They can tell tech executives that we’re not “squatters” etc… and that owning a keyword generic domain phrase that controls the same prodservs of your competitors is a great position to be in online. Investing in a domain name that describes the generic descriptive prodeserv of your company’s prodserv is THE best position to be in online. Not only will the domain name serve your company nonstop, but it will gain monetary value each month it is used. They should have a 46″ flatscreen behind them runnning 24/7 a powerpoint 100 page description of domains, how they are valuable to companies who are online and marketing their prodservs to consumers.

Excellent post, and it’s a shameful situation that we don’t know if the person who posted it is for real… so, symbolically, is the status of domainers. As long as we hide, we’re not legit to those “outsiders” and potential endusers who are ready to be convinced.

Name any other legit business where comments from major players are “hidden” behind handles.

Can’t.

Why don’t you start one? Are you waiting for someone else to do it.

If they don’t understand what we do or the products that we offer, then how in the world are they supposed to buy into what we are selling? It is a Domaining Industry problem, one that a handful of domainers have figured out how to solve.

Nonetheless, let it be said that the sins of the domain industry are not committed solely by newbies. There are seasoned domainers that are involved in questionable behaviour as well. I am not going to get into any naming and shaming here, but we should not be so quick to lay all the blame on newbies.

I do however have at least one problem with the “old guard”. I will outline that viewpoint in the guest post.

“Who is determining this $500 value in this particular instance? What would anyone know about a domain that they don’t own other than some vague assumptions and what they perceive the value to be ?”

How scientific can the valuation of domain name be? People are going to extreme lengths to come up with all sorts of valuation methods, while ignoring the best valuation technique of all: good old common sense.

The domain industry as we know does not have any reliable and concrete way of valuing domain names. It’s an industry that depends greatly on negotiations. A domain is only worth what the buyer and seller can agree on. That is another problem within itself, as it causes the domain aftermarket to be inefficient and illiquid.

Again there are 2 different mindsets. Domain investors have their reasons why they invest in and hoard domains. End-users are more focused on their returns on investments and exit strategies. I outlined that in my original comment.

” that’s a pretty bold thing to just throw out there in the wind. Unless you have something substantial to point at and back it up I think this sort of conjecturing is dangerous for all involved and anyone reading this.”

I’m quite sure that if I had boldly voice my concerns about shill bidding before the Snapgate/Halvarez scandal there would be a lot of people wanting to see my head on a platter. With regards to the money laundering comment, as you cited, this would not benefit anyone. So I will not expand on my comments regarding money laundering. Neither will I retract them.

The rest of what you have to say is pretty well said, and I will add anything else in the guest post.

As to your comments:
“I think I made myself clear. If your domain name is really worth $500, what is that you have to gain in demanding $500,000?”

If you are referring to the “old guard” most aren’t “demanding” anything. As I said before, historically these domainers were not sellers and many still aren’t. If you want something of theirs you’d have to pay up. You can tell them that you think the domains are worth less, but they are really the only one who can determine that pricing right ?

Who is determining this $500 value in this particular instance? What would anyone know about a domain that they don’t own other than some vague assumptions and what they perceive the value to be ? Of course I’ll save the whole discussion about pricing vs value .

“Secondly, don’t you think it will be detrimental to the domain industry if people go “bothering” end-users with low quality domains with over the top high prices?”

Who is this person that is going out and bothering people? It’s not the same guys that Bruce is referring to in this post as the “old guard”. We seem to be bouncing around on the discussion of “overpricing” here but that’s ok. I guess if you are talking about newbies who go around selling newly regged names for high prices, I’m not sure I see the detriment. Sure they annoy people and can give domainers a bad name but in every business there’s hucksters and cons looking to make a buck that eventually sully the reputation of others in the space (think of the lawyers or doctors as examples) . I’m not saying these guys shouldn’t be corrected if possible but the market will also correct this issue. I know a few guys who started in the space by going down the wrong path and have made that correction. If they don’t sell domains, they go away (soon be replaced by the next new guy looking for the quick buck) . There’s plenty of education on the forums that will help them see these errors and lots of experienced domainers participating there. It’s eventually up to them to adapt and learn or fail and go away. I really do look forward to your guest post on this topic though so I can see it through your eyes

“However, do you think that it is any coincidence that BuyDomains.com dominate (quantity) the DNJournal domain sales report week after week?”

Coincidence. Nope. They are built for this. Buydomains has been operating this model for well over 10+ years, they have a massive inventory, a dedicated sales force, outbound marketing efforts, advertising expenditures, etc etc. Their model is to move names fast, so no I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they sell lots of domains.

Another player, Sedo, moves nearly the nearly the same dollar amount every week as buydomains and they hold little inventory of their own . .. interestingly in this case the names are actually priced by the domain owners. So overall the same amount of sales in dollars happens every week by the “long tail” group of domainers as happens at buydomains overall. I’m not impressed if the quantity BD move is greater if their $ is the same. I’m impressed by the bottom line numbers.

As I tried to explain earlier above, the “old guard” referenced in this post has never operated under either of these models though. Selling one-offs now and then is not the same as operating a business with an intention of selling thousands of domains.. Some domainers are retooling to have a similar model and I think they have prices that reflect those models.

“For those obviously crappy domains that sell for ridiculously high prices… has it ever crossed your mind that somehow people are using the domain industry to launder money? The domain industry is still off the radar for law enforcement. There are hardly any rules. And, as we saw with the Snapgate/Halvarez scandal, we are still in the Wild West… Now think about that.”

Sure, it’s also crossed my mind that Rick Schwartz is an alien and Frank Schilling is really a CIA operative. Bruce Marler of course is obviously a communist since he is promoting and using .ME domains. Come on, that’s a pretty bold thing to just throw out there in the wind. Unless you have something substantial to point at and back it up I think this sort of conjecturing is dangerous for all involved and anyone reading this.

As someone who has participated in the aftermarket in various facets I look forward to moving the aftermarket forward. I just thought it was equally important to know where it’s been and what’s been done and not to necessarily cast stones at others who have had no reason/desire to be involved in the development or acceleration of an aftermarket.

@Earl – I would love to do lunch sometime, as anyone that has sat down with me knows as much as we all live in this online world I still believe in sitting down with people and networking. Shoot me a message through my contact form and lets connect.