If this is wrong, feel free to chime in David.

I wanted to start a movement where all domainers demanded that Parking services included a link at the bottom of their landing pages that led to a comprehensive, open website collaboration of simple-to-understand domain value education for END USERS. In other words, millions of pages with a link to a website educating consumers, businessmen, and marketing executives on why a domain name is valuable.

It’s not that hard of a project to complete. It just takes enough domainers who WANT real returns on their domain sales to demand this from their parking services.

Beyond that, auction producers have to ADVERTISE at least 30 days out by internet news releases or other means to at least REACH potential endusers. As far as I know, very few of the auction producers have done this. This is basic “Sales 101″ – but they don’t, because they don’t want to invest money in selling the domains they want you to buy.

But the REAL solution is for auction producers to CATEGORIZE their domain auctions, selecting only those domains that appeal to one specific industry. The auction producers, along with the domain sellers, can contact the corresponding industry that matches the domain relevance of the auction. Only domains that match that industry will be offered in the auction. PINPOINT MARKETING.

Result? The domain auction producers and domain sellers pound the specific industry dedicated to their domain relevance, who then in turn contact their ad agencies and marketing directors to “research it a bit more”, and with about 50 examples of success stories on that specific “domain values” non-profit website, thousands of end users will learn about domain values and a percentage of them may become inspired to participate.

We just need to use our collective marketing intelligence, people. Now I just gave away my ideas on AA’s website. Well, more people read it than my blog, so I guess it’s okay. If you like my ideas, come read my blog once in a while: http://www.successclick.com (sorry Andy, but it’s a gimme)

We domainers are such a loose-knit crowd we lose a lot of time and money by not joining forces and promoting our cause. This is one of the reasons I joined the ICA. Hopefully, the ICA can be the website that puts up a comprehensive webpage/s that explains why domains are valuable, and how to buy aftermarket domains.

I repeat this same mantra every year. Ask Rick S. if he and I didn’t have a deep discussion about this in 2006. However, nothing was done and I count myself as culpable as anyone.

“Come on, people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together and promote our domains right now, right now… right now….” (apologies to the Youngbloods “Get Together”)

Just wondering if you still hold the opinion NOT to attempt to sell to end users for fear of UDRP problems.

I ask this now because A. I respect your opinion and B. there seems to be more activity in domainer circles to seek out, solicit and actually have success selling to end users.

Your thoughts….

Thanks,
Jay

The top 50K-100K .com domains should really only be marketed to end users and not domainers. Selling them to domainers is like pricing ancients gold objects based on the weight of gold.

Then the next half-mil – mil will also always have traffic and value.

The rest may not have any value in the long run.

Lets address this prudently Andrew, because you actually have a lot of influence in this space that could add tremendous value.

I have bought Art from both Sotheby’s and Christies and I am not an art dealer, I bought because I have a passion and I bought for long term investment value. I know for certain that is the case all over the world with lots of art buyers. Anyone can obtain a Sotheby’s or Christies art catalogue many weeks in advance, not just Art Dealers. Also, I believe corporate art buyers have relationships with art dealers who bid on their behalf, or they have reps in their own firms who do the bidding. Everyone who cares participates in art auctions, because the marketing is universal and you actually see their ads in newspapers. By the way, Damian Hirst just sold over 100 million pounds of art, only 2 weeks ago at Sotheby’s and he deliberately left out art dealers and galleries to go directly to end-collectors!

Why is our industry a massive bubble waiting to burst? well, I did an estimation of how many domains were sold and recorded on name bio a few months ago and the total was a little over 20,000 domains over a period of 4 years or so. Now compare that to 11 million domains outstanding on Sedo.com alone! Something is terribly wrong and I simply do not believe this style of domaining is sustainable. It will eventually burst like Lehmans and a lot of big domainers will loose everything because there simply is no secondary market, due to our own failure to create universal awareness to the end business user.

So Andrew, use your influence to catalyse a very serious debate on how this should come about, everyone will win once the average business user starts buying…right now it’s very dangerous child’s play with no hedge and time is running out!