discuss Huge Losses! Ouch!

Basis100 was the seller

Basis100 Inc. said yesterday that it has sold http://www.themortgage.com for $500,000 -- making it one of the highest prices paid to a Canadian company for a domain name.

Toronto-based Basis100 sold the domain name to National Mortgage Professionals Inc., which plans to use themortgage.com for a new Web site that will serve the mortgage broker industry.

As part of the deal, Toronto-based National Mortgage has also agreed to buy $500,000 worth of consulting services from Basis100, which specializes in developing software for the mortgage industry.


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/rep...s-500000-on-domain-name-sale/article25460276/

equity78 said:

Basis100 was the seller

Basis100 Inc. said yesterday that it has sold http://www.themortgage.com for $500,000 -- making it one of the highest prices paid to a Canadian company for a domain name.

Toronto-based Basis100 sold the domain name to National Mortgage Professionals Inc., which plans to use themortgage.com for a new Web site that will serve the mortgage broker industry.

As part of the deal, Toronto-based National Mortgage has also agreed to buy $500,000 worth of consulting services from Basis100, which specializes in developing software for the mortgage industry.


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/rep...s-500000-on-domain-name-sale/article25460276/

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Thanks. : )) So it included content.

I figured. Even in peak "bubble" figure seemed wayy too high!

Samer

NoisyNosyNancy said:

I agree that the THE in front of mortgage makes it awkward. However, whoever sold it for 500K in 2000 was a lucky duck.

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Just because some nimrod bought it and paid a small fortune does not make it a good domain.

When you have domain name that can give your ROI, build a website on it, drive traffic, make some money and let it work for you before you let it go.

Archive.org shows that TheMortgage.com was a website for qualifying/applying, comparing/calculating rates, and generating leads for 8 banks and lenders in Canada.

The $500k price tag appears to have been for the name, website, and data associated as the website barely changed until 2004.

They improved (in early-2000s terms) and expanded the website, putting brokering and consulting at the forefront just before the Financial Crisis of 2007/8, seemingly booming from 2004-2006 when you look at the number of captures on WayBack Machine.

I'm sure they made a massive amount from the website; It's not always about the name itself.

NoisyNosyNancy said:

DiveBars.com also took a huge loss.

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Maybe the 72% spam score play an important role....
If he/she is an end user, good luck to rank a full spammed domain.
If he/she is a reseller good luck to sell a full spammed domain.

biggie said:

exactly!

the iPhone wasn't even invented yet



imo...

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iPhone used to be a site program where you would make video calls but answer the call to a dude naked every time.

NoisyNosyNancy said:

I was just reading today's Daily Market Report on NameBios.com.

"TheMortgage.com" sold for just $15,000 at Dropcatch. It sold for $500,000 on May 1, 2000.

DiveBars.com also took a huge loss.

Maybe the Domain Name Game has lost its luster.

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DiveBars.com is now relisted for sale on Flippa

DanSanchez said:

Divebars is terrible, your idea would produce a net loss on top of the acquisition cost. You have to find domains that are self descriptive and can be implemented into a working business model. There is no dive bar that wants to be called a dive bar, it has a negative connotation.


15k for themortgage is standard, where do you see evidence it sold for 500k in 2000? If it did, it was likely in partial stock options, which went to zero after the market bubble burst.

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One mans trash is another mans treasure.

NoisyNosyNancy said:

Maybe the Domain Name Game has lost its luster.

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So very true!
Many factors, including dud populace, birth of ngtlds, corporate greed, desire for instant gratification etc, contributed generously towards the end game.

Cupid Name said:

One mans trash is another mans treasure.

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No offense meant, just giving feedback on the name.

@biggie still rakes parking Samer.

It is possible but I seriously doubt it, i.e. my parking rev is down 95% from its hey-day 10 or so years ago and I think most everyone else is down that much or more.

NoisyNosyNancy said:

I am new..What is "parking revenue"?

Also - Look at the article on NameBios - the daily market report. the original price of 500K was noted.

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Parking revenue means the money generated by ads placed on a domain parking page. Parking company collects ad costs from advertisers and pays domain owner after deducting some commission. You need existing traffic to generate some parking revenue

nothere said:

and how would they make money?

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Details, details.

biggie said:

the iPhone wasn't even invented yet

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Not the cool one, but I think there was an iPhone in the 90's - that's where Apple bought the name from.

themortgage.com Isn’t a terrible domain name , but it just sounds awkward.

DanSanchez said:

There is no dive bar that wants to be called a dive bar, it has a negative connotation.

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In Las Vegas, we have an affinity for dive bars. There's even one next to my college campus called "The Dive Bar." (Most locals prefer them to the tourist traps on the strip.) https://www.yelp.com/c/las-vegas/divebars

But I completely agree with you, I don't see DiveBars.com being a big moneymaking domain, nor do I see these two sales being representative of the domain industry as a whole. Whoever bought TheMortgage.com for $500k 19 years ago made a poor purchase.

RJ said:

Whoever bought TheMortgage.com for $500k 19 years ago made a poor purchase.

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Bigger fool theory: Maybe he thought he'd sell it for a lot more to someone for more.
Maybe he sold other names and made a killing using the same strategy. Maybe he made the money via adsense or other ads. So lots of unknowns. $500K is a lot of money, but it's nothing when you remember the early years. Mortgage payouts are insane so money can ad up.

nothere said:

Bigger fool theory: Maybe he thought he'd sell it for a lot more to someone for more.
Maybe he sold other names and made a killing using the same strategy. Maybe he made the money via adsense or other ads. So lots of unknowns. $500K is a lot of money, but it's nothing when you remember the early years. Mortgage payouts are insane so money can ad up.

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True, good point. The mortgage industry was a big money industry, up until 2008 when it all fell down.

Mortgage.com sold for $1.8 million in March 2000, two months before TheMortgage.com sold for $0.5m. Perhaps it seemed like a good deal at the time.

TheMortgage.com is a top name. Well worth 15k wholesale, low six figures end user.

I don't know the numbers but if it is true that monetization is 5% of what it was 10 years ago, as @namemarket suggests

namemarket said:

It is possible but I seriously doubt it, i.e. my parking rev is down 95% from its hey-day 10 or so years ago and I think most everyone else is down that much or more.

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then it seems to me that we would expect a domain name that is used mainly for monetization would have fallen in price by a similar amount. That would have made a $500k name ten years ago now $25k, for example.

Now that only applies to names that were and are to be used for advertising related monetization. Also it does not account for changes in importance of a term. Clearly names that are to be used as a brand, or for some other purposes, may have, and probably have, increased in price.

I am just thinking out loud here, and it is dangerous to generalize as most domain names can be used in multiple ways, and price really depends critically on a motivated buyer.

Bob

Recons.Com said:

TheMortgage.com is a top name. Well worth 15k wholesale, low six figures end user.

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I agree.

In any case, domain prices are fluid and there will always be ups and downs.

nothere said:

and how would they make money?

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Many 'dive bars' offer T-shirts and other paraphernalia - with the right name/place and a decent logo, there are plenty of collectors. In many cases, one could easily get the rights for just a percentage of sales, and these places would love the recognition.
I know, it would be a bit of work and promotion and no guarantees.
Bad idea? Sometimes a 'bad idea', inspires a better one.