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The Preliminary Top 200 List
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July 26th, 2007 by 
Jay Westerdal
We are still working hard on the list of domains that are going to auction but I wanted to give everyone a preview of what is on the top of the list right now. So without further ado here is a link to the Top 200 List:
http://www.domaintools.com/live-auction/browse-domains.html
The list is changing and names are coming and going from the list right now, so please don’t panic if your domain is on the list today and gone tomorrow. It may still be in the top 450. This is only the top 200 of 450. The list will grow over the next two weeks to show the full 450 domains. If you are in the top 200 or plan to be in the top 450, please add some quick notes to the domain’s Note Field to let people know more about your domain.
Please note, we have added a Phone Number field in the control panel where you add names to the auction. Please update your phone number and allow us to call you if we have questions about your domain(s).
The list will be frozen and locked August 6th. No further changes will take place on that date.
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Posted in Domain Auction, DomainTools Auction |
212 Comments »
July 26th, 2007 at 3:36 pm
Now we see the first list
Just waiting for more….
July 26th, 2007 at 4:10 pm
Jay, when’s the cut off? Thanks.
July 26th, 2007 at 4:11 pm
Sorry, Aug 6th, duh.
July 26th, 2007 at 5:38 pm
Adding phone number field to the control panel is a great idea, Jay. It didn’t seem to be functioning yet so I provided my cell phone number in the user note field. Hope one of my names makes it into the next 250!
Tony K
July 26th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
What does the score mean? Originally I thought if it’s very low or very high it would correlate … but it doesn’t seem to. I guess the good thing is, none of my domains have been denied yet … but none have been accepted. I’m flying from Florida to Seattle .. sure hope I get to see one of my domains in the auction.
UPDATE BY JAY: I can safely say you will have a few in the auction.
July 26th, 2007 at 6:07 pm
Wow. Love autobiography.com
. What a fantastic name. (Blogged it on my lextext blog.) Less crazy about lawyersthatcare.com
because (a) it should be lawyersWHOcare and (b) it’s a null set. 
Seriously, you’ve got a great selection there, but if I were betting, I’d wager that autobiography.com
closes in your Top 3.
— Bret
July 26th, 2007 at 6:12 pm
Nice list, but i think many quality names registered around/ between 2002-2005 seem to have have been overlooked? just for the cause of Domain Age.
UPDATE BY JAY: Age is not the only thing we are looking at. Reserve and Quality are very important too. The list is not final yet so unless it says Denied. Then it still has a chance.
July 26th, 2007 at 6:19 pm
In my view way too many low-priced marginal domains.
It is a waste of everyone’s time to gather hundreds of the top people in the industry to auction off a marginal name for $1,000.
You are doing a good job avoiding the mistake of including too many high value domains with unrealistic reserves. But it makes for an equally bad auction to make the opposite mistake of including too many low-quality domains just because the reserve is low.
From my perspective the ideal auction would have the highest quality domains at realistic reserves, with a nice variety of price points to keep it interesting for every level of bidder. Currently it seems skewed too heavily to the sub $10k domains.
I realize it is still early and am looking forward to seeing the final list.
UPDATE BY JAY: The mid-level names take longer to do due diligence on. There will be more names added soon.
July 26th, 2007 at 6:49 pm
We’ll so far, I’m thrilled to have 4 names on the initial list (LoveStories.com
, Castillo.com
, KeepTheFaith.com
, ChurchBand.com
). I have about 1,200 domains in my portfolio. Now that I know what you’re looking for, I’ll try to better what’s on the list! I would like to see Hot.TV
make it. With .tv heating up due to Demand Media’s efforts, I think Hot.TV
could be a hot auction item for those in streaming video. Thanks again for your continued hard work on this!
MrHit
July 26th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Interesting to see the first half of the list. I have checked the short list of domains I submitted and was very surprised to see 3 rejected due to “domain too new”. These domains were purchased earlier this year on the expired domain market. As you are aware some registrars seem to re-set the Whois from the date of the recent purchase. However, if these domains are checked against archive.org
, the original registration dates back in 2001 and 2003 show up. I wonder how many more potentially good domains have been rejected because they have incorrectly been identified as being “too new”?
UPDATE BY JAY: I think we ran a script on all 2007 names and cut them out. I will check the top 100 2007 names manually though and see what I find.
July 26th, 2007 at 8:43 pm
Jay,
You have been very clear in suggesting folks lower their reserves, is the opposite also true? Is your team making suggestions for raising low reserves?
Some of us are might not be confident in our skills to fairly set the reserve and might go to low as easily as going to high. I believe it would also be in your team’s interest to have the optimal number set as well. Thanks!
UPDATE BY JAY: The beauty of the auction is, if the reserve is too low, there will be a bidding war. Smart bidders will be watching, they will not let some other guy walk away with a premium name that they could have bought.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:13 pm
Re: my earlier post about some of my domains being incorrectly identified as “too new”; I was trying to add some other domains tonight to take their place. The Submit button seemed to take but stayed in grey mode for a long time and wouldn’t accept anything.Is
there an error with the submit or has it been disabled? I understood we had until August 6th which was the cut-off. Thanks for any clarification on this.
UPDATE BY JAY: I believe a website software update caused error last night. The submit button error should have been fixed this morning. If there is any problems, let us know.
July 26th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
Wow, I got a name picked but it was one of the weakest of my list (curlyfries.com
)! I should have upped my reserve 
Although all the rest are still unconfirmed and pending review. Hmmm. I’m wondering if there is an overflow list. I totally forgot to submit the other 66 domains since I was traveling and it seems to be a dead submission form now. Bummer!
July 26th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Hi, I want to sale my domain name ” galapagos-cruise.com
” I have it since 1999.
can help me saling it???
International and famous cruises are starting to sail to South America and cruising the islands.
Some few years ago a company from Peru wanted to pay a pretty good price but at that time I was using it.
Because personal issues I need to sale it. Can you please let me know who should I call or write to, so DOMAINTOOLS.COM
Thank you.
UPDATE BY JAY: Charlie, I think it is a great name. Add it to the auction. The PPC market is really strong for those keywords!
July 27th, 2007 at 5:03 am
i agree w/ the stmt by “n-techexec” – any thought to raising reserves – i have two names in the top 200 – after reviewing reserves for other names, i have a feeling that my reserves are on the low side.
also, what is the reason for listing reserves – isn’t collusion possible – a group of high powered buyers could, in theory, bid for a name that is slightly above the reserve and win the name.
any thoughts?
thx
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, there are a few low reserves. I suspect those names will generate a lot more interest and there will be a bidding war. This is why I encourage low reserves.
July 27th, 2007 at 5:46 am
You are not interested in “are.us
” ?? That’s not one domain, its 1000 domains in one!
UPDATE BY JAY: Are.us
is clever. But we have to pass on it right now. Thank you for the submission.
July 27th, 2007 at 6:45 am
I’ve been told that lower reserves invite bids – and starts the procedure better. Once the frenzy starts it’s up up and away.
I agree – I don’t think the reserves should be posted though.
I certainly hope some of my domains don’t sell for $1000 (the reserve) – I thought the idea was to bring in domains WORTH at least 5000 to the auction list.
UPDATE BY JAY: I am selecting names that can easily be $5000 names. So if the reserve is $1000 that is fine.
July 27th, 2007 at 7:13 am
Gramma,
I would think if you were unhappy to sell your domain at the reserve you listed, you would have listed a higher reserve? I think everyone who had a domain accepted, should be thrilled. I look forward to seeing the auction results.
Justin
July 27th, 2007 at 7:26 am
oh i’m beyond thrilled and grateful!
July 27th, 2007 at 8:16 am
Hi – I’ve had the same “domain age” problem as mentioned above with most of mine been rejected even though they were all bought in drops and were originally registered 5 to 10 years ago.
Any way to get around this one Jay ?
Thanks
July 27th, 2007 at 8:28 am
@Gazzip and others: Sure that Jay will find a solution for the “too young” problem.
I am full of hope and I think this is the best, what I can do for the moment.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:36 am
Jay, at what point will your folks be calling domain owners with domains on the list to firm up/confirm auction details (I’m assuming that’s the reason you needed our phone numbers). I have 4 domains on the current list (LoveStories.com
, Castillo.com
, ChurchBand.com
, KeepTheFaith.com
). Thanks for your hard work. I’ll be submitting more names over the next few days (btw, what is the total # domains rec’d thus far?).
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, we will be contacting all the sellers prior to the auction to finalize everything.
July 27th, 2007 at 9:49 am
Although Invention.com
is a great domain, there is factually incorrect information about the purchase of Patents.com
for over $2M. This domain sold for under $1M. I’d monitor the “comments” field for accurate info…someone could buy invention.com
and come back later and say he was mislead…
July 27th, 2007 at 10:34 am
I added seven DucksInc TLDs to my DucksInc.com
, vintage 2002, submission (still pending), but they are from 2007. Is this a problem? If so, I’ll remove the newbies. In any case, I’m okay with picking up the corresponding TLDs because I’ll use them to develop the .com should it not make the the 450 list.
A few days ago, I was able to add my phone number; please protect it, for it is my home phone.
Thanks,
jss
UPDATE BY JAY: Jennifer, DucksInc.com
will not make the auction. But thank you for submitting it. As always any personal information that is submitted to us is kept confidential.
July 27th, 2007 at 10:49 am
austintexas wrote: “there is factually incorrect information about the purchase of Patents.com
for over $2M. This domain sold for under $1M”
I thought the details of the patents.com
sale were not disclosed? All that I’ve seen were speculations on what the sale price “would have been”
Is it possible that although my names are showing up in the control panel, they may still have slipped through the cracks.
They show up as unconfirmed and pending review, but I submitted them over 2 weeks ago.
No “denied” or “suggested reserve” or any other notes showing there.
Should I just be patient and wait for my turn for a review?
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, please be patient. We are attempting to take some time with each domain. The list is long.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
I’m rather baffled by some of these domains? For example, prepaidlabor.com
and lawyersthatcare.com
. But, I would like to know why they are in the list for there has to be a good reason.
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, that is why it is preliminary list. The voting function is coming today. Then everyone can have a say in what names are good or bad.
July 27th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
overall, the prelim 200 list doesn’t look that great to me – an inch deep and a mile wide – i hope the final 450 doesn’t multiply the crap by a factor of 2.25x
.
i’d rather not target specific names but there are some domains that obviously don’t belong (and that’s putting in mildly).
let’s tighten the list – if it has to be less than 450 names, then so be it.
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, the list will get more tight.
July 27th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Jay – I accidentally removed CheapGadgets.com
, which received a score in the 670s, and when I re-entered it this afternoon, the score was 0. Are you still accepting submissions?
