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new gTLD Travel.Agency sold for $3000 - important lesson - who was right and who wasn't !

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Travel.agency sold for $3000 at NamesCon in January 2017

Earlier

Travel.agency sold for $9999 at Flippa in May 2016.

There were many discussions about this domain and its flippa sale. Discussions thanks to Zandi and his business gang making money from selling worthless domains to newbies.

This is my first thread concerning this topic and maybe there will be another one. But for now - let's see - who was right and who wasn't.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/travel-agency-what-will-it-sell-for.925626/

Let me start with my post and my appraisal:

OK. Honestly - do you have some kind of partnership with Ali or did he pay you to advertise this auction for this useless domain. And since one thread wasn't enough, you made another one!?
All the people here who are talking that this is a 5, 6 figures domain - :-o:-o:-o. Wake up.40 - 50K - 100K ??? I really don't believe that there is a legitimate buyer, potential user, end user, whatever - who will pay more than low $XXXX for this domain. And this is max max max in a very happy and lucky day for the seller.IF some newbie believes all your BS and decide to throw his money away, this will be expensive lesson for him and he will be the next sucker manipulated by Zandi, Flippa and their supporters

I was a little bit harsh, but I was pissed that the "gurus" were manipulating the newbies reading the thread. And this is Zandi's and company business. I was trying to help. Well - I couldn't help the poor "domainer" that bought it for $10K. I hope that I saved somebody else from this loss. Obviously I was right.

Who wasn't?

@betthelot - what a show he made. If you have time - just read his TWO threads dedicated to this Flippa action. I hope he got paid by Zandi and Flippa, because with his domaining skills he needs money from other sources.
I’m going to estimates in today's market it will sell for $7000. And at $7000 I think there will be little upside when trying to remarket it to an end user.

Soon he started another thread since all this hype for this BS domain wasn't enough. I will concentrate on the first thread but you can see his moves also in the second. What a clever way for shill bidding !!! It's a must read and learn for scammers.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/why-im-bidding-on-pc-guru-and-travel-agency.927141/

Some of the members like @wwwweb and @KingslayerVR immediately got it and asked logical questions. They weren't answered of course.

But let's concentrate on his first thread and the appraisals of the gurus, the pros, etc.

@noonoo1
Well if its promoted enough to the correct end users and it has enough eyes on it, I'd say 10-20k

You were right. It was promoted the "Zandi way" an it got a newbie in the trap.


@S-B -
I wish Ali all the best, however, this is not a 5 or 6-figure domain.

I don't like him. I don't like his tactics. But in this thread Shane was honest and was speaking the truth.


@rpg -
With $499 renewal, the seller already bought at end-user price.

@betthelot - Why are you promoting auction's here?

Great appraisal and really suitable question.

@RU -
Travel.Agency - what an amazing domain name!

Well - this guy has closed his account and it says "I am out of domaining". I wonder why.

@lotk -
I think Travel.Agency will sell for $11,300. And to forecast for the future, I think the domain will bring $40k by 2021.

You were close. The poor buyer bought it for almost your estimation. And we have 4 more years to see how the new buyer will turn the trend and sell it for $40K. Do you still believe this?

@ro5hit -
What i am seeing in Auction. I'll say more than 25 K atleast . Can touch high 5 figures

Honestly - do you believe that or you are part of Ali's Hype gang. What a deal you missed at NamesCon. You could have buy this "high 5 figure touching" domain for $3K.

@Grego85 -
sh*t, I wouldn't be surprised if that name gets 40k right on Flippa in 4 weeks from now.

Sure. If Zandi is selling at Flippa - everything is possible.

@DU -
Travel.Agency which is an ok name but already overpriced imho.

Reason. Finally.

@BrandClub.com
In 5 - 6 years TRAVEL.agency will be a 6 figures domain !!! Sorry, it is already a 6 figures domain name. Majority just don´t realize it, yet ...

One of my favourites. He was so furiously defending this crazy theory (6 figures) promoting the stupid domain, that at the time I thought that he is on some kind of medication. Maybe he was. Maybe he is. I don't know. Or maybe he loves Zandi. Or his money. @BrandClub.com, I wonder if you were the person who bought it for $3K, you player? If you did, you made a fortune. Majority (the reasonable people) just don't realize it yet.

