Rick Schwartz Is Mad As Hell And He's Not Going To Take It Anymore

[Theo]

Exponent, the ticket is not $1k - it's $1,495 and up. Also, where did you get the idea that by buying a ticket you get to have your domains listed? There is a lot of ongoing misconception about TRAFFIC. I suggest you read a lot of references of people that actually went to one; not just the whining of those that never did.

 

[Adventure]

I agree with you, too much "junk" is floating around the web and driving down PPC which is hurting all of us. While $1000 is a lot for a ticket (especially a college guy like me), It irritates the crap out of me that something like MySuperStupidDomainsLOL.net gets a slot over something arguably better just because someone paid a grand. It was laughable.

As for GreatDomains, I love the site. I had a $13.5k sale there last October.

Hi, Exponent / Keyser, Congratulations on your sale on GreatDomains! Wow, I wish I started domaining in college. Unfortnately, that was in the 1970's and the industry was yet to be born.

I have to agree with you about the quality of the domains picked for some of these "premium" auctions. While there is always disagreement as to what constitues a "premium" domain, many of the domains selected defy belief!

Exponent, the ticket is not $1k - it's $1,495 and up. Also, where did you get the idea that by buying a ticket you get to have your domains listed? There is a lot of ongoing misconception about TRAFFIC. I suggest you read a lot of references of people that actually went to one; not just the whining of those that never did.

Acro, While I agree with many of your posts, the live and online auctions at many of the conferences have become littered with crappy domains for sale. Many people have that opinion, and I don't think you can chalk up all the criticism to sour grapes or "whiners". The bottom line is that many experienced domainers won't even bother to participate in the live auctions, and won't waste their time wading through the literally thousands of domains in many of the online auctions.

As Rick Schwartz is a big believer in transparancy, asking PPC companies to reveal their revenue sharing statistics, I'm 100% sure he would support my call for all domain conferences such as TRAFFIC to indicate --- on their auction catalogs --- whether an owner of each domain offered for sale was present (or paid) for an admission ticket. Just a simple "Y" or "N" in a field next to each domain name.

It's just an idea.

---Ed

 

[Theo]

That's some heavy allegations that I am sure Rick would love to answer. I am not his attorney or bodyguard. But to hear incorrect statements like Expenent's just ticks me off. I am not sure what domains you define as "crappy" as this is entirely subjective, unless you want to tell us a few and then we can have a public vote.

 

[Adventure]

That's some heavy allegations that I am sure Rick would love to answer. I am not his attorney or bodyguard. But to hear incorrect statements like Expenent's just ticks me off. I am not sure what domains you define as "crappy" as this is entirely subjective, unless you want to tell us a few and then we can have a public vote.

Hi, Acro, I enjoy reading your posts, and agree with many of them, but it is counterproductive to attempt to stifle dissent by implying that any opinion disagreeing with you or your friends on any issue might be slanderous or legally actionable. Especially since I said some very nice things about Rick Schwartz on this thread, at a time when others were going for the jugular.

Best regards, ---Ed

 

[Rubber Duck]

Call me a conspirasist if you will but my interpretation of the attack on PPC companies is that Rick is concerned that with conference attendances down that PPC companies running rival conferences will eat his lunch. Rick makes a lot of money at Traffics and on the back of Traffics which probably far exceeds his largely mythical portfolios. The Kudos that he gets from running Traffics also probably greatly assists in selling some fairly mediocre domains at a huge premium. As ever, all is not what it first seems.

 

[katherine]

RD I truly doubt Rick personally makes a lot of money at Traffic, or needs that money to begin with.

 

[mulligan]

RD I truly doubt Rick personally makes a lot of money at Traffic, or needs that money to begin with.

Surely not 'for the love of the game' ?

 

[broe-foe]

RD I truly doubt Rick personally makes a lot of money at Traffic, or needs that money to begin with.

