From ugly to $1 million, guy wants to trade up his ugly domain name

[domaindigger]

I just saw this on digg and wanted some perspective. This guy wants to trade up his oneuglydomain.com for a more "beautiful" one worth $1 million. It's like that oneredpaperclip idea, but with domains.

My question is, does he have a chance or is this just a parody? I have a couple of dead domains I wouldn't mind trading for if I can feed off the publicity this might generate.

Thoughts?

 

[VURG]

No offense taken, I just wanted to clarify that info.

 

[SJM211]

The Escrow transaction is now complete and consolidate.biz is now in the hands of its new owner. I'd just like to say thanks to Andres, Vijay for the smooth trade/transaction and long live OUD :tu:

 

[Archangel]

The Escrow transaction is now complete and consolidate.biz is now in the hands of its new owner. I'd just like to say thanks to Andres, Vijay for the smooth trade/transaction and long live OUD :tu:

This is GREAT news! And my old YoG.mobi sold for $350 a few days back. All of this should help OUD in some sense. Congrads :D

I'm not too fond of any domain this round but I suppose the .rw could net a good sum if sold before renewal time.

 

[Archangel]

And... we're off! 24 hour vote, ppl -- remember.

Thus far:

Proteins.cc (plus PlaysBlackjack.com) (1) 25%
Casino.rw (2) 50%
Coed.eu (1) 25%

 

[Domainate.com]

Just so everyone knows, Casino.rw is an example of why you never list domains for sale on eBay with no reserve. It used to be mine and it sold on there for about $300 to the current owner (which is why he has offered it for 354.net - because he got it for a steal). Casino.ext is always good, but beware the 225 EU renewal fees and the pain in the ass .rw registry where the name is registered.

 

[Archangel]

Just so everyone knows, Casino.rw is an example of why you never list domains for sale on eBay with no reserve. It used to be mine and it sold on there for about $300 to the current owner (which is why he has offered it for 354.net - because he got it for a steal). Casino.ext is always good, but beware the 225 EU renewal fees and the pain in the ass .rw registry where the name is registered.

Good advice. If it wins the vote, I'll join the next round. Assuming I won, I'd sell the .rw immediately afterward to avoid reg fees.

 

[domaindigger]

Casino.rw is an example of why you never list domains for sale on eBay with no reserve. It used to be mine and it sold on there for about $300 to the current owner.

You put a Casino.ANYTHING up on eBay with no reserve?? No offense, but how long have you been domaining for? I consider myself an amateur domainer and even I know to stay away from eBay. If the current owner of Casino.rw got it for $300, then I think he's about to do the biggest trade-up of all (at your expense, unfortunately). I personally think it's a great name and I'd kill to have a Casino.ANYTHING, so it has my vote.

 

[Alex]

Actually I did not buy it from you, but the one that bought it on ebay let it expire on April the 6th. I spotted that expire back in February, and waited till midnight that day to register it... and that is how I managed tor register it.
Poor guy that bought it did not know many things about domain names.
And I am sure that Steve is a very experienced domainer, but made that one mistake.
I put it on trade, because NNN.net 's will raise on price... it is my bet.. I will not look for a quick sale if casino.rw wins.
And crooky, next time you have the chance to get the casino.rw back... if you want to.

Just so everyone knows, Casino.rw is an example of why you never list domains for sale on eBay with no reserve. It used to be mine and it sold on there for about $300 to the current owner (which is why he has offered it for 354.net - because he got it for a steal). Casino.ext is always good, but beware the 225 EU renewal fees and the pain in the ass .rw registry where the name is registered.

 

[lzy]

The results' depressing.

 

[Erdy]

It's strange. I think 354.net is better than any of those domains that is offered so I went to oud to vote for 354.net and couldn't find that domain on the list. What a nonesense this is.

 

[lzy]

He changed the rules so that you can no longer vote for the original domain name.

 

[Ben42]

Yeah, I don't think I can vote for any of those names...