UPDATE BY JAY: If you remove a name, it needs to go through the approval process again. The score will find the name. There are robots working in the background that score and grab data for new domains.
July 27th, 2007 at 3:22 pm
Hi Jay,
Just wanted to make an aside that overall watching the results of the auction has been really entertaining.
I kind of get the feeling you guys over at Name Intelligence have been spending some 12+ hour days going through submissions.
If this is an annual thing I’d love to see you bring out all the bells and whistles for this. I’m really considering some of the names so far. There’s some really great ones that have me looking at my bank account wondering if I should plan on bidding come August…however, there are those that have me scratching my head.
I won’t mention which, but knowing that we’ll get a chance to cast our own votes is gonna be really cool. And I really think people that are regretting submitting a low reserve…wait for the voting (public poll) I don’t think you’ll be worrying too much then. Consider the votes a preliminary for bids…
Anyway, some great names everyone!
I hope you all come away happy!
UPDATE BY JAY: Thanks for the encouraging words. The voting is now live. You need to be logged in to see this feature (FYI).
July 27th, 2007 at 3:23 pm
Thanks for letting me know, Jay. Now I can move forward with my alternate plans. I do look forward to seeing how the auction plays out.
Best
July 27th, 2007 at 4:40 pm
If the auction is only 4 hours long and there are 450 names, how will there be a reasonable amount of time to go through them all?
I’m not a math guy (not even close), but it sounds like about 30 seconds per domain name?
That doesn’t seem like enough time for serious bidding to happen on premium domains.
UPDATE BY JAY: We have the room reserves all day. So we have the time. We are planning to make this very efficient. If something doesn’t get any interest we will pass on it. We will spend enough time on every domain to make sure it gets the highest possible result. I expect a few names will take a few minutes.
July 27th, 2007 at 5:15 pm
“We have the room reserved all day…We will spend enough time on every domain to make sure it gets the highest possible result”
Good enough for me
Thanks for the update.
July 27th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Good to see all the updates and your reactions Jay
Thanks for doing your work and keep us informed.
I am hoping the best now for the (I think good scored) names
guys.eu
wellness. (still pending)
filter.biz
See also support ticket 3336 please.
All domains have the “too new” problem, but I see chances to get good auction results for this names. And as you wrote you will check the best “new” domains manually too
Best regards and have a good time….
July 27th, 2007 at 5:22 pm
To circler
It can be done. Once the list is final, the bidders can make a list of their target domains with the proxy bidding set up to their ceiling. When the auction starts, let the auto-proxy bidding roll … it may take a few minutes for all of them to end, then the live bidding can proceed further. This is a possible scenario, I don’t know how Jay wants to do it.
July 27th, 2007 at 5:58 pm
Vote now
UPDATE BY JAY: Only people that are logged in and view that page will see the voting feature.
July 27th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
“I kind of get the feeling you guys over at Name Intelligence have been spending some 12+ hour days going through submissions.”
I think it’s been closer to 24/7 this past week! I don’t envy you being inundated with thousands of names and having to narrow the list down with the rest of us watching. And now we even get to vote …
Whatever happens, Jay, I have enjoyed the opportunity to interact with you and the others on your blog. I’ve already learned a lot and the conference is still 3 weeks away. I think in my next career I may become a ‘domainwright’ (like a playwright or shipwright) and build out some of my sites for SEO!
“I’ve had the same ‘domain age’ problem as mentioned above with most of mine been rejected even though they were all bought in drops and were originally registered 5 to 10 years ago.”
Some of the names I submitted were also denied because they were too new. I was sure they had been dropped, but I removed them yesterday. Then I checked them on the WayBack Machine. Guess what?
greenorganics.net
was registered in Jan 2002 or earlier
cellphonz.net
was registered in Mar 2004 or earlier
As these names should both qualify, I re-submitted them today. I added cellphonz.mobi
to the .net primary lot.
TK
July 28th, 2007 at 1:03 am
Hi Jay,
I think the 200 premium listing should also have a possibility to click on to the headers of each table title and see which are the names having the highest score, overture score, price, etc. Now when you are using the wonderful Ajax in the account page, why not apply it also on the 200 premium listings?
What a wonderful job you guys have done and are continously doing, and it now has become noticeable as compared auctions at Sedo!!!
Further, I suggest to bring some high quality domains which are NOT dot coms that adds an important contribution to uplift the aftermarket of NON-dotcom domains like .info, eu, etc. Such a turbulance and uplift is in the interest of all. And such an initiative MUST begin at places like yours…
My sincere congratulations to you for your extreme superior high quality work to the industry…
July 28th, 2007 at 1:25 am
Any ideas where/how I should try to sell “are.us
”? I think for the right person it can be worth millions.
UPDATE BY JAY: Hmmm, I am sure it is worth Millions to someone. Finding that person might be a challenge. The best place to advertise is on the domain itself. I hope you find a buyer. Sorry it was not included in the auction.
July 28th, 2007 at 1:53 am
In lots I have included additional extensions that do not meet the age requirement to the “root” .com that does. If this is not allowed please advise so I may remove non-qualifying versions of the basic name.
July 28th, 2007 at 3:00 am
I’m looking forward to this auction, I submitted a .co.uk that scores very high but its not showing up on the list, can you check that? It is gin.co.uk
which is a very high profile name that I was hoping to sell for mid xxx,xxx.
July 28th, 2007 at 4:13 am
Jay. I know you have many .eu domain names (nice “sting”) so are you allowing .eu domains into this auction ??.
July 28th, 2007 at 4:14 am
By the way, I accidentally deleted “Snog.eu
” and lost the 650 off score it had. I have re submitted but its on 0.Can
you put the 650 back ?.
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, the score will find the name automatically. There is a little delay. However, the reserve is very high on Snog.eu
. $10,000 is a huge reserve on an .EU name.
July 28th, 2007 at 4:47 am
Hi!
With .eu names we have this “too new” problem here, but I think to expand the range of different TLDs there will be also the top eu names rechecked.
Keep on checking
If you delete a name, the score will be deleted also, but it will be rechecked.
Best regards
July 28th, 2007 at 5:54 am
Great site and I allways believed that domain names would sell for lots, whats your thoughts on .TV names ?
Best regards
UPDATE BY JAY: I am a firm believer in the traffic behind .COM. We see big companies know this. For example MySpace rather launch MySpaceTV.com
rather then MySpace.TV
. DotTV has a lot of confused consumers that think it should end in dotcom. So if you are looking for Traffic, get the DotCom. If you want a brand, TV is cool. But make sure you own BRANDtv.COM
if you own BRAND.TV
.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:05 am
After a name has been confirmed can I change the price? A couple of my confirmed names have reserves which I had left at the $1,000 default. One I am OK there, but another I would like to increase. Whe I try it reverts back to the $1,000
UPDATE BY JAY: Changing prices up after it has been confirmed is not allowed. However lowering prices is allowed. I will contact you offline and see if I can fix the domain you are talking about.
July 28th, 2007 at 8:01 am
I’m not seeing my submissions listed in my account. Please let me know if they are in my account or if they need to be resubmitted. Thanks.
UPDATE BY JAY: I am not seeing anything submitted in your account either. Go ahead and try again.
July 28th, 2007 at 8:01 am
It appears to me that we have a good mix of accomplished and aspiring domainers involved in this auction. I think we all share a lot of interest in buying/selling of domains and monetization. Is there a forum on this site that we can use or a suggested one for us to share ideas and learn from each other on how to build our domain business?
Chris
July 28th, 2007 at 8:12 am
Hey Jay.
I submitted OrlandoTravel.com
and added a few comments today. I hope you can take a look at them and reconsider adding to the auction. Based on your top 200 list this domain has the 3rd best overture of all your dot coms (and it would be nice to see this industry represented in your auction).
I look forward to hearing your decision.
Cheers, Jay. And best of luck with your auction.
-Mike
UPDATE BY JAY: It is confirmed and in the auction. Go luck Mike.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:16 am
Chris,
I recommend NamePros.com
July 28th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
How are the “highest” and “lowest” scores?
Are there any news for the “new” names of 2007?
Thanks for the moment….
Rosacom
July 28th, 2007 at 3:30 pm
orlandotravel.com is an awesome domain! reasonable reserve
You should do very well on that one Mike.. kudos!!
July 28th, 2007 at 3:33 pm
I like orlandotravel too.
Possibly I will use it next year for booking
July 28th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
I resubmitted and the domains are in my account now. Thanks!
July 28th, 2007 at 6:05 pm
Thanks Jay for the call, I appreciate your efforts. Sorry I was gruff in answering, I get alot of “Your prescription needs refilling” calls form your area code!!! They never seem to stop.
Again, thanks for your suggestions and help!
Bob
July 28th, 2007 at 7:15 pm
Hey Jay, thanks for the call. I think you are doin an amazing job with this conference.
I was wondering if anyone knew of a good tool that could estimate how much type-in traffic a domain gets. I’m not looking for domain value as that’s dependent on how well you market and merchandise.
UPDATE BY JAY: We use Compete, Alexa, and Quantcast for traffic on a domain.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
What weight is the voting going to hold on the decisions to keep or toss the names? There are a few in there that look to be getting very few good votes.
Just wondering. Overall, you are doing a great job.
James
UPDATE BY JAY: Votes are important. One of the domains got put on the list by accident. But you can see that the wisdom of the crowd is voting NO like crazy on it. Votes don’t ultimately move anything but it is good feedback for us and we do watch how certain people are voting. If some of the serious buyers are voting “no” on something then that counts a lot move then a bunch of people that we don’t know who are voting. We know certain people vote no one names so that their own names will rise. We see that. So gaming is not going to help. Please just vote honestly about each name. Voting No on every domain except your own will not help your domain(s). I am not talking to James, I am talking to everyone, just to be clear.
July 28th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Jay, If my domain “TheBestCompanies.com
” has a higher ’score’ than some of the 200 selected domains, does that mean it has a good shot at making the auction? Right now its rated higher than several of the domains in that list of 200.
Thanks,
dc
UPDATE BY JAY: The automated score you see is only our DomainRank system score. We are then sorting using a modified DomainRank + Votes + Human Appraisal. We use a Google score and a Overture score along with Traffic stats to sort names. The reserves are also considered. It is rather complex. But yes, the better the rank the better the chance.
July 28th, 2007 at 10:32 pm
I noticed the mention to LeapFish.com
on the Top 200. Are their numbers considered to be reliable? NewsNow.com
’s posting in the Top 200 says they valued the domain at 95k, but when I type in that name it only values it at $65.00. Are there any other similar free automated services like this?
UPDATE BY JAY: We don’t give any weight to LeapFish. We appraise the domains ourselves.
