I woke-up Saturday morning at around 8:30AM and headed downstairs to the auction. TRAFFIC had moved the brunch right outside of the room where the auction would be held which made it easy to grab breakfast and head-into my first domain auction. This is just another example of what a high-quality conference TRAFFIC is – they scheduled wake-up calls to remind everyone attending the auction that it was scheduled for 10AM and moved the breakfast to a more convenient location…it’s these little touches that make a BIG difference.
I sat next to Shane and ate what would turn-out to be my only meal until 9PM – but heck – it’s my first TRAFFIC and I didn’t want to miss a minute of the action!
The auction started and before I knew it I was in a bidding war for my top pick – USBMemoryStick.com. Okay – so I know it’s not a five or six-figure name, but as I’ve said many times before – I’m no millionaire but I do like domains with strong search traffic. USB Memory Stick has 60,000 exact-match searches on Google which is a domain I know I can make hundreds (and hopefully thousands) of dollars a month with.
Well, the name started-off at $400 and soon I was bidding above $2,000 in my first auction battle. I almost gave-up at $2,800 but something in the back of my mind told me – GET THIS NAME – so I bid up to $3,000 and walked away victorious. This domain will be developed in February and expect to see it on the first page of Google, Yahoo, and Bing over the coming months.
It was absolutely exhilarating bidding in the auction and I’m looking forward to bidding in many more auctions. Rick’s system worked perfectly and some great names were sold. I was very excited to see that Fly.co.za – a ccTLD domain took the top spot at $65,000! This is just more evidence that the ccTLD market is heating-up!
After the auction I was able to get some more excellent interviews and then headed to Test Track. As I expected Test Track was AMAZING! Rick did a great job of putting-together some phenomenal entrepreneurs who pitched their ideas in front of the four investors. It was inspirational to hear other passionate people present their ideas and hear the feedback from the investors. It really was like watching Shark Tank and I can’t wait to see the next Test Track in Milan!
After Test Track I went back to the Domainvestors Television studio (aka the hallway outside of the conference room) and prepared to do my last interviews of the show. I had the opportunity to interview the Castello Brothers, Rick Silver, and Rick Latona so stay-tuned for those interviews along with all the other incredible interviews I conducted during the show.
By 7:30PM Patrick and I were on road and on our way back to Los Angeles. As I said in my last post – it was a bit sad leaving the event – I can honestly say that TRAFFIC Changed My Life. If you think I’m being dramatic – I’m not – come to a TRAFFIC show and you will know what I mean.
Jodi, Ray and Rick made me feel at home at a show that I had dreamed of coming to one day. Now that I’ve been – I get it and I want more! To that measure I received an incredible post on my blog today from Jodi inviting me to the TRAFFIC shows in Milan, Vancouver, Dublin, and Hong Kong and I plan on attending every single one!
I’m back home in Los Angeles now and happy to spend some time with my girlfriend and our lovely cat Samsie – I wasn’t a cat person until we got him but he’s amazing – if you don’t believe me just ask Bruce Marler!
Related posts:
- TRAFFIC Las Vegas Day Two – Who Needs Sleep!
- TRAFFIC Las Vegas – Day One – I’m Officially Inspired!
- Domainvestors Television Is Heading To Vegas! Will I See You There?
- My Three Favorite Domaining Blog Posts: Week of 10/25/2009
- Morgan Interviewed on Domain Masters on WebMasterRadio.FM Tonight at 7PM EST
