Edwin

I asked a similar question a few months ago, but thought it was time for an update... has anyone seen any sign of "bulk" portfolio buyers (a la Marchex) out there hunting down .co.uk domains? There seem to be several playing in the .com space, but .co.uk sales still seem pretty much one-by-one-by-one.

charlie

any joy edwin?

I think all of us are finding it hard going at the moment - though i have had a lot of interest through sedo they have been offers for low amounts.

The reports that the .uk market is bouyant hasn't really filtered through as far as i'm concerned. The single word market maybe active but i've seen no noticable increase in interest, especially for the money we're expecting.

domain marketing is always an issue for me - bulk domain sales would suit me

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domains for sale: Cowrie.co.uk SEDO
sites:iroses ichocolate sportsunderwear personallingerie perfumecentre magazinediscounts

Edwin

No joy on the bulk side. I sell a few names each month to end-users, so I'm quite happy - it's just that it would be interesting to fast-forward a few years even if it meant leaving money on the table

singlefile

I think that bulk buyers will arrive in their numbers, when the market has matured further, 5 years+? [assuming that domains are still the way that sites are accessed in say, 2010!]. Consolidation seems to be the way of maturing business sectors.

charlie

So what do we think bulk buyers are looking for?

various one word generics
sector focused collections
traffic

lets face it a one off cash payment would put a smille on anyones face

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domains for sale: Cowrie.co.uk SEDO
sites:iroses ichocolate sportsunderwear personallingerie perfumecentre magazinediscounts

Edwin

They're looking for all of the above, but I'd say they're looking for "average quality good" if you'll pardon that ungrammatical expression. What I mean is that if they look at all of the names one by one, the overall quality is "good" or better. A lot of junk names padding out a longer list would put them off, probably enough to kill any deal.

For example, dictionary word domains that have zero commercial potential (one word "generics" that are "special" only because they happen to have made it into the pages of a dictionary), typos, obvious TM violations etc. have no place in that kind of ready-for-primetime bulk portfolio. They would IMO actually reduce the overall value i.e. they have an incremental NEGATIVE value.

I doubt they'd be interested in "brandable" names either i.e. names that have no intrinsic value until somebody comes along and thinks "hmm, I could build a business around that name".

100% COMMERCIAL generics all the way is the way to go.

There would probably also have to be a strong core of stand-out "anchor" domains, domains that would make any serious buyer sit up and take notice. The opportunity of scooping them all up along with a swathe of good secondary names should be that much more appealing for their presence.

Of course, this is all speculation... until a big deal is done, it's hard to know what would work and what wouldn't!