July 28th, 2007 at 11:46 pm
The thing with Are.us
is that someone can start his own domain selling service, selling just the subdomains for a high price and at a high yearly “name server maintenance fee” .
Domains.Are.us
Servers.Are.us
Auctions.Are.us
Iphones.Are.us
Computers.Are.us
Insurances.Are.us
etc etc. I don’t have time for this and I thought that your auction is exactly the place to try and sell it because you will have there many resellers who would be interested in such a business model and can add these domain to their portfolio. This is something someone who is already in the domain name industry would be interested in, no anyone. There are so many… how to say… not so attractive domains on your list so I am very surprised.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:04 am
You will respond to people in this thread, but you won’t respond to a pm. Not very considerate!
Don’t worry Jay, your answer to my pm came when you took the domain in question off of the top 200 list. I am withdrawing all my names from this auction and waiting for Traffic. A little courtesy goes a long way, and so is the opposite true….
UPDATE BY JAY: We are not showing the full 450 right now. But if there was a domain in the top 200 and you don’t see it now, it is most likely in the top 450. We don’t have a PM function on the blog. But I will email you.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Hey Jay,
How about a .net? I would like to add Guides.net
? Please let me know.
Thanks
UPDATE BY JAY: Feel free to add it, I will take a look at the reserve.
July 29th, 2007 at 5:45 am
Note to iphones:
Don’t know whether or not you’re aware, but the application approach you’re suggesting for “are.us
,” while creative and potentially useful/valuable, could present serious trademark risks for anyone using it/them in such a way; as least here in the US (and in whatever other countries they operate).
Toys R Us regularly goes after companies using “R Us” in their names; some years ago they even sued and beat or settled (don’t recall which now) with Lamps R Us; which changed their name to the company we know today as Lamps Plus.
Jay–thanks and appreciation to you and your DomainTools team for working so hard to bring this innovative new approach to domain auctions to fruition. It’s instructive–and actually enjoyable–to watch as it nears its “launch”…regardless of who’s (and which) domains end up in the top 450.
And–thankfully–it looks like the large majority of buyers and sellers are being fair in giving it a chance to play itself out with minimal grumbling.
Demonstrates once again just how amazing the Internet truly is…
July 29th, 2007 at 5:56 am
Jay,
Couple of questions:
1)One of the domain even though no Overture Score claims a high unique and high revenues in their comments. Will you be able to validate their claims?
2)Is this Auction purely for domains? If so, will there be a clear indication on the domains which claims Search Engine traffic.
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes, we are requesting documentation and will be sharing that soon. We will do our best to indicate domains with websites.
July 29th, 2007 at 7:59 am
The voting is extremely good idea. However, it would be nice to have an option to describe as to why the voting is good or bad. I would suggest allowing user comments for each domain. This way you will learn as to why some domains that were “put on the list by accident”
) are facing so strong opposition. In addition, I expect that many domains would trigger bulletin board style discussions. I am sure having such input will be beneficial for both owners and buyers.
UPDATE BY JAY: Comments would be nice. I think we might do that in the future.
July 29th, 2007 at 8:15 am
Jay, I see that the preliminary list has quietly incresed to 250 names. Excellent! I expect that the remaining 200 names will be filled in over the next few days. After all, the August 6 cutoff date is just over a week away.
I’m also pleased to see that there are more names with mid-level reserves, i.e. $10K – $100K. I think these are very realistic.
Of course, I’m hoping that some of my names – e.g. canadabeer.com
, canadabrew.com
, greenorganics.net
, spiritbear.net
– will still be considered for the remaining spots in the auction.
In any case, I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to observe and participate in the Roundtable Auction to this stage!
Ciao,
Tony
July 29th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Hi!
Yes! Good to see the list increasing.
The range of prices is now much better, but I have thought that this will come so.
I sometimes realize changes.
Are the names on the list for very sure in the auction?
Thanks for your work
UPDATE BY JAY: I can think of a few names I am going to pull out. But I am not at the clean up stage yet.
July 29th, 2007 at 9:46 am
Hi Jay!!
I’m a newbie and I first want to commend your efforts here – well done!
I do have some basic questions please …
the most pressing concerning the “list of names that did not sell” at the last auction
If the highest Bid shows w/in the Range of the Reserve..
why did it not sell?
And if the true Reserve is met – does the owner have to sell?
Thanks!
Sb ~
July 29th, 2007 at 10:23 am
Thanks for your clarification about the time allotted per auction sale.
Quick question about your ’score’. What does it mean, or count-for
in your selection process ?
July 29th, 2007 at 10:26 am
I cannot believe that SkiSeattle.com
made the list among some other not-so-good domain names on the auction list. Wonder who made the call on that one. First of all, there is no skiing in Seattle! As a resident of Seattle/Bellevue, Jay you should know that! SkiWashington.com
makes sense! ClimbRainier.com
makes sense! SkiSeattle.com
does not make sense!
July 29th, 2007 at 10:33 am
axolotl, see message number 57 to read Jay’s answer to the “score” question.
July 29th, 2007 at 10:58 am
Can someone point me in the right direction on how to see the Overture score on my domains?
July 29th, 2007 at 11:05 am
Use this link: http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
I think they are doing it by breaking up your domain into keywords. So skiseattle.com
would be typed in as: ski seattle (without the dot com)
Some domains that have a lot of type ins will actually show up in overture with the .com extension
July 29th, 2007 at 11:08 am
I signed up and paid for the conference hoping at least one of my domains would make it … and perhaps one will … since the proposed list is being made public, I’ll pre-emptively list the 4 domains I’ve submitted along with their reserves …
Baked.com
: $75K
: $5K
: $50K
: $10K
DrugIndex.com
Fingerprinting.com
Profilers.com
Looking at the proposed list so far, it would appear at least one or more of my domains would be a good fit for the auction.
Ron
July 29th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
Hi Jay, when are the details on how you actually bid online going to come out? I would like to try to generate some additional interest in a couple of my names which look like they will make the cut… i.e. sending notices to a company that a domain they may be interested in will be auctioned off. I want to start doing that now, what can I send out?
Bob
July 29th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Hey again Jay,
I have a few questions about the auction process itself if you don’t mind sharing with us here:
1) Will the reserves be shown on auction day (most auctions do not do so as to entice more overall bidding activity)? If so, will the opening bid be the reserve and how do you think that could effect the overall process, if at all?
2) Do the position of the domains on their “row”, i.e. #20 for SafteyFilm, indicate that that this domain is considered more valuable in your auction then the domains that proceed it?
3) Does the “row” number represent an order in which the domains will be auctioned off – i.e. #1 will be last to be auctioned?
4) Who will be leading the auction?
Again, no need to respond if you’re not comfortable or if you have greater mediums to announce these details.
Hope all is well.
Best
-Mike S.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:26 pm
ChinaDaddy.com, UnderTheRadar.com
, Null.eu
, PrisonGuard.com
!!!!
At 250 names and the quality is worse than a slow-day drop. I sure hope you are still sitting on the “good” names otherwise this will be very hard to watch…
July 29th, 2007 at 1:41 pm
Thanks for the link circler, I actually use that Overture tool quite a bit but did not put the score and that together.
July 29th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
Hi Guru!
Quality of names depends also on personal feelings.
For each name there must be minimum 1 interested buyer, better for an auction are 2 or more of course
As I have add “null.eu
” for the auction I could only say that there is definetely interest (also from different american investors) in the whole eu thing.
I could only say that there have been requests for buying “null.eu
” also.
I wish all good luck for all auctions and names.
Rosacom
July 29th, 2007 at 5:32 pm
Hi Jay,
I think this format is the best I have seen to date. One thought for perhaps this time or at least in the future; as long as people have gone through the process of submitting domains to you with a reserve price, wouldn’t it be a good opportunity to take those names that are not chosen in the top 450 and place them into an extended online auction. Because of the large quantity of domains perhaps you could include a keyword search tool to parse out the names certain people might be looking for, but it would mean extra funds for DomainTools, your customers, and that unique domain name for your buyers.
Please give it some thought.
Thanks,
Randy
July 29th, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Domaindevguru … I’m happy to say none of my domains are those that you mentioned, but I would have to say null.eu
and prisonguard.com
are decent domains. Also, just as rosacom says, you only need 1 person who finds the domain valuable. One of my domains is Waxpack.com
. While many people may find the domain worthless, someone that understands the baseball card market, or the sportscard market in general, would find that domain very valuable. Remember … one person’s trash is another person’s treature. This is especially true with domain names, as people everyday pick up domains on snapnames, pool, namewinner, etc. and these were all domains that people didn’t think enough about, and didn’t spend the $10 to renew them.
July 29th, 2007 at 6:44 pm
@jlandress
Thanks for your response:
I have seen that I have voted GOOD for waxpack hours before.
I have done my best to build me an own opinion for the offered domain names, and I liked the name
Good luck again for all auction participants….
July 29th, 2007 at 8:13 pm
I accidentally cleared vaccinated.com
, which had made it to the current round. Now, “pending review” is displayed instead. I wrote a comment a few minutes ago, but not sure if it was sent. Thank you.
UPDATE BY JAY: It has been added.
July 29th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Hi Jay,
What a lot of work, but this is really exciting! Thanks for doing this.
Still see unconfirmed in my control panel. I sure hope that at least one of my two humble domains makes the auction. I submitted mine on Friday, July 20th, so I hope to see my “unconfirmed” change to “confirmed” for this great event!
Hope you get some sleep during all of this!!!
Best regards,
Bob
bobditmar1
CamperLinks.com
ConservativeCamp.com
July 29th, 2007 at 9:12 pm
Jay,
When I realized that you were accepting names that may be under three years old, I added those in addition to CamperLinks.com
and ConservativeCamp.com
, a range of about 30-some names in all. All are .coms with exception to 3 .org names that I think may have some potential. I will leave it in your capable hands as to whether you believe any of the names on the list have a chance of making it to the auction! I hope these last-minute submissions will at least produce a few for the auction.
Again, my very best regards and thank you for doing this auction!
Bob
bobditmar1
July 29th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Jay,
For your convenience, here is my entire list, most of what I submitted. Any opinions on any of the names. Have a few PPC types in here also!
<CLIP>
Thanks again.
Bob
bobditmar1
UPDATE BY JAY: Bob, Thanks for the list. We can review all your domains in your control panel. Please don’t submit your entire list on the comments.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:40 am
Hi Jay,
1) I could not send you or create a support ticket, even though I have an account.
2) Looking at some of the reserves of some two word domains, not forgeting the negative votes on them, I see that you or your team have wrongly turned down or deneid many of my single word generic domains in dot coms and dot nets from my account. How can it be that a non-impressive low, overture valued dot com domain have $50,000 approved reserve and my dot net domain having excellent dot net single word domains were turned due to high reserve?
