sold.co.uk again

[WaftyCrank]

Hi people,

I actually found this site because you guys were discussing the domain I bought, sold.co.uk

I guess you wouldn't have known about it if I hadn't gone through sedo, am I correct? To be honest I used Sedo in order to process the transaction, i had already sealed the deal with the seller prior to using sedo. It was purely for their escrow service and the fact that I was a novice at buying domains for higher than the standard 123-reg value, I wanted security for the transaction.

Now since buying it, the development has been a long time coming and I have always had something in mind for the domain name. The website right now is developed (in a fashion) to approx 80 - 85% completed but I'm at a cross roads.

You see there were two of us in the partnership and for mainly time and family constraint reasons the other party has decided to knock it on the head. The cross roads is that he was the programmer for the site and his services up to this point had been free in his spare time. He owned 10% of the company set up around the domain.

Now since he left (and we're still mates so no changes there) a void and stagnant time has come over the site where it's not actually doing anything. This is where I am in two minds on whether or not I should sell the domain, site, business plan and concept and move on... or keep going and get it finished.

I have FULL and I do stress, FULL belief that the concept is a great one (if not entirely unique) and forecasts with the business plan which are very reserve put the site in a very profitable situation within 18 months. Without going into figures (for obvious reasons) we're talking 6 figure profit sums per month.

Now I know what you're thinking, if this is for real then only a muppet would sell now and not take it forward. True and I accept that. However having my own day job, running a separate web business on the side in the evenings and paying a mortgage doesn't leave much free cash and time to fully invest in getting the site 100% live. So I'm at a cross roads, do I sell it? If so then I doubt I'm going to get anywhere near what I feel the true value of the domain and concept are worth (I do have a sedo appraisal of their estimated value, but I would be interested in your thoughts too). Or do I continue and either try and get funding from where it is now or offer the 10% in the business to another programmer to finish the site and become then a shareholder in the business after launch.

Why am I asking you guys? Well you all seem pretty knowledgeable on the domain name front and I am always interest in others opinions so I thought I'd throw the gauntlet down and get some feedback.

Great site by the way and I will make a donation.

 

[retired_member16]

Lets be honest - great name, crap site. It needs binning and starting again.

The problem people make with top quality names is not investing the time and/or cash to develop a great site with a solid business model behind them.

If you wont/cant do this, then bail. Sell up and move on.

 

[SF]

Lets be honest - great name, crap site. It needs binning and starting again.

The problem people make with top quality names is not investing the time and/or cash to develop a great site with a solid business model behind them.

If you wont/cant do this, then bail. Sell up and move on.

Well said :mrgreen:

 

[Sound]

I think you are being harsh have seen a lot worse websites from members of this forum ........

 

[mat]

I think you are being harsh have seen a lot worse websites from members of this forum ........

Yes but not on a domain of this calibre, think of the potential with such a domain name.

The site may look quite nice, but its just aload of google map and untargeted adverts. Ive got Sheffield based companies coming up when I look for properties in Hampshire.

 

[GWing]

agreed it's like having £200,000 to spend on a car and coming back with a Skoda.

Decent car but could do better

 

[rob]

Interesting thread I spoke to you mid September re:sold.co.uk.

That was a for a client, and he bought a couple of other names instead. The main hurdle was not budget (xx,xxx) nor the name, but I think you are right when you say that you probably would not attain the ballpark required.

For a domain bought for a grand it is a very good buy and any profit will be a decent return.

Giving proper advice is hard without knowing plans, and most importantly who made the plans. Internet based ventures are often 'based in reality' when really they are totally out of kilter with what would actually happen.

Building 'proper' sites is not a cheap exercise and really that is only half the battle even on top names as you need to allocate ongoing marketing budget.

For 6figs profit a month inside 18 months I am sure there would be many investors, be it here/banks/whoever , willing to back you but only if that is a solid realistic plan.

If the plan is derailed by a coder moving off the project, then I would question the viability as generally coders are a commodity.

If you have a passion for the area and really think something is achievable on the website I would make personal sacrifices to pay for ongoing development. There is little point giving away a %age of £1,200,000 (assuming 100k min is the 6figs profit per month) to a programmer as an ongoing basis for the sake of a few grand now.

One further thing to remember is that the name is a good one, however it does not get much type in traffic so promotion will be a larger requirement than a domain that gets natural traffic.

The ideal domain would be something like http://www.soldhouseprices.co.uk/ , which has a site that is not that much different - and if you look at the owners , http://www.eigroup.co.uk/ you can see their interest and expertise.

I would go as far as reccomending posting further information here, as there are many people who have been there and done it, or in the process of doing it when it comes to building decent websites on nice names.

Hope this is not too negative, just be cautious, no point in wasting money, but also no point in not making a million a year!

Cheers,
Rob.

