2008 June archive at Conceptualist.com, By Sahar Sarid

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Archive for June, 2008

Liquidity: What Are Your Options?

Published by Sahar Sarid on June 30, 2008 in Bido, Business and Domain Names. 8 Comments

I had a chat with some of our partners and I asked the question “If you own domains and wanted to liquidate today, what are your options?” The answer I got from most? Not much!

Let’s explore further:

1. Finding an end user

Two words: GOOD LUCK!!

2. Traditional marketplaces (Sedo, Afternic)

Since these have millions of domains listed the chances to get noticed are slim to none. These places are great when end users are looking for you but from liquidity standpoint, don’t hold your breathe.

3. Message boards

By far the best option out of the three however, gaining exposure is hard as you compete with many other listings during the day.

Additionally, many sellers do not understand buyers are tired of wasting their time. It is not just considering your domains and your prices but for sellers, the equation is how many considerations do they need to go over in order to find a deal? This is an essential question for sellers and by understanding it you increase your chances many times over to sell your domains.

What is the solution to liquidity?

1. Do not waste buyers’ time.

If you are truly interested in liquidity, let the market decide the true market value of your domain. Do not guess what they will pay.

2. Make sure exposure is there.

In order to get the most for your domain you have to make sure your listed property has the exposure it needs to have. Less exposure = less money.

These are the issues and thoughts we go through building Bido. To serve our marketplace better our eyes are always open, we always listen. If you were to liquidate today, meaning, if by end of day you had to have money in your pockets, how would you go about it? If you ever had to liquidate, did you find the process easy, or hard?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Have a great day, and happy bidding!

Sahar

Growth Opportunities At Times of Uncertainty

Published by Sahar Sarid on June 29, 2008 in Domain Names and General. 14 Comments

Approximately eleven years ago my sister was working at a small bar in Texas, done anything from bar tendering to sweeping the floors. The salary range was anywhere from 30$ during weekdays to 100$ on weekends. Not a lot but nevertheless, it was something. She liked the place and the owner and most of the crowd seem to like her. Because of that, it was a surprise that one evening she came back home crying telling me she was let go due to “complaints”. What were the complaints about? Well, she was Jewish and some of the crowd did not like that very much. Her boss wanted to avoid potential trouble so this was his way of doing so.

While I can probably write a lot more about the above this isn’t even our story yet. It is what leads to our story. Read on..

That night my sister came home crying as if the world had completely collapsed on her shoulders, as if there was no hope, none whatsoever. She had no paperwork, driving an iCe Cream truck wasn’t an attractive option anymore (what she did prior to bar tendering), and she had no idea where to go from here, how to pay the bills, not to mention how to build a better future.

As for myself, I was mainly home playing chess on the computer, I had no job either. However, I was more optimistic than her. I said as I always do, “Everything happens for a GOOD reason”, things will work out just fine if not better very soon. I still remember the look on her face, it was saying something on the lines of “Easy for you to say!!”, or maybe it was more like a “Yea.. right!!”. Either way, it wasn’t promising and whatever I said made little sense to her.

During her Ice Cream days (she used to drive an Ice Cream truck in TX) my sister made friends with a number of business owners, one of those also had a local bar in the same area. Unlike the first bar where she was let go, this place had a live karaoke, pool tables, a much better location, and overall was extremely busy. We decided, since she wasn’t working now, to drop by and pay a visit to her old friend. Not sure how long after our arrival she had a quick chat with her friend and a new job working at this place. Within a couple of days we found out the new place was indeed the better choice. Better place, better crowd, and money wise, at least 500% if not more better.

While the story above may sounds like the exception, over the years I’ve seen it happening many times, in the life of friends and in my own life as well.

Some years ago one of our previous partners in the domain space decided to break an agreement due to internal financial issues. We were on a long term contract and now were moved into a revenue sharing program. This move dropped our income overnight by more than 25%, It came as a complete surprise, especially given the credibility and our relations with this particular partner. Soon afterwards our domain portfolio started to gain momentum, we went from losing more than 25% to doubling our income within the next twelve months. If that partner did not act as they have this would have never happened.

I’m not sure how or why it works that way. Maybe it is because at uncertain times we try harder? or maybe it is because that at safe times we don’t explore, we are blinded to opportunities that may have always been there for us? Whatever the reason may be, for me, things always turn out for the better, I still say and truly believe that everything that happens happens for a GOOD reason, and that any downfall has the potential for a greater success.

Have a great day,

Sahar

Alizée, Mademoiselle Juliette, Live on HIT MACHINE 2/2/08

Published by Sahar Sarid on June 27, 2008 in Bido and General. 1 Comment

Taking a break today from the blog, enjoy the video below of one of my favorite artists Alizée (more videos here). To those who plan on bidding today on Bido auction (HouseTips.com), good luck and happy bidding!

PANELIST.COM On Bido, US $1,866.00, 35 Minutes To Go

Published by Sahar Sarid on June 26, 2008 in Bido and Domain Names. 4 Comments

Strong start for the domain Panelist.com today on Bido. Here are few comments from the site in regard to the domain:

Dominik Mueller writes:

Valuable one-word .com domain name that is generic in nature! It won’t be often that you find a domain as good as Panelist.com being sold without a reserve price.

Professional panelists can use it to promote their name and services, and panel organizers can feature speakers of upcoming discussions. But the domain can also be used in many other contexts, such as blogs, contests or politics. It’s covering a wide range of topics, so there is lots of potential for commercial use and development.
Valuable one-word .com domain name that is generic in nature! It won’t be often that you find a domain as good as Panelist.com being sold without a reserve price.

Professional panelists can use it to promote their name and services, and panel organizers can feature speakers of upcoming discussions. But the domain can also be used in many other contexts, such as blogs, contests or politics. It’s covering a wide range of topics, so there is lots of potential for commercial use and development.

Emil Mendoza writes:

Simply a domain name to own, whether to increase your domain portfolio or for resale.

No need an introduction.
Simply a domain name to own, whether to increase your domain portfolio or for resale.

No need an introduction.

You can read more industry expert commentary here.

While none of us know the price it will sell for (I’m sure many have an idea) one thing is for sure: The market will pay what the market will pay.

Happy bidding!

Sahar

Edit: Closing price: US $1,866.00

The Rebellious Jeff: Bido, The First Week!

Published by Sahar Sarid on June 26, 2008 in Bido. 7 Comments

Jeff used to be a real productive fellow, one that would always spend his time managing teams, building new products, installing networks, eliminating software bugs, or just plain old software testing. So what has happened to Jeff? From time to time he gets into “creativity mode”. He knows (or should know!) he has no talent whatsoever to play with graphics (yes, that includes animation!) but I guess, it’s his rebellious spirit towards Darren and myself when we point out the obvious.

The video below is not something I’m proud to share with you, however Jeff has stated he isn’t going to do anything anymore unless I put it here. In the spirit of productivity, to get Jeff back to important things, here’s his latest creation. Enjoy!