3) Therefore I have deleted those deneid domains from my account. If you think that I should submit all of them again, I am willing to. I am very sure that the reserve prices I had setup for the generic single high quality terms should be actual, very accurate and real. So if you do not wanna make a business, then its your choice. I still do have some remaining single word generic domains in the account. Mind you, you may see the reserve prices are high. However, by approving on high reserve price for instance a good dot net for 75,000 USD, you are saving your auction time by 10 – 15 min. earning the same profit on your side, if it gets sold!
4) Auctionhauses setup the price politics. Now if you keep on pressuring the submitters or sellers and pressurise them to put the prices of their domains, then it simply send singals that a dot net is available for a low price. Now if you approve the reserves of dot nets higher, then you are actually signalling that dot nets are not that cheap, thereby also raising the dot com prics.
5) There should be somehow a clear theory setup: Good quality single word dot coms do not sell less than 100K and dot nets not less than 50K. They are just not available anymore!!! In your entire auction listings, how many single words do you have of a very good quality, generic, meaningful word, etc? Make a statistical analysis of them and atleast approve the remaining dot doms and nets reserve prices!!!
6) Approved reserve prices send signals to the industry, regardless of if they gets sold or not. So if you block the dot net reserve prices, they do not have the chance to make a record or a sale. Please realise that the volume of dot nets that are registered today in 2007 is equivalent to the volume of total dot coms in 2003! Please realise that the prices of dot nets MUST go high and give some record signals to the industry.
7) A good quality dot net or dot com MUST have a position in your auctions. Simply by denying the domain claiming that the reserves are too high, you are penalising the sellers, the attendees and domainers, the domain industry and at the end your business profits. I think a sensible domain name should not be turned down and the seller needs to be contacted to agree on a new reserve prices.
You not only have the responsibility to approve the sensible reserves but also to educate the seller. By using the mechanism you devised, does not free your responsibility as a broker and help the seller in many aspects including the reserve prices. It is a wrong notion to simply offer a software plattform for a game of applying and turning down!!! There needs to be something more, which indeed belonged to the older days of brokerage.
July 30th, 2007 at 1:22 am
Hi Jim.
I submitted several names and was hoping InternetsTopTen.com
would at least make the list. Has your position on names younger than three years changed? If so, do you think I should submit any of these?
JustAruba.com
JustTheIslands.com
JustTampaBay.com
JustNYC.net
Thanks
July 30th, 2007 at 2:52 am
Good morning Jay, and be prepared for a harsh week.
Several months ago I happened to post a want-to-buy request on a famous dn forum. I was looking for good 2 word dot coms and I was fishing for a dozen domains in low $xxxx range. I know I am too picky – just common sense grammatically correct 2 word domains an average Joe-consumer can easily attribute to certain product or service without consulting Webster’s Dictionary (coupled with realistic pricing this “simple minded” strategy yields 15% annual inventory turnover rate). Nevertheless, I did not expect that among the several thousand names I received only 2 or 3 domains were good enough to consider registering if they were available. And what I got in excess were not-so-kind messages about turning down “valuable proposals” and even accusations in playing some dirty tricks.
I believe your position is even more complicated as you openly publish the names you selected. Be prepared to be a target for intensifying criticism this week. I wish you to avoid reacting and taking any messages too personally.
Keep your good work. Looking forward to participate in the auction. Also I am eager to learn what will be the correlation between voting values and closing price. I hope you will keep the final good/bad numbers available.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:37 am
hi greetings ,
could i up-load u[you] our dn-list.xls
the excel file anyway ??
??
ThANKye
2w
July 30th, 2007 at 4:21 am
Hi Jay,
As seen from above in my message, I question on your choice of your reserve prices. Now I have analysed all the first 250 prices and have following:
1000 – 5,000 100 Domains
5001 – 10,000 68 Domains
10,001 – 25,000 32 Domains
25,001 – 50,000 19 Domains
50,000 – 75,000 09 Domains
75,001 – 99,000 07 Domains
100,00 – 150,000 07 Domains
150,000 – 999,000 07 Domains
As you can see, there are 40% domains below reserves of 5,000, 27% of the domains between 5,000 unto 10,000 and that means 66% domains chosen which has a reserve prices BELOW 10,000.
Now if you had carefully ommited atleast 25 of this list and allowed the sellers who have reserves above 50,000, which according to your taste the reserves were higher, then following would happen:
Price strategy A:
You take the risk of not listing and earning domains worth 25,000 (considering 1,000 reserve for each domain) – upto 100,000 USD in total.
Price strategy B:
those 25 domains having a minimum reserve of 50,000 amounts to be in the area of ONE MILLION USD!
UPDATE BY JAY: We are not going to just put names in the auction with 50,000 reserves if we don’t think they are worth it. We are more likely to allow domains that are $10,000 domains if the reserve is $1000. But if the reserves is $9000 then we will think twice about it. Setting the reserve too close to the retail level may mean no one bids.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:32 am
re: quality of domain names
that fact that all you need is one person to like your domain is irrelevant – bad names reflect poorly on the credibility of the auction.
the list is now 250 and i could argue for the deletion of at least 20-25.
UPDATE BY JAY: We are going to do our best to delete names if we find better domains with reasonable reserves. This will be happening until August 6th.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:44 am
jay -
i just added the following – pls take a look.
thx.
ambergriscaye.net
/ambergriscay.net
/hdam.net
clade.org
hdfm.net
pymt.net
septicity.com
UPDATE BY JAY: Thanks, we will evaluate.
July 30th, 2007 at 5:27 am
I had six domain names in a lot. I tried to change some information in the lot, made a mistake, and deleted the lot. I entered a new lot using the same primary domain name. I successfully added a second domain name to the lot, but now I get an error message saying that the other four names are “already up for auction”. They’re not because the lot they were in was deleted. Help!
UPDATE BY JAY: If it doesn’t work today, please try again tomorrow. We have identified the problem and should have a patch working soon for restoring lots after a user deletes them. It seems resources are tied up even after the domain has been deleted.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:24 am
Ouch … Please accept my apology, I called you Jim rather than Jay in my earlier posting.
Have A Great Day!
UPDATE BY JAY: It started with J, that is fine.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:33 am
Jay,
All I want to say is that most of us really do appreciate the hard work you have chosen to undertake to further advance the domaining industry with this auction. Seeing that some here have decided that since they either do not like the reserves of some of their domains being rejected, or have decided that since they do not like names they see on the list and so decide to criticize you directly in this forum, I would like you to know that probably 95% or higher of us writing in this forum support you and really do believe you deserve high praise and support for doing this! All of us want to believe our domains are “one of the best” out there (including me), however, whether we all get our names in this auction or not, we are all winners because this just further advances opportunities for all of us to eventually turn our Internet real estate into profit while it helps grow and legitimize this industry further!
Thank you again for doing this auction and for taking it upon yourself to do all this hard work! Remember, most of us will be supportive and will understand that you know what you are doing!
Hope you can catch a few breaks this week.
Best Regards,
Bob
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes I understand. We are up to 34,000 submitted domains. So that means that only one percent of domains will make it to the auction.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:50 am
Jay,
I commend you for trying to do the impossible.
Given that there is only 1 week left and you have another self-imposed deadline that does not look like it is going to be met, here are some suggestions for making hard decisions.
1) Please give all those of us who STILL have not had their domain names reviewed or confirmed this late in the cycle the courtesy of reviewing said domain names. DO THIS FIRST. Give yourself a deadline by say midweek.
2) Once you finish reviewing all names, get the list up to 450 ASAP.
3) On the CURRENT list of 250, it can be argued that potentially 30 can be removed from the list. An example is 7 yes and 45 no or worse could get removed for lack of solid interest. The people voted and your hands are clean. You can always have a future supplemental auction for these lacking in positive bid votes or refer them to another auction house that does this on a regular basis. Certainly 12 can be removed from the list with 5 or less yes votes.
4) Communicate NOW what you are going to do from here out and be firm in your decision making. No exceptions.
5) Delegate some other member of your staff to handle all comments from here out.
Good luck and MOST ALL OF US are all rooting for your acution process to succeed.
UPDATE BY JAY: As of right now (4pm on July 31st) we have 450 domains showing on the public list. We still scanning the submitted domains and will be combing the lists for more names to replace the domains we are pulling off. Everyone that is on the list will receive an email soon asking them to confirm their participation and take care of the legal paperwork. If you are not on the list, then you will not need the paperwork and we will not be bugging you.
July 30th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Hi everyone!!
Can someone direct me to where the detailed instructions are or the FAQ or the contract for “Sellers” concerning the top level names to be auctioned at the conference please.
Thanks!
Sb ~
UPDATE BY JAY: See my note above. We will be contacting Sellers if they qualify. The rules page can be located here: http://blog.domaintools.com/2007/07/domain-roundtable-auction-process/
July 30th, 2007 at 7:34 am
Hi Jay,
Wow…you have your hand fulls. Reading thisblog only shows how difficult it is to weed through the crap.
Seriously….what is this CRAP?
iCanadaMeds.com
justtampabay.com
On a different note…I think you need to consider why some good names might be receiving bad votes. There are some great names in there but if I felt the reserve was too high for the name, i voted it BAD. Moniker always has nothing but good names but the reserves are too high. I feel that some of the names that are good names are getting bad viotes because the reserves are too high.
Good luck with it all but just wanted to say I, as an investor, am looking for good deals that provide updide.
July 30th, 2007 at 7:55 am
Hi Jay – I have had 11 names denied for being “too young”, all were bought in drops and have records in archieves from 2001.
You mentioned earlier in this blog that if they were bought in a drop, you would know and it would be ok to list them.
Will the age issues be addressed in the next few days before the submissions are frozen and locked on August 6th ?
Many thanks and good luck with the auction being a huge success.
.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Hi Jay,
Thanks for organizing all this. I added some notes on my domains but wasn’t sure if I had to hit the submit button. I tried, and it just got hung up. Did my notes go through? I hope some of my domains make it in there, I have some with higher number rankings than those already on the list and they are very OLD!!!
Tom
July 30th, 2007 at 9:55 am
Perhaps it’s time to let Jay do his job; I take that this is the first time he and his company have done this kind of auction at a domain conference. It must be a bit of a learning curve.
Also, it’s his auction, and, in the end, it will be his decision what goes in and what doesn’t. The names that look bad to us might have great numbers behind them.
One thing I would suggest for next year: set up a throwaway email addy just for the conference auction. Most of the problems listed in this comment section could be solved easily with one word or even a form response.
