Do you think the name is really worth that kind of money though? Would it be a good buy for the football team to spend 275k+ in order to prevent a few hundred people a day landing up on a western site?
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The usage of the name will be very limited, they’ll either need to run a generic lander or western related links. I would imagine 60%+ of the traffic will be looking for the football team so I don’t think this name is going to earn a lot.
The internet is still in its infancy. Strong generics aren’t always valued on today’s bids and revenues, but in many cases, on their potential. In the case of Cowboys.com, all one has to look at is the Western apparel/lifestyle industry. It is a no-brainer, based on the industry and the keyword strength within the industry, the domain is well worth the money.
There are many other major keywords I looked at recently that hardly have bids on Goolge/Yahoo, but they are category killers and relates to tens or hundred of billion dollars industries. How is that possible? Again, the internet is still very young. many marketers have yet to figure out how to convert traffic. All it really takes is a couple of marketers to figure out conversions and a bidding war to the top will happen on those terms. Same goes for “Cowboys”, the term on Google, Yahoo.
And let’s not forget, a million dollars today is not what a million dollars used to be. For a million bucks, you can’t buy a decent residential property in many neighborhoods around the world, so why would a strong global COMMERCIAL address be worth any less? That simply does not make any sense.
I do see the days domains will be sold for tens of millions of dollars regularly. Sometime because of their value, sometimes because money is getting cheaper by the day. In any event though, 275K (or 370K for that matter) for a strong generic, any strong generic, is a steal.
The generic domain naysayers have been around since the beginning and the successes of developed generic names like Cars.com, Hotels.com, Apartments.com, etc will never sway them.
On the other hand, their lack of vision has allowed others entry into this extremely lucrative world. If these people had seen the light in 1995, my brother and I would have never been able to build our portfolio.
Cowboys.com is a great name. And someday, the story of how the “Dallas Cowboys fumbled the purchase of Cowboys.com” will be taught in Marketing 101 classes.
I would start selling horses, saddles, boots, anything related to western wear. Will be good name if you attach it to retail products. Not for PPC. Good pair of boots will run you 500.00. Most avg horses are 15k. Fast ones 100k plus.
It’s a GREAT acquisition.
The cowboy/western market is 500 times bigger than any potential for the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s the next Facebook social community waiting to happen.
The prvate forums have been aburst with creativity coming up with 1000s of opportunities and potential sponsors most domainers would have never even considered. One, alone, has a $350m media budget that’s moving to the web.
Good luck Sahar and team of visionaries that scored a league not just a winning series.
how about a site that resells Cowboys tickets? add a small amount of money for overhead (people standing in line to buy tickets, etc.), then sell them back to the public at a profit. not a bad model.
Sahar, Rick, Eric and Who ever the other investors are may have paid a bit much, but the owner deserved the money, he worked hard. And Western wear, and all that you folks have discussed is a great secondary market. However, as a Real Estate Broker Owner in the West, specializing in Ranch Real Estate and Luxury Ranch Marketing I can say that Cowboys.com has brought me Solid Leads to capturing ranch real estate buyers, and I am sure these smart gentleman will figure out ALL the angles for this generic domain name. There is more money in ranching, cowboy dating and cowboy gear, tractors, fences and horsing that the naysayers will ever get. Good Job guys … I know you’ll do well with the name. And football, well that may just be farther down the list for revenue streams and monetization… Crystal - Broker Owner TenLakesRealty.com
Sahar, I enjoyed your post. I especially like “There are many other major keywords I looked at recently that hardly have bids on Goolge/Yahoo, but they are category killers and relates to tens or hundred of billion dollars industries.”
Some of the biggest markets in the world haven’t awoken to the realities of domain names, and the value of good keyword and keyword phrases in those larger markets. This is why domain owners cannot sell their domains based on PPC alone, or they’re leaving a lot of money behind, and it’s still a buyer’s market, in my view.
I also appreciate your positive take on so many things.
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Thanks Tasha
1900 - We see America’s First Auto Show Run Second To The Horse Show - I guess at the time you many would have told Henry Ford the car would never survive, I started buying generic domain names in 1996, and are still being told they the will never survive. LOL