Rick
Scwhartz has reason to smile
after $750,000 sale of iReport.com |
T.R.A.F.F.I.C.
Conference co-founder and pioneer domain
investor Rick Schwartz has just completed the
sale of iReport.com to the Cable News Network for
$750,000. As the contract was being finalized
Schwartz was asked if he had any similar domains so he
told CNN he also owned the hyphenated version, i-Report.com.
When the cable TV company expressed interest in getting
that domain as well to protect their planned branding of
iReport.com, Schwartz said he decided to give them that
less desirable name at no charge rather than re-open
negotiations and delay closing of the deal for
iReport.com.
This deal gets the New Year
off to a good start. A $750,000 deal would have ranked
among the 12 largest sales of 2007. It is also
encouraging to see a major end user like CNN recognize
the key role a domain name can play as the platform for
launching a new product or service. |