Anyway, good luck with the auction; I look forward to seeing what those premium names fetch.
;=)
Best, jss
July 30th, 2007 at 10:13 am
Jay, I lowered my reserve on funeralarrangements.com
. Hoping a $12B industry exact match would get into an auction that featured pizzahats.com
UPDATE BY JAY: Great name. Good reserve. It was added.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:21 am
Hi WillyNilly,
Re: “iCanadaMeds.com
,” I will conced that maybe it is not the greatest name on my list. In fact, most of the Canada pharmacy names I own are not my favorites either! Got ‘em when it appeared there was going to be an opportunity for online meds from Canada as I am located in Michigan and it was a big thing here, before it was put on hold by Congress! At any rate, were any names in my list that not “crap?,” to use your own words? I guess your choice of words seemed a little harsh to me for public forum critism. I still stand by several of my domains submitted as being very good domain names, and yes, maybe a few are not as good.
<SNIP… please don’t post contact details.>
Also, I want to wish everyone in this forum and working on this auction, good luck and success throughout this entire process, as it is a huge undertaking! Just trying to make this auction is success by participating in the process is a great boost for all of us!
Best regards,
Bob
UPDATE BY JAY: Bob, thank you for your submissions. I think your best name is CamperLinks.com
but the reserve of $30,000 is too high.
July 30th, 2007 at 12:13 pm
I agree with many here that the list contains numerous bad names. Several I would never reg. However, we also have to realize that this list is Preliminary. I am sure the culling is going on hour by hour.
I think suggestions at this stage are fine, but I also think criticism should wait for the final list…the finished product.
Good luck to those processing thousands of names.
db
startupnames.com
July 30th, 2007 at 12:37 pm
Firt off – THANKS JAY & DOMAIN ROUNDTABLE
A couple of my domains are getting less than stellar votes -3 out of 5 are doing ok – You can tell there are some bad votes just because of sour grapes maybe. But as Jay says – they know who is voting and how etc – so they’ll take that all in consideration. I vote based on initial impression – then whether i think it can be monetized – if ideas for sites come to my mind – and then by reserves. Also if I haven’t a clue just by looking at the name what it means – to me that’s not so good.
I’m thinking maybe the pizzahats one is the one that got in there by mistake.
I still have a few domains that are unconfirmed that may be good enough for top 450!
Sorry for obsessively reloading the pages jay
July 30th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
>Jay Said, “UPDATE BY JAY: Bob, Thanks for the list. We can review all your domains in your control panel. Please don’t submit your entire list on the comments.”
July 30th, 2007 at 12:45 pm
Whoops. On my post 106, I also said “Thanks Jay. Sorry about the list. Did not mean for anything but convenience, but did not want to appear to spam.” I accidently deleted the second part of my post!
Thanks again for everything and have a good day.
Best regards,
Bob
July 30th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Jay, I submitted greatbearrainforest.com
yesterday. The Great Bear Rainforest on the north and central coast of BC has huge ecological significance in the Pacific Northwest! I registered this name in Feb 2006. According to the DomainTools Whois this name was previously registered and dropped but I don’t know when it was first registered. Can you confirm if it is eligible for the auction? If so I would also appreciate your advice on the reserve (when you get a moment). Thanks! 
UPDATE BY JAY: Yes it is eligible. However it will not make the auction. This name is too localized and four words. I am not sure how many PPC ads you could put on that domain.
July 30th, 2007 at 2:09 pm
Although pizzahats.com
isn’t my domain, I actually see it as a good website name. Definately not type-in traffic, but I could picture a good logo out of it, and having worked many years in the retail & catalog industry, as well as the chef apparel industry, for $1000 it isn’t a bad name to brand yourself around.
All that being said, I’m interested to hear people’s thoughts on BibleDude.com
. The domain has good search traffic, someone owns and actively uses BibleDude.net
, and it’s a catchy name. Obviously the reserve isn’t too low, so I was wondering if people truly thought it was a bad name, or if religious beliefs are playing a part in voting it as bad?
UPDATE BY JAY: I just find those domains amusing. Sadly I think those domains will not make the final cut.
July 30th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Hi Jay,
I respect the amount of abuse you are willingly submitting to — in a public forum — in order to give us a degree of transparency one shouldn’t reasonably be expect to be given, no matter what one thinks of the particular selections or procedural variations you’ve decided to go with.
Alas, none of mine have made it yet either but I’m not actually writing to complain about that itself — and I won’t list here what my top five are either, or which on my list is so obviously superior to such and so on yours.
I have a procedural question – I’ve actually enjoyed inputting several hundred names by hand because you’ve given me the opportunity to check-in and reintroduce myself to my portfolio – so thanks for that! BUT, I had opted to do this by hand rather than upload a list because I thought that the process might have taken note of the ease of a bulk upload and the relatively high subjective value I would be expected to have on the names I’ve been typing in by hand over this long portfolion grooming process. Since I’ve struck out so far (so my sytem has put me in no better position than had I uploaded up to this point), I’m wondering if its an efficient use of time to continue hand selecting my names to enter or if, in this frenzied dash to the conference, I might have in fact a better chance if I just upload 15,000 or so names and let the computer sort it out for me?
Thanks – and thanks again for the glimpse inside the machine.
UPDATE BY JAY: The computer is good at sorting, but it is easier for us to sort through smaller lists manually. If someone submits thousands of names we tend to use the computer as a first line of attack at their list. BTW, Of the 381 domains you have submitted only 8 are older then 2005. So you are submitting a lot of new stuff.
July 30th, 2007 at 4:51 pm
Jay, I’m thrilled to have 4 domains in the top 250. Question, I own hundreds of fantastic .cc domains. According to dnjournal, 2 .cc domains have sold for 70k each over the past month. eMail.cc
also just sold for nearly 7k this week. With Demand Media now behind .cc, seems like things are heating up.
I submitted several great .cc domains, most were scored in the 700’s and phone.cc
was rated over 800. Here are some of the .cc domains that I currently own:
<SNIP>
Is it possible to see some .cc and .tv domains (I own several great .tv domains like HOT.TV
and Hawaii.TV
) in the auction?
Keep up the great, I mean FANTASTIC work!
MrHit
UPDATE BY JAY: MrHit, I think a few .CC and .TV names will make the top 450.
July 30th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
You know, we’re all wasting a lot of time and energy criticizing each others domains and jockeying for position on the domain list. I’m surprised that there has been no discussion about the most important question of all — is anyone going to buy them? In other words, are there going be a large number of qualified buyers who will agressively bid on our domains?
Moniker.com
has a proven track record of selling domains for top dollar. They obviously know how to attract the top domain buyers in the world. I am not involved with them, in fact, this is my first domain auction (I currently have 4 domains on the list). But let’s be honest, Domaintools.com
is designing this auction and software by the “seat of their pants” as they say. It’s not even clear to me how they’re going to properly evaluate thousands of names in the next 5 days (mine are all still marked “pending review”). There also needs to be a massive marketing effort to attract potential buyers — I haven’t seen any evidence of that.
Jay, don’t get me wrong, I am excited to be involved in this auction, but I think all of us are a little concerned at this point. You’ve done a great job but how are you guys are going to pull all this together in less than a week and make sure there a bunch of serious qualified buyers ready to drive up the prices in this auction? Thanks!
July 30th, 2007 at 7:39 pm
“but I think all of us are a little concerned at this point”
Please speak for yourself
“You’ve done a great job but how are you guys are going to pull all this together in less than a week and make sure there a bunch of serious qualified buyers ready to drive up the prices in this auction?”
The domain auction is happening during an industry conference (domain roundtable) where domain investors and end users will be attending. Also, unlike other conference timed domain auctions, it’s free for buyers to attend the auction in person (and online).
In other “Updates By Jay”, he has assured us of his industry contacts, and commented the serious domain buyers are definitely attending the auction.
I agree that the review process is taking longer than I would have imagined, but I think every new (and established) domain auction has had its hiccups along the way.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I think anyone who is worried about the “Qualified Buyers” being there is worried about the wrong thing.
If the names are quality and priced right, they will sell…PERIOD!
There are VERY few end users attending any of these auctions including Moniker….these names are being bought by other Domain Investors.
The venue does not not sell the names…the names sell themselves.
July 30th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Willy, if the names sell themselves then how come none of us have sold our names?
July 30th, 2007 at 9:04 pm
It’s not true “beggers”, I am here to support a new approach to the live auctions based on the domains merits only, not the domainer’s. I have sold through Moniker live auctions, have been featured on Sedo’s newest Greatdomains auction and closed a good number of private deals. The success of Jay’s endeavor will carve the way to a truly open value market, the Sotheby’s of the domains. I wish him good.
crinux.com
July 30th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
The reason why some of the names have not sold is because the larger qualified buyers do not buy from individuals. The hassle of it all is not worth their time trying to buy direct. This is a easier, cleaner, no hassle way of acquiring quality names. Jay runs a respected show and has one of the largest buyers as a Keynote speaker…THE BUYERS WILL BE THERE.
However, just because a name is high quality does not mean it will sell regardless of venue. Other factors such as the minimum comes into play.
Anyways, I hope everyone’s names sell for more than what they want and this auction is a bloody success.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:51 am
Hi Jay,
I have two domains with scores in the 600s but status is still not confirmed. I see some other domains with lower scores made the updated List of 350. Would lowering my reserves make any difference?
Also I have one Asian domain Lot with a score in the 90s. Is the reserve an issue?
Very interesting watching all this take shape.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:39 am
I am trying to better understand the “scores”. Does anyone know what is considered the start of a good score?
July 31st, 2007 at 4:13 am
Jay,
I saw .mobi was a sponsor at the conference. Are any .mobis being auctioned?
July 31st, 2007 at 4:17 am
Jay,
(listed as having overture of 14902) “Moving Supplys” have a overture of zero.
I hope Overture Scores would be verified again for the domains making the final list.
Example: MovingSupplys.com
Supplys is not the plural of supply, at most it can be considered a typo.
“Moving Supplies” does result in overture score of 14902
July 31st, 2007 at 4:40 am
I have a handful of domains with over 600 score but all still show “unconfirmed” status. What other fields are their for status? just unconfirmed and confirmed? or will it say like accepted for auction or rejected? Will I get an email notifying if I make the preliminary top 450 list or not? Shows my score posted already for about 2 days but still shows unconfirmed.. what does that mean exactly?
Thanks.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:05 am
stevemorsa,
I don’t see how Toys R Us can claim that “Anything” Are us (* Are us) is thier trademark. Maybe maybe maybe “* R us” but that’s also too much. I know that they sued the guy who registered toysareus.com
but that’s something else and he admited doing that only to use typos. What’s next? Maybe I should make a trademark for the word “god” and sue the church? Or the letter H? What about the quation mark? Can I register this “?” as my trademark?
servers.are.us
or computers.are.us
etc etc would make outrageously valuable, catchy, easy to remember domains. delicio.us
is a joke next to these.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:13 am
I’m with you, iphones.
