T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Down Under - Final Thoughts - Auction Results

After sleeping a personal record of 9 hours on the flight home, I’m rested and getting back to work.

Overall, I’m very satified with the way the auction turned out. I have to admit my expectations were low. The timezone and the economy were certainly not on my side.

I’d like to also point out that the guys at Fabulous.com did a really incredible job throwing the show. It was certainly one of the best I’ve been to.

AcidRefluxRelief.com	$600.00
Adopt.com.au	$400.00
Campsites.com.au	$1,300.00
CharterAirplane.com	$2,750.00
CR.com	$150,000.00
Cuba.me	$600.00
FreeCellMinutes.com	$400.00
Friend.com.au	$3,500.00
GasCost.com	$1,000.00
GolfClubs.org	$5,000.00
GranolaBar.com	$3,800.00
History.com.au	$8,500.00
Honored.com	$2,250.00
InEarHeadphones.com	$420.00
InfantFormulas.com	$500.00
Inspecting.com	$2,000.00
Instruments.com.au	$2,200.00
Lousy.com	$3,750.00
ManagingDiabetes.com	$1,100.00
MealReplacement.com	$1,250.00
MelbourneHousing.com	$300.00
Monitors.net	$5,000.00
Packed.com	$1,750.00
Patients.net	$1,250.00
ProBasketball.com	$5,500.00
PsychicAdvisor.com	$2,250.00
Returning.com	$500.00
SanJuan.com	$150,000.00
Settling.com	$710.00
Sildenafil.com	$4,000.00
SnowBoards.com.au	$6,000.00
SoreJoints.com	$850.00
StockExchange.com.au	$7,500.00
StockInvestment.net	$710.00
StockSymbol.com	$6,250.00
Thinner.com	$15,000.00
TomatoJuice.com	$5,250.00
ww.com.au	$2,250.00
Total	$406,390.00

Clearly the .au names were popular which shouldn’t have been a surprise considering we were in Australia. This only confirms my theory and supports my decision to focus solely on ccTLDs during my own show in Amsterdam this coming June. More on that coming soon.

Final Auction List FINALLY Released

It’s been a marathon getting here, not a sprint. Air France decided to go on strike when I was leaving Europe so they had to hustle and get me on a Malaysia flight to Brisbane instead. Lost luggage, tired, etc. Anyway, I’m very sorry for the long delay but here is our short list of names we’ll be auctioning. To sign up and bid online you will go to www.proxybid.com/ricklatona.

The auction will take place Thursday noon Brisbane time. Please note that means that Brisbane Australia is GMT +10. For example, Altanta is GMT -5. So the auction, for most of us actually starts 9 p.m. on Wednesday for East Coasters in the States and for those of you on the west coast it would start at 6 p.m.  For Europeans you would be looking at 2-4 on Thursday morning depending on where you are. Your best bet is to probably place proxy bids at the aptly named www.proxybid.com/ricklatona

Domains                                                            Reserve

AcidRefluxRelief.com	No Reserve
Adopt.com.au	No Reserve
Aussies.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Australians.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Belgium.com	Reserve cannot be published
Brimbank.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Brussels.net	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
Campsites.com.au	No Reserve
CharterAirplane.com	No Reserve
CharterPlanes.com	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
ChristianEducation.com	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
ChristianFriends.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
CR.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
Cuba.me	No Reserve
Fabrications.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
FaxOnDemand.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
FreeCellMinutes.com	No Reserve
FrenchRiviera.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
Friend.com.au	No Reserve
Gascost.com	No Reserve
GolfClubs.org	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
Gosford.com	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
GranolaBar.com	No Reserve
History.com.au	No Reserve
honored.com	No Reserve
inearheadphones.com	No Reserve
InfantFormulas.com	No Reserve
Inspecting.com	No Reserve
Instruments.com.au	No Reserve
LifeInsurers.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Lousy.com	No Reserve
Macros.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
ManagingDiabetes.com	No Reserve
MealReplacement.com	No Reserve
MelbourneHousing.com	No Reserve
MO.com	300,000 USD - 399,999 USD
Monitors.net	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
Packed.com	No Reserve
Patients.net	No Reserve
Pete.com	20,000 USD - 29,999 USD
PoolTables.com	400,000 USD - 499,999 USD
Porno.co.uk	200,000 USD - 299,999 USD
ProBasketball.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
PsychicAdvisor.com	No Reserve
Rang.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Repossessions.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
Rome.net	25,000 USD - 49,999 USD
Returning.com	No Reserve
Rowers.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
SanJuan.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
Scores.tv	20,000 USD - 29,999 USD
SeniorCitizen.com & SeniorCitizens.com	400,000 USD - 499,999 USD
Settling.com	No Reserve
Sildenafil.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Snowboards.com.au	No Reserve
SoreJoints.com	No Reserve
StockExchange.com.au	No Reserve
StockInvestment.net	No Reserve
StockSymbol.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Tans.com	40,000 USD - 49,999 USD
taxaccountant.com	25,000 USD to 50,000 USD
taxaccountants.com	25,000 USD to 50,000 USD
TomatoJuice.com	No Reserve
Venice.com	Reserve cannot be published
VideoPachinko.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
Wait.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
WW.com.au	No Reserve
WY.net	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD

First half of the TRAFFIC Down Under Auction Names Released

On the 20th of November I hope to be surfing in the morning while on the Gold Coast of Australia. Afterwords, I’ll go up to my room, shower, put on a suit and get ready for my auction. Here’s the first half of the list we’ll be auctioning off. It’s listed below in no particular order. For more information about the show, visit the official website.

FreeCellMinutes.com	No Reserve
Fabrications.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
Brussels.net	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
LifeInsurers.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
StockSymbol.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Rang.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
ProBasketball.com	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Wait.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Macros.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Pete.com	20,000 USD - 29,999 USD
FaxOnDemand.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
FrenchRiviera.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
Aussies.net	0 USD - 4,999 USD
Gosford.com	20,000 USD - 29,999 USD
inearheadphones.com	No Reserve
MealReplacement.com	No Reserve
TomatoJuice.com	No Reserve
GranolaBar.com	No Reserve
AcidRefluxRelief.com	No Reserve
InfantFormulas.com	No Reserve
ManagingDiabetes.com	No Reserve
SoreJoints.com	No Reserve
MO.com	300,000 USD - 399,999 USD
CharterPlanes.com	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
VideoPachinko.com	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
GolfClubs.org	5,000 USD - 9,999 USD
taxaccountant.com & taxaccountants.com	50,000 USD - 74,999 USD
ChristianEducation.com	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD
ChristianFriends.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
CR.com	100,000 USD - 199,999 USD
WY.net	10,000 USD - 19,999 USD

Get Your Name in Print

The TRAFFIC Down Under show in Brisbane Australia is just around the corner. Specifically, it’s November 18th through the 20th in Brisbane.

If you’d like to submit domains to our auction there, I suggest you do so now. The reason is that I spend over $40,000 a month in print campaigns with periodicals like Website Magazine and Internet Retailer. As you probably know, the lead time is at least 30 days. If you get your names to us this week, we have time to squeeze them into our next campaign before the auction comes.

Auction Results and Final Thoughts - NYC 2008

It’s time to leave New York and go home. Overall, I think it was a very successful show. I cut a lot of deals, developed and strengthened strategic relationships and had a good time. Before I go on I’d like to say, thank you to everyone who voted for me as Domainer of the Year. That’s an incredible honor to be voted for by your peers and I’m grateful.

On the auction front, while we didn’t put up huge numbers, we put up bigger numbers than two of the other auctions. And at $700,100 in sales, we averaged the same amount per lot as Moniker’s premium auction, more or less. I’ve spent the last few days analyzing what we did right and what we did wrong and below are my thoughts.

Those that I do a lot of business know that most of the names that I own I am willing to sell at small margins. That’s my business model. I do a lot of sales because I’m not greedy. Anyway, back to the point. I think the first thing I did right was I brought inventory priced low enough that we got sales on a day the sky was falling in New York.

I think we picked the right auctioneer and spotters. Most people were entertained by them. I did make one major mistake with them. I didn’t stress to them that the buyers were internet professionals and needed clarity. When they first started they would say “sold” when it wasn’t really sold to keep momentum going. I put a stop to that right away. The thought of correcting blogs and confusing sellers and buyers was horrible. Don’t blame them though. That was just habit for them. Our next auction will start at exact reserve prices and it’ll be obvious what sells and doesn’t. I pledge to you transparency. After the first 10 lots or so, the auctioneer was straight up, by the way. Matt Lowery is great and will stay with us and we both apologize for any confusion.

Another mistake I made was I wasn’t myself on the stage. I didn’t know if I should smile or frown or talk or what so I sat there doing nothing. I like to think I have a dynamic personality when I want to and I should have just relaxed and done my thing. I know selling domains as good as anyone so what was there to doubt? I guess I was afraid to smile because I was worried the audience would not bid if I looked like I was happy about making money. On hindsight, that’s ludicrous. They know if they want the name or not and most of them are learning or will learn that I don’t need to make a lot of money on the name. My goal is to sell the most names. I just need to prove that.

We tested our online software and we loaded the data but we never tested it with the data. Shame on us. This isn’t my first rodeo. I’m not sure how that slipped through the cracks. You could see the html tags in the lot descriptions. That was embarrassing. Other than that, the software worked great and their onsite staff handled the situation.

Thank you to everyone involved. I had an awesome team! The official auction results are below:

Domain Name Price
MCC.com $195,000
CountryClubs.com $85,000
EFS.com $55,000
NAP.com $47,500
Lisbon.net $32,000
Spreadsheets.com $25,000
423.com $25,000
PER.com $20,000
LotteryNumbers.com $20,000
SecurityAlarms.com $18,000
PublicAuctions.com $17,000
TruckRims.com $16,000
ComputerBatteries.com $14,000
Wines.net $13,000
BabyAnnouncements.com $13,000
PreOwnedJets.com/PreOwnedJet.com $12,500
Sugarless.com $12,000
RentalCondos.com $11,500
11.net $10,000
OneHourPhoto.com $7,000
GolfClubRepair.com $6,500
BreastExamination.com $6,000
Microbrewers.com $6,000
PrinceEdward.com $4,100
Monopolies.com $4,000
ModelSchools.com $4,000
FrenchPerfumes.com $4,000
HighFidelity.com $4,000
Coeds.net $3,000
PostOfficeBox.com $2,500
StockBuying.com $2,300
StockOrders.com $1,500
ForexTickers.com $1,100
SecondaryLending.com $800
ForexTicker.com $800
StockShare.com $400
StockShares.com $300
StockOrder.com $300
MufflerRepairs.com 
ResearchLab.com & ResearchLabs.com 
Atriums.com 
CustomBoots.com 
TheBronx.net 
GolfClothing.com 
GolfJackets.com 
DayTraders.com 
GayLawyers.com 
Cyberspace.com 
OilandLube.com 
Cognacs.com 
CatFood.com 
Rhodes.com 
Schnapps.com 
DefenseAttorneys.com 
BrooklynLawyers.com 
Chew.com 
CR.com 
BlackEntrepreneurs.com 
Audit.com & Audits.com 
Drugs.net 
Autos.net 
ND.net 
GD.net 
French.net 
PaintContractors.com 
Tasks.com 
RugCleaning.com 
GolfSweaters.com 
Gas.info 
ER.com 
FinancialBrokers.com 
BroadwayShows.com 
SanJuan.com 
Vino.com 
GolfClubs.com 
BlackEntrepreneur.com 
CountryLakes.com 

Total Sales: $700,100

Now it’s time to shut this laptop down and board a plan,  go home and start preparing for the Australia show and many more exciting things to come.

P.S. Thank you Ron Jackson of dnjournal.com for use of the photo.

Last Minute Addition - Seoul.com

Rick Latona Auctions is proud to announce the last minute addition of Seoul.com to our T.R.A.F.F.C. New York auction. Seoul is the largest city in South Korea as well as the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the world. This is listed with a very aggressive reserve in the 1 Million to 1.5 Million range and is priced to sell.

It is game time everyone. All of the “Good Luck” emails have been well received and thank you for your support.

Online bidding is available NOW at http://www.proxibid.com/ricklatona - if you haven’t signed up yet please do. When the hammer hits on these names bidding will be closed.

If there are any issues with registering for online bidding please give David Clements a call at 678-468-9228.

Here is to a great success!

Bidding Starts NOW!!!!!

We’ve done one more thing to change the way domain auctions should be run. Our main competitor throws names that don’t sell into an online bidding system and runs them for another week. We are starting the online bidding a week before the live auction. You can sign up now and start bidding! The auctions will close when the live auctioneer says “sold” on the 24th at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference and Expo.

My anxiety level is at an all-time high but at this point, I need to let the market determine our fate. I’ve done everything that we could think of. We’ve got, what we feel, is an incredibly good list of names at low reserves. We’ve got a world champion auctioneer. We are using the best online auction software company. We are starting the auction a week early! And, we have better financing options than our competitors because we will pay 10% of your down payment. I don’t know what else to do at this point other than sit back and hope for the best.

We are here to stay which is why we’ve put so much into this. Anything worth having is worth fighting for and the domain buyer, my customer, is why I fight.

Quick Links
View Auction Inventory
Register for Auction
Submit Domains for Auction

Financing Options at Rick Latona Auctions are Better

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Rick Latona Auctions Partners with Domain Capital.

Atlanta, Georgia USA – September 10, 2008 – Today, Rick Latona Auctions, LLC and RickLatona.com, LLC announced a partnership with Domain Capital to finance domain name purchases.

Typically, Domain Capital finances up to 60% of the purchase price, requiring a 40% down payment by the buyer. However, for a limited time, Latona Company clients have to only put 30% down on domain name purchases. The Latona Companies will take care of the remaining 10% of the down payment on the domain name.

Asked about it, Rick Latona said, “To thank our clients for their confidence and business, the Latona Companies are providing an outstanding monetary value-add for purchases through our opt-in newsletter and auctions. Now someone can buy a $100,000 name with just $30,000 down instead of $40,000 down because we are putting up $10,000 of the down payment. Domain Capital offers a great product and this is our way of thanking our customers for their business”

About Domain Capital:

Domain Capital is a financial services company that offers financing to businesses based on the inherent and recognized value of premium domain names.  Our vision is to innovate exciting new financial products and services designed to enable entrepreneurs to exploit new business models. For more information, go to www.domaincapital.com.

_________________

Note: Please ask questions about this. I realize that it may come across as a bit confusing but this is the real deal. I will make 10% of your down payment for you!

See You Down Under. Rick Latona Auctions Lands Another Contract

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

RICK LATONA AUCTIONS TO FEATURE AT TRAFFIC DOWN UNDER DOMAIN CONFERENCE

Atlanta, Georgia, USA (September 8, 2008) – Rick Latona Auctions will be holding an auction at the TRAFFIC Down Under conference on the Gold Coast, Australia. The show is scheduled to take place November 18th through the 20th. Please see the official site for details.  Rick Latona Auctions is already scheduled for an auction at the TRAFFIC conference in Brooklyn, New York (www.TargetedTraffic.com), so this will be the second TRAFFIC event for the company.  The Australian conference is being co-hosted by TRAFFIC and Fabulous.com, and it promises three unparalleled days of intense workshops, key industry speakers, and fabulous social events.

“Take a look at their agenda.” said Rick Latona of Rick Latona Auctions, “This is three solid days packed with serious industry workshops and educational sessions.  The first keynote speaker is Paul Twomey, CEO of ICANN.  TRAFFIC and the folks at Fabulous.com really have an excellent program planned.  I wouldn’t want to miss this one.”

What other industry leaders have said about Rick Latona Auctions forming their strategic alliance with TRAFFIC:

“Congrats Rick. I knew we could count on you to shake things up and keep life interesting.  You will be a force to be reckoned with.” Ron Jackson

“Rick, I have no doubt it will be a success.  Hey Rick, Is there anything in the domain world that you’re not doing?” Larry Fischer

“I believe Rick’s auction at TRAFFIC will provide the spark that the industry needs at a time and place that will make a difference.  This really is a game changer.” Rick Schwartz

Submissions to Rick Latona Auctions should be sent to Submissions@RickLatonaAuctions.com.

For more information about Rick Latona Auctions, go to www.RickLatona.com.
For more information about Fabulous, go to www.Fabulous.com.
For more information on TRAFFIC Down Under, check out their website at www.TrafficDownUnder.com, or for TRAFFIC simply go to www.TargetedTraffic.com.

About Rick Latona Auctions:
Rick Latona Auctions was founded as a natural extension to www.RickLatona.com to pursue other avenues in the domain marketplace to sell domain names.  When asked why he made the decision to launch now, Rick said, “I had been considering the idea for years.  When I realized that I was one of the largest individual resellers and brokers of domains it really became an issue of timing.  Rick Schwartz created that timing for us.  I understand what names people want and what prices will get them to bite. It’ll be more than interesting to see how this winning formula will perform in a live format.”
Mr. Latona has been in the internet and domain industry since the mid-90s and Rick Latona Auctions is just one of several companies that Mr. Latona has founded during that time.  Other ventures include:
www.RickLatona.com – RickLatona.com stays busy Buying, Hosting, Transferring, and Selling more than 1,000,000 USD worth of domain names per month.
www.DigiPawn.com – DigiPawn is the first company to recognize domain names as assets and loan money on them.  Today, it remains one of the largest companies of its kind in the world.
www.aeiou.com – Aeiou.com offers an affordable development solution for domain owners ready to move forward with their internet properties.

About Fabulous.com and the Dark Blue Sea Group:
Fabulous.com is operated by the Australian listed company, Dark Blue Sea Ltd. DBS owns more than 500,000 high quality, commercially focused, generic keyword domain names (web sites).The DBS suite of products includes Fabulous.com (an ICANN accredited domain name registrar), the Domain Distribution Network (aftermarket domain distribution and fulfillment services), DarkBlue.com (online advertising affiliate network) and Roar.com/PageSeeker.com (online advertising portals) which combine to provide a fully integrated internet marketing platform. Dark Blue Sea is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (code: DBS) and has a Level 1 over-the-counter ADR program through the Bank of New York (code: DKBLY).

###

Contact:
David Clements
david@davidclements.com
Rick Latona Auctions, LLC
405 Brentwood Dr. NE
Atlanta, GA  30305
Ph: +1.678.468.9228

Jen Sale
pr@fabulous.com
Fabulous.com
Ph: +61.7.3007.0000

Rick Latona Auctions Chooses Live Online Bidding Company

Sometimes it pays to go with the best. I’ve made a commitment to spare no expense on my new auction company. You guys already know about our world champion auctioneer. We have now contracted with the biggest and best online auction company in the business. A copy of our press release is below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Rick Latona Auctions Chooses Live Online Bidding Company
Atlanta, Georgia USA – August 27, 2008 – Earlier this month, Rick Latona Auctions selected Proxibid as their live internet auction broadcasting company. Proxibid is the world’s largest provider of live auction webcasting services and will provide live online bidding for our much anticipated auction debut at the T.R.A.F.F.I.C. Domain Conference & Expo. The auction will take place in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday, September 24 from 1:30 p.m. EDT to 3:00 p.m. EDT at the Marriott Hotel at the Brooklyn Bridge. Live online bidding will be available during that time via www.proxibid.com/ricklatona.

Crossing the auction block will be over 60 domain names, many with developed sites which are earning daily revenue. Earlier today, a few of the domain names that are going to be sold during this upcoming sale were released. Those names are: Sugarless.com, SecurityAlarms.com, Microbrewers.com, Monopolies.com, LotteryNumbers.com, PreOwnedJets.com, HighFidelity.com, GolfClubRepair.com, GayLawyers.com, FrenchPerfumes.com, CustomBoots.com, ComputerBatteries.com, BlackEntrepreneur.com, BlackEntrepreneurs.com, BreastExamination.com, Cyberspace.com, ModelSchools.com, PrinceEdward.com, BabyAnnouncements.com, TruckRims.com, LongStemRoses.com, and Wines.net.

“This is a great opportunity for us to sell domains at the largest domain convention of the year,” said Rick Latona of Rick Latona Auctions. “With live online bidding, savvy executives from Fortune 500 companies and investors from around the world can bid on our domains. It doesn’t matter if you are new to the industry, or have been around it as long as I have; this is going to be fun to watch.”

For more information about our auction, visit www.RickLatona.com

About Rick Latona:
Mr. Latona has been in the internet and domain industry since the mid-90s and Rick Latona Auctions is just one of several companies that Mr. Latona has founded during that time. Other ventures include:

www.RickLatona.com – RickLatona.com stays busy Buying, Hosting, Transferring, and Selling more than 1,000,000 USD worth of domain names per month.

www.DigiPawn.com – DigiPawn is the first company to recognize domain names as assets and loan money on them. Today, it remains one of the largest companies of its kind in the world.

www.aeiou.com – Aeiou.com offers an affordable development solution for domain owners ready to move forward with their internet properties.

About Proxibid:
Since 2002, Proxibid has webcast more than 11,000 auctions – more than any other company in the industry. Proxibid’s proprietary live Internet bidding service and Web site were developed by auctioneers and industry-leading professionals to provide our bidders with the most user-friendly and comprehensive live online auction experience possible.
Proxibid’s customer service and support is unmatched in the industry. The company’s toll-free support center is open before, during and after every live auction, and is staffed with bi-lingual auction specialists who assist both bidders and auctioneers. For more information about Proxibid, please visit them online at www.proxibid.com.

Contact:
David Clements
david@davidclements.com
Rick Latona Auctions, LLC
405 Brentwood Dr. NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
Ph: +1.678.468.9228