 

[tristanperry]

Casino.rw is the best there - hence vote for it. It's arguable whether 354.net is better, although Casino.rw is clearly the best domain that's been offered up for trade this round.

Edit: I know how biased that sounds :P Although, IMHO, it's clearly true. There's no point in not voting at all because 354.net is arguably a better name (I'm not sure I agree with that viewpoint anymore, just to add).

 

[Archangel]

Casino.rw is the best there - hence vote for it. It's arguable whether 354.net is better, although Casino.rw is clearly the best domain that's been offered up for trade this round.

Edit: I know how biased that sounds :P Although, IMHO, it's clearly true. There's no point in not voting at all because 354.net is arguably a better name (I'm not sure I agree with that viewpoint anymore, just to add).

I agree with you. I voted for the .rw because it's the only one worth voting for and ya can't vote to keep the NNN.net.

 

[Domainate.com]

Actually I did not buy it from you, but the one that bought it on ebay let it expire on April the 6th. I spotted that expire back in February, and waited till midnight that day to register it... and that is how I managed tor register it.
Poor guy that bought it did not know many things about domain names.
And I am sure that Steve is a very experienced domainer, but made that one mistake.
I put it on trade, because NNN.net 's will raise on price... it is my bet.. I will not look for a quick sale if casino.rw wins.
And crooky, next time you have the chance to get the casino.rw back... if you want to.

Yea, I forgot that you bought it from him...sorry about that! I think Casino.rw for 354.net is a pretty interesting trade. I wouldn't really want Casino.rw back though...I dropped all my .cg and .rw, sadly without selling a single one of them but that one.

You put a Casino.ANYTHING up on eBay with no reserve?? No offense, but how long have you been domaining for? I consider myself an amateur domainer and even I know to stay away from eBay. If the current owner of Casino.rw got it for $300, then I think he's about to do the biggest trade-up of all (at your expense, unfortunately). I personally think it's a great name and I'd kill to have a Casino.ANYTHING, so it has my vote.

It didn't help that eBay removed my 1st auction because I put a link up to another site. I had a whole lot of hype build up, and it went away by the time I got a 2nd auction put up, hence the results. I would have likely gotten about $700 or so in the first one given how many more watchers and views it was getting. Also, I had recently before that listed a bunch of my ccTLDs for sale including that one in a batch for sale on eBay with a reserve and had gotten a $10,000 offer, so I WAS expecting better when selling that one individually. Still, I don't care. It's the first and last time I list a domain for auction with no reserve. I'm rid of all my .cg and .rw and am happy...225 EU/yr is an AWFUL LOT to spend while waiting to get what a name is worth.

 

[Archangel]

Well, who'd believe that casino.rw won? I'm not surprised. Congrads to the owner for picking up a nice NNN.net!

There were a lotta votes but maybe a 48-hour vote would have been better. I still think a 2-day vote/3-day submission period would be more interesting but that's JMO.

I believe I'll submit a domain or two this round... gotta look in my goodie sack.

 

[Archangel]

Lemme throw my hat back into the ring. Read this email I sent to Andres to see what I'm offering. (Read the last paragraph twice if you think I'm trying to 'brainwash' voters.)

Andres,

You're really starting to prove your critics wrong. Hopefully this is the beginning of finality. I suppose I could live with the .rw as a quick flip. So here is what I offer as a set:

eBoyfriend.net
iBoyfriend.net
eGirlfriend.org
iGirlfriend.org
eBoyfriend.org
iBoyfriend.org

The reason I think this would be a good trade-up: Dating websites have become huge across the internet and are very profitable. The two biggest one-letter 'prefixes' are E (electronic) and I (interactive). With this set, the owner would have the only two prefixes worth owning.

The bad thing is the ext but the .net is still #2 behind the .com.

They could all be used in the same project or the .nets and .orgs could be sold as 2 pairs so as to allow the .org owner to have control over the boy-and-girl variants.