 

[retired_member12]

Perhaps some helpful realistic £ figures might be posted here by those who have already gone through the process of developing a site to a suitable level. It is a shame that there are many good domain names out there which are not really in the best hands for development, so they will never reach their full potential.
To be fair to a percentage of those registrants, they have aspired to have a great name and/or site, have managed to get the good name (hat's off to them for that, they're no different to everyone here in that respect), but for financial, capability, time, family or other constraints, can't maximise their domains. At that point, maybe selling up is the best option for them, long term. The problem that niggles them in this situation is they are constantly saying to themselves 'If i sell it now, it'll be worth £xxxx, but if i develop it properly, it'll be worth £xxxx * 100!' As they say, you can't have the cake and eat it!
Far worse in my opinion is to see some fantastic names in the hands of companies, that will never be used at all, and they're pointed to a blank page, etc for years on end.

As Rob said, you only paid £1K for it, so you're bound to make a decent markup if you off load it now, which might be your only option, seeing as you've been relying on a 'partner' with just a 10% interest. It's not the greatest 'partner' incentive to be honest. Without suitable reddies to actually pay for a programmer, i suspect you'd need to dangle more than 10% to get someone else to essentially do the dirty work for free. Just my opinion of course!

 

[rob]

As Rob said, you only paid £1K for it, so you're bound to make a decent markup if you off load it now, which might be your only option, seeing as you've been relying on a 'partner' with just a 10% interest. It's not the greatest 'partner' incentive to be honest. Without suitable reddies to actually pay for a programmer, i suspect you'd need to dangle more than 10% to get someone else to essentially do the dirty work for free. Just my opinion of course!

Exactly. However, if you give 25% or even 50% to get the site built... if the plans are right you are giving away £500,000 a year thereafter.

However if you dont get a developer the site wont be built, so 90% of zero is still zero.

Plus the inital partner then gets his £100k pa for doing sweet FA

Personally I would retain the remaining 90% and find the cash from somewhere - I mean sell the car, sell the wife! For xx,xxx investment to return £x,xxx,xxx inside a couple of years is a great return but only if the plan is rock solid.

 

[Jeewhizz]

i suspect you'd need to dangle more than 10% to get someone else to essentially do the dirty work for free. Just my opinion of course!

Agreed - I'd be more than willing to discuss options with you, but it would need more than 10%.

You got a good deal at £1k for sold.co.uk - you can't rely on lady luck for the entire project

 

[mat]

£1k?? When was this.

 

[rob]

£1k?? When was this.

http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/domain-name-news/2215-sold-co-uk.html 06-10-2005

Which makes it about 2 years. If the projections are right that is a minimum of £2.4 million quid lost

 

[mxm]

king french dream lottery

http://www.acorndomains.co.uk/domain-name-news/2215-sold-co-uk.html 06-10-2005

Which makes it about 2 years. If the projections are right that is a minimum of £2.4 million quid lost

ROFL nice rob!

time for admin to add the "archive" hack to VB!!! weird how some really old posts are still interesting to people when a generic gets bought cheap

*******
bannedfromTV (nice short username, sold is available on Acorn!) what are you looking for ? $ or a partner or both? PM us if private... we would be interested in a quick resale or venture if of interest...

as it is you have www.aboutmyplace.co.uk doing what you appear to want to do already... so think of a niche where the DN can be applied to that someone else has not done... e.g (IP to mxm) a multi portal domain listing site for the UK only... with multiple steams of rev via users / members / sellers / etc a bit like sedo but no where as crap

 

[WaftyCrank]

Lets be honest - great name, crap site. It needs binning and starting again.

The problem people make with top quality names is not investing the time and/or cash to develop a great site with a solid business model behind them.

If you wont/cant do this, then bail. Sell up and move on.

Thanks for tghe input.
It would be great if you could elaborate further because apart from a few inconsistencies (and I am aware of the issues) I've had great feedback.
Functionally it's sound so please let me know what you mean please.

DB you're just upset because I wouldn't sell you the domain for £1500. Thanks for the offer, but you wouldn't have a prayer.

 

[WaftyCrank]

Interesting thread I spoke to you mid September re:sold.co.uk.

That was a for a client, and he bought a couple of other names instead. The main hurdle was not budget (xx,xxx) nor the name, but I think you are right when you say that you probably would not attain the ballpark required.

For a domain bought for a grand it is a very good buy and any profit will be a decent return.

Giving proper advice is hard without knowing plans, and most importantly who made the plans. Internet based ventures are often 'based in reality' when really they are totally out of kilter with what would actually happen.

Building 'proper' sites is not a cheap exercise and really that is only half the battle even on top names as you need to allocate ongoing marketing budget.

For 6figs profit a month inside 18 months I am sure there would be many investors, be it here/banks/whoever , willing to back you but only if that is a solid realistic plan.

If the plan is derailed by a coder moving off the project, then I would question the viability as generally coders are a commodity.

