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February 02, 2015

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Here's the The Lowdown from DN Journal,
updated daily
to fill you in on the latest buzz going around the domain name industry. 

The Lowdown is compiled by DN Journal Editor & Publisher Ron Jackson.

Biggest Domain Sale in 5 Years Rung Up By Rick Schwartz - Porno.com Brings $8,888,888!  

"Domain King" Rick Schwartz has done it again! The pioneering domain investor and co-founder of the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. conference has closed the sale of Porno.com for just under $8.9 million - $8,888,888 to be exact (Schwartz has always been a numbers guy and, you have to admit, that string looks pretty good)! 

That is the biggest cash domain sale since Sex.com in 2010 and will rank as the 4th highest sale reported since we started tracking the domain aftermarket back in 2003 (you can see the current top 20 here - Porno.com will be added after we officially chart the sales in our weekly domain sales report Wednesday, Feb. 4). The shorter form of Schwartz's domain, Porn.com is the 3rd highest sale on the list - having changed hands for $9.5 million in 2007. As Michael Berkens reported at TheDomains.com, the buyer was a Prague-based company that already owns several premier adult domains (they paid promptly through Escrow.com who told Michael this was the biggest single domain sale the company has ever handled).

Rick Schwartz

In a copy of a press release that Schwartz sent us (that had not yet gone out to the wire services) he noted that he had purchased  Porno.com for $42,000 in 1997 from a college student that has purchased it just a week earlier for $5,000. In addition to the nearly $9 million he made from the sale, Schwartz said he had earned over $10 million from the domain since 1997 by simply redirecting traffic to actual adult sites or monetizing via domain parking.

This is the 5th time Schwartz has closed a publicly-disclosed seven-figure domain sale with Porno.com joining Property.com ($4 million + 5% equity in 2009), Candy.com ($3 million + 12% equity in 2008), eBet.com (for $1,365,000 in 2013) and his first one at this level - Men.com (at $1.3 million in 2003). While Schwartz has booked some of the biggest sales in industry history, he is not a frequent seller, having let only 20 domains go over the 20 years he has been in the business.

This may not be the last big sale you see from Schwartz in 2015. He said he plans to sell domains like 399.com, 750.com, 899.com and 12 other 3-number domains that are in high demand in China. Michael Berkens sold 345.com just last month for $800,000. Schwartz said business owners should  "Use an easy to remember and easy to spell domain name and never settle for anything without .com on the end unless you use your local country code. But even then, having the .com counterpart is very important."  

Schwartz has been providing business advice about domain names since 1996. His site eRealEstate.com, circa 1996-2000, still has his original thoughts from an era when only 5% of businesses were online with a web presence. He also ran RicksBlog.com until June 2014 (when he decided it was time to finally slow down and enjoy the fruits of his labor in semi-retirement). His extensive writings about business and domains are still there for all to read. 

Rick Schwartz speaking at the 10th anniversary edition of T.R.A.F.F.I.C. at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Miami Beach (Oct. 31, 2014). Rick made his last industry appearance at the show before going into semi-retirement. 

(Posted February 2, 2015) To refer others to the post above only you can use this URL: http://www.dnjournal.com/archive/lowdown/2015/dailyposts/20150202.htm


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