The fact that Toys R Us can–apparently–own all uses of “R Us” is ridiculous; and especially so in my given example…where they and Lamps R Us/Plus don’t even compete in the same marketplace.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:24 am
Just wanted to throw my penny into the pile and say I’m very glad to see Jay offering an alternative to the Moniker live auctions. Competition is key here and whoever can consistently do the best job to the satisfaction of most if not all participants is going to run away with the Golden Domain.
I’m sure preparing for this auction – not to mention the entire conference – is a LOT of work, so kudos to Jay and his team and let’s give them our full support!
I’ve submitted four domains and hope to see at least one of them make it to the live auction. Best of luck to everyone!
July 31st, 2007 at 8:21 am
I’ve just checked the Prelim List again this morning and notice that Rejuvinate.com
and Rejuvinates.com
are newly listed with a $25,000
reserve. Nowhere in the owner notes does it say that these two are typo domains as the correct spelling is Rejuvenate (with an “e”). “Rejuvinate” isn’t even an accepted alternate spelling, it’s just a typo. Domain Tools should be sure to note this on the auction list if these two domains make the cut.
July 31st, 2007 at 10:07 am
Interesting points regarding the *R us domains. A member of our family has PetSuppliesRus.com
. It would be interesting to see what it may be worth.
July 31st, 2007 at 10:23 am
What does the score mean beside each of my domains that I submitted? How is it calculated? How high does it have to be to get on the list? I just submitted quite a few domains… I hope at least one gets on the auction!
July 31st, 2007 at 10:32 am
I don’t see how Toys R Us can claim that “Anything” Are us (* Are us) is thier trademark. Maybe maybe maybe “* R us” but that’s also too much. I know that they sued the guy who registered toysareus.com
but that’s something else and he admited doing that only to use typos. What’s next? Maybe I should make a trademark for the word “god” and sue the church? Or the letter H? What about the quation mark? Can I register this “?” as my trademark?
Toyareus probably would not be issued a trademark because it is merely descriptive. But, sonce since Toys R Us is trademarked, they have a course of action agains Toys Are Us because they can confuse the comsumer thinking they are the same. A strange one though is When Radio Shack made Auto Shack change its name to Auto Zone.
July 31st, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Is there a script or some website where we can bulk check the “domain rank” automated score ourselves? Instead of adding a bunch of domains and then finding out the score isnt high and having you manually rejecting is time consuming. I wouldnt mind finding out my domain rank score first then submitting only the highest.. any idea how we can do that?
July 31st, 2007 at 12:49 pm
I just read this preview article about the auction and I’m feeling a lot more comfortable with it now. It appears to be well-organized and should be very successful so my confidence level is way up! Everyone should check this out:
http://www.dnjournal.com/articles/events/drt2007preview.htm
July 31st, 2007 at 12:53 pm
Hi Jay,
but it does not take all of the note. I tried replacing the note several times, but it kept cutting it down. Since I could not find any other place on the submit page to send you a note, I am using this forum as everyone else has been doing to get the information to you. Here is what I wanted the note to say, if the domain makes it. “Paid 4” dot com. Short & Sweet, easy to remember. Brand it to anything. I had planned to use it for selling premium domain names. (P remium D omains 4 dot coms). Catchy name!
I am really sorry to bother you this late in the game. But if one of my domains makes it to the 450 list, I want a note with it. I have tried adding a note for pd4.com
Thanks Jay, and sorry to add to your workload.
Wayne
July 31st, 2007 at 1:21 pm
Traderwaynes … I noticed on notes if you limit the comment to only 1 period, and only 1 or 2 commas, it should take whatever you type.
Not sure why this works … but it does seem to work.
July 31st, 2007 at 2:00 pm
Domains80265,
Re: Your Rejuvinate.com
comments…no intention to mislead or confuse here (I don’t do it; never will).
As shown by the 107 automated score (which is why domain valuation is both a science and an art), Jay and his sharp-eyed team already knew/know it’s not spelled, “Rejuvenate,” which would have no doubt generated an 800+ automated score…and be worth $500,000 or more…
…and most (if not all) domain buyers these days–and especially those able to invest in 25k-100k+ class/value dotcoms like these–check and double check each domain every which way before deciding whether or not to bid.
So you can rest assured that they know exactly what they’re doing…before they get their checkbook out.
As for saying it’s not an accepted (actually; it’s an amazingly popular one at that–as I’m sure Jay’s team also already knows) spelling…well, let me refer you to the 130,000+ Google references so you can see for yourself (noting also all the advertisers targeting this spelling).
Frankly, the SEO/SEM savings alone would quickly pay for Rejuvinate.com
for any company who chooses to put it to work in their business.
That said, just to be sure that no domain newbies with suitable bank get confused, I have modified the remarks to insure no confusion.
Thanks for your note.
July 31st, 2007 at 3:28 pm
Hi Jay,
I understand not wanting a reserve to close to the retail or appraisal value but what system do you have in place for someone not to lose their domain for less than retail? There is a note to try a lower reserve which I will but an answer to my question above will help. I am new to this and don’t want to lose my domain for less than it’s worth.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Jay,
Speaking on behalf of all those domainers who STILL DO NOT have their domain names REVIEWED or CONFIRMED, I am extremely disappointed in that you have put up the complete list of 450 without giving all domainers a fair shake.
I really thought you were going to review all domain names before putting up the final 100.
Your proved me wrong.
Effective immediately, I am pulling my domain names and will just wait for the next TRAFFIC auction.
July 31st, 2007 at 5:53 pm
doitnow, I only see 350 names. Am I looking at the wrong link?
July 31st, 2007 at 6:11 pm
beggars,
Here is the link with 450:
http://www.domaintools.com/live-auction/browse-domains.html
This review process looks real bad from where I sit.
Especially with Jay bending and twisting his own rules.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:19 pm
doitnow .. He isn’t bending anything.
He’s going to review scores and start dropping names from the 450.
Remember, he said the final list won’t be until August 6th.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:20 pm
err … he’s going to review votes
July 31st, 2007 at 6:25 pm
How can Jay honestly put up the complete list without reviewing all names, regardless if it is an initial list and some names at best will be dropped?
Also, read the rules.
Jay initially was going to keep the list to mostly DOT COM.
If he was going to accept .CC, .EU, .TV – he should have explicitly said so in the rules.
Anybody who can not see the list of 450, I will gldly email it to them.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:39 pm
Wow! I can really see that you’ve rolled out the welcome mat for your keynote speaker Frank Schilling (well-respected blog at SevenMile.com
), with your acceptance of SevensMiles.com
into your top 450 list!
July 31st, 2007 at 6:50 pm
doitnow Says:
July 31st, 2007 at 6:11 pm
beggars,
Here is the link with 450:
http://www.domaintools.com/live-auction/browse-domains.html
This review process looks real bad from where I sit.
Especially with Jay bending and twisting his own rules.
DoItNow,
I tried that link. It is only for the 350 still. And Jay’s team are reviewing all names up to August 6. He stated that the 450 will change and others may get on and some today may be pulled off. Everyone here has done all they can, so now it is up to Jay’s team to see who makes the final cut on this list. But don’t give up until the date has passed.
I wish you and everyone here well.
Cheers!
Bob
July 31st, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Bob,
I have a membership with Jay at domaintools – now under review.
Maybe members see the list first.
Send me your email and I will forward you the cut and paste list.
July 31st, 2007 at 7:29 pm
Happy to see .tv and .cc enter the list. DotTV sites are exploding now that Demand Media has taken over. DotCC has some huge sales over the past couple of weeks according to dnjournal.com
. CC.CC
sold for 70k, and CO.CC
sold for 70k. Email.cc
just sold for just under 7k this week as well. Hot.TV
(reserve 35k) and Jewelry.cc
(reserve 1.5k
) are currently on the auction prelim list. Thanks Jay for adding these domains, and others. If they fly out the door, there will be many happy auctions ahead for owners of generic, single word ccTLDs!
MrHit
July 31st, 2007 at 7:44 pm
How come some of us see 350 on that page and others see 450?
July 31st, 2007 at 7:46 pm
MrHit,
You have every reason to be happy.
Not only did you get 4 dot com names approved, but you also asked about your domains and RECEIVED MULTIPLE RESPONSES from Jay.
And, got a DOT TV and CC domains approved no less.
6 names approved for you – Congratulations!
Brown nosing definitely worked in your favor.
Jay talks about Shill voting at TRAFFIC in New York.
I call it SHILL REVIEW for those of us who never got reviewed.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:01 pm
Hi Jay,
Are the domains I submitted good enough, or do I have reserves set to high? What do you suggest?
Thanks.
July 31st, 2007 at 8:24 pm
Here’s an idea ‘doitnow’. Go open up your own domain auction and quit whining.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:21 am
Hi Jay,
Did none of my domains make the cut or have they just not been reviewed yet? Some are 10 years old, two words and I have very low reserves! Please let me know if I should count myself out or keep waiting. I think showgram.com
, lockmail.com
and wecanmeet.com
are worth something in this auction!!
Thank you.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:46 am
I am a bit confused. Does the list of 450 above mean that the selection of names is completed, or is the selection process going to continue until August 6, with better names replacing some of these?
August 1st, 2007 at 12:58 am
@Candleman:
Sure that Jay and team are still working on the final selection.
August 1st, 2007 at 4:35 am
I dont see the 450 list.. and all my domains still show “unconfirmed” I have submitted around 30 domains which got a rank of 600-792 so im rather disappointed seeing none on the top list.. rather odd..
August 1st, 2007 at 4:40 am
@webcr
I also have an unconfirmed domain left, so do not worry. I think that all domains will be given attention too.
And my unconfirmed domain has also 766 score
and I am still hoping.
Best wishes
August 1st, 2007 at 4:47 am
Candleman and webcr:
See post 145 for the complete initial 450 list.
I cut and paste the 450 initial list for all Domaintools.com
NON-MEMBERS to see.
No whinning here, just FACTS that many domainers simply did not get their domain names reviewed or confirmed with 5 days before Jays August 6th self-imposed final deadline.
August 1st, 2007 at 5:39 am
jay -
for next yr how about adding a “good ratio” – i understand good/bad ratings don’t mean much but it would be nice to see the % of good votes.
August 1st, 2007 at 5:41 am
My actual favorite is poker.in
And yours?