@Fancy.domains
- My guess is that it will go for $12,200

I will try to excuse you. You didn't say that it worth $12 200. Maybe you were seeing the same as me - that some newbie will be sucker punched at the end.

@deez007 -
I think this domain will end up being sold WELL in excess of $50k

No comment. And finishing with a kiss -
**Yikes, just noticed Ali has over $737k transactions on Flippa in the last 2 years!*** LEGENDARY Dude!!! Nicely done

I will try to excuse you that you don't know Zandi, his sales, his brockerage, his "Flippa golden boy" status and some other stuff that isn't so legendary, dude. I can't excuse your appraisal though. You know nothing about domaining saying that travel.agency will get more than $50K.


@biggie -
sure, it may look nice on a card, but for the price, plus renewal fee's, and possible typos to "travelagency.com", is it worth it?

Common sense again.

@dbustin -
I think 7000 might be a high valuation.

Indeed.

@168 -
In this case it's worth more than the .com :) 100k+ Can't wait to see what you come up with that's better than letting this one go

Really. More than the .com?

@Haroon Basha -
Travel.Agency, no doubt a name to be cherished, a name to be hold, till it gets its real value, that is above fifty thousand dollars.

Sorry to disappoint you, Basha. It Is Not.

@loupe -
As for Travel.Agency, this is a killer domain and whoever buys it is set

Oh, yes. He is all set now.

@koskov -
My vote goes for $50,000 - $60,000 range. May go higher if end-users jump in.

There is actually something good in your prediction. You are far away from the 6 figures of BrandClub.

@MasterOfMyDomains -
I say $27,999, if that is still the topic. Good luck Ali

Let's hope that you are just cheering for Ali to find some newbie to pay this price for the domain and you are not actually thinking that it's worth $28K

@garptrader -
Will this domain ever become a real business or just a domain for flipping among the domaining community? My suspicion is that a domainer pays mid $XXXX for it and never sells it to an end user.

Your suspicion unfortunately is only half correct. Reason again.


@rocketsaway -
I think 12k to 15k for someone who's going to hold it for a while or 18k+ to an end user who recognises it's potential.

OK. Nothing interesting here. Newbie with 13 messages is being brainwashed by the "gurus".


@Enwych -
Jumping in with my 2 cents. Travel . Agency will reach $40K in this auction because the name with the dot in the middle is brandable.

Brandable enough.

@ksusha64 -
My prediction is very simple. If this domain does not sell for 6 figures then new GTLDS are DOOMED.I can't think of a better name in NEW GTLDS. I think new gtlds are doomed and thats why it will sell in low 5 figures.

He cant think of a better name in NEW GTLDS. Well - he can't really beleive this, right? There is some reason to make yourself look like ...

@AuctionBio -
This is one of the premium domain in agency. What I think it will go around $20k.

No. It won't and no it isn't.

@Domainsyrup -
For anyone reading this thread look up PUMP and DUMP.BrandClub is running one of these schemes.It's hype. 8888888888888.bet will never sell or be used for anything. But it's registered.It's got 57 bets because people are looking on the sales on that sold.domains site and following the herd. Willing to bet the guy who pays five figures parks it. Travel.Agency is worthless.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

@Insha010 -
not more than 20k I bet.

Thats a sure bet. I am not sure where to put you. Reason or the other club.

@DU -
Only one person potentially on the right side of the equation in this auction, imho.

He is talking about the seller. And he is right.

@serryjw
- I am going out on a limb and say it will sell for over 100K now...it's a gem IMHO!

OK. Just to mark you so people know your history of appraisals.

@Kunal Joshi -
It does is a real gem to look for..May go for 40-50k...

No. It won't. We will need at least 20 forums like namepros and at least 10 people like @bettlehot to achieve this.

@bluebox -
You are assuming .agency will survive 10 years. I wouldn't be that sure.

Good point.

@DomainVP -
Totally worth whatever it's purchased at.

No. It isn't.

@gladdy -
nice name, $25K is the minimum

No. Currently its $3K. In the future - probably less.

@Haris100 -
20k max imho..after 10-20 years? I don't even think .agency is going to be around

Valid points.

@Recons.Com -
A lucky bidder will win at 60K.

I believe you are joking here.

