Domain Leasing?

[Mike]

NP'er rsequin posted a link to a company specializing in "renting out" domains.

Has anyone ever heard of them or done business with these folks?
They go under the name of LeaseThis.com.
I'm not sure if its truly newsworthy, or indeed really to be considered news at all. However, if this opens a chance to escape the ever fluctuating PPC model, i'm all for it.

Anyone have any knowledge about these guys?

Again, thanks to rsequin that pointed it out!

 

[Mike]

It's grown interestingly quiet around LeaseThis.com. I was expecting some advertising, some movement - anything that actually lets us and prospective clients know that LeaseThis.com even exists.
Maybe i missed it, but if i did, then chances are that many others did as well.
Essentially, i'm not losing anything by LeaseThis not working to the fullest of their possible potential, but i'm sure not gaining anything either.

 

[duceman]

Yeah, Lease This really got the domainers interest early on. Let's hope their sales staff makes some waves soon.

Well they now have a spreadsheet or program you have to download in order to add a domain to your account. I wrote them an email and told them to email me back when they go back to the more user friendly way. The last thing I want is another program on my computer.

Their upload program has more flea's than my dog!

 

[Aggro]

LeaseThis - 12 mths

I give LeaseThis,com 12 mths before it is either merged or "restructured" with TrafficZ, or withers away.

LeaseThis' business model is not scalable and ultimately flawed.

1. Jury is still out on whether sectors other than real estate are susceptible to leasing.
LeaseThis have correctly identified the real estate sector as being somewhat susceptible for end users (small independent realtors) to lease ('premium') domains to market their wares but the jury's still out on whether other sectors will go for leasing in a big way.
Regardless, most end users want domains to own - not lease.
Limited appeal imo (but see (4))

2. The idea of spending huge sums eg. sponsoring the 2006 National Association of Realtors (NAR) (likely $5X,XXX+) - for meagre returns of $XX/mth per domain is akin to handing out $100 bills to passerbys. Loss making and doomed to failure.
Do the ROI math for required no. of domains to be leased to breakeven - let alone make a profit.
LeaseThis have to continue on spending boatloads to even get users to the website. And this for returns of $XX/mth per domain.
It is not like having a PPC page with "For sale" link that can take an interested visitor landing on it to "check what's there" to the sales site (sedo) = zero marginal cost marketing.
LeaseThis does not have this luxury (their 'partner' Trafficz is a small player in parking and to this day still haven't managed to have a 'For Lease' link for domains listed with LeaseThis that are also parked with Trafficz)

And guess what...sponsoring the NAR is going to do diddly squat for categories other than real estate

3. And before I hear someone shout out about their "sales team"?
Think about it. The devil is in the details...
Do you expect this "team" to cold call prospects (good luck with it, there are not enough hrs per day to devote to even a tiny % of the best domains in database. I hope staff are paid on results!) looking for the fabled end-user enticing the decision maker (good luck finding who it is and getting around gatekeepers) once they have him on the phone...all that effort and for selling him on the idea of $XX/mth domains!
This ain't selling them on $100,000 software or hardware...

Keep on promoting NAR at great cost?
Or maybe an ad in Wall Street journal costing $100,000 is in order eh?
Or maybe a bulk spam campaign...?

(If they could find the fabled end user for a given domain they would do better selling them domains instead of leasing.
It would be the 'holy grail' for domainers)

4. Of course, leasing traffic domains is a benefit and would appeal to any end user (particularly small) for potential leads - but shucks, said end user has no way of knowing (if by chance they land on the site) since there are no stats available anywhere and as most domains are parked elsewhere.
And remember, for this domain lead generation there is also competion with other forms of buying leads eg. PPC, print ads etc.
It's all cost vs benefit from end user POV.



Don't hold your breath, folks...'course you have nothing to lose...

 

[leasethis.com]

LeaseThis Update

Hello Everyone,

This is Kristine from the LeaseThis team. I just wanted to give an update and answer some of the questions and concerns posted here.