August 1st, 2007 at 6:09 am
My older names from 2002 and 2003, CamperLinks.com
and ConservativeCamp.com
, and many of my newer names from 2005, such as MotownOnline.com
, CigarsOnline.org
,ChicagolandLive.com
,and BoatLynx.com
, and even the latest names, such as GottaMotor.com
and Prismatic.tv
have still not been reviewed and show unconfirmed. Most are higher scores. I guess I am saying again that we have all submitted our names and that my guess is Jay’s team is feverishly working to review all these thousands of names now. I submitted the first two names above when I first thought this was only going to be an auction for older names, then added others when I saw that Jay was allowing potentially good names that may not yet be quite 3 years or older. Additionally, he seems to be allowing better names that are not just “.com” names, so I am guessing that many names came just in this past week from all of us and started piling up! I submitted my older .coms just on July 20th and they still show
“unconfirmed, pending review” so I am putting faith in what Jay said, that he was going to tweak and continue to modify the list right up to August 6th. I believe he is doing what he said he would do and all names will get reviewed. If we don’t make this list, there is always the Moniker live auction or next year here if Jay does this again. Oh, and the Miami Moniker Live Auction deadline for submitting names is today, August 1, so if you are trying to get into that one, submit by today!
Good luck to all and thanks for the opportunity Jay. I hope a one or two of mine make it in but regardless, it is a good thing you are doing here!
Best regards to all!
Bob
August 1st, 2007 at 6:14 am
I’m thinking that ‘pending review’ means – that they need to confirm with you that it is indeed your domain – it is available for sale – etc once they have confirmed it in the list.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:33 am
How do they “confirm” it? If they do a whois it shows my contact information so why is it pending its as easy as doing a whois lookup. Will they email me to “confirm” ? i havent gotten any emails from anyone.. odd?
August 1st, 2007 at 6:43 am
Hi! I do not know how the confirmation process works.
Here I could see three different types of status:
denied
confirmed
unconfirmed
denied – domains which are not in the auction
confirmed – here are 4 domains confirmed – 3 are currently in the auction, 1 was in the list and has gone (for the moment)
unconfirmed – 1 name with 766 rating not currently in the auction, do not know if this will change
How are your status informations?
Best regards
August 1st, 2007 at 7:02 am
every domain i posted says “uncofirmed” has been like this for the past 3-4days
August 1st, 2007 at 7:11 am
Hi Jay, any chance you can reconsider a few of my 2001 names that were bought in drops? its showing denied for “domain too new”
eg – SaveOffshore.com
(banking)
whois.sc
shows
Registrar History: 2 registrars with 1 drop
Whois History: 5 records have been archived since 2001-12-18
most the other ones that were denied for age are also 2000/2001.
…Thanks
August 1st, 2007 at 7:40 am
webcr, I am in the same boat. I listed them July 20. Four of my domains were tagged as too new so I removed them immediately. Of the 31 remaining, 1 is 710 (musicworks.biz
), 9 are 600+ (littlerockhotel.net
, lot13.com
), 9 are 500+ (goddessweb.net
), the remaining 11 are between 318 and 400 (witchymusic.com
). All are marked “unconfirmed, pending review.” Some of the domains have private registration, others do not. I’ve added notes, hoping that would make a difference. I have my business phone listed, all voicemails are delivered to my cell (cell is less reliable), but no calls. If I knew which area code to look for I wouldn’t let it go to voicemail if I can avoid it. Are paying subscribers getting priority? If so I would have rather known that up front so I won’t refresh so much. Hope springs eternal!
August 1st, 2007 at 7:48 am
@shop20876
I can understand your feelings and thoughts.
I do not think that paying subscribers are getting priority, I think the biggest problem is to review / confirm this high amount of listed domains for Jay and his team.
Each person here (I think so) want some of their domains in the auction and because of this I am really sure that Jay and his team try to do the best work possibly!
I could imagine that Jay has not slept long the last days and that he worked many many hours from the morning to the late night.
But I am sure that the final auction will be interesting and a success of course
So keep on watching – I am sure that all things will be done
August 1st, 2007 at 7:58 am
Jay,
If you’re overloaded with domains to verify, I’m happy to help if you need it. If so, please contact me. (I’d guess you can pull my email address off of my membership profile).
Thanks.
August 1st, 2007 at 8:58 am
Same here Jay, I would love to help.
It may not be practicable if you have pedantic lawyers, but if you are willing and able to out-sorce the raw ranking of domains at the post-script stage in large accounts, I can do that for you – think of it as the mid-stage review – after your script has finsished its job but before you are ready to look at hand-sorted results to save you time and thus enable you to invest more of it in making a better final decision.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:13 am
My company has a domain (table.com
) which we registered way back in the day, but don’t particularly use anymore. Someone recently made an unsolicited of $50,000 for it.
Do you think it’s worth submitting the domain even with a high reserve (at which point we can sell the domain ourselves), or do you think it’s a waste of Jay’s valuable time with such a reserve?
btw, great forum about the domain selling process! Thanks, guys…
UPDATE BY JAY: I would submit the domain. You may get a bidding war and earn a lot more then $50,000.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:26 am
chrisatrtg, IMHO everyone would be better off if you were to list your domain on GreatDommains, which is being promoted in a big way by Sedo, the new owners.
I can explain in detail why I think so, but as the reasoning is quite obvious I would only do so if asked.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:48 am
gepp,
Thanks for your suggestion. I’m not a domainer, so I (and, perhaps other non-professionals) would be very interested in hearing your wisdom.
I was having a hard time telling whether greatdomains.com
/Sedo actually sold enough domains at the higher price points (as opposed to the obviously big volume at the lower price points), that the people who were most likely to be interested would be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. From that perspective (and I’m a complete novice about what tools are available to professionals), I was thinking that event-driven auctions focused on higher value names might attract more of the likely buyers.
If you’re willing, I look forward to hearing your perspective in more detail…
August 1st, 2007 at 11:09 am
chrisatrtg, I would suggest trying to list your domain with a reasonable reserve in this auction.
If your reserve is too high, Jay and his staff will suggest a more reasonable one.
table dot com is a very strong domain name.
Although it’s not the plural that most people would type in, it is still a domain that has a high monetization value and probably gets a decent amount of direct navigation (people just typing in table.com
) traffic.
There are lots of advertisers paying for ads for the table keyword, so the domain can easily be monetized.
If your domain doesn’t make it in this auction, I would contact moniker.com
and see if they would be interested in including it in one of their upcoming auctions.
I think you would get some serious bids for your domain. Especially if you could provide some traffic stats to potential buyers.
August 1st, 2007 at 11:13 am
Sure Chris, would be happy to.
First, let me congratulate you on working and/or owning a company that had the foresight to register such an impressive generic when they were freely available – that’s always a good sign in my book.
Actually, before I bestow my great wisdom on you
, I would have to ask the key question: can you please define the term ‘high reserve’ in your original post (ideally in numeric terms), and can you possibly confirm my understanding that the primary value of the proposed exercise would be to let people know your domain might be for sale at some lower price later on?
August 1st, 2007 at 12:02 pm
gepp and circler,
Since I already have an unsolicited offer for $50k, I’m not that interested in selling the domain for less than that (which would be less attractive than saying “ok” to the existing offer). The primary purpose of partaking in an auction would be to relatively quickly see whether there’s currently someone else out there for whom the domain would have a higher value.
I understand the general principle (mentioned above) that in auctions having a lower reserve may lead to more bidders, and thus to a higher sale, so I’m theoretically open to a lower reserve, but it seems like the most targeted prospective bidders would bid irrespective of reserve if the domain and price fits their model. Moniker’s auctions seem to have a very good supply of high value domain names, though I think I’d feel bad making the current offeror wait until October to get a yes or no without stronger evidence that the answer was going to be a “no.”
Curious to hear your more informed opinions…
August 1st, 2007 at 12:10 pm
I think a $50,000 reserve on table.com
would be considered a VERY VERY low reserve.
I’m definitely not an official domain appraiser or anything, but just looking at the current list for comparable domain names (and looking at recent sales for one word marketable domains), you can get an idea of the domains potential worth to the right buyer (a seller of tables).
To me, $100,000 would be a LOW reserve for table.com
, $250,000 would be a reasonable reserve, $500,000 would be a possible reserve (but might get less bids), $1,000,000 would be a high reserve.
Again, I’m just playing armchair appraiser here, but table.com
has a definite high resale value.
To the right end user buyer, it might go high 6 figures (possibly seven), to an investor, maybe low 6 figures.
UPDATE BY JAY: As it was pointed out, Tables.com
would be better. I think $50,000 is a healthy reserve.
August 1st, 2007 at 12:17 pm
looks like the top 450 list is finally out.. and i still show “unconfirmed” for all my domains i listed
August 1st, 2007 at 12:42 pm
Table.com! I totally agree with circler. You have a piece of cyber real-estate on the prime waterfront of the Internet! $250,000 at the LOWEST for that reserve, I would think. But again, I am no expert appraiser, either. In fact, I don’t put a lot of value into the paid or unpaid appraisals anyway, as they do not seem to go along with what always sells at a higher value! At any rate, you have a great name and I hope you do well with it!
Cheers!
Bob
August 1st, 2007 at 12:47 pm
Webcr,
All of mine are still in that state also. They all say unconfirmed and pending review. They have not yet been reviewed or confirmed, denied, etc. Not that it means the names we have will get in, but do not be discouraged just because there is a list of 450 names yet and none of yours are on it. Jay’s team said they were going to change the list as names come in for review throughout this week until August 6, and from what I am guessing is a huge load of domains they have had to scour through, it is probably an overwhelming task. On the other hand, only 450 names will get in, so what if your would have been the “451st?” Moniker has their Miami TRAFFIC auction in October also, and today is their deadline to submit names to them. Put your names in that one also and spread your risk around. Sooner or later, something will hit. And you still may make the cut on this one as everyone on this board has been doing nothing but speculating what is going on. Until Jay says the list is final, it is not. But not the end of the world if he does.
Good luck with your pursuits!
Cheers!
Bob
UPDATE BY JAY: I have not be hit deny on bad names, It takes too long to deny each one. However I am scanning the list and sorting by stats and pricing. I comb through the list and find the best value.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Hi all,
I’ve owned several domains, with the intent to develop, since ‘96/’97… The domain market is the hottest I’ve ever seen it, which of course has peaked my interest… I’m curious what everyone’s feelings / expertise is on how I may want to best sell the following domains in an auction style format:
- Magician.com
(currently leased through September ‘07)
- Magicians.com
- Illusionist.com
Also, I’m hoping to get approval for WebSupport.com
and WebSupport.org
as a bundle sale…
Thanks all… GL Jay with the conference…
Ryan
UPDATE BY JAY: Those names are in. Congratulations!