@Haroon Basha -
Travel.Agency will be a trend setter.

Yes it is. Actually.

@stimpi777 -
Travel.Agency is a Hot name

Drop it NOW. Drop it like it's hot.

@mwg3kpc -
isn't it NPF policy to promote name sales in the sales section?

Here we go. Reason again.

@offersity -
I dont get the domain, but i know nothing... Congrats to winner!

Hey - that is not true. You surely know more that the winner.

@Zandibot -
It's a sad feeling to let it go, and the buyer got it cheap. At least in my opinion, but I'm hyper-biased here.

I am gonna cry. What a drama. With so many great actors and so many fans out there. And just $10K. The buyer surely got it cheap. That is why he sold it for a 75% loss in under a year.

@Fancy.domains -
Congratulations to Zandi!And maybe "even more" to the buyer?!

Yeah.

@sofiapartner -
Here is my prediction. Sale won't be completed.

I was so hopeful that the buyer will escape this trap. Well - I guess he didn't. But who knows?

To be continued.
 
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The views expressed on this page by users and staff are their own, not those of NamePros.
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Impressive job aggregating / commenting. Curious to see the reactions from everyone you called out...

You were close. The poor buyer bought it for almost your estimation.

Buyer had money to spend per @JB Lions below post from Travel.Agency sold for $9,999 thread.

Was just reading about the buyer. Dude won "$3 Million Grand Prize at FanDuel’s 2015 World Fantasy Football Championship"

http://www.businesswire.com/news/ho...al-Washington-D.C.-Resident-Roman-Edmond-Wins

Nice, got some money to spend.
 
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Buyer had money to spend per @JB Lions below post from Travel.Agency sold for $9,999 thread.

Well. That is good news for him. And I am happy about this. However the main point here is the ethics of some of our members and the appraisal skills of others.
 
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A classic pump and dump, just like a penny stock

 
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This is the big lesson for everyone who is thinking easily to make money by flipping domains
 
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Kredit.de sold for $1,25M in 2008 (Kredit = Credit in german)
Kredit.com sold for $271,000 in 2010 & Kredit.com sold for $52,000 in 2016 with huge lose (lose = $219,000 in this case).

Conclusion: Domain name market = Risk & Business in general = Risk
 
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It's obvious you @sofiapartner spent a whole lot of time compiling The Who's right, who's wrong list, but why not a simple "I told you so!" thread. Why the huge ax to grind? What makes you think this was a pump and dump? Everyone is entitled to their opinions, that's what makes NamePros great! To personally call everyone out is a little overboard I feel! No markets go straight up! In a good market prices go up then down, then up again! Stocks, real estate, domain names will go up and they will go down! Some will appreciate forever and others will end up worthless, that's how markets work! Nobody is right 100% of the time, so why call out those that appraised higher! This is two sales of one name, hardly a "told you so" sample size! As far as the cheerleading of the name goes, that's what highly successful sales people do, they are a champion of their wares, and they usually have the results to show for it! There's nothing wrong believing in what you sell and telling everyone in the process!
 
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They have fake accounts all over the industry to promote their auctions and worthless domains. Flippa is helping them too.
 
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I believe the NamesCon auction was a no reserve auction (NamesCon rules). I doubt he expected it to go so low...otherwise he probably would not have submitted it.
 
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@sofiapartner

All open to the public auctions share the same central dream. Sell or Buy to gain financial freedom or short term profit or a dream come true (sometimes succeed).

Regarding .Agency, this extension is basically under a double-or-nothing Nassau rule. The ICANN program for new gTLDs is strategically focused on 25 years period. Some new GTLDs will fail as “businesses” and likely get acquired by larger registries.

The DN aftermarket doesn’t follow any regulations or anti-tampering law interpreted by virtual DN Aftermarket union or nonprofit organization.

There are some basic rules DN Broker (who is truly broker) need to follow - brokerage relationships and ethics.

Kind regards
 
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I believe the NamesCon auction was a no reserve auction (NamesCon rules). I doubt he expected it to go so low...otherwise he probably would not have submitted it.
Agree.
Lots of sellers feel they have been burned in the past by going no reserve.
Not a surprise a significant portion of the domains with reserves didn't sell.
This is also a wholesale investor auction.
 
