sales Top 3 Names on This Week's Sales Chart Total $1.35 Million - All Are 3-Digit or 3-Letter Domains

[Ron Jackson]

The new weekly domain sales report is out at DNJournal.com. Short .com domains continue to rule as 3-letter and 3-digit domains again led the hit parade. The top three sales this week were all from that category and those three totaled a whopping $1.35 million. The seven-figure sale that led the way tied for the 2nd highest sale reported so far in 2015. The other two both reached six figures. In addition to 14 .coms our latest all extension Top 20 Sales Chart also included 4 ccTLDs and 2 Non .Com gTLDs (one of those a new gTLD). You can get all of the details here: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/domainsales/2015/20150930.htm

 

[paul79]

i don't get how v68.com sold for that much - i thought number/letter mixes didn't do that well as a rule?

 

[paul79]

i couldn't have put it better myself lol

 

[HeyNow]

If Christie's or Sotheby's auctioneers' results were tainted by their respective employees bidding against clueless normal outside bidders, they'd be shunned and the press wouldn't give them credibility by posting auction "sales" results as though there was no chance of impropriety.

Too bad the domain press doesn't hold itself to such high standards, nor require such high standards from the entities whose "sales" results it highlights, portraying those results as credible. Then they wonder why fewer and fewer individuals who could help bring this industry to the mainstream participate in this corrupted system. Steve Forbes comes to mind here, along with the handful or two of prominent attorneys and businessmen who came in for a taste, then decided not to waste time further in such a cesspool.

Like I've said before, when those who break the law in this business are given the perp-walk, and when domainer conventions and conferences refrain from giving auction cheaters "guest speaker" status, and when domain auctioneers and auction platforms are held to the highest auction standards as are Christie's and Sotheby's, then all our portfolios will benefit quickly. But as long as we have auction platforms that allow their respective employees to stealthily bid against clueless buyers, and as long as domain "news" entities highlight the accomplishments of auction cheaters and typosquatters while also deeming companies with documented histories of massive fraudulent activity "reputable," then we will continue to nickel-and-dime each other while only relatively few domains command high prices at auction.

The registries don't care. They make a few bucks on each domain without having to do much work after initial software setup. The registrars don't care. They make a couple of bucks on each domain and can make a good living on a small number of registrations.

Start throwing the cheaters and thieves in jail. Then write feature articles on the auction cheater who received a few years in jail and/or large fines and restitution for stealing from clueless customers. They're not our heroes, they are criminals.

 

[paul79]

is it not worth using auction sites to sell then and instead better to just concentrate on generating your own sales?

 

[HeyNow]

is it not worth using auction sites to sell then and instead better to just concentrate on generating your own sales?

Bingo! Think about it. What do the auctioneer and auction-platform sites really do. They (no, actually YOU) hang YOUR property on their for-sale page, with dozens or hundreds or thousands of other names. End users go to Godaddy or Network Solutions to register a name. If the name they want is taken, they try something else or see what is live at the name they want.

You really think end users go to Sedo or any of the others looking for names? If not Sedo, certainly the others count on domainers and speculators for the majority of their business.

Do yourself a favor. Go hang a cheap (or free) "For Sale" page for any or all of your domains. You won't have to share the proceeds from the sale with some company which pays some turkey to hang out in this and other forums stamping out the fires and unrest from those participants here and there who feel they've been shafted by a company who tries to sell us the snakeoil that just because it looks like cheating, that doesn't necessarily mean it's cheating.

Wise up.

 

[paul79]

thanks for the heads up - is food for thought and does make sense in a lot of ways cheers. only thing that makes me list at the auction sites is that they do seem to generate a lot of sales - i know you have to pay a cut to them for commission but it would be a sale you might not have at all otherwise

 

[HeyNow]

they do seem to generate a lot of sales -

Well, they do "seem" to generate a lot of sales. But with policies like allowing employees to participate in auctions without informing the Buyers, it seems to me that leaves a lot of opportunity to generate inflated "sales."

All I can tell you is that, considering the lack of transparency from auctioneers and auction platforms, and the parsing of words in these forums by any particular company's paid representative to stamp out discontent and criticism, and the dancing around questions about policies that seem to encourage fraudulent activities like shill bidding, I don't trust such companies as far as I can spit.

I haven't heard nasty things about Sedo yet. But I don't trust any of the others to hold 100% honest auctions. Don't get me wrong, I've not heard about fraudulent activity at Sedo, but considering the lack of law enforcement in this business, I wouldn't be surprised to find shenanigans there too.

Wait until law enforcement kicks in. It may take a few years, but the slime you have to deal with now to place your domains in auctions won't be able to do it later.

 

[Nazz]

@HeyNow - Would be great to see what you can do with your own blog!!

Followed!

 

[HeyNow]

@HeyNow - Would be great to see what you can do with your own blog!!

Followed!

Blogging would accomplish little. Law enforcement would accomplish a lot, quickly. Have you noticed how no one (as far as I know) went to jail or was even criminally prosecuted for the Snapnames fraud? That was hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars stolen from people like you and me. Snapnames seemed eager to blame one employee. But no one did the perp-walk as far as I know. You or I steal $500 worth of food from a grocery store and we'd end up in jail. But millions of dollars from domainers? Not even important.

That episode told the rest of the industry there will be little done to prosecute thieves. Perhaps even nothing. You don't think the rest of the industry interpreted that as a free pass to cheat and steal? I do.

 

[paul79]

thanks for the info - is an interesting side to domaining that isn't apparent to the newcomer but then I guess thats what allows such things to happen. i think everyone can agree that the best way to sell , even if its just cos it makes more money for you, is direct to a buyer with no middle man to potentially muddy the waters