Firstly, I would like to clarify that LeaseThis is a ‘market place’ like Ebay or Craigslist.
As advertisers and domain owners become aware of our service, users should be able to just come to the site, shop for domains, add domains, etc. We also act as a broker, for larger corporate deals.

We do have a sales team who market select premium domains that have good leads lined up. As noted, there is simply not enough time during the workdays to market every domain in our inventory.

It is true that there are a lot of unmarketable domains in the system. Originally, all domains that were being imported had to go through a manual filter process. We decided that if we are building a market place, we need to allow a high volume and focus on our own filtering system to make the searches easier for the consumer. Keep in mind that Ebay and Craigslist also have many unmarketable items.

That is why we came up with the ‘scoring system’ and are continuing to refine it. Within the categories, there will be a premium section; these will be a group of handpicked domains that will show up at the very top of the page. This section will be followed by the highest scoring domains listed down. Unmarketable domains will show up in the very last pages. The default ordering of the categories list will be by score. Inevitably, there will be some human element to this system and we will constantly be refining it.

We do have a Client Relations representative who follows up with domain owners who have 500 or more domains in their accounts. She is also the person whom you can contact if you have leads for any of your domains whether it be from people that have contacted you through Whois or other prospects.

Regarding leasing domains with low or no traffic; think of these domains as assets. Advertisers can build their business and brand using a leased domain. Some might argue, "How can it be an asset if we can't own?" In the 520,166 domain in our inventory, over 455,928 are available for sale. And we are continuing to work with domain owners to get sale prices for the rest of the inventory.

Some examples of domain that have been leased:
www.StructuredSettlement.com
www.BaltimoreRealEstate.com
www.PhoenixMortgage.com
www.TurkeyRealEstate.com


Updates:

- LeaseThis.com has a new look, fixes and added features

- We now have access to over 3.5 million domains in our offline inventory.

- We have been working with one of the top PR firm in New York City. You can view our latest press release at:
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/070604/20070604005333.html?.v=1

- Our first publication appeared in DM News Magazine (see attachment)

- We are featured in The Lowdown section of DN Journal
http://dnjournal.com/lowdown.htm

- The delete function has been fixed and users can now delete domains one by one. *Note* Domains are removed from the account instantly but it may take up to 30 minutes to delete from the search results.

Features Coming Soon:

- Domain Import System: We are working on a different import process as we speak. It will eliminate the excel spreadsheet. In the new system, it will just be a box where domains can just be pasted and imported. Users can then manage the domains by logging on to their account. There will be a folder organization system where users can edit lease terms in bulk.

- We are working on an Advanced Search Option where you can filter and refine searches as well.

- The scoring system is being refined as we speak.

- We plan to release version 2.0 of the application later this year.

We are open to all suggestions, comments regarding the usability of the application. I thank you all in advance for your input.

Regards,

Kristine

 

[duceman]

Thank you for the update Kristine... We look forward to the implantation of the new programs and features.


Kerry

 

[overfillings]

You prefer to have domains that are for sale?

 

[mr-x]

I give LeaseThis,com 12 mths before it is either merged or "restructured" with TrafficZ, or withers away. ....

Don't hold your breath, folks...'course you have nothing to lose...

I've been able to lease a few domains on my own, through cold calls. It wasn't easy but the returns seem promising. I'm earning substantially more and have made a few friends.

I don't know how Leasethis will scale up but it only takes a few thousand domains at $xx /month to start making money. The problem is getting 2 thousand domains worth leasing

 

[goodkarmaco]

Thanks Kristine,

For a very new concept, you are poviding the right options for domainers and those who wish to lease domains. Great success to lease this as the business grows. I am happy to hear we will not have to open spreadsheet to import to lease this.

Best regards,

Roderick

 

[DomainBuyerBroker]

Kristine,

You mention a few names that have been leased out. Can you provide us with a percentage of leased names?

Can you provide any guidelines for submitting domains that are good candidates for leasing?


Thank you.