So true, what matters most is the quality of the traffic (targeted traffic), as the real estate related domains we developed were indeed "Location + Keyword" and "Keyword + Location"
I also get
@Keith 's point, that even if they did
not get traffic, the domains still have tremendous value. But on the other hand if they DO get
quality (targeted) traffic in addition to the base value of the domain on itself, the value increases even more.
And there is only one way to test the traffic's quality, is to develop it or redirect it and see.
@rashedx you bring a good point:
On the other hand, sometimes it also has to do with the experience of the buyer/lessee of the domain name. For example if a real estate agent/associate has no experience in sales, how can they convert the traffic/leads into real sales. Or what if there is redirected
quality traffic, but there are not enough homes/properties for sale listed on the website, so the potential customer cannot find what they are looking for.
These were just examples of possible scenarios, which I personally experienced with previous "lessees" of some of my domains.
If indeed "property.com and properties.com" get so much type in traffic, but the traffic is not targeted, then the website owners could create a search bar in a way to enter the "location" and "keyword" immediately on the homepage/lander's page to make it easier for the potential customer to find what they are looking for.
It depends a lot what the new buyer/lessee does with the traffic and how much experience they have online and with sales skills, and yes indeed is a lot of work and nothing comes easy. The value of these domains does not change based on the experience and hard work of the developers, but the hard work and sales experience does unlock the true potential value and power these domains hold. (PS I do not know anything about the previous buyers of property.com and properties.com)
The value of one potential client/visitor of a property/home domain is huge compared to one visitor of let's say a social media site like Facebook.
In conclusion, it is not easy to judge why the previous buyers/lessees "failed" or for whatever other reason returned the domain names, we do not know the real story after all and can only speculate. I had some "leased" domains that were returned to me by the old "buyers/lessees" years later, because of the economic situation at that later point. But this does not mean that the domain names had no value when they started to use them or that they have no value after they returned them afterwards. The
potential value did not decrease, but the economic situation did change, and will fluctuate with time, which has influence on the domains. But I truly believe that as the century progresses that premium domains will only increase in value over time, as more and more people are going online and things are changing very fast.
After all Voice.com did sell for $30,000,000 with traffic or not.
Just my 2 cents I wanted to share with the community where we can all help each other understand more and become better domainers. What works for some does not work for others, every situation, point in time and domain is unique. In the end
@Rick Schwartz can put up whatever price he sees fit with his personal valuations for properties.com and property.com. If a buyer comes along for $125MM, we all cheer together and clap our hands, as it only helps us all in the domain industry. In the meanwhile we have to believe, because every success story starts with a dream, a thought, a mindset, until WE do it, good luck.