If you have a passion for the area and really think something is achievable on the website I would make personal sacrifices to pay for ongoing development. There is little point giving away a %age of £1,200,000 (assuming 100k min is the 6figs profit per month) to a programmer as an ongoing basis for the sake of a few grand now.

One further thing to remember is that the name is a good one, however it does not get much type in traffic so promotion will be a larger requirement than a domain that gets natural traffic.

The ideal domain would be something like http://www.soldhouseprices.co.uk/ , which has a site that is not that much different - and if you look at the owners , http://www.eigroup.co.uk/ you can see their interest and expertise.

I would go as far as reccomending posting further information here, as there are many people who have been there and done it, or in the process of doing it when it comes to building decent websites on nice names.

Hope this is not too negative, just be cautious, no point in wasting money, but also no point in not making a million a year!

Cheers,
Rob.

Rob,

Not at all, and I appreciate the input. In actually fact it's your fault that got me thinking of whether or not I should sell up now or not. Damn you

With regards to what some others have said about the untargetted ads. The site isn't being promoted and as such it is purely in a "testing phase" right now. The ads when they're run properly will be 100% targetted at the correct audience. Hence the reason there are no other properties on the site outside of Sheffield.

Rob you have given me food for thought I must admit.

 

[WaftyCrank]

Agreed - I'd be more than willing to discuss options with you, but it would need more than 10%.

You got a good deal at £1k for sold.co.uk - you can't rely on lady luck for the entire project

I agree 100% but to be honest I'd rather pay out a few thousand now getting it built than offer more than 10%.

At month 18 from official launch the 10% shareholder would get more than the cost of the build anyway. And would also be guaranteed the profit from then on. If I had the programming skills to do the job and someone offered this to me I know I'd take it. Then that's a personal thing I guess.

Rob has made some very thought provoking points. In fact, you all have. Thanks.

 

[retired_member16]

Thanks for tghe input.
It would be great if you could elaborate further because apart from a few inconsistencies (and I am aware of the issues) I've had great feedback.
Functionally it's sound so please let me know what you mean please.

With the greatest respect it looks like something that I have bodged together and I dont have a clue.

When I first visited, I didnt have a clue what it was all about. Now I have had a look I can see that its already been done elsewhere.

I can see what you are trying to do but at the end of the day its a nice name and deserves a nice development budget. It appears to have been done on the cheap and thats a no-no.

 

[WaftyCrank]

With the greatest respect it looks like something that I have bodged together and I dont have a clue.

When I first visited, I didnt have a clue what it was all about. Now I have had a look I can see that its already been done elsewhere.

I can see what you are trying to do but at the end of the day its a nice name and deserves a nice development budget. It appears to have been done on the cheap and thats a no-no.

OK I see what you're saying and I fully take on board that the lack of content on the site doesn't make it immediately obvious what the site is all about. This needs to be rememdied. I also accept that the immediate idea is not 100 original but I can assure you the concept and design have had excellent feedback.

I personally don't accept that the graphical design (nor current development in the most part) is "on the cheap" but you're entitled to your opinion and I respect where you're coming from.

 

[WaftyCrank]

bannedfromTV (nice short username, sold is available on Acorn!) what are you looking for ? $ or a partner or both? PM us if private... we would be interested in a quick resale or venture if of interest...

as it is you have www.aboutmyplace.co.uk doing what you appear to want to do already... so think of a niche where the DN can be applied to that someone else has not done... e.g (IP to mxm) a multi portal domain listing site for the UK only... with multiple steams of rev via users / members / sellers / etc a bit like sedo but no where as crap

To be honest mxm I'm not entirely sure.
I suppose I came here for a little guidance or feedback on what others may do (and how) if they were in my situation. Thinking about that now though, I appreciate that's unfair of me because you guys wouldn't get anything out of it and you're imparting the info for free.

Obviously if you're happy to do so, I accept your feedback and welcome it.

Would I sell the site as is and move on? Yes I probably would, but as I said to Rob in an email last month it would need to be a six figure sum. Is that over ambitious for a domain that has no brand awareness? Yes probably. You guys are the experts in domain names and sales and I am aware that your expertise would dictate that my asking price would be unrealistic at this stage.

However I do strongly believe in the concept, taking into account the future plans for the domain on expansion. I know how much it has the potential to make. Am I looking for a partner? Probably not but I am always happy to hear offers from others if it's the right thing. I am very aware that having business partners brings with it certain baggage.

I all fairness, I'm not sure but would appreciate thoughts of you guys on here.

Does that help?

 

[julian]

I was interested at first but having thought about it I think you should get out now. I could make a site like this in 1 day, on my own, plus theres already people doing it better - you have alot of catching up to do.

positive - You got a nice domain for peanuts.

Take it on the chin you pumped £,£££s into a black hole. Flog sold/co/uk for your six figures in few years time and buy a nice cigar.

good stuff !