A few days ago I posted that the seven year old domainer forum DomainState.com was for sale. I also mentioned that I placed a bid on the forum. Well, I just received the following email from the owner’s of DomainState in response not only to my offer, but all offers. To sum up what you are about to read, DomainState will hold a private auction on their forum Wednesday, January 13th at 12pm EST and end 48 hours later. Bidding will begin at $10,000 with bidding increments of $500.
My previous starting offer was $5,000 and yes, I registered to bid.
To read the email response from DomainState owners click below.
Earlier today DomainState.com’s owners placed their 7 year old domaining forum up for sale. Their reason given for selling; “It is with a sad heart that we have realized that it is no longer something we can commit the same level of energy as we once did.”
Stats:
Google Page Rank: 4
Google Search: Ranks third for “domain forum” “domaining forum” domainer forum”
Alexa: 67,726
Compete: 2846 Unique and 15042 Total Visits
If my math is correct then this forum has over 14,000 active and inactive members to go along with over 450,000 posts. The three owners do account for about 10% of those posts.
Sales price? Open to offers but would like to sell within the next couple of weeks. If you are interested in making an offer for the forum then submit to admin@domainstate.com.
You can read more, direct from the owners by visiting DomainState.com.
What do you think the forum will sell for?
My guess, if compete.com stats are anywhere near correct then $7,000-$12,000. I believe their member database is worth this price alone. Anyone looking to broker domain names could certainly benefit from a database like this. Now, if the site was already monetized and income stats could be provided then it would probably sell for a lot more. Whoever purchases this site should be able to easily make $1,000 per month starting off. Again, these numbers are purely speculative because compete.com is not the most accurate tool for traffic estimates.
***UPDATE – I just made an offer to purchase DomainState.com***
The new forum is not just dedicated to Parked/WhyPark information, it’s a lot more. The forum consists of domain names for sale, appraisals, conferences, marketplace, general discussions and more.
I really like that the forum is only open to Parked/WhyPark customers. This avoids a forum member from signing up with false information, reducing spam. Parked and WhyPark hold nearly 5 million domain names with their services. I’m sure everyone in the domain industry already has an account.
Direct from the WhyPark blog this morning…
“We’re excited to announce that the new combined Parked.com/WhyPark forum is live at forum.parked.com. We have retired the previous forum at forum.whypark.com, which now forwards to our combined forum.
To signup, go to forum.parked.com/register.php and complete the registration form. You will be asked for your email address that you use to login to WhyPark and the current number of active sites in your dashboard.
The new forum includes team members from both Parked.com and WhyPark eagerly awaiting your questions and comments. We’re looking forward to open, constructive discussions on ways to improve your revenue, customize your WhyPark sites and get the most out of your WhyPark account. As always, we want to hear your ideas on what’s missing from WhyPark or what would make your life easier.”
I have had the pleasure of meeting Donna Mahony through her private domainer forum DomainBoardroom. The other day she asked the members of her forum for donations for one of her passions, I was more than happy to help. Donna then posted for help on Facebook. Sahar Sarid was quick to jump in and lend a hand. I asked Donna if she would write something for my blog. Her words can get the message across better than anyone.
First I would like to thank the entire community for pulling together in this effort. It started in DomainBoardroom.com where we got feed money for almost 5 days. I then realized that I had to reach further so I put up a plea on Facebook. Sahar of Bido.com replied instantly with an offer of cash and request for more info. Once he heard the story he had to do more and the auction was born. You can see it here.
Although I made the plea, (begging is the real word) and The Bido.com team supplied the platform, the community as a whole is making it happen. As of this writing, more than 40 domains have been donated. The founder of the sanctuary has also donated a great gift as a thank you and it will go to the winner of the auction. You have to go to the auction page to see it
Arizona took a big hit in the economy. Donations have dried up. People can’t afford to keep their pets and they are forced to turn them loose as shelters, rescues and sanctuaries are full. Many places have shut down and had to ask other rescues to take their animals.
Here is a video of HaciendaDeLosMilagros.Org – House of Miracles
I tell the story of my own experiences there at For The Love of a Sanctuary here.
The sad part is, the burros were taken off of their own land by us humans. Rounded up and slaughtered. They deserve better. Some of the animals have suffered more than I care to talk about at the hands of man.
Now they live in their forever home at Hacienda De Los Milagros. The House of Miracles is not an adoption center. Wynne feels these creatures deserve a place that they can call home forever. Sadly, that doesn’t happen all of the time with adoptions. The animals spend their lives going from home to home with no security. My own dog, Max, came from a humane society. He had been returned after a previous failed adoption. He has always acted like he is so grateful for this home. He is always well behaved. But he suffers severe separation anxiety. It breaks our hearts.Animals, love, hurt, worry and rejoice. They mourn for us and their own. They give well beyond what many humans do. Let’s save this group, at least, and be an example of the strength in unity!
The domain community has come together in a way I haven’t seen in all my years as an industry.Let’s see how far we can get this and see the strength we all have together.
If you can’t give cash or a domain. If you can’t bid on the auction there are many other ways we need your help.
Please help spread the word. Find animal help centers of all sorts and give them the message and ask them to send it to their mailing lists. Maybe find appropriate forums and pass along the message. Contact the media if you can or write to jarred@bido.com and ask what you can do to help.
Thank you for caring!
Donna Mahony
PS. Here are some pictures I took yesterday. Lamas need love too
I had a brief discussion about this topic on one of the domainer forums just the other day. I believe it to be an important subject and a possible education opportunity for other domainers new and old.
What lead to the conversation was this. I purchased a domain name for $150 and was willing to sell it for $180. The comments that followed were, that’s not a high enough return on investment (ROI) for me or I wouldn’t sell it unless I could double my money.
Take that same domain name in two scenarios…
Example.com purchased for $150 and sold for $300, but say twelve months after initial purchase giving it a profit of $150 minus any fees. It may have taken twelve months because they were looking for an end buyer, making several calls, sending many emails and maybe some regular mail trying to reach the right buyer. Using this method you turn a 100% ROI over the course of one year.