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Well. That is good news for him. And I am happy about this. However the main point here is the ethics of some of our members and the appraisal skills of others.
Exactly,...
I wonder about the ethics of some members who have a need to exploit a low ball sale by a broker that did nothing to promote to end users and exploited several sellers by insisting on no reserve status to make it look like they were expert sellers.
 
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Following this thread with great interest.
 
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However the main point here is the ethics of some of our members and the appraisal skills of others.

The NamesCon 2017 auction might suggest that the seller (broker) would get more money for the DN - and it will get more - IF some of sherpa guys (Frank, Shane & Andrew appraisal skills - politic skills) didn’t discuss about the future of nGTLDs and about one very specific domain name “Online.Shop” (and encourage people to devalue or discard any dot nGTLDs).
 
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who paid you to create this thread? :xf.grin:
 
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What is the exact purpose of this thread? If you want to show that (1) the future is unpredictable, (2) optimistic and pessimistic persons exist and (3) that domaining isn't an exact science and the value is all in the eye of the beholder, then you have confirmed what we all already know.

If you want to applaud yourself for having made a "correct" prediction about something, and think that that should say something about the correctness of all your future predictions, then my prediction would be that that prediction is not correct.
 
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Travel.agency sold for $3000 at NamesCon in January 2017

Earlier

Travel.agency sold for $9999 at Flippa in May 2016.

There were many discussions about this domain and its flippa sale. Discussions thanks to Zandi and his business gang making money from selling worthless domains to newbies.

This is my first thread concerning this topic and maybe there will be another one. But for now - let's see - who was right and who wasn't.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/travel-agency-what-will-it-sell-for.925626/

Let me start with my post and my appraisal:



I was a little bit harsh, but I was pissed that the "gurus" were manipulating the newbies reading the thread. And this is Zandi's and company business. I was trying to help. Well - I couldn't help the poor "domainer" that bought it for $10K. I hope that I saved somebody else from this loss. Obviously I was right.

Who wasn't?

@betthelot - what a show he made. If you have time - just read his TWO threads dedicated to this Flippa action. I hope he got paid by Zandi and Flippa, because with his domaining skills he needs money from other sources.


Soon he started another thread since all this hype for this BS domain wasn't enough. I will concentrate on the first thread but you can see his moves also in the second. What a clever way for shill bidding !!! It's a must read and learn for scammers.

https://www.namepros.com/threads/why-im-bidding-on-pc-guru-and-travel-agency.927141/

Some of the members like @wwwweb and @KingslayerVR immediately got it and asked logical questions. They weren't answered of course.

But let's concentrate on his first thread and the appraisals of the gurus, the pros, etc.

@noonoo1

You were right. It was promoted the "Zandi way" an it got a newbie in the trap.


@S-B -

I don't like him. I don't like his tactics. But in this thread Shane was honest and was speaking the truth.


@rpg -

Great appraisal and really suitable question.

@RU -

Well - this guy has closed his account and it says "I am out of domaining". I wonder why.

@lotk -

You were close. The poor buyer bought it for almost your estimation. And we have 4 more years to see how the new buyer will turn the trend and sell it for $40K. Do you still believe this?

@ro5hit -

Honestly - do you believe that or you are part of Ali's Hype gang. What a deal you missed at NamesCon. You could have buy this "high 5 figure touching" domain for $3K.

@Grego85 -

Sure. If Zandi is selling at Flippa - everything is possible.

@DU -

Reason. Finally.

@BrandClub.com

One of my favourites. He was so furiously defending this crazy theory (6 figures) promoting the stupid domain, that at the time I thought that he is on some kind of medication. Maybe he was. Maybe he is. I don't know. Or maybe he loves Zandi. Or his money. @BrandClub.com, I wonder if you were the person who bought it for $3K, you player? If you did, you made a fortune. Majority (the reasonable people) just don't realize it yet.

@Fancy.domains

I will try to excuse you. You didn't say that it worth $12 200. Maybe you were seeing the same as me - that some newbie will be sucker punched at the end.

@deez007 -

No comment. And finishing with a kiss -

I will try to excuse you that you don't know Zandi, his sales, his brockerage, his "Flippa golden boy" status and some other stuff that isn't so legendary, dude. I can't excuse your appraisal though. You know nothing about domaining saying that travel.agency will get more than $50K.


