it's another thread another day. I just don't see the worth or value with this domain. Honest -- I'm not being funny about the sale. I just don't get it.

Is it down to luck ? (doubt it). Is it down to sales technique ? (maybe). Is it down to a mix of the two (properly).

Reggin domains like this one is not hard to do. 99.99999% of them won't sell. I am just fascinated why one domain can sell for a good price and similar domains won't even get $1 on a sales platform.

As I have said, I congratulate the seller. Fair play to the guy -- he deserves every penny. I still can't work it out though ?

Best,
Paul
 
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Any random domainer would be happy to get $5K for this domain

Hell, I would be pretty happy getting $500 for that domain.
 
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Hell, I would be pretty happy getting $500 for that domain.

Exactly. We must be doing something wrong heh.

As a 'hobby' domainer, I really would be interested to hear from the top boys why it fetched so much money. The forum is about sharing info -- you don't need to give away your secrets but I really am fascinated why ?

Serious -- would love to know your thoughts. Maybe because I need to ask is the reason I'm just a 'hobby' domainer ;)

Best,
Paul
 
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His business on AnimalsUnited.org must be doing well.
 
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Ahh. Now I understand a little better. Doh -- Homer Simpson moment. Still think the fella did well to sell for that.

I'm only jealous really ;)

Best,
Paul
 
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It went so high because the buyer could be able to afford that price and Mike wouldn't sell for less.
It is a brandable name.. So similar names can go for really lower until you didn't find an enduser with deep pocket.
 
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I am still intrigued to know why the domain would sell for mega(ish) bucks ? Maybe it's another thread another day. I just don't see the worth or value with this domain. Honest -- I'm not being funny about the sale. I just don't get it.

Is it down to luck ? (doubt it). Is it down to sales technique ? (maybe). Is it down to a mix of the two (properly).

I don't think it's luck.

1. Many of Mann's domains don't sell for that price. He has hundreds of thousands.
2. The domain was likely the most logical upgrade for a company using the name.

Once you have a company wanting to upgrade their domain, it doesn't matter if the name is overpriced or not if it matches the domain that makes most sense for them.

In that case even a $200 domain can be worth 5 figures. All you need is a company that can afford it.
 
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Sorry but I must be missing something here. Great news for the seller -- well done and fair play to him. But I have to ask why anyone in their right mind would pay 39K for that domain ?

Please explain. Others say 5K would be a good price -- why ?

veryconfusedindeed.com

Best,
Paul

I believe buyers willing to pay already know what the value to THEM is.
From the seller end, - if you don't know selling/negotiating skills, you will always be a flipper and rarely see the ROI values.
 
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Well done by Mike and it is an incredible price, for a rather average domain. But this "title" and premise of the post is actually rather misleading, especially for those who are not as familiar with the domaining business.

Mike Mann's investment in the domain was not just $12. As you have to remember that for each such domain that sells for $39K there are thousands of others that didn't sell and have to be renewed for another year. Is that sale enough to pay renewals for all the other domains in the portfolio? That's the real question. Probably yes, but you can't just register one, or even ten domains like that and reasonably expect to get sales like these. You need to have thousands of decent end user type of domains for this to work.
 
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He own 250.000 domains right? so the annual renewal fee is much higher than the revenue he got $39.000. I think he need sell at least 50 domain with the price $39k to pay the annual renewal fee. That's a huge number.
 
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Gotta say that owning 250K domains is no mean feat.

First off I don't want to sound negative. Serious though -- how would manage that amount of domains ? You would need to sell a good few 'hard hitters' every year to cover renewal costs.

Still good luck to the guy. I Googled Mike and see he owns seo.com -- that alone would cover renewal costs.

It's nice to see a success story and someone doing well.

Best,
Paul
 
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A great sale indeed Mike. Congrats.

Now these type of buyers I need for my domains.lol
 
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@Paul123 - i like your curiosity and questions about this type of sale. There have been several of these sales. IMO, i believe the seller's "brand" or "domaining power" plays in. Could any of us on NP that are not famous have sold it for this price? i think not. Even Berkens, could many of his "great" sales occur when the seller is a nobody but its the same names being sold? am not so sure. Congrats to sellers who can get high prices, but i dont think its only about the right domain and "right "seller. we've all sold names to the "right" buyer but it doesnt mean we got mid $xx,xxx for the names...
 
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Interesting point kemjika11 but I'm not sure I agree that it's 'domaining power' that commands the selling price. Most end users will be unaware that the seller is well known in domaining circles. I think it is down to a being a good salesman (or women) and marketing the product well -- in this case a domain.

Best,
Paul
 
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I think it is down to a being a good salesman (or women) and marketing the product well -- in this case a domain.

Best,
Paul
So this raises a question- why is it only the domainers with "domaining power" that end up selling names at such expensive prices? there is no convenient coincidence here. Thats why i asked, why havent common domainers pulled off this feat? you cant say these celebrity domainers are necessarily better negotiators than people here...what evidence supports that?
 
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The sales skills are overrated among domainers, because they are much less important than the merchandise proper. If you have bad names the best sales skills in the world won't help.

On the occasion I too have sold average names for a very good sum. When you have a large portfolio, oddities like this one are statistically bound to occur more often. You still need overall quality, because lucks plays only a minor role in domain sales.
Also, the big boys are not always better negotiators, in fact they tend to negotiate less, or not at all. It's one reason why they fetch higher prices (but possibly sell less). Your position is always better when you are not desperate to sell, and can afford to decline offers.
 
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Your position is always better when you are not desperate to sell, and can afford to decline offers.

That apples to anything. There is something to be said about 'I couldn't care less'.

When I started in my current business I was desperate to make a sale. That came across to customers and lost me business. Now, hand on heart, I couldn't give a t@ss if someone buys from me or not. I know our properties will sell. That 'laid back' attitude is perfect with customers -- they know I have nothing to prove and it works (for me at least).

I find the attitude works well in my personal life as well. When I was a teenager I tried to 'impress' people and it was important to be me to be liked. Now I am older I couldn't care less if people like me or not. I think people will warm to you if you are yourself and just 'go with the flow'. Maybe as I have got older I'm to laid back. Who knows ;)

The same applies to domaining. If you are confident about what you have to sell this will come across to buyers. If you are desperate to sell this will also come across and you will lose business.

Just saying.

kemjika11 -- it is possible that many non 'celebrity' domainers sell at these prices every day. Do you think that you don't hear about the domain sale because the seller isn't a ' domain celebrity' ? I could be wrong of course.

Best,
Paul
 
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Hallo, i am a new member here. I live in the Netherlands. I would like to know how this works. Thank you
 
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Update: The domain name has moved out of Sedo's Escrow, and the WHOIS currently shows the owner as "Astramedia", an online marketing agency with offices in Switzerland and Germany.
 
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Hallo, i am a new member here. I live in the Netherlands. I would like to know how this works. Thank you

Welcome to NP's Shaima.

How does it work ?? Through 12 months of research and hard work. Chuck in a bit of good luck as well.

Hope that helps ;)

Best,
Paul
 
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"animalsunited.com 39,000 USD 2016-08-04 Sedo" The new owner has just resold it at the same price and lost 15%of sale for Sedo fees
 
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