The DomainFest Action Has Some Great Names But Only The Big Boys Are Invited

The DomainFest NY auction is this Wednesday has one of the better auction catalogs to come around in the last few years but there will be one thing missing from this auction.  Most Domainers.  We all know domainer sales are cash flow and end user sales are profits and this auction certainly is geared for the latter. That and the higher end domain investors.

With only 16 names with reserves below $10,000,  there aren’t many “regular” domainers that can play in this one.  It’s no coincidence that the 6 domains with pre bids are all the under $10K group.   There have been plenty of auctions to go with the overwhelming number of domain conferences and most of them have been at the worst, a complete failure,  and at best  disappointing.  This one will tell a lot about our industry when it’s all said and done.

XXX.com is certainly the star of the show but quotes.com and stocks.com are much more valuable names in my opinion.  XXX is getting the publicity primarily because of the new tld, but the adult industry itself is in a downward spiral financially with all the free content online.  Stocks and quotes have a more stable financial picture and most likely offer a quicker payback to an enduser/business. No doubt in my mind that brokers and investment companies are looking at these two names.   The rest are fine names but I don’t see a lot of value.   Of course, the prices were not set to offer a bargain but rather to represent what the industry (or at least Sedo) thinks is the market value.  The prices were not set for a flip or a hold.  These prices were set to create a business using the name.  We’ll know in three days what others think of the valuation.  I don’t think it’s going out on a limb to say that I highly doubt many of the names will sell. I hope they do for both the industry and the owners.  No matter what the outcome, DomainFest organizers should be commended for assembling such a fine catalog.