Moniker's Money-Losing Auction

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Moniker's Money-Losing Auction
July 14th, 2008
Nobody won during Saturday's live auction.

If you're bummed about the results of Saturday's live GeoDomain auction, which took in about $280,000, think about how Moniker feels. This live auction was a money loser for the company.

Moniker's gross cut from the live auction will be about $42,000. Then they have to pay a cut to Associated Cities (assumption), pay the auctioneer, pay for all of its staff's travel to Chicago, the time it took organizing the auction, and the escrow and settlement process. Ouch.

But why did the auction bring in so little money? Once the list of names was announced, it shouldn't have come as a shock to anyone that the results would be poor. My straw poll at the conference had guesses between $100,000 and $300,000 of sales. My personal guess was up to $300,000. So by that standpoint, I look at the auction results as a success.

When the auction started, there was quiet in the room as the first two domains listed were not premium at all. MarinaDelReyCaliforniaRealEstate.com came in at a whopping 32 characters. WoodlandHillsCaliforniaRealEstate.com was next, and not any better.

For whatever reason, the team at Moniker was unable to get good quality domains in the auction at reasonable prices. About 1 in 5 domains sold, and for as little as $25. Perhaps it's because GeoDomain owners are really proud of their domains right now.

Moniker's placard at the show promoting the auction listed a number of "featured domains". VisitZimbabwe.com was among the 10 or so on the list. It was later scratched. Perhaps someone realized that no one is visiting Zimbabwe these days.

The one bright spot for the auction was the auctioneer and spotter that Moniker hired. They were sharp. If it weren't for them, I bet the results would have been lower.

Looking forward, what will the live auction scene look like? Will more domain auctions inject new ideas, or will it just cause auction overload?

http://domainnamewire.com/2008/07/14/monikers-money-losing-auction