On Episode 12 of the Domainer Show, Rob and Ed talk with the legendary Mike Mann! Mike is probably one of the BIGGEST guests we can have on this show in regards to the domain name industry, if not THE biggest! Many people would say Mike Mann is the most successful Domainer IN THE WORLD – and some would even say Mike is the Domain KING…
You can find out more about Mike Mann at his website or follow his always insightful twitter posts.
Here’s where you can find the best bits of this highly intriguing interview:
- [1:00] We discuss Mike’s Not-For-Profit businesses; MakeChangeTrust.
- [1:40] Mike discusses his MakeMillions.com book.
- [3:30] Mike was co-owner of Sex.com that sold for $13 million.
- [6:30] Does Mike attend Domain Conferences?
- [9:00] How safe would Rob and Ed be, compared to Mike, if nuclear war broke out?
- [9:30] How did Mike get started in the domain name industry? What was the first domain name Mike Mann ever sold? It turns out one of the first ever domain names Mike sold was one he registered for free, renewed for a few years at $35 a pop, and then sold for $25,000.
- [11:40] What has Mike’s domain buying strategy been over the years?
- [17:30] Mike owns a few hundred thousand .com domain names.
- [18:00] gTLDs and domain name market is high-risk as an investment purpose.
- [20:00] What does Mike think about ccTLDs?
- [20:40] What domains would Mike buy if you gave him $100 million dollars?
- [27:30] Are all the good domains taken? Are there any opportunities left to buy domain names?
- [28:30] What does Mike Mann think about UDRP’s and the complaint system?
- [32:30] Mike holds over 300,000 domain names and doesn’t receive many complaints.
- [34:00] Mike sells around 12 domain names every single day.
- [35:00] Mike sold CryptoWorld.com to Binance in 2018. What does Mike think about Cryptocurrency?
- [37:27] How does Mike feel about the future of domain names?
- [39:30] Mike develops strong domain names such as Phone.com and SEO.com(.)
Robert runs DBR.com.au and Ed runs OnlineImpact.com.au
The guy selling widgets will always tell you his widgets are superior to others.
A good interview, thanks guys and Mike.
But Mike, you describe ccTLDs as further down the ladder/increased risk compared to .com only because you’re holding a lot of .com names that you need to sell.
Suggesting that there are surer gains to be made investing hundreds of thousands in a .com and then selling it for $1m+ than investing that same money in the top ccTLDs (the top 3 for investment are .de, .co.uk and .com.au) and selling at the high five or six figure level is utterly wrong.
.com sales at the $1m+ level are less assured than .com.au sales at the 5 figure level did you know.
So the question then comes down to acquisition cost.
And because the .com market is more mature than .com.au (more published sales data, more end user awareness of value) and there are no barriers for entry (eligibility requirements), it means that you need to invest a lot of capital to acquire a great .com name (6 figures or more).
That capital comes with a cost, ie. cost of capital + opportunity cost. And re-sale for 7 figures or more is still very hit and miss with .com.
Whereas when you are dealing with ccTLDs you are at a lower price point. More companies can afford or justify a six figure purchase rather than seven figures.
Plus the barriers to entry that for example .com.au has means acquisition costs are less because you are competing with fewer international investors for great names.
Unlike the UK and Germany which are both part of Europe, Australia’s ccTLD is exceptionally strong like Rob said. In Australia, .com is second to .com.au and .com.au is king. This is obvious to anyone who turns on the radio or TV.
Besides geographic isolation, the above is the case because Australia adopted and promoted its ccTLD quite early. Late promoters like .ca and .nz have languished, that’s the difference.
There is very little money in .com.au. Mike is right on cctlds.
Mike never said that. And you are ignorant because you don’t own any .com.au domain names, Snoopy.
First, thank you Domainer Show for producing and posting this interview. You’ve done a nice job. It’s a very good interview and definitely worth listening to.
Second, thank you Mike for taking time to sit for this interview that touches on several topics. And thank you for being a true domainer and a domaining advocate for the past 20 years+.
I consider you a top salesman and pure entrepreneur who also happens to be an experienced, enthusiastic, gutsy and motivated domainer. The quality of names at Domain Market has noticeably improved over the past year and the pricing on some big names is very reasonable. I look forward to your 2019 sales tweets.
Mike, thanks so much for doing this interview. Would you mind sharing your average sales price, and your annual sell-through rate? Would be helpful data as something for us little fish to aspire to. Thanks!
Great show!
Really appreciate the time you all took to do this, it means a lot to everyone im sure. I hope everyone takes the leap of discomfort to let go of some of the success to give back and help the rest of the world.