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- Oct 23, 2002
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DNJ has a funny article about SEDO==>
http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover040504.htm
Although, I don't think it was intended to be a humor piece.
It has so much exuberance, mostly by the company management, that it seems to mask a disaster in the making.
It talks about how they are adding staff of various nationalities and expanding around the globe in their quest to be another GreatDomains.
SEDO's Bentley: "..the secondary market needs a single dominant player to bring everyone together, to become the eBay of domain names, and we will be doing whatever it takes to become that dominant player!ââ¬Â
His analogy is poor. eBay is a diverse marketplace with thousands of products from A to Z. The domain market by contrast is a much smaller and limited specialty market.
Bentley is quoted pushing the pipe dream of the alt TLDs. He almost sounds like a carnival barker in his pitch to domainers:
ââ¬ÅFrom the comfort of their couch they can use Sedo to market their domains around the world, where that new TLD, odd country code, or meaningless phrase might suddenly take on new value...ââ¬Â
He even compares domains to stock: "ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s like investing in a stock,ââ¬Â he said. "You receive a regular dividend (the parking earnings) but also have the chance for a big payoff at the end when you sell your domain/ stock."
But in all the euphoria of the alt TLDs, Bentley trips himself, ââ¬ÅIn the end I think we showed that a company can indeed be successful developing on a .us domain name."
He then winds himself like a pretzel to explain why they had no choice but to pay $80,000 for the .COM!
LOL.
Is there a slight contradiction there?
Near the end of the article Bentley is quoted as saying: "..weââ¬â¢ve become a community of over 150,000 domain professionals (members) and that figure increases by around 7,500 new members each month!ââ¬Â
Do those numbers sound ridiculous on their face? In my opinion, they are. There are only maybe 1,000 domainers in the world who are true professionals, and even that number may be generous. The other 149,000 folks might be a nightmarish drain on customer service reps.
In fairness to the author, the article does take a critical look in this paragraph:
"Of course a wise businessman will also keep an eye out for any potential downside. Bentley said ââ¬ÅI think the most significant risk to the current growth is that the market still does not behave like a mature market. There is little agreement on the true value of domain namesââ¬âyou still see some people asking 7 figures for worthless domain names, and others going for less than they would generate in 1 month parked at Sedo!ââ¬Â
Uh... YEA! There is great opportunity, but also great risk.
In my opinion, the only thing that may save SEDO is their domain parking system, although I think the other stuff may drag them down anyway. Their recognition of the value of, and system to capitalize on, domain traffic is encouraging.
However, add up these factors:
*Domain aftermarket, which by their own admission is immature
*AfterNIC/ GreatDomains wannabee
*Alternative TLDs
*Possible get rich quick appeal to newbies
*Possible sucky unprofessional customers who may be attracted, all looking for a get rich quick scheme
*What appears to be a young staff
*Outside investment/ possible control
*Low margin domain registrations
*Expenses of expansion of websites
*Expenses of a "united nations" staff
*Expenses of managing global offices
*Expenses of a new Boston office --opened days ago-- in one of the priciest cities in the US
*A name that may sound an awful lot like "Sado," as in "Sadomasochism."
DICTIONARY: "the derivation of pleasure from the infliction of physical or mental pain either on others or on oneself."
*The possible uncertainty of some US customers in doing business with a company that has a foreign parent
*No decisive proprietary technology that I can see
*No keyword rich domain for the SEs or for garnering type-ins
.. and what do you get?
A train wreck waiting to happen?
Someone should start a thread where we can place bets on how long SEDO might last before it goes belly up --I'd bet less than 1 year-- but that is just my opinion.
http://www.dnjournal.com/columns/cover040504.htm
Although, I don't think it was intended to be a humor piece.
It has so much exuberance, mostly by the company management, that it seems to mask a disaster in the making.
It talks about how they are adding staff of various nationalities and expanding around the globe in their quest to be another GreatDomains.
SEDO's Bentley: "..the secondary market needs a single dominant player to bring everyone together, to become the eBay of domain names, and we will be doing whatever it takes to become that dominant player!ââ¬Â
His analogy is poor. eBay is a diverse marketplace with thousands of products from A to Z. The domain market by contrast is a much smaller and limited specialty market.
Bentley is quoted pushing the pipe dream of the alt TLDs. He almost sounds like a carnival barker in his pitch to domainers:
ââ¬ÅFrom the comfort of their couch they can use Sedo to market their domains around the world, where that new TLD, odd country code, or meaningless phrase might suddenly take on new value...ââ¬Â
He even compares domains to stock: "ââ¬ÅItââ¬â¢s like investing in a stock,ââ¬Â he said. "You receive a regular dividend (the parking earnings) but also have the chance for a big payoff at the end when you sell your domain/ stock."
But in all the euphoria of the alt TLDs, Bentley trips himself, ââ¬ÅIn the end I think we showed that a company can indeed be successful developing on a .us domain name."
He then winds himself like a pretzel to explain why they had no choice but to pay $80,000 for the .COM!
LOL.
Is there a slight contradiction there?
Near the end of the article Bentley is quoted as saying: "..weââ¬â¢ve become a community of over 150,000 domain professionals (members) and that figure increases by around 7,500 new members each month!ââ¬Â
Do those numbers sound ridiculous on their face? In my opinion, they are. There are only maybe 1,000 domainers in the world who are true professionals, and even that number may be generous. The other 149,000 folks might be a nightmarish drain on customer service reps.
In fairness to the author, the article does take a critical look in this paragraph:
"Of course a wise businessman will also keep an eye out for any potential downside. Bentley said ââ¬ÅI think the most significant risk to the current growth is that the market still does not behave like a mature market. There is little agreement on the true value of domain namesââ¬âyou still see some people asking 7 figures for worthless domain names, and others going for less than they would generate in 1 month parked at Sedo!ââ¬Â
Uh... YEA! There is great opportunity, but also great risk.
In my opinion, the only thing that may save SEDO is their domain parking system, although I think the other stuff may drag them down anyway. Their recognition of the value of, and system to capitalize on, domain traffic is encouraging.
However, add up these factors:
*Domain aftermarket, which by their own admission is immature
*AfterNIC/ GreatDomains wannabee
*Alternative TLDs
*Possible get rich quick appeal to newbies
*Possible sucky unprofessional customers who may be attracted, all looking for a get rich quick scheme
*What appears to be a young staff
*Outside investment/ possible control
*Low margin domain registrations
*Expenses of expansion of websites
*Expenses of a "united nations" staff
*Expenses of managing global offices
*Expenses of a new Boston office --opened days ago-- in one of the priciest cities in the US
*A name that may sound an awful lot like "Sado," as in "Sadomasochism."
DICTIONARY: "the derivation of pleasure from the infliction of physical or mental pain either on others or on oneself."
*The possible uncertainty of some US customers in doing business with a company that has a foreign parent
*No decisive proprietary technology that I can see
*No keyword rich domain for the SEs or for garnering type-ins
.. and what do you get?
A train wreck waiting to happen?
Someone should start a thread where we can place bets on how long SEDO might last before it goes belly up --I'd bet less than 1 year-- but that is just my opinion.