August 1st, 2007 at 1:32 pm
To everyone,
Just remember that this isn’t the only game in town; Sedo is getting into the action with its purchase of GreatDomains (see their August 1st blurb about its July 26 auction).
Also, there is money to be made by keeping one’s eyes on this auction (and others) and observing what some of the premium domains will bring. In fact, it may pay to be proactive (as opposed to reactive).
Best of luck to everyone who has a domain in the top 450! ;=)
Best, jss
August 1st, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Re: Magician.com
, magicians.com
, illusionists.com
Top quality domains. Probably in the same boat as table.com
(see comment #175 above)
If they don’t get picked up for this auction, you can definitely get some interest in them by talking to moniker.com
or sedo.com
.
August 1st, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Hi Guys – Anyone know whats happening with the ones that are showing both – denied and pending review on the same name ?
Thanks
Very sweet names ogaard !!
UPDATE BY JAY: Looks like 10 domains in this status. I will update the Note.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:21 pm
Hi Jay, can you check the names in my account. I submitted on July 12 and they are still pending review.
I’m pretty sure at least one of them is auction-worthy (I know we all think that). If you get a second though, could you give my account a quick scan.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Jay, do you still think that the 100k reserve for LoveStories.com
is right, or is it too low? I’m getting hit with a ton of interest in the domain! Thanks for doing a bang-up job on this auction!
August 1st, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Jay,
I submitted dine.mobi
(among other .mobis and a .com lot with a 688) for your auction on the advice of a friend. My status is still unconfirmed and pending review.
Please advise.
August 1st, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Jay, could you check my ten domain names in a package? They are unconfirmed until now. I believe you will see its value. Thank you!
August 1st, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Also please help to update the User Note field for me. I sent a support ticket for it, but no response until now. And any advice on my reserve is welcome. Thanks Jay!
August 1st, 2007 at 5:06 pm
**Serious Question**
The Moniker auction is around the corner from my house more or less, and there main office is too … so I figured I would check out what domains were in their auction compares to this one.
Was Moniker’s Website Hacked?
Or do they generally only do porn?
Or am I missing something?
Check this link and let me know … because I was shocked when I saw the list they offered.
http://marketplacepro.moniker.com/auction/detail.html?auction_id=142
August 1st, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Hi Jay, I appreciated your prompt reply to my post of July 30 (#108) re: GreatBearRainforest.com
– especially while you were getting settled into your new office. It could be argued that the name consists of only three keywords, i.e. Great Bear Rainforest. Also, given the socio-economic significance of this huge protected wilderness area, I believe that environmental groups, eco tours, boat and plane charters, guest accommodations, and many other interests would want a link from this website. I’ve reduced the reserve by 50 percent, in case this name can still be considered. Thanks.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Jay, I became more comfortable with the auction concept and therefore added a bunch of good domains to my list within the last few days. Could you please take a moment to eyeball my updated list? Thanks.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:15 pm
Having just had Character.com
and Copies.com
declined because the reserve of 100k was set too high, I have to wonder what the criteria is for domains over 100k? Without offending anyone, some of the current choices with reserves over 100k are, well….confusing!
Copies.com
is an industry domain. It could mean so many things. For example: copies of…DVD’s, CD’s, Documents, Photographs, Keys, Replicas, Photo Copies, etc… Very high Ovt score, and brandability.
. Has three major dictionary meanings. Could stand for Cartoon Characters, Movie Characters, Personal Character Development, and signs/symbols. Not to mention the 15 clicks I average daily. Gets lots of traffic.
Same with Character.com
These are six digit domains. Yet, the reserve is said to be too high. What then is considered a “fair” reserve Jay?
I am trying to understand the logic in some of the decisions made. Are you going purely off of your opinion, or are there systems put in place to evaluate domain values. I am not the only one who wonders this. If this is merely your opinion, no offense, but I think those people following your advice should use caution. With too low of a reserve, there is a very real chance it will sell at that price. Speculating on a perspective bidding war is irresponsible, and possibly unrealistic given the circumstances.
I hope there are a lot of buyers like advertised. Otherwise, there will be a lot of pissed off people.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:29 pm
So, beggers
You want Jay to check your list before all those submitted long before yours?
Tacky…
August 1st, 2007 at 6:39 pm
kenwoodca, I’m not asking him to drop everything. I’m just asking that he take one more look when he gets a chance. Calm down, man.
August 1st, 2007 at 6:43 pm
jlandress, from my brief review it looks like Moniker auctions are themed. The Premium Domains deadline for submission is today. The next after that is GeoDomains (place-specific, I assume).
August 1st, 2007 at 7:09 pm
Jay or anyone. Please help me. I had 3 pages with names submitted 8 hours ago. Now I went into my control panel and I only have one page, the first, showing! All my other names have disappeared. I had names like ConservativeCamp.com
, ArenaSite.com
, GottaMotor.com
, GoMeds.org
, Hairguide.org
, they are all missing???!!! Please help, or tell me where they went???
Regards,
Bob
August 1st, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Bob, apparently the last revision of the domain entry software broke the pagination code. Just enter a big number in the “Records per page” field and you’ll see all your domains.
August 1st, 2007 at 7:20 pm
beggers Says:
August 1st, 2007 at 7:12 pm
Bob, apparently the last revision of the domain entry software broke the pagination code. Just enter a big number in the “Records per page” field and you’ll see all your domains.
Whew! Thanks beggers! That worked. I did not know what was happening with my control panel.
Have a good evening.
Bob
August 1st, 2007 at 7:39 pm
Jay, I am going to lower my reserve of CamperLinks.com
to $20,000.00. Would that get the name in based on your comments above.
Thanks.
Bob
August 1st, 2007 at 7:42 pm
UPDATE BY JAY: Bob, thank you for your submissions. I think your best name is CamperLinks.com
but the reserve of $30,000 is too high.
Sorry to repost, Jay, but I wanted to cc. your quote from above. If I put in CamperLinks.com
for $20,000, will it make the list? I will lower it to that. If you have another idea, please let me know.
I am lowering it tonight!
Thanks.
Bob
August 1st, 2007 at 7:50 pm
begger
Actually, I’m the epitome of calm.
“take one more look when he gets a chance.” That is NOT what you said. You wanted to jump in front of the line. Just say you were wrong and all is forgiven.
Mr. Calm
August 1st, 2007 at 7:53 pm
Jay,
I have lowered CamperLinks.com
reserve to $20,000. I also reduced ConservativeCamp.com
to $15,000. In addition to these two names, I reduced all my domains on my list, many down substantially, mosty between $10,000 to $15,000 lower than they were before. I also got rid of a lot of names and shrunk my list down.
FYI- CamperLinks.com
actually was bid at an Afternic auction in February of this year for $30,000, but the buyer who won ended up having financing issues after winning the domain name and so the deal fell through. I have had interest from a few others in the name, I think the furthest for me was from New Zealand. Also have had an inquiry or two on ConservativeCamp.com
. Both names were once active sites of mine.
Hope they (as well as my other names that were lowered) have a better chance now of getting in. I really do believe in CamperLinks.com
as a good, viable domain name. Guess we will see.
August 1st, 2007 at 8:19 pm
I’m sorry but is this a business auction for grown ups or have I stumbled onto somebodies 5th grade class project???
Some of you people really need to get away from the computer once in a while and go talk to some actual live human beings. This crying and whining is something that I’d expect from my 4 year olds pre-school class, not a potential multi-million dollar business auction.
sheeeeesh.
August 1st, 2007 at 8:21 pm
Can anyone tell me whats a good reserve for http://www.frz.com. I am new to this whole domain thing, I did not realize there were parking for domain until recently. Also, since Jay is quite busy maybe you can also tell me how do you put a low reserve without losing your domain for less than its market value? If not for this auction then I will have the info for other auctions.
Thanks
August 1st, 2007 at 8:45 pm
Jay, thanks for your your patience and understanding, especially for those of us (including me) particpating in their first domain auction. Over 200 comments on just one of your auction blogs is incredible!
I’ve reduced the reserve on spiritbear.net
/ spirit-bear.net
by $25K. Since spiritbear.com
is all about wine tours in Oregon, spiritbear.net
is the next best landing page for traffic looking for the Spirit Bear of British Columbia. An awesome website could be developed here!
Also, cellphonz.net
is still unconfirmed and pending review. I want to include cellphonz.mobi
in the lot, but when I try to add it, it says that this name is already up for auction. I don’t see it on the list of 450 names, so I don’t understand what is happening. Help … 
August 1st, 2007 at 10:22 pm
I’m impressed with the list of domains so far. I still see pending review but I am hoping to make the auction. Some of the domains I own are beerspace.com
, drinkspace.com
and liqourspace.com
along with the .net and .org’s and many variations of these. I was looking to sell the portfolio as a whole but I’m going to give this a shot and see what happens.
August 1st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Hi Jay,
I’ve lowered all my reserves. OpenEasy.com
(lot) and OpenSold.com
now down to $5000 each. Do they cut it?
Cheers
August 1st, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Hello Everyone,
From the above posts, I can see that I am not the only one who openly protested the reserve prices being pressured by DomainTools i.e. Jay to bring them lower for very high quality domains.
This could be seen from the comments #191 and #201 as well as many others.
I just think it is so wrong to play with the clients to pressure them to lower the reserve prices bring them in a dangerous situation like it happened in the Affiliate Summit, where the domains did get sold for really bare minimum, many of them.
So keeping reserves very low could be dangerous for the seller and by doing this, one only respects the vital interests of an Auction House who wants to make sure to mak money for organising their events.
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:12 am
Encouraging lowered reserves means more domains will get bids and sell – and that’s ultimately the objective of the auction.
However, a potential risk I see for some sellers in this auction is the bidder pool could be too small and/or consisting of a large proportion of “insiders”.
Sellers who set their reserve price below what they can minimally accept do so at their peril in most any auction – there’s always a risk of a lot only selling at reserve, even in a well attended auction.
With all that said, I assume the organizers of this auction intend to hold more auctions in the future – thus they have a strong incentive to ensure there are as many bidders as possible, the auction is conducted in an ethical and responsible manner to better ensure both buyers and sellers get a fair deal so they leave satisfied looking forward to the next auction.
Ron
August 2nd, 2007 at 12:30 am
How will you rate the domains:-
1. Mutton.Biz
2. Clothings.Biz
3. Americalive.Us
4. Europelive.mobi
5. Touradvisor.us
UPDATE BY JAY: They appear fine. However they would not make the auction.
August 2nd, 2007 at 1:46 am
I am going to cut off comments on this thread. Please feel free to post over at this one: http://blog.domaintools.com/2007/08/pick-the-winning-domains/