Rick’s Adult Domain Auction – Results, Analysis, Opportunities

April 7, 2009 · Print This Article

Results
There has been a lot of discussion in the domainersphere lately about Rick Latona’s Adult Domain Auction held at The Phoenix Forum.  However, I haven’t seen the results posted anywhere.  Here they are:

PornCzars.com -$1.00
ChicBars.com – $50.00
HispanicPornos.com – $75.00
HispanicCouples.com – $100.00
boned.com – $4,750.00
hornychicks.co.uk – $350.00
BigDickPornos.com – $175.00
transsexualpornos.com – $150.00
MatrixContent.com Video Package 1 – $200.00
Hispaniccoeds.com – $100.00
Offshoring Package 1 – $200.00
Boys247.com – $50.00
SinglesListings.com – $125.00
MatrixContent.com Video Package 2 – $2,300.00
RackCo.com Hosting Package 1 – $300.00
Lot of 25 Adult Domains – $200.00
GroupOrgies.net – $10.00
LiveVoyeur.net – $20.00
P2PAds.com Website Traffic Package 1 – $2,800.00
X2KMedia.com Video Package 1 – $300.00
RackCo.com Hosting Package 2 – $1,000.00
RackCo.com Hosting Package 3 – $1,500.00
StripClubs.com – $101,000.00
Offshoring Package 2 – $400.00
SwingerHouseWives.com – $30.00
nudiebars.com – $500.00
BigCockPornos.com – $80.00
tubegratis.com – $125.00
Offshoring Package 3 – $1,100.00
P2PAds.com Website Traffic Package 2 – $1,400.00
adultwebsites.co.uk – $275.00
voyeurcams.net – $75.00
RibbedDildo(s).com and RibbedVibrator(s).com – $150.00
NaughtyHusband(s).com – $75.00
FirstPornoMovie.com – $30.00

Total – $117,926.00

As you can see, except for the sale of StripClubs.com, there were no major sales.  Interestingly enough, the non-domain items seemed to sell much better than the domains.

Analysis

I’ve thought this for a long time, but now we’ve finally have proof of it – domain auctions are purely wholesale events.  If an end user gets involved, it’s fortunate, but a rare occurrence.

After practically every live auction event, the domainersphere and the forums buzz about how the auction results would have been much better if only the auction house had spent a lot of time and money marketing the domains to end users.  That has never made sense to me – the chance of an enduser wanting and a needing a particular domain at the precise moment the auction is held is very low.  Add in the unfamiliar and somewhat intimidating auction environment, and you can see why not many endusers get involved.

For this auction, Rick pulled out all the stops.  He put together a great lineup of domains with good (and often no) reserves.  The list of domains was announced well in advance, instead of the last minute announcement we normally see for live auction events.  He made sure that the domains were targeted at a particular industry, and held the auction at that industry’s main conference, when all the players were in one spot.  He heavily marketed the auction to these endusers.

In short, Rick basically did everything right (although there were some technical difficulties on the day of the auction).  Despite this, the auction results were disappointing.

On a personal note, I admire Rick for having the guts to do something different.  The most successful people are the ones who fail the most, as they are the ones who are constantly trying new things.  As well, Rick owned up to what happened instead of playing the politician.  Plus, he’s got some brand new strategies for selling to endusers based on what he’s learned from this experience – and I think these will work well.

Opportunity

Rick’s loss is your gain.  The names that didn’t sell, as well as a whole host of other quality names, are now available in an online extended auction.  You can see what is available here.  Highlights of the auction include:

XXX.com
WebCam.com
CamGirls.com
BangedUp.com
Porno.co.uk
GirlonGirl.com
Novelties.com
Sadistic.com
SexShows.com
Skimpy.com
Shocker.com
Nudist.net
CyberPorn.com
NiceLegs.com
Wet.co.uk
Womanizer.com
Whoppers.com
FirstDates.com
NicheTube.com
StudFinder.com
Posing.com

The auction run until 2.00 p.m. Sunday EDT. Get your bids in now.

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