Well, you're probably right AND wrong. When Traffic was new and exciting he probably made noteworthy $$$$, but today's Traffic conventions are obviously drawing smaller crowds, hence smaller amounts of $$$$. That's probably one reason he's lashing out at other scoundrels in the industry, plus frustration and dwindling parking income. You really don't know if he "... needs that money ...", unless you know his personal finances. It's easy for you and I to surmise that Rick's got plenty of dough because we read about his domain sales. But if he's not keeping much of it, he could be in a financial bind.

But don't be naive and think Rick and Howard repeatedly sponsor conventions and lose money time after time. Between the admission fees for vendors and participants + hype to inflate values of names auctioned, the $$$$ must have been okay early on, not to mention potential tax write-offs for every cocktail consumed while bloviating about domain portfolios.
Yeah he's upset now, the PPC model (as it stands today) is headed for the toilet, domainers are out of money to pay over-the-top prices for domains (even .coms), and ICANN is diluting everyone's portfolio value by introducing boutique domains to the system, chipping away at the usefullness of gTLDs.

I'm continually amazed that Schwartz and those of his ilk get accolades for PPC, porn, and domain resales. A good deal of those accolades come from others in the industry with a vested interest in keeping domain values in the stratosphere (if you don't know what the stratosphere is, check out www.stratosphere.mobi ).

 

[Rubber Duck]

RD I truly doubt Rick personally makes a lot of money at Traffic, or needs that money to begin with.

Get real. Last year he split the commissions on 12 Million dollars of sales. And that is without what he charged the attendies to listen to sales pitches, which he also charged the presenters for making.

 

[exponent]

Sure, the industry needs to wake up. Something like myfreehostingtodayforever.com shouldn't have a chance to water down PPC. However, I get this bad feeling that Rick is only concerned with keeping .com king. Surely hosting .net / .org / .us / .info etc. could be valid as well. Even Free-Hosting.com would have a descent place in the market.

Where do you draw the line without monopolizing .com more than it already is?

 

[Sonny Banks]

Sure, the industry needs to wake up. Something like myfreehostingtodayforever.com shouldn't have a chance to water down PPC. However, I get this bad feeling that Rick is only concerned with keeping .com king. Surely hosting .net / .org / .us / .info etc. could be valid as well. Even Free-Hosting.com would have a descent place in the market.

Where do you draw the line without monopolizing .com more than it already is?

The dot com will always be the king with Rick or without him.

 

[MacyT.]

And whilst we are on, whilst I have the greatest respect for Ron Jackson, he can only really determine that certain sums of money have been transferred and that registration details have changed. He cannot any probably has never professed to claim that he can assure us that what he has been told is the gospel truth. So many of these sales end up smelling of rotten fish, you can only use your own judgement as to what actually is a genuine sell and what is not!

I've always wondered this myself. I am NOT accusing anyone or any party conspiring to exaggerate domain sales. But, it is hard not to admit that in breaking down many of these sales & numbers, there is some fundamental economic logic missing. In regards to Rick - I'm not sure, for instance if iReport's sale of $750K was ever confirmed by CNN for that exact price (though I know they didn't deny). Was it? And what about his other sales that I've seen many a member on this forum question themselves? Are any of these public companies with shareholders that they are required to report the #'s to?

Again, this is not an accusation - it is a genuine question. It is in everyone's best interest (besides the fat cats) if there is more proof to every large sale beyond Ron Jackson's journal. And if it turns out every sale reported is 100% accurate, than there should be no problem with asking for more proof.

 

[Theo]

I've always wondered this myself. I am NOT accusing anyone or any party conspiring to exaggerate domain sales. But, it is hard not to admit that in breaking down many of these sales & numbers, there is some fundamental economic logic missing. In regards to Rick - I'm not sure, for instance if iReport's sale of $750K was ever confirmed by CNN for that exact price (though I know they didn't deny). Was it? And what about his other sales that I've seen many a member on this forum question themselves? Are any of these public companies with shareholders that they are required to report the #'s to?

Again, this is not an accusation - it is a genuine question. It is in everyone's best interest (besides the fat cats) if there is more proof to every large sale beyond Ron Jackson's journal. And if it turns out every sale reported is 100% accurate, than there should be no problem with asking for more proof.

What is the point of being a doubting Thomas? I mean, the mere fact that there is a driving force behind these achievements should be enough to get you energized for your own success. That's the point that everyone is missing here: gain energy from the success of others and divert it towards your own ventures. Excel in what you do best by matching or surpassing the success of others.

 

[MacyT.]

What is the point of being a doubting Thomas? I mean, the mere fact that there is a driving force behind these achievements should be enough to get you energized for your own success.

Yes Acro, I wholeheartedly agree that domainers' achievements should be (and for the most part are) energizing and inspiring.

But the POINT of questioning -- rather than as you call 'doubting' - is to legitimize an industry. How can an industry be legitimate if those who question it are shot down & questions remain unanswered? It is more profitable for MORE people if the prices are set at what the MARKET dictates. If the market is manipulated by a circle of players...then eventually that market collapses. And a lot more people end up losing money than the few who got rich and benefited. I want to feel inspired by knowing that I'm not potentially supporting that scenario when I continually reinvest my $$.

After all...consider the amount of data domainers want to see before they spend their own money on a mere 2K traffic name. Stats aren't enough. Sometimes testing it isn't even enough. Nowadays, they want to talk to the parking company too! But G-d forbid, someone questions an arguably suspicious 6 figure sale reported...how dare they! Kind of ironic, isn't it?

 

[Theo]

Not sure why you're wondering about the legitimacy of an industry that exists for as long as the Internet has a commercial direction. Unless you're a newcomer with a lot of questions to ask, in which case I definitely recommend attending TRAFFIC. The connections, exchange of ideas and opportunities do not exist anywhere else for the world of domainers.

There is nothing to gain - and a whole lot to lose - announcing a $750k deal that hasn't occurred. Not to mention that the sellers are not obligated by any type of unwritten law to report their sales or the exact amount involved, just because some people judge other domainers and their own direction by raw sale numbers.

 

[MacyT.]

Not wondering about the legitimacy of domaining at all. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here. I wonder over the legitimacy of a small, but noticeable portion of high-priced sales reported - sales that do not make business sense to me and MANY other people.

I'll take you up on your recommendation and try & hit the next TRAFFIC - but that still will not address the questions over sales reported. It's not the venue for that - and I don't expect it to be. Does sound interesting and fun though.

 

[David G]

I heard it sold for more than 800k, not 750k?

Only The Domain King could hold out that long and say no to likely many much lower offers most all of us would have accepted I am sure.

P.S. Why would anyone doubt the validity anyway?

 

[Theo]

I wonder over the legitimacy of a small, but noticeable portion of high-priced sales reported - sales that do not make business sense to me and MANY other people.

Let me put it plain terms: the sellers don't care what you think. They choose what kind of information to release, how and when to release it. A lot of sales are bound to NDA's that specify the amount of information that can be released and its timing. Also, what doesn't make business sense to you or others makes perfect sense to the those whose sales you question.

In the world of sales, it's not who you are, it's who you know.

 

[Rubber Duck]

What is the point of being a doubting Thomas? I mean, the mere fact that there is a driving force behind these achievements should be enough to get you energized for your own success. That's the point that everyone is missing here: gain energy from the success of others and divert it towards your own ventures. Excel in what you do best by matching or surpassing the success of others.

Now that is pyramid marketing at its best.

I didn't have a problem with the sale of iReport.com. The only thing that wound me up was the constant references to Generics. Let's be blunt about this, if you still an e or an i or anything else on the front, it is no longer generic whether Rick thinks so or not!

 

[Theo]

Now that is pyramid marketing at its best.

I didn't have a problem with the sale of iReport.com. The only thing that wound me up was the constant references to Generics. Let's be blunt about this, if you still an e or an i or anything else on the front, it is no longer generic whether Rick thinks so or not!

I don't analyze Rick's speeches. The problem with a lot of those that make negative comments is that they prefer to regurgitate events so wrapped into a shroud of mythology, that they fail to see the opportunities and trends offered in the market today - versus those of yesterday.

Pyramid marketing? No, that's reserved for IDN's.