@biggie -

Common sense again.

@dbustin -

Indeed.

@168 -

Really. More than the .com?

@Haroon Basha -

Sorry to disappoint you, Basha. It Is Not.

@loupe -

Oh, yes. He is all set now.

@koskov -

There is actually something good in your prediction. You are far away from the 6 figures of BrandClub.

@MasterOfMyDomains -

Let's hope that you are just cheering for Ali to find some newbie to pay this price for the domain and you are not actually thinking that it's worth $28K

@garptrader -

Your suspicion unfortunately is only half correct. Reason again.


@rocketsaway -

OK. Nothing interesting here. Newbie with 13 messages is being brainwashed by the "gurus".


@Enwych -

Brandable enough.

@ksusha64 -

He cant think of a better name in NEW GTLDS. Well - he can't really beleive this, right? There is some reason to make yourself look like ...

@AuctionBio -

No. It won't and no it isn't.

@Domainsyrup -

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

@Insha010 -

Thats a sure bet. I am not sure where to put you. Reason or the other club.

@DU -

He is talking about the seller. And he is right.

@serryjw

OK. Just to mark you so people know your history of appraisals.

@Kunal Joshi -

No. It won't. We will need at least 20 forums like namepros and at least 10 people like @bettlehot to achieve this.

@bluebox -

Good point.

@DomainVP -

No. It isn't.

@gladdy -

No. Currently its $3K. In the future - probably less.

@Haris100 -

Valid points.

@Recons.Com -

I believe you are joking here.

@Haroon Basha -

Yes it is. Actually.

@stimpi777 -

Drop it NOW. Drop it like it's hot.

@mwg3kpc -

Here we go. Reason again.

@offersity -

Hey - that is not true. You surely know more that the winner.

@Zandibot -

I am gonna cry. What a drama. With so many great actors and so many fans out there. And just $10K. The buyer surely got it cheap. That is why he sold it for a 75% loss in under a year.

@Fancy.domains -

Yeah.

@sofiapartner -

I was so hopeful that the buyer will escape this trap. Well - I guess he didn't. But who knows?

To be continued.


love your style ;) !!

give us more
please.
 
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Well I must admit I personally am not a fan of the new extensions, and they are yet another pump and dump option, so will be open to that.

HOWEVER, I have to say, travel.agency is one of the better ones. For a domainer / speculative investor, 10k is a lot to pay, but... It's one of the more "liquid" names, as finding a end user in theory shouldn't be too difficult tbh. The name is pretty good, what kills the value however, is the renewal price (that's a real liability), and it's sale history (public knowledge it sold for 10k then 3k etc).
 
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This is why I think investing in domains with a premium renewal is a bad idea.

If it were .com he could keep it for 10 years (waiting for the right buyer) and only pay $100.
With $500 renewal it becomes $5000. And that's just for one name - as a domainer you probably have more than that.

Plus who knows if .agency will be around in a few years (or if the renewal price remains the same) - so it's another incentive to sell as soon as possible (and risk losing money).
 
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What's the point of this thread? Zandi is a hustler and appraisals are worthless? We knew that already.
 
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There is no end game. Value's will rise and fall with the times. So saying who was right and who wasn't is a moot point.

Neat little compilation, though.
 
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There is no end game. Value's will rise and fall with the times. So saying who was right and who wasn't is a moot point.

Neat little compilation, though.

I think that trying to not let people rip each other off in broad daylight is a good thing for the whole industry. If not, we'll completely own the public distrust that we earn.

The point is that this case is at the very least questionable. There is no doubt that in other cases, to this day, there is a lot of shill bidding and other manipulations going on. Instead of looking at short-term manipulations as part of the 'game', perhaps we could concentrate on professionalism and not acting like petty thieves?
 
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While I am not going over what has been one of the main topics on NP for a long time ( aka Flippa, Ali etc ) I will say that markets go up and down...domains is the extreme of it: it is not a secret that the more speculative a market is the more we see ups and downs.

But another aspect that we should consider is that sometimes domains are "more valuable" if owned by a big player, a "brand" in the industry or someone who is riding the popularity wave in that specific moment in time.

I bet anyone that the same name owned by a newcomer unknown domainer will have a completely different "perceived" value than if owned by a big famous name.
 
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