(beware...long post)
BACKGROUND
Not many of my friends own a domain. They know I spend hours a day researching/reading about/registering domains and creating/updating websites which I have been doing since late 1998. They also know I have had some decent sales over the years and are always intrigued and curious as to "what I've been up to" when we meet up. I guess I make interesting conversation especially since the world of domaining/website development seems complicated yet overwhelmingly fascinating. Many of you may have this same type of dynamic with your groups of friends/associates/families/acquaintances, etc.
I am a .tv speculator at heart but find myself cautiously optimistic of .mobi. I wasn't even going to register any .mobi's because I thought it was "too long", but convinced myself to grab a few because of the inexpensive reg fees (as opposed to some of my premium .tv's). I managed to reg a few LLL.mobi on the second day of public availability.
INFLUENCES
Seeing Jeremy get excited about something speaks volumes to me. I encountered him back in my early days of domaining when he appraised many of my domains on his domainappraiser.com website and more importantly he successfully helped me out with a c&d situation from one of the big boys. (I was also a frequent reader of his humor site "schmuck.com" and still laugh about the Rick Martin's Ass article). I'm not saying he's a prophet (maybe a profit!), but that he's been around and I've seen him make some really good decisions regarding this industry and respect his judgment.
LEADING UP TO THE PREDICAMENT
A friend of a friend (which would make him an acquaintance to me) whom I've met several times, told me he has around $20k that he has saved over the last decade or so and now wants to invest in something "exciting". We ran into each other after Thanksgiving and had our typical conversation where he asks my opinions on domains and we speak about possibilities in the domain world. He actually heard about .mobi from someone else and wanted my take on it. I shared with him that I had a few but wasn't going to over commit to the initial hype. He said that he had been thinking of .mobi domains for the last few weeks and made a list of all of the names that he liked. His "theme" was mobile information (news, sports, stocks, weather, banking, traffic, music). Only problem was, all of the names on his list were either premium or already registered. He was bummed, but became hopeful when I told him that the premiums will be released over the next 2 years. However, he became bummed again when I told him flowers(dot)mobi sold for $200k, most of the names on his list are even more suitable for the extension (and can't be bought for $20k).
It didn't click with him initially when he had asked which names I secured but after exhausting his "sought after" list he asked me again which names I had. I repeated these to him and this time elaborated as to why I had selected the ones that I did. One of my names otg(dot)mobi I registered as an acronym for, you guessed it, "on the go".
His face changed immediately from that of disappointment to a kind of crazed smile. He thought for a moment and said (as if he'd just solved the wonders of the world) "That's it!". He went on to tell me how my 3 character name summarized his entire list. He referenced a previous conversation we had about sub domains and his light bulb grew brighter.
He wanted it.
He wanted it Bad.
THE PREDICAMENT
This is not the first time I've "sold" something to someone without even trying to sell. I feel like this guy is being impulsive and desperate in a way because he wants "in" and he feels this is his best bet to get in.
I believe I spent $70 on the name for 2 years but it obviously means much more to me than that. Problem is, I think I could sell it to this guy for $xx,xxx. It puts me in a dilemma because:
I feel like this guy likes the name so much because he feels it has my stamp of approval. He considers me an expert in the field (though it's just a hobby and a passion).
SIDE NOTE
I guess I'm posting this because I'm truly unsure of what to do. If I were able to buy flowers(dot)mobi at reg fee and this guy offered me $20k for it, I don't think I could sell it to him because I would feel as though I would be taking advantage of him (remember, at the time of the sale, there weren't many reported .mobi sales even in the x,xxx range) so maybe it's not necessarily my domain I fear will fail for him, but rather .mobi, this early on, at this value.
Before you respond to this thread, please try to apply this scenario to your own life and see if you can experience what I'm feeling :?
Also, I'm not looking for "sell it you idiot" or similar responses... I spent a great deal of time explaining the situation and would appreciate intellegent elaborate responses.
MY CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
I am most likely (90+%) going to hold on to the domain and hope for a bright .mobi future, but just wanted to hear what others might have to say.
Thank you and goodnight.