With both prefixes, competition would be lessened to a developer. Both of the .nets were picked up after they dropped. I still have no real stats for them as of yet. I was going to put them up for an auction but opt to give OUD a shot. All 6 of these combined could net a pretty good sum but I won't speculate on a figure as I know everyone will have an opinioin.

Anyway, here is my offer. I really wish ppl would 'introduce' their domains on NP. It isn't 'trying to sway' opinions but rather, it's just educating the voters. Dunno about there but in America, we don't vote for public leaders unless we know something about them.

--Randy

 

[tristanperry]

Hey Randy,
Wow, some really nice domains there actually They all seem pretty high quality... however, seeing as though these may need developement, I wonder if some domainers who visit OUD will be put-off by this? (Just food for thought, I like these domains myself )
Tristan

 

[Archangel]

Hey Randy,
Wow, some really nice domains there actually They all seem pretty high quality... however, seeing as though these may need developement, I wonder if some domainers who visit OUD will be put-off by this? (Just food for thought, I like these domains myself )
Tristan

Thanks The thing with these OUD domains is that many of the past winners have a 'guaranteed' value ie they took no development to be worth anything. I am 100% positive, though, that a person could sell these for a good chunk of change to a developer. They don't have a 'guaranteed' value but the .nets are well worth the investment IMO. Practically every domain submitted to OUD needs some kinda developing. And I think these are well worth doing so to.

 

[tristanperry]

I'd agree with that My thoughts exactly. Domains like 354.net are easy to vote for/trade for, because its value is exact. However the thought of having to develop domains can put some people off.

Still, the domains you've submitted do seem very nice

 

[Archangel]

I'd agree with that My thoughts exactly. Domains like 354.net are easy to vote for/trade for, because its value is exact. However the thought of having to develop domains can put some people off.

Still, the domains you've submitted do seem very nice

True. So a domain has to look promising for a developer or an investor to pursue. I don't see these as million-dollar domains but I believe there is enough promise in them to be a worthy trade-up.

 

[domaindigger]

Good job Archangel with the eBoyfriend set, I think that's a good offer. I don't know if its a tradeup, but I don't think it's a tradedown either.

 

[Archangel]

Good job Archangel with the eBoyfriend set, I think that's a good offer. I don't know if its a tradeup, but I don't think it's a tradedown either.

Thanks for the encouragement. After the dolls360 thing, I need all the encouragement I can. I half wonder if the attempted sabotage will repeat itself...

 

[VURG]

I've been thinking about OUD recently. This thread gets a lot more exposure than the site itself. With the red paperclip, the broadness in appeal meant that all sorts of people and media groups would be watching and reporting the site. The limited number of trades meant that the exposure was limited to a small group of only 15 and ultimately quite valuable.

With OUD domain:

Lots more trades -> therefore exposure per trade is less valuable
Limited to domains -> therefore exposure is less valuable as lots of people find domains boring.
No signs of significant non-Namepros interest -> therefore exposure is less valuable as it is limited to one community
Copycat site -> therefore exposure is less valuable

With the paperclip, the exposure was ultimately very valuable and trading a more valuable asset to win a round would be compensated by the value in the exposure.

Personally, I consider the exposure worth hundreds max but not more than $500.

With domains, trading a domain that is worth $500+ more come across as a poor decision and bad exposure for a domain trader.

I guess I'm saying that the difference between OUD and red paperclip is that because of the quality of exposure that red paperclip provided, the trades were WIN/WIN. The early stage of OUD were different but from now on I expect that each round will have a WIN/LOSE or LOSE/WIN outcome.

I also treat domains as a business, not a gambling venture and hence I am not interested in getting involved again unless I see evidence that there is more value in the exposure provided.

 

[tristanperry]

There's not been many domains offered this round... apart from the eBoyfriend portfolio, the quality is pretty worrying actually If I had $1,500 (or an equivalent domain), I'd definitely want Casino.rw. Is this just me here?