Traffic Show Bubble Pops, No Records Broken

Posted by Steve under General on Thursday, February 21st, 2008 4:39 am

There were no records set this year at the famous Traffic Expo.  The live auctions only netted $4.3 mil after much hype of the event.  The silent auction is still ongoing, which should probally net $600-$1 mil more if lucky.  The recession could have had alot to do with auction results.  I believe reality has finally hit the Traffic Show, and the bubble has finally popped of it setting historic records.  It happens in every market where growth occurs rapidly.  

From sources at the show, attendence appeared lower than previous shows of Traffic.  This could be because of the invitation only strategy this year, that in my opinion was very foolish.  It probally kept quite a few from attending.  How can you grow an industry if you only limit it to a small group of elite people?  It is becoming more of a good ole boy network, rather than the voice for the industry IMHO.  The newly formed DomainFest auction netted approx. $4.2 mil last month and did outstanding when compared with the popular Traffic results.  Additionally, attendance was outstanding at DomainFest.  Has DomainFest become the new Expo of the Industry?

There will be plenty of stories written on the Traffic Show outcome in the weeks to come.  With approximately $8.3 mil of domains sold at the last 2 auctions, does DomainCircle stand much of chance at success in April with their auction? Alot of money has been spent in the aftermarket the first 2 months of the year.       

3 Responses to “Traffic Show Bubble Pops, No Records Broken”

1. packers Says:
   February 21st, 2008 at 08:40 am

   I have to agree.. Traffic auctions were once good for the domain community. However, after watching the live video feed, I would hope that Traffic is no longer considered a leader as domain auctions are considered.

   1. its a closed auction. Their argument is that people who are willing to pay x dollars for admission has real money to spend. However, any closed-door auction is bad for any industry. (I assume they are making some serious money on those admission fees)

   2. the auctioneers were HORRIBLE. Check out the auctioneer at domainfest versus traffic auctions. No comparison. There is nothing less exciting than hearing a boring auctioneer and then Monte’s voice and clapping after each name.

   3. The shill bidding is beyond belief. Insiders obviously know the reserve price and bid it up just enough so they are not committed to purchasing. Domainfest had min bidding.. a refreshing change.

   4. 15% commish.. huh? For what?!!!!!

   
   
   
2. Bryan Says:
   February 21st, 2008 at 12:21 pm

   I agree. They made the event prohibitively expensive; And thats why i didn’t go. A little logic (for next year) is that the open passive public is who will tend to overvalue the variation, non premium domains, not insiders. I also think this same mentality is what will ruin the whole /mobi name ending: all the insiders own them and the namespace wont be delevloped.

   
   
   
3. Bob Says:
   February 21st, 2008 at 13:13 pm

   As far as I can tell, Traffic conferences aren’t really by invitation. I’ve been to five, and I had no invites or connections. Go on their site and pay for a ticket, and you are good to go. I think the “by invitation only” is some language that makes it seem more exclusive, dunno.
   And re. packers comment on the auction being closed…..evidently not any more. I do have a simple Snapnames account, and from home last night I used it to access the auction live online. It set me up as a bidder quickly, with no apparent requirements. I could have bid on any names, regardless of price. By the way, that system seemed to work very well. The picture of the auctioneer and audio was excellent. Felt like I was right in the auction room.

   
   
   

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