Game Changer

Note to reader: This thread originated in the V.I.P. Lounge, a private area of the forum reserved for members with 500 or more posts.

Just bought OnlineStorageAuctions.com today. Cost an arm and a leg. Didn't want to announce it publicly until we have full control over the domain. Usually takes 2-7 days to process through this company.

This domain name is a game changer. When I first bought VSA's domain, I was hoping that the industry would embrace the term virtual storage auctions, but it chose to refer to the niche as online storage auctions.

Anyway, the new domain name is the premium / exact match term for the niche. Should be really easy to remember and easy to rank #1 for the search term online storage auctions.

I'm thinking about consolidating all of the sites under the new domain name, making OnlineStorageAuctions.com the worlds largest storage auction website.
 

Cost an arm and a leg.

How much is an arm and leg these days? Or just an arm?  I have no idea what domains cost.

How much is an arm and leg these days? Or just an arm?  I have no idea what domains cost.

I have contacted the company (BuyDomains.com) about the domain several times over the past few years and the owner wouldn't budge on his price. Well, I contacted them again yesterday and we went back and forth on the price all day long. We finally settled on a cash price and a trade for another domain I own, AirportAuctions.com. The former owner is a domain investor and saw the opportunity to make even more money reselling AirportAuctions.com. I was planning on developing AirportAuctions.com but the traffic / interest in the baggage auction niche was a lot lower than I anticipated. So, it worked out great for me since I didn't have to spend a lot of cash.

Domains range from $2.99 for a unregistered domain - 35,000,000 for a name like VacationRentals.com. See the following list of the most expensive domain name sales of all time.


    VacationRentals.com $35 million in 2007 [1]
    Insure.com $16 million in 2009 [2]
    Sex.com for $14 million in October 2010[2][3]
    Fund.com 2008 £9.99 million[2]
    Porn.com 2007 $9.5 million[2]
    Fb.com by Facebook for $8.5 million in November 2010[4]
    Business.com for $7.5 million in December 1999[2]
    Diamond.com 2006 $7.5 million[2]
    Beer.com 2004 $7 million[2]
    Israel.com 2008 $5.88 million[2]
    Casino.com 2003 $5.5 million[2]
    Slots.com 2010 for $5.5 million [5]
    Toys.com: Toys 'R' Us by auction for $5.1 million in 2009[2][6]
    Asseenontv.com 2000 for $5.1 million [7]
    iCloud.com by Apple for $4.5 million in April 2011[8]
    GiftCard.com by CardLab for $4 million in October 2012[9]
    Yp.com by YellowPages.com for $3.8 million in November 2008[10]
    AltaVista.com for $3.3 million in August 1998
    Candy.com for $3.0 million in June 2009[11]
    Loans.com by Bank of America for $3.0 million in February 2000[12]
    Investing.com by Fusion Media Limited for $2.45 million in December 2012[13]

There are people who make their living buying and reselling domains. These days, all of the good .coms are taken.

Heck, StorageAuctions.com could easily sell for $100,000 or more. Now, this is probably the best domain in the storage auction niche; however, OnlineStorageAuctions.com has the highest earning potential of any domain in this niche. Just like this forum, OnlineStorageAuctions.com was severely undervalued.

Compared to the examples of prices you listed as examples in reply #2 above I think you might have paid not "an arm and a leg" but rather a toe...no wait, a toenail. Maybe even a hair for your new domain.

I'll give you this...your enthusiasm and your urge to keep trying are commendable.

I'll give you this...your enthusiasm and your urge to keep trying are commendable.

Thank you. One thing my competitors underestimate is my persistence. I don't give up, especially when I set my sights on something. In life, you might only get one shot to make something really big happen. When it comes along, you have to seize the opportunity.

I think it was a good buy. Good luck with it!

I think it was a good buy. Good luck with it!

Thanks. I think it was a good buy as well. Not only is it worth a lot more than I paid for it, I just couldn't risk the domain falling into the hands of a current or future competitor. If the SEO is done properly, it will dominate the search results. 

It should help you forge a relationship with the Dotsons. If they understand the internet, they may want to back a domain like OnlineStorageAuctions.com!

It should help you forge a relationship with the Dotsons. If they understand the internet, they may want to back a domain like OnlineStorageAuctions.com!

Well, we will see. If nothing else, it definitely adds some credibility to the site.

It's official, we now have domain control!

Great Job!!!!!
I have a question have you thought about doing an auction service to the facilities?  Have an agent come and check out the storage units, take pics, and post them to the site for a fee.  Having a consistent product will go a long way.

You had mentioned that auctioneers might be interested.  Take it one step further and have your own agent go to each facility and do the actual work.

Facilities are already use to paying a percentage.

Great Job!!!!!
I have a question have you thought about doing an auction service to the facilities?  Have an agent come and check out the storage units, take pics, and post them to the site for a fee.  Having a consistent product will go a long way.

You had mentioned that auctioneers might be interested.  Take it one step further and have your own agent go to each facility and do the actual work.

Facilities are already use to paying a percentage.

That's a good idea and there is already a service/auctioneer doing that now on a local level. It seems to be working out well for them. However, since we made the site free, we've been encouraging auctioneers to get involved. I really feel like auctioneers are essential to the site's success. The smart ones will embrace this new technology.

I truly want to make Auctioneer's jobs easier; I want to work with them, not compete against them. Right now, we have two auctioneers in North Carolina who are doing lock cut services for their storage clients. I'm sure more auctioneers and auction services will see how they can use OnlineStorageAuctions.com in the future.

Also, hiring people to do lock cuts/inventory opens us up to a lot of liability. We could easily get sued for errors with photos and descriptions or if something came up missing. Employees would also have to be background checked, bonded, etc.

I'm really trying to keep the site running on auto pilot. A lot of people might think that's impossible, but I did that with AuctionsTX.com. We used to get dozens of customer service issues each day. I analyzed the issues and created solutions on the site and now we rarely get contacted by customers, except for the occasional billing question or to tell us how much they love our service.    I also think that users could ask and answer questions about the site on this forum.