Thanks everyone, but let me clarify some things:
Microsoft had no issues with the TM in the domain name. In fact, they even supported us at times. Truth is, 3rd party Zune communities are crucial for the growth of the Zune.
the value lies mostly within the site, its traffic and revenue made. The domain itself is not worth near that amount of money sold.
I agree, but you forgot one thing: content. ZuneBoards is so content-rich and goes so deep that even I sometimes forget some things on/about the site. Also, a great thing about forums and communities is that once it is established, it goes nowhere but up. Literally thousands of content are added every day, and I think that's beautiful.
The domain has below zero value. This doesn't seem to be the best subject for a forum. I wouldn't think a forum related to this mp3 player would attract many members.
I disagree. I think an mp3 player is a great niche for a forum. People come to the forum all the time for technical support, accessory and player reviews, wallpapers, podcasts, mods and hacks, zune discussion, rumors, and recently, Zune games (which we are DOMINATING).
I find users with split opinions on the sale price of the site, at $62,000. In my opinion, it could go either way, but I thought 62K was very reasonable.
$62,000 was too much:
At the time of the sale, ZuneBoards was raking in ~$1,000 a month. That means they paid 62 months of revenue. Zune's market share is unimpressive, and Apple totally dominates them.
$62,000 was too little:
The Zune is growing rapidly every single year. Microsoft will be throwing money at the Zune with their bottomless sack of money, and Microsoft confirmed that Zune is a long-term investment, and will take at least 5 years to make an impact of Apple's marketshare. Look at the Xbox, people ridiculed it when it first came out (admit it, who wanted that ugly big black box?). They ridiculed Microsoft for stepping up against Sony and Nintendo, but look at the Xbox now. It is a HUGE market! As the Zune grows, ZuneBoards will grow WITH it, and that $1,000 a month revenue will seem minuscule to what it will make in the future. Because of that, I can't say that it was sold for 62 months of revenue, because every year the monthly revenue will increase. ($1K a month for first year of sale, $1.5K for 2nd year, $2K for 3rd year, etc.)
For those who are interested in the content ZuneBoards had at the time of the sale in July, you can look
here. Unsurprisingly, it has grown a lot even in that short period.
Feel free to visit
my website as well.