BACKGROUND
Not many of my friends own a domain. They know I spend hours a day researching/reading about/registering domains and creating/updating websites which I have been doing since late 1998. They also know I have had some decent sales over the years and are always intrigued and curious as to "what I've been up to" when we meet up. I guess I make interesting conversation especially since the world of domaining/website development seems complicated yet overwhelmingly fascinating. Many of you may have this same type of dynamic with your groups of friends/associates/families/acquaintances, etc.
I am a .tv speculator at heart but find myself cautiously optimistic of .mobi. I wasn't even going to register any .mobi's because I thought it was "too long", but convinced myself to grab a few because of the inexpensive reg fees (as opposed to some of my premium .tv's). I managed to reg a few LLL.mobi on the second day of public availability.
INFLUENCES
Seeing Jeremy get excited about something speaks volumes to me. I encountered him back in my early days of domaining when he appraised many of my domains on his domainappraiser.com website and more importantly he successfully helped me out with a c&d situation from one of the big boys. (I was also a frequent reader of his humor site "schmuck.com" and still laugh about the Rick Martin's Ass article). I'm not saying he's a prophet (maybe a profit!), but that he's been around and I've seen him make some really good decisions regarding this industry and respect his judgment.
LEADING UP TO THE PREDICAMENT
A friend of a friend (which would make him an acquaintance to me) whom I've met several times, told me he has around $20k that he has saved over the last decade or so and now wants to invest in something "exciting". We ran into each other after Thanksgiving and had our typical conversation where he asks my opinions on domains and we speak about possibilities in the domain world. He actually heard about .mobi from someone else and wanted my take on it. I shared with him that I had a few but wasn't going to over commit to the initial hype. He said that he had been thinking of .mobi domains for the last few weeks and made a list of all of the names that he liked. His "theme" was mobile information (news, sports, stocks, weather, banking, traffic, music). Only problem was, all of the names on his list were either premium or already registered. He was bummed, but became hopeful when I told him that the premiums will be released over the next 2 years. However, he became bummed again when I told him flowers(dot)mobi sold for $200k, most of the names on his list are even more suitable for the extension (and can't be bought for $20k).
It didn't click with him initially when he had asked which names I secured but after exhausting his "sought after" list he asked me again which names I had. I repeated these to him and this time elaborated as to why I had selected the ones that I did. One of my names otg(dot)mobi I registered as an acronym for, you guessed it, "on the go".
His face changed immediately from that of disappointment to a kind of crazed smile. He thought for a moment and said (as if he'd just solved the wonders of the world) "That's it!". He went on to tell me how my 3 character name summarized his entire list. He referenced a previous conversation we had about sub domains and his light bulb grew brighter.
He wanted it.
He wanted it Bad.
THE PREDICAMENT
This is not the first time I've "sold" something to someone without even trying to sell. I feel like this guy is being impulsive and desperate in a way because he wants "in" and he feels this is his best bet to get in.
I believe I spent $70 on the name for 2 years but it obviously means much more to me than that. Problem is, I think I could sell it to this guy for $xx,xxx. It puts me in a dilemma because:
I AM attached to the name
I do think the domain has value, possibly substantial value in the future
I don't want to take advantage of this guy
But also, I don't want to pass up an opportunity to sell for a very good profit
I feel like this guy likes the name so much because he feels it has my stamp of approval. He considers me an expert in the field (though it's just a hobby and a passion).
SIDE NOTE
I guess I'm posting this because I'm truly unsure of what to do. If I were able to buy flowers(dot)mobi at reg fee and this guy offered me $20k for it, I don't think I could sell it to him because I would feel as though I would be taking advantage of him (remember, at the time of the sale, there weren't many reported .mobi sales even in the x,xxx range) so maybe it's not necessarily my domain I fear will fail for him, but rather .mobi, this early on, at this value.
Before you respond to this thread, please try to apply this scenario to your own life and see if you can experience what I'm feeling :?
Also, I'm not looking for "sell it you idiot" or similar responses... I spent a great deal of time explaining the situation and would appreciate intellegent elaborate responses.
MY CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
I am most likely (90+%) going to hold on to the domain and hope for a bright .mobi future, but just wanted to hear what others might have to say.
Thank you and goodnight.
Last edited:
