I was thinking it might be educational if we start a list of documented transactions where the seller sold a domain at a loss. I expect more of these over time, although probably many remain unreported.

I'm aware of at least one such name, sold for at least 75% below what it was purchased at, but alas it is private (not one of my own transactions).

Does anyone have a public list, or has noticed any from public transactions? Or is it the case that most domain owners have been selling their winners, and hanging on to their losers? (a mistake often made in the stock market, too)

Of course, the biggest losses are probably evident from the daily expired domain name lists --- the graveyard of unfulfilled dreams -- but for the purpose of this list, they should probably be excluded (unless the name was bought for say $X,XXX in the past, and then dropped intentionally with no one grabbing it at an expired name auction).

What would be the purpose of this?

What would be the purpose of this?

General interest - discussion points - point and sneer - signs of impending doom?

Originally posted by JuniperPark
What would be the purpose of this?

Self-pity.....

Balance -- a warning to newbies that this is a risky business, and that there is no guarantee of profits.

If no one has ever lost money on a domain, that's an interesting statement!

Are we now looking for ways to scare away people from domains?

I don't think I've ever done this. I've dropped some because I thought they were worthless, and I've repriced some to just under UDRP filing fee when I thought there may be a 'legal issue', but never sold for less than I paid for a name.

Originally posted by GeorgeK
...If no one has ever lost money on a domain, that's an interesting statement!

There are loads of lost money in domains but I'd estimate over 99% of that is in the form of dropped names.....Vast majority of the time when someone spends XXXX in the aftermarket, the chances of that name's value going down are very slim. For instance, I've myself probably lost a lost in the former category but can't think of a single example where any of my aftermarket names (purchased in high XXX or XXXX figures) have gone south in value.

Originally posted by GeorgeK
I was thinking it might be educational if we start a list of documented transactions where the seller sold a domain at a loss. I expect more of these over time, although probably many remain unreported.

I think this kind of list would be very educational. I have around three like that where the names was sold publically (and reported) then the seller was short of cash and sold at a loss. I had about three transactions like this in 2002/2003 (with the one seller), the losses were as follows

$1800 --> $1000
$1400 --> $750
$9000 --> $5500

Unfortunately if I stated these names it would give away who the seller was, and he probably wouldn't be happy about it, I suspect most sellers who are selling at a loss wouldn't want the sale disclosed.

Also I've paid too much for names many times though have never been man enough to take a loss on the names after buying them I think alot of people would just hold on in that situation also and hope the market rises to "cure" it.

One thing I did notice after looking at some traffic auction data yesterday was smoking.com looked to have a 100k reserve (from a list commpiled by someone who was there), that name sold in 2004 for $325,000, it was a huge overpayment then and I think the seller has been trying to sell it since.

One thing I did notice after looking at some traffic auction data yesterday was smoking.com looked to have a 100k reserve (from a list commpiled by someone who was there), that name sold in 2004 for $325,000, it was a huge overpayment then and I think the seller has been trying to sell it since.

Bidding opened at $100,000 with no further advance in the short time it was up. The reserve is listed as $382,360.

So basically $325,000 after commission. +1 for the sellers who won't take a loss.

Originally posted by sellinbiz
Bidding opened at $100,000 with no further advance in the short time it was up. The reserve is listed as $382,360.

So basically $325,000 after commission. +1 for the sellers who won't take a loss.

Thanks for the info. Was there a list with all the reserves on it? The figures I got from someone for all the names must have been highest bid.

A list of names at DigiPawn for any extended period of time would probably be a good place to start finding domains that were sold or forfeited at a loss.

Originally posted by DomainEngineer
Are we now looking for ways to scare away people from domains?

Not necessarily, but I notice too many people who start domaining, thinking that this is just something where they can get-rich-quick (preferably while doing nothing )

Like GeorgeK said, balance is needed. Many people lost a lot of money or went into some terrible debts, but these stories are never told.

Personally, I haven't sold at a loss, but I have dropped quite some names along the road. I consider that to be my tuition fee

I think there are too many things to take into account for things like that to be useful. Even in the sales, there are only a few companies I actually believe give accurate results.

Thanks for the info. Was there a list with all the reserves on it? The figures I got from someone for all the names must have been highest bid.

You can see all the reserves (which are the starting bids) if you have access to the silent auction. PM me if you need that piece of info on any particular name.