Revolution? How? $10,000 Payout? All Explained Here!

Posted on January 2nd, 2009 by admin in Domain News | 3 Comments »

The MysteryDomainAuction/DomainingRevolution has caused an incredible amount of blogging action over the past 24 hours that I thought I should answer some of the questions asked by various folks – most pointedly in the NamePros thread.

First and foremost, why is this a “domaining revolution”? A lot of people are disagreeing with me – saying that this in no way revolutionizes the domaining industry, but bear with me.

My aim is to revolutionize the way general folks look at domain names – I am talking mom and pop type people and your run of the mill business people. What is the biggest problem domainers have with their portfolio and their domain names? They love their domain names yet they hardly sell any? Try convincing an end user that they should fork out $500,000 for a premium domain name. Try convincing an end user to fork out $5,000 for a less premium domain name – it’s not easy. A lot of people will agree with me.

Bringing attention of the general public and mainstream media to domaining and domain names can only be a good thing – it builds awareness. Sure, there will be skeptics who will jump at the chance to worry and criticize, which is fine as it helps build a discussion – but a lot of “mainstream” people will get only one message from this venture – “Some guy earned a million dollars within 100 days from auctioning off a domain name. Why don’t I stop investing money in real estate and start looking at domain names as an investment option?” Others will ask: “What the heck are domain names, I better investigate.” And lastly, that mom and pop type will say “Hm, perhaps that young lad was right when he asked for $5,000 for CornerStore.com”.

If you think outside the box you will realize that there are various ways to “revolutionize” something. Some involve software, programs, tactics and techniques while others involve hype and media attention. In all cases, all it takes is one idea.

The second concern is about the $10,000 choice the highest winner will have to make of whether to take the domain name or the cash. If they decide to take the cash will I be able to pay out even if I don’t generate enough bids?

I have already answered this on DNKitchen’s blog, so I thought I’d just bring the answer here too:

I have put away $10,000 of my own money to cover the costs of paying out the value of the domain name if the highest bidder opts for the cash no matter what happens in the auction. I don’t have to disclose my online income sources but I will – I can point you to my blog DNXpert.com (advertising and premium forum memberships add up to over $1000 a month in profit). Then there are past Domaining Manifesto sales, and present affiliate product sales etc. I Have Put Away The Money For This Eventuality!

I would not risk losing the credibility that I have built with DNXpert and other ventures over this – not to mention the continuous income my ventures bring in. My aim is to bring positive attention to this project, bidders and the domaining industry as a whole.

Finally, EJS over at NamePros asks what I have done about the technology and how will I guarantee the auction runs smooth.

I have invested in my server to make sure that the site does not go down, and I will invest further as the site grows – but in case the site does go down as a result of hacking attacks or server load – I will compensate the time by extending the auction by the time lost. I have stipulated this in the Mystery Domain Auction terms and conditions found on the buy a bid page.

Excluding the weird circumstances mentioned above, the auction will end at exactly midnight Pacific Time on April 10 2009 server time. The last bidder to place their bid will receive the mystery domain name. Following midnight that day, you simply will not be able to bid any further.

I hope this helps explain why this is a